Continuo by Cecilia Biagini
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Collaborations, Initiatives & Institutional Memberships

Collaborations

Excelencia in Education Collaborations

President Taylor Eighmy serves as a member of Excelencia in Education’s Presidents for Latino Student Success (P4LSS), a group of higher education leaders committed to leveraging their collective expertise and resources to amplify Latino student success at the national level. In addition, UTSA faculty and staff frequently participate in Excelencia’s institutes to help guide the university’s efforts around creating educational environments and policies that allow Latino students to thrive. UTSA also uses the criteria for Excelencia in Education’s Seal of Excelencia as a framework for aligning our data, practice and leadership to support and accelerate the success of Latino students.

UTSA partnered with Excelencia in Education to release the 25 Years of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) report. This important research demonstrates the impact of the nation’s Hispanic Serving Institutions on Latino student success. Read the national report and Texas analysis online.

UP Partnership

UTSA faculty have joined forces with Up Partnership and three local school districts in a collaborative applied research project to rethink discipline in San Antonio schools. The UTSA team is assisting Up Partnership with Rethinking Discipline Community of Practice implementation and process evaluation. The project, funded by the Strive Together Promising Practice Fund grant, is one of the My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio collaborative initiatives.

Alamo Colleges District Collaborations

Transfer Academy for Tomorrow’s Engineers (TATE)
The Transfer Academy for Tomorrow’s Engineers (TATE) is a collaborative partnership between UTSA and Alamo Colleges designed to increase the academic success of individuals who might not otherwise have access to postsecondary training in science or engineering

Transfer Academy for Future Teachers
The Academy for Teacher Excellence Research Center (ATE) in the College of Education and Human Development (COEHD) hosts the TAFT program. TAFT is open to transfer students from any community college interested in completing their bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and teaching certification at UTSA.

Alamo On TRAC
On-TRAC (Transitioning Roadrunners at Alamo Colleges) is a program for first-time freshman students who apply to UTSA but may not qualify for guaranteed admission into UTSA.

Students can not apply directly to On-TRAC but are offered the opportunity to be a part of the On-TRAC program. On-TRAC provides students a pathway to UTSA and improves student success.

Alamo Runners
The Alamo Runner program is a collaborative, co-enrollment partnership between Alamo Colleges and UTSA. The program supports students who were admitted to UTSA during a fall or spring semester but instead enrolled at one of the five Alamo Colleges.

Assigned Transfer Specialists
UTSA has Transfer Specialists assigned to serve each of the five Alamo Colleges.

Bexar County Fostering Student Success Program
UTSA, Texas A&M University – San Antonio, the Alamo Colleges District, Bexar County Children’s Court and Child Advocates San Antonio have developed a pilot program to position Texas to become a national leader in increasing the number of children in foster care who are academically and emotionally ready to succeed in college. The Bexar County Fostering Educational Success Pilot Project will create an array of educational support resources for current and former foster care youth by enhancing existing programs and practices and developing targeted support to increase college access, enrollment, and retention and graduation rates. More than 600 foster care alumni are currently enrolled on these campuses, and the program will serve additional youth in foster care who aspire to go to college.

Latino-Teacher Academy Learning Community
The Latino Teacher Academy Learning Community (L-TALC) is a collaborative student support partnership between UTSA’s Academy for Teacher Excellence Research Center (ATE) and Northwest Vista College that provides services to help Latino teacher candidates overcome barriers that may prevent them from completing their college education.

LSAMP CIMA Program at Alamo Colleges
Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) is a support program for minority students majoring in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, or any other STEM program. A partnership between UTSA and Alamo Colleges is providing community college students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in top-tier research laboratories during this 10-week summer program at UTSA. Alamo Colleges students are paired with faculty mentors from UTSA’s College of Sciences, College of Engineering, and College of Liberal and Fine Arts to work on a variety of research projects in biology, biomedical engineering, chemistry, computer science, geological sciences, physics, and psychology.

Initiatives

UTSA has launched a variety of institutional initiatives with the intention of advancing educational opportunities for San Antonio’s youth and fostering partnerships with the city’s Hispanic communities.

Classroom to Career

UTSA’s Classroom to Career Initiative further develops and promotes experiential learning opportunities for students. UTSA is aiming to have 75% of all students participate in some form of experiential learning by the time they graduate. The resulting increase in student engagement will directly support students’ retention and their success as students and professionals.

Expansion of the Downtown Campus

UTSA was founded in 1969 to serve San Antonio’s working-class population, a majority Hispanic/Latino community that did not have ready access to higher education. In a renewal of this commitment, UTSA has reimagined the role of its Downtown Campus, which is located in downtown San Antonio’s 78207 zip code, and aims to offer a broader diversity of academic programs including programs that will lead to high paying jobs in the data science, technology and cyber industries.

Westside Community Center

UTSA opened a new community center on San Antonio’s Westside to foster meaningful relationships with Westside residents and business owners that drive educational access, lifelong learning and economic opportunity.

Westside Community Partnerships Initiative

This initiative, co-developed with the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, aims to deepen UTSA’s relationships with San Antonio’s Westside by creating a forum for university-community engagement and dialogue.

Westside Housing Workshops

Faculty members and students in the UTSA Policy Studies Center offer workshops in San Antonio’s 78207 zip code to help residents identify issues with their property titles, examine their property tax exemptions and raise awareness of predatory buyers.

Westside Scholarship

In 2019, UTSA and its community partners established the first-ever Westside Scholarship Fund to increase student enrollment from San Antonio’s Westside and to positively impact the social and economic mobility of the entire neighborhood. This scholarship is part of a larger effort to create pathways for educational excellence through UTSA’s Presidential Initiative on Westside Community Partnerships.

Institutional Memberships

UTSA values its institutional partnerships with organizations that are working to advance Hispanic communities. The university has membership or partnerships with the following organizations:

  • Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities (HSRU)
  • Hispanic Association of Colleges & University (HACU)
  • Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE)
  • San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
  • Westside Chamber of Commerce
  • Westside Development Corporation
  • Westside Preservation Alliance
  • Westside Business Alliance
  • Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
  • Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center
  • Say Si
  • Consulado General De México en San Antonio
  • White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics
  • ConTex and Mexico’s National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT)
  • Military Installations, their interest in UTSA ROTC programs because of minority enrollment.
  • The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES)
  • City Education Partners
  • Family Service Association
  • City of San Antonio:
    • Office of Historic Preservation
    • Department of Arts & Culture
  • National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB)
  • Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA)
  • Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)
  • Texas Diversity Council