Project S:AIL in STEM

 Project SAIL Logo, Text Reads Servingness, Aspiration, Identity and Learning in STEM

Project S:AIL in STEM enhances Ventura College’s Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation by transforming institutional structures and culture to embrace a serving-minded campus that centers, and builds upon, the cultural and intellectual assets of Latine/a/o STEM students. Project S:AIL in STEM expands institutional capacity and enhances the quality of academic and student support programs that reach all students, and as a result, ensures Latine/a/o and historically marginalized students achieve equitable academic, transfer, and career outcomes in STEM.

Project SAIL Diagram

Goals and Objectives:

Goal #1. Serving: Aspiration – Inspire Hispanic and low-income students to aspire toward degree attainment and transfer in STEM.

  • Objective 1.a: Become a STEM Transfer Hub for the South-Central Coast by designing and implementing structured and sequenced STEM pathways to enable Hispanic and low-income students to accelerate completion of degree requirements/ transfer.
  • Objective 1.b: Expand internships and experiential work-based learning in collaboration with Advisory Boards and business leaders to connect Hispanic students to real-world experiences that augment classroom learning and support Honors program participants.
  • Objective 1.c: Organize annual meetings of regional STEM Transfer & Community Engagement Liaison Council to strengthen program design.

Goal #2. Serving: Identity – VC will improve servingness to Hispanic students in STEM pathways through improved wrap-around supports that honor cultural wealth and foster a sense of belonging in and out of the classroom.

  • Objective 2.a: Engage the STEM Success Team to provide active cohort management, advising, timely referrals to programs and services, and peer mentoring.
  • Objective 2.b: Mobilize Peer Mentors and classified frontline staff to support students holistically, connecting them to basic needs resources and opportunities for career exploration.
  • Objective 2.c: Foster students’ sense of belonging by promoting and retaining diverse faculty in STEM.

Goal #3. Serving: Learning – VC will expand institutional capacity and infrastructure to provide engaging and experiential learning opportunities and services to STEM students.

  • Objective 3.a: Create a community-oriented and culturally enhancing STEM learning environment through a well-connected, multi-structure STEM success space that fosters’ Hispanic students’ sense of belonging while increasing equitable access to STEM Pathways.
  • Objective 3.b: Improve serving-minded instructional design. Using various modalities, VC will improve the teaching and learning environment while expanding STEM course offerings to increase access.
  • Objective 3.c: Expand effective academic support services by embedding cross-trained peer tutors/ mentors in gateway transfer STEM courses; disaggregate data to identify and address disproportionate impact on Hispanic students.

Project S:AIL in STEM is a Title III Part F, HSI STEM and Articulation Programs award  (PR Award # P031C210056) funded by the U.S. Department of Education. To learn more about Title III Part F, HSI STEM and Articulation Programs, and other related HSI programs, please visit the Office of Postsecondary Education, HSI Division.