(SAN ANTONIO, Texas) – October, 2021 -- The U.S. Department of Education along with several other federal agencies have awarded Alamo Colleges District multiple grants totaling over $19.1 million to assist with programming and student support services. 

The announcement of the grants are part of a collective nationwide award of billions of dollars in federal grants for the next fiscal year. The grant programs are diverse and share the same objective to address critical challenges impeding students’ postsecondary opportunity and success. 

“We are pleased that leadership at the federal level is supporting our regional efforts at the Alamo Colleges,” shared Dr. Mike Flores, chancellor of the Alamo Colleges District. “These funds will help us to enhance our existing work and create more opportunities for our students. The careers in our area that previously required only a high school diploma are increasingly scarce. These awards will set our students on the right path to high-demand and high-wage careers.”

Each of the grants awarded to our colleges and district will help to serve students in the district achieve their post-secondary goals. 

The program awards reach across our entire district and include the following:

Hispanic Service Institutions Program (HSI STEM)

Northwest Vista College and San Antonio College have both been awarded grants under the HSI STEM program for the next five years. The grants will support:

• NVC’s Portal Leading to Undergraduate Success in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (PLUS+STEM Project), which aims to narrow the prevailing disparities in the STEM higher education including retention, persistence, success, and STEM degree completion among Hispanics, low-income, and other underrepresented populations. Total grant award is $5,000,000. 

• SAC’s Bolstering Undergraduate Inquiry, Learning, and Determination (BUILD) program– which will significantly improve the SAC’s capacity to provide academic support to Hispanic and otherwise underrepresented STEM majors students who are enrolled in high-challenge STEM courses. Total grant award is $4,997,128.

Title III – HBCU Programs including the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act    

• St. Philip’s College was awarded an HBCU FUTURE Act grant to support academic, administrative, and fiscal capabilities at the college. The total grant award for the next fiscal year is $1,440,632.

TRIO Programs

• Palo Alto College has been selected to receive two separate funding grants under the TRIO Talent Search program. Total grant funds awarded for the five-year terms of both grants is$2,773,750 and will help serve students from Somerset, South San, and Southwest High Schools. 
• The Alamo Colleges District has been selected to receive funding under the Education Opportunity Centers Program, which is a program under TRIO. The total funds awarded for this five-year grant program are $1,160,250.  

 National Science Foundation

• St. Philip’s College has been awarded an NSF-HBCU-UP grant to help support the implementation of their SURE (Scaffolding Undergraduate Research Experiences) program, which aims to increase STEM student research and internship experiences and facilitate community college student transfer to universities. Total grant award for the four-year term is$1,249,995. 

• Palo Alto College has been awarded an NSF- HSI STEM grant to launch their pilot program, theVirtual Experiential Learning Project (VELP). This pilot project will support increasing institutional capacity by creating virtual career services and student support activities that are specifically aimed at part-time students at Palo Alto College. Total grant award for the two-year term is $200,000.

Child Care Access Means Parents In School Program (CCAMPIS)

• Palo Alto College and San Antonio College have been awarded grant funds under the CCAMPIS program for the next four years. The colleges are receiving $620,860 and $1,245,728respectively to help support the participation of low-income parents in college through the availability of campus-based child care services.

National Security Agency - GenCyber Middle School & High School Teachers Camp

• St. Philip’s College has been awarded a grant in the amount of $143,370 for GenCyber Teacher Camps, which provide a comprehensive learning experience based on the GenCyber Cybersecurity Concepts and/or first principles, ethics and online safety.

U.S. Department of Justice- Grants to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus Program (Campus Program)

• The Alamo Colleges District has been selected to receive funding under this program in the amount of $300,000 for a three-year grant term to help with programming and services aimed at preventing and responding to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. This grant is on a three-year grant cycle.