New Mexico State University Carlsbad has been awarded a $2.7 million Title V grant for Hispanic-serving institutions from the United States Department of Education.

New Mexico State University Carlsbad has been awarded a $2.7 million Title V grant from the United States Department of Education. (NMSU photo by Darren Phillips)The five-year grant will fund an initiative called Adelante, which aims to improve success among Hispanic and low-income students studying teacher preparation, said Teri Dodson, a senior program manager for Grant Funded Programs at NMSU Carlsbad who will oversee the new initiative.

Funding from the grant will be issued to NMSU Carlsbad on annual basis over five years, beginning Oct. 1, 2018, Dodson said.

“Adelante represents a systemic effort by NMSU Carlsbad to make improvements in student completion and transfer, particularly for Hispanic, low-income students studying teacher preparation,” Dodson said. “NMSU Carlsbad is a Hispanic-serving institution with a student population that is 51 percent Hispanic, and it is the only affordable postsecondary option for a growing population of underserved, underrepresented and disadvantaged students in the region.”

Dodson said Adelante has three major goals: increase completion and transfer success for Hispanic and low-income students through articulation and transfer agreements with four-year institutions and other strategies; increase educational and support services to time- and place-bound students; and improve conditions for data-informed academic programs and student services decision-making, particularly for teacher preparation candidates.

Dodson said the project’s overall five-year budget of $2,715,088 will drive systemic reform and capacity building by investing in highly qualified staff, the development of a Transfer Advising Center, instructional infrastructure, and professional development for faculty and staff.