Cal State L.A. Receives U.S. Department of Education Grant for Improving Access to Higher Education

California State University, Los Angeles has received a grant of $415,842 from the U.S. Department of Education, part of a larger five-year development grant to the University of $2.08 million. Cal State L.A. was one of only 40 officially-designated Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the nation to receive this award.

According to U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, the grants are designed to "help address the needs of colleges and universities that create high-quality education and training opportunities for Hispanic American students-many of whom are the first in their families to seek a college education."

At Cal State L.A., the grant will be used to help increase the transfer rate of students from local community colleges, and to improve their retention rate once they get to the University. "This grant is particularly important for Hispanic students, because over 50 percent of them begin their higher education at a community college, but so few transfer," said Dean of Undergraduate Studies Alfredo Gonzalez, who will administer the grant.

Hispanic-Serving Institutions are those in which Hispanic Americans represent at least 25 percent of the student population, at least half of whom are low-income. More than 52 percent of Cal State L.A.'s nearly 20,000 students are Hispanic.

Other Los Angeles area colleges receiving the USDE award include Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles, Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, and Woodbury University in Burbank.