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In March 2024, Davenport University (Grand Rapids, Michigan) launched Casa Latina, an initiative that leads to career-oriented bilingual undergraduate and graduate degrees and professional proficiency in English and Spanish.
Courses are taught one week fully in English, the next week fully in Spanish. Twelve undergraduate and graduate degrees are offering career paths in business, technology, healthcare, urban education, and the sciences.
Applications are open and courses begin Fall 2024.
This new initiative builds on the university’s online Global Campus which has offered courses and programs for 20 years.
Latinos are the fastest growing demographic group in the U.S. but less likely than other racial/ethnic groups to have earned a college credential. About 23% of Latino adults between the ages of 25 - 29 have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 45% of white peers. About 7% of Davenport’s undergraduate students identify as Hispanic or Latino, and 34% as nonwhite. The West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce projects the Latino community is projected to grow by 130% by 2045.
The university is advancing this new program to support both Latino students and Latino communities more broadly.
Davenport University has struggled with declining undergraduate enrollment since the pandemic. It has six campuses in Michigan along with its online program. Although the university has experienced enrollment growth for the last three semesters, the Casa Latina program is focused on both boosting enrollment numbers and retaining and graduating students.
Community feedback has informed the planning; for students to thrive in college and afterwards, the bilingual curriculum must be connected to services that support students’ lives outside the classroom and resources that help them prepare for the workforce.
Foundations and donors include Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan; M.E. Davenport Foundation; Daniel & Pamella DeVos Foundation; Frey Foundation; Steelcase Foundation; Steve and Tana Wessell
Hechinger Report Newsletter: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/WhctKKZWjgsTGtGmsfxpbwDBfTRbFKHKDfqhFxMpnhzxrPFNPVvmDbXcqXhJjPSwCwnwPxq
Press release: https://post.davenport.edu/2024/03/21/davenport-university-launches-one-of-a-kind-bilingual-program/
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