Southwest Texas Junior College (SWTJC) serves a vast rural region encompassing eleven counties (16,812 square miles) and is home to 215,000 residents. The vast majority of residents are Hispanic reflecting the College's 78% Hispanic student population. Located in the extreme southwest corner of the state of Texas, the area is characterized by high poverty, high illiteracy, low educational attainment, high unemployment, is the poorest in the state and one of the poorest in the nation. Southwest Texas Junior College is a comprehensive open-door institution that provides quality Associate Degree and Certificate programs with campuses located in Crystal City, Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Uvalde, Texas.
This project creates a Scholarship program to be awarded to students in the discipline areas of Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics. Thirty scholarships are awarded each year at $1,515 per semester ( $3,030 per year). Award recipients are selected on the basis of low-income guidelines, a submitted application, interview and written statement and assessment of career goals. A campus ASICST Scholarship Committee selects qualified students for awards. Awarded students must maintain a 3.0 GPA and continue in a Computer Science, Engineering or Mathematics career path until graduation to remain eligible for continued assistance.
The goal of this project is to encourage and enable academically talented, financially disadvantaged persons to enter the high technology workforce following completion of an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree in Computer Science, Engineering or Mathematics. The project uses a combination of expanded scholarship opportunities, a rigorous recruitment plan, mentor-designed workshops, industry involvement, career placement and student support structures delivering services such as academic enrichment, advising, tutoring, mentoring and career exploration. The specific objectives are to; 1) decrease the attrition rate for students between the first and second years, with 90% (27) of spring semester scholarship recipients returning to school the following fall semester; 2) eighty percent (24) of scholarship awardees complete an Associate Degree program; and 3) 75% (18) transfer to a four-year institution to continue their studies. Scholarships are renewable for two years at Southwest Texas Junior College and two years at a four-year institution of their choice to complete a Baccalaureate Degree in Computer Science, Engineering or Mathematics.
