Frank Garcia (left) of UC's Puente Project, with Anthony Chapa and Deborah Santiago of Excelencia in Education

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The University of California's Puente Project received the award for the top 2009 "Example of Excelencia" at the associate level for its work increasing the number of students who successfully transfer into four-year colleges and universities, Excelencia in Education announced today (Oct. 2).

Examples of Excelencia is a national initiative that identifies and recognizes programs that are proven to accelerate Latino student success at the associate, baccalaureate and graduate levels and shares this information with educators and policymakers. Winning programs receive $5,000 and are profiled in a publication released by Excelencia in Education.

Many Latino students begin at community colleges; therefore transfer programs to four-year institutions are critical to Latinos in higher education. The mission of the Puente Project is to increase the number of educationally disadvantaged students who enroll in four-year colleges and universities, earn college degrees and return to the community as mentors and leaders for future generations. The Puente Project currently serves more than 9,500 college students annually at 56 community colleges. Of these students, more than 75 percent are Latino. Latino students in the Puente Project transfer to four-year institutions at higher rates than other underrepresented students and graduate at rates similar to students of ethnic groups with well-established patterns of academic achievement.

"Colleges have a responsibility to help Latino students succeed," said Sarita Brown, president of Excelencia in Education, a non-profit which promotes policies and practices that support higher educational achievement for Latino students. "The University of California's Puente Project is a program that we hope other colleges and universities around the country will be looking to as a model to adapt and replicate on their own campuses."

The selection committee considered the following factors in choosing the winners:

1. a record of achievement in graduating Latino students,
2. the magnitude of the need for the program services,
3. the rationale for implementing the program to address the identified need,
4. the application and execution of the program, and
5. the qualitative or quantitative evidence of the impact of the program.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Latino young adults are less likely to have earned an associate or higher degree than other young adults. In 2008, 8 percent of Latinos 18 to 24 years of age had earned a degree, compared with 14 percent of all young adults. Latino adults, 25 years and over, were also less likely to have earned an associate or higher degree than other adults, with 19 percent of Latinos earning a degree, compared with 29 percent of blacks, 39 percent of whites and 59 percent of Asians. Meanwhile, census projections estimate that Latinos will be 22 percent of the nation's college-age population by 2020.

In conjunction with the awards, Excelencia in Education today (Oct. 2) released "What Works for Latino Students in Higher Education: 2009 Examples of Excelencia Compendium," a publication which serves as a resource summarizing the activities and results of the 2009 Examples of Excelencia programs and strategies that may be adapted for use at other institutions.

The Examples of Excelencia compendium may be found on Excelencia in Education's Web site.

Excelencia in Education is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate Latino student success in higher education.