Adams State University, a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), qualifies to compete for and receive Title V grant funding under the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Hispanic-Serving Institutions Division.

HSIs are designated by the U.S. Department of Education through criteria defined as an institution of higher education that has a sustained enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at least 25 percent Hispanic. Adams State meets these criteria by serving over 3,300 full-time undergraduate students annually, of which 47 percent are ethnic and racial minorities, and of which 32 percent are Hispanic.

Adams State has received several Title V awards over the past 21 years, including individual institutional grants, cooperative grants, and Promoting Post-baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA) grants. Through extensive needs analysis, Adams State and its institutional partners have developed and have concurrently been awarded four five-year comprehensive grants to expand educational opportunities for, and to improve the educational attainment of, Hispanic and low-income students.

How does the Office of Title V Initiatives expand educational opportunities for Hispanic and low-income students?

The Office of Title V Initiatives is an interdisciplinary team who have the skills and knowledge to implement the goals and objectives of concurrent Title V grants effectively to serve our Hispanic and low-income students. The Office of Title V Initiatives is continually engaged in planning and assessment of activities as a result of strategic planning efforts.

Following are Adams State current Title V grant projects and objectives:

Cornerstone to Capstone: Building the Adams Experience 2020-2025

The “Cornerstone to Capstone” (C2C) project implements three strategic goals to create a new culture of support and connection for Hispanic and low-income students in their academic, personal, and professional development, and to promote persistence and degree completion among Adams State undergraduate students:

  • Goal 1 | Develop and Implement High-Impact Practices (HIPs) across Curricular Programs First-Year Seminars (FYS) and First-Year Experience (FYE), ePortfolios (ePs), Writing-Intensive Courses (WICs), and capstone courses and experiences improve students’ academic engagement and performance. HIPs also help reinforce 21st-century skills and competencies to support postsecondary degree completion and career readiness.
  • Goal 2 | Build Capacity to Implement Internships as a High-Impact Practice Develop and implement an internship program designed to increase student engagement and success.
  • Goal 3 | Implement and Expand Grizzly Persist Workshops and Peer-Mentoring Program. Expand campus infrastructure for support services to address student-identified needs and to foster Hispanic and low-income student persistence and degree completion.

The congressional Title V funding allows Adams State to push forward with an extensive, campus-wide reform of its curriculum based on deep self-study, interdisciplinary planning and research, and the principles of equity and inclusion.

The University’s plan for systemic change to increase student success develops campus capacity for high-impact educational practices, innovative linkages of student learning outcomes across disciplines, and new services to assist students transitioning into college in an integrated, holistic approach. This is the Adams Experience.

Teams of faculty and staff studied student data, access and achievement gaps, and weaknesses in institutional capacity to develop a program design that will nurture and support each student’s growth and intellect.

PPOHA – Expanding Access to Graduate Programs in Education Across Rural Colorado 2019-2024

door open revealing a grass field with a single treeAdams State University is Colorado’s premier four-year Hispanic-Serving Institution. To improve the 4-year master’s degree attainment rate for Hispanic and low-income students, Adams State’s PPOHA EA project focuses on 3 strategic goals that also address Colorado’s deficit of highly qualified and diverse teachers and educational leaders.

Goal 1 | Expand Teacher Education and Higher Education Administration Graduate Programs to Meet Rural Education Needs

  • Develop Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) teacher endorsement and professional development programs to meet State of Colorado requirements;
  • Integrate cultural competency standards across programs;
  • Expand the Educational Leadership/Principal Licensure program, increase the proportion of Hispanic candidates;
  • Rebuild Adams State’s post-baccalaureate education programs to increase the number of certified teachers with advanced credentials and provide alternate paths to licensure;
  • Strengthen and expand the Higher Education Administration and Leadership (HEAL) program;
  • Develop a doctoral program in educational leadership to diversify school and postsecondary senior leadership.

Goal 2 | Provide Outreach and Support for Graduate Students

  • Expand program outreach across rural/underserved areas;
  • Scholarships for historically underserved graduate students;
  • Access to financial wellness and college financing tools;
  • Program-specific orientations;
  • Establish a sustainable mentorship model for TED and leadership master’s programs;
  • Expand electronic library resources for graduate research.

Goal 3 | Build Capacity for Graduate Program Development and Improved Services to Diverse Students

  • Faculty and staff learning communities build on best practice professional development and cultural competency to improve online graduate instruction;
  • Online orientations and an equity institute prepare faculty for meeting diverse students’ needs and reinforce connections to Adams State’s mission and community.

Past Grants

Conexiones Grant 2015-2020

Connecting the Next Generation to Career Pathways (Individual)

  • Improve student success rates in developmental and gateway math courses to support pathways to graduation and STEM degrees. (Exploring a New Remedial Math Placement Model)
    • ALEKS Software
    • Remedial Math Coordinator
    • Supplemental Instruction
  • Integrate Appreciative and Career Advising by incorporating appreciative advising strategies and alignment with career pathways to improve persistence, time to degree completion, and graduation rates.
    • Degree Works
    • My Majors Software
    • Appreciative Advising Model
    • AdvisorTrac Software
  • Build Capacity for New Student Engagement Strategies by increasing the focus of campus and professional development infrastructure and programming on inclusion and equity, learning, and faculty innovations supportive of student success to better serve low-income and Hispanic students.
    • Faculty & Staff Mentoring Program
    • Writing Across the Curriculum
    • Pathways GenEd Redesign
    • Research and Engagement Grants

Caminos Grant 2015-2020

Increasing Access to Education and Opportunity in the Upper Rio Grande Region (Cooperative-Adams State Lead)

  • Increase regional access to bachelor degrees through collaborations to expand curricula and cooperative online degree programs.
  • Increase access to academic support services for distance students and add a system of progress monitoring to improve persistence and degree completion rates.
  • Improve delivery infrastructure and increase access to resources to support student success in new distance degree programs.

Unidos Grant 2014-2019

Building Pathways to Access and Opportunity for the Upper Rio Grande Region (Cooperative-UNM-Taos Lead)

  • Increase enrollment and success of Hispanics and other students at all three institutions.
  • Increase in the number of distance education courses (online and ITV) available to students across northern New Mexico.
    • Improving Distant Education Programs
      • Rapid ILL (Interlibrary Loan)
      • NetTutor
      • Implementing Invoke software
      • Articulation Agreements
      • Improving Coordination and Student Referral Systems
      • Improving Early Warning System
      • Improving Academic Support Services (Online and In-Person formats)
  • Improve faculty capacity to develop distance education courses and teach effectively in distance modes.
    • Improving Information Technology (IT) Systems
      • Implementing ECHO 360
      • Providing an eLearning Guild Membership
      • Providing access to a Quality Matters (QM) Subscription
      • Providing Zoom capabilities
      • Providing AITC Support
  • Providing Professional Development for Faculty and Staff
    • Unidos Equity Retreat
    • Cultural Competency Course
    • Providing Equity Engagement Grants

PPOHA Grant 2014-2019

Promoting Post-Baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA) (Individual)

  • Academic and professional skill-building workshops
  • Access to streamlined university processes
  • Graduate Student Success Center
  • Scholarships
  • Dedicated workspaces and meeting spaces at East Campus
  • Laptops for checkout
  • Graduate Assistantships
  • Graduate Student Orientation
  • Graduate Student Workshops
  • Higher Education Hot Topics Program Series
    • Impact of Graduate Education
    • Graduate Student Success Chronicles
    • Celebrating Self Care – Adams State Wellness Week
  • Office of Graduate Studies Initiative
  • Peer mentoring