Bunker Hill Community College receives grant to increase Latino enrollment

Bunker Hill Community College and the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education are teaming up to provide better access to college for Latino students.

Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) received a $200,000 Vision Project Performance Incentive Fund grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education on Dec. 3. The grant is designed to help BHCC increase enrollment among Latino students, a press release issued by the college said. BHCC is the largest community college in the state, and about 23 percent of its 14,000 student are of Latino descent.

As part of the grant, BHCC will collaborate with Chelsea High School, UMass Boston and local community organizations as they work with Latino students and their families on career and educational planning, community-based and experiential learning and aligned and accelerated curricular pathways, BHCC said. Latino Studies Program faculty at UMass Boston will also work with BHCC faculty to integrate Latino studies into the college’s curricula.

“This project, Latino Student Success: Building Pathways from High School to Baccalaureate, will help us develop a more coherent higher education pathway for our Latino students. We are excited to begin this work,” BHCC President Pam Eddinger in a statement released by the college.

Mary M. Bourque, superintendent of Chelsea Public Schools, said she is excited about the opportunity the program provides to Latino students.

“We’re eager to increase the number of Latino students from Chelsea who successfully complete college degrees,” Bourque said.