Van Nuys : Valley College Grant to Aid Latino Students

Valley College in Van Nuys has been awarded a $1.75-million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to expand the college’s services for Latino and low-income students.

The award, announced by college officials Tuesday, will be distributed in $350,000 allotments during the next five years.

The campus in Van Nuys is one of 36 agencies nationwide to receive $12 million in funds from the department this year. More than one-fourth of Valley College’s 16,000-plus students are Latino.

“The grants will allow [recipients] to improve and expand their capacity to serve Hispanic and other low-income students,” said Claudio Prieto, who oversees the federal Department of Education program.

Grant money will be used at Valley College to establish an alternate learning center and create additional support services for Latino students.

“There’s a recognition now that different people learn differently,” Richard Moyer, vice president of academic affairs, said of the courses’ slightly different format.

The learning center will offer courses in math, chemistry and biology that place students in learning groups and focus on problem-solving approaches.

New support services will include faculty workshops on Latino culture, cooperative programs with local churches and community groups and the creation of an assistance center to help with admission, registration, testing and other processes.

The new programs may go into effect as early as next spring, Moyer said.

This is the first time Latino-serving institutions have been specifically awarded funds by the Department of Education, according to the national Hispanic Assn. of Colleges and Universities.