Rio Grande College awarded $2.8-million education grant

     After months of anticipation, Sul Ross State University Rio Grande College administrators and faculty were giving each other the “high sign” Wednesday as word finally arrived that the college’s $2.8 million grant application had been ok’d by the Department of Education.
     From next month through September 2008, the college will receive $574,708, the first increment of funds from the five-year Title 5 grant.
     The funds, which U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, was instrumental in securing, are provided under the Strengthening Institutions-Hispanic Service Institutions Program.  Rio Grande College is one of only 15 institutions in the nation whose proposal for educational programs benefiting Hispanic students was approved for funding.
     The college requested financial assistance in fulfillment of three areas of need.
     About one-third of the funds will be applied to upgrading the distance learning technologies at the college’s three campuses to enhance accessibility of classroom programs.
     Chemistry and computer science will be added as new Rio Grande College degree programs offerings.
     A third important application of the HSIP funding is earmarked to strengthen linkages with area high schools in order better prepare youngsters across the Rio Grande College’s 13-county service area for college enrollment.  This outreach will focus on improving instructional skills of area teachers in math and science.
     “We’re pleased to announce receipt of the grant and that it will now be possible for RGC to expand curricular offerings, reach farther and more effectively with its distance learning capabilities, and to continue our outreach to school districts in the region,” said Joel Vela, SRSU-RGC vice-president.
     Vela explained that strengthening distance learning technology will involve creation of an RGCNet system to more seamlessly connect all three campuses, as well as linkages to 22 outlying sites in the region.
     “This will break down geographic barriers and in effect it will bring higher education to the currently underserved small rural communities that rely on our institution,” he said.
     The college will use school district facilities available at the 22 outlying sites to disseminate coursework.  Additionally, the college will upgrade four classrooms in each of its main campus sites with state-of-the-art distance education technology, and also increase bandwidth so as not to overburden the total network capacity.
     Coursework for the new chemistry and computer science programs will be developed for distance delivery.  The chemistry courses to be developed each year of the 5-year grand include forensic chemistry, physical chemistry, organic chemistry, qualitative organic analysis, advanced inorganic chemistry and instrumental analysis.  Computer science will offer computer-aided instructions, special topics computer communications, object-oriented programming, advanced database systems, software engineering and computer hardware.
     Outreach programs from RGC to area public schools will involve both face-to-face and distance training sessions to improve teachers’ abilities in bilingual instruction in math and science.
     A minimum of 50 teachers will participate in the project, and training materials and procedures that are developed will be archived and standardized for continued application.
     “Simultaneously, we will develop the tools, resources and processes designed to increase enrollment in postsecondary education among area students,” explained Vela.  “This will include career advising, providing resources to encourage exploration of science and math-intensive academic and career paths.
     “We’ll continue to offer our popular summer science and math camps, as well as on-line materials to supplement secondary science and math curricula, as a means to generate interest among area secondary students,’ he concluded.

Reprinted from the UVALDE LEADER-NEWS, Thursday, October 4, 2007.