U.S. Department of Education awards Northern New Mexico College $2,847,151

NNMC Title V will use Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions grant to increase retention and completion rates for underserved populations

Northern New Mexico College (NNMC) is pleased to announce a $2,847,151 five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Northern is one of 49 institutions to be awarded the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) grant, which assists Hispanic Serving Institutions in expanding educational opportunities and improving the attainment of Hispanic students. Hispanic students comprise 74 percent of Northern’s enrolled student population and 54 percent are Pell eligible.

"We are honored to be awarded the Title V grant for Proyecto Apoyo, our fifth DHSI grant in just six years,” said NNMC Title V Director Kristy Alton Dyer.  “This continued trust is a testament to our commitment to student success, and these funds will empower us to further support our students in achieving their academic goals and building brighter futures."

Northern has received four Title V grants and one Title III grant since 2018, all from the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions  Program.

"This is an amazing opportunity for our young people to make an impact and earn a college education," said President Hector Balderas. "I am extremely proud of our team for securing this highly competitive grant, and I am excited to work with them to support student success at Northern."

The grant will fund Northern’s Title V “Proyecto Apoyo,” a program focused on increasing Hispanic and low-income students’ enrollment, retention, persistence, transfer and post-college outcomes through the creation of a new Student Success Center.

The program is designed to help Northern students overcome the impacts of being members of a historically overlooked and undervalued sector of society who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The project will address these effects by instilling a stronger sense of individual and academic identity in students as rightful members of Northern’s intellectual community. Underrepresented students will receive academic support, mentoring, advising, identity-affirming activities and professional career exploration to deepen their sense of connection and success in their chosen pathways.

Northern will receive $528,575 for the first year of the DHSI Title V grant, which will be used to create and staff the new Student Success Center, El Epicentro, to provide in-person and online academic support, social interactions, academic/professional pathways, career preparation and exploration programming. An educational researcher will be hired to collect data and analyze the success of the program on elements such as a student’s “sense of belonging,” academic and professional identity, post-completion career satisfaction and more.

If successful, the program will transform the student experience and increase retention and completion rates over the five-year project.