CULTURA is a five-year, $3 million grant that seeks to address institutional system change for Latiné and low-income student success that validate students on their pathways to graduation.
The Centering Undergraduate Latiné Thriving with University Racial-Equity Action (CULTURA) Title V HSI Project will support UCSC’s commitment to student success and equity with structural and cultural changes, data-driven decisions, and students’ voices to reverse post-pandemic declines in Latiné enrollment (transfer), retention, and graduation rates. As UCSC enters its second decade as an Hispanic-Serving Research Institution, post-pandemic equity gaps require multi-level campus-wide changes that validate our Latiné and low-income students’ potential and engage with them to support their pathways to graduation, graduate school, and high-demand careers.
| Grant Goals | Anticipated Impact |
| Goal 1: Increase retention and graduation rates for Latiné students. | Increase Latiné students' retention rates by 5% and the number of graduation Latiné students who graduate by 10%. |
| Goal 2: Improve campus climate and sense of belonging for Latiné students. | Improve campus climate and sense of belonging by 5% for Latiné students. |
| Goal 3: Increase Latiné transfer student enrollment from partner community colleges. | Increase Latiné transfer student enrollment in Health Pathway majors by 421%. |
| Goal 4: Improve institutional capacity by increasing coordination and integration among campus supports, use of data systems, and visibility of UCSC HSI identity. | Increase integration among campus partners by 10%. |
The CULTURA Project's budget is $3 million from October 2024 - September 2029.
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| Grant Abstract | Grant Summary |
Grant Initiatives
The CULTURA Project aims to integrate and build capacity across student success initiatives by implementing the Ecological Validation Model, integrating student voices in the work of institutional agents across campus ecologies, and cycles of research, practice, and policies (Hallett et al., 2023; Kitchen et al., 2021) via four components:
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Strengthening El Centro: Expanding programs and internships at the Latiné Student Servingness Campus Hub, including bilingual service offerings for families and prospective students.
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Latiné Student Success: Coordinating holistic coaching and advising services, warm handoff processes, and increasing validating experiences.
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Health Professions Pathways: Holding articulation summits with community college faculty, using UCSC student ambassadors for outreach to community college students and providing peer mentoring for new transfer students interested in health care careers.
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HSI Servingness Research Internships: Offering robust research training opportunities for undergraduates and informing new research on student success within HSIs.
For more information about this grant, please contact Principal Investigator, Charis Herzon at charish@ucsc.edu
