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Hurricanes, earthquakes, financial bankruptcy, a global pandemic. When it comes to catastrophic events, Puerto Rico has experienced them all. Yet, these challenges did not keep Puerto Rican colleges and universities from keeping their students enrolled and on track for completion.
A new report interviews leaders from five Puerto Rican Hispanic-Serving Institutions to learn more about their efforts in resilience over the past five years. Among the findings:
- Restructuring strategies are key, including making staffing changes, consolidating student services and academic programs, streamlining degree requirements, and seeking external funding.
- Various programs were revamped and enhanced to more intentionally recruit students. Efforts included an expansion of program offerings to students in the mainland, holding Open Houses, placing emphasis on robust academic programs, and utilizing new outreach mediums such as social media to reach more students.
- Holistic supports took on new meaning, with the HSIs ramping up efforts to address students’ basic needs. This includes providing access to meals, additional financial support, mental health services and counseling, and intentional outreach throughout their students’ trajectories.
- New connections were made with Puerto Rico’s workforce to better prepare students for graduation and post-completion importance. This included more career development opportunities, internship experiences, job fairs, and opportunities for research experience and continuing on their education at the graduate level.