Austin, TX – May 29, 2007 – Dr. Stephen B. Kinslow, Austin Community College District president/CEO, has accepted an invitation to testify at a congressional hearing on federal funding to assist in the recruitment and retention of Hispanics into higher education.

The Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness will be in Austin June 4 to host the 10 a.m. hearing at the ACC Eastview Campus, 3401 Webberville Road, in Room 8500. Kinslow will address the increasing need for Title V grants provided to colleges with a significant percentage of Hispanic students.

“ACC will soon be designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution, making the district eligible for Title V grants,” said Kinslow. “This federal funding is crucial to community colleges such as ACC which are the gateway to more than 50 percent of all who enter college”

“Our nation’s HSIs are critical in the effort to increase the number of Hispanics who attain college degrees,” said Congressman Rubén Hinojosa. “It’s imperative that we support their hard work and provide our Hispanic students more opportunities to pursue a higher education.”

With access to Title V funding the ACC District will address the following challenges in enrolling and retaining minority, lower income, and first-generation college students:
* Keeping college affordable
* Providing additional financial aid (scholarships, grants, work-study)
* Expanding outreach programs such as ACC’s College Connection, Early College Start, and Summer Youth Programs to prepare high school students for college
* Expanding Student Support & Success services to assist students with their goals
* Offering additional “access” programs to get students “college-ready” including intensive remediation courses to improve student performance on the required assessments
* Developing a new University Transfer Center that offers counseling, workshops and tours and establishes alliances with faculty members at receiving four-year institutions
* Strengthening institutional capacity to further enhance libraries to include expanded cultural studies sections
* Expanding faculty development programs that focus on teaching diverse communities and diverse learners

To become an HSI institution, at least 25 percent of the total student body must be Hispanic. In fall 2006, Hispanics comprised 24 percent of ACC’s total student body.

Dr. Larry Earvin, president of Huston-Tillotson University, Olivia Vanegas-Funcheon, president of Tohono O’odham Community College in Arizona and George Scott with the Government Accountability Office will also testify at the June 4 hearing.