Chandler-Gilbert Community College has received a $3.1 million U.S. Department of Education grant to expand educational opportunities for Hispanic students. 

The 2022 grant is a Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Title V grant. The DHSI program provides grants to assist HSIs to expand educational opportunities for, and improve the attainment of, Hispanic students. 

In 2021, CGCC was named an HSI with a Hispanic student population of 27% and was awarded the grant upon its first attempt at the application process.  

The five-year grant, with an end date of September 2027, infuses nearly $3 million into the work of the college and includes four key positions added to the college. 

CGCC’s Title V grant is titled “¡Éxito! Podemos Imaginar Contigo,” or EPIC, and translates from Spanish to mean “Success! We Can Imagine with You.” Its purpose is to expand and enhance the academic offerings, program quality, and institutional stability of the college for Hispanic students in particular.  

The grant has three primary goals: 

• Increase postsecondary education access, affordability, completion, and post-enrollment success; 
• Meet students’ social, emotional, and academic needs; 
• Expand financial resources to effectively address emerging needs and opportunities. 

Within the grant are strategies that are meant to address challenges that disproportionately impact Hispanic students, including financial literacy, access to affordable childcare, and building intentional experiences for students to find a sense of belonging.  

CGCC is a strong dual enrollment provider in the Southeast Valley and has embedded key strategies to make dual enrollment information more accessible by partnering with local high school and high school dual enrollment teachers to provide enhanced and more inclusive training.  

“At CGCC, equity work has always been at the core of what we do,” CGCC President Greg Peterson said in a release, “and the focus and funding that comes with this kind of grant work enables us to think differently about how we serve our Hispanic students and translate that work into long-term strategies that better serve all students at the college.” 

 This project is funded by $2,996,263 in federal funds, representing 97% of the total project. An additional $100,000, or 3% of the project, will be provided by other sources.