Established in the spring of 2006, the University Alliance (UA) is a new initiative of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) funded by a grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., to conduct a 5 year pilot in collaboration with the University of Georgia (UGA). The University Alliance seeks to develop relationships within the university community to improve the enrollment and retention of Latino students and to support the HSF mission to increase their college graduation rate. A major resource to increase the number of Latino applicants and to facilitate their retention through graduation is the disbursement of scholarships for incoming freshmen and current undergraduates. The UA is facilitated by the Office of the Vice President for Public Service & Outreach (PSO). The University Alliance (UA) pilot establishes the presence of HSF within the university community by providing a manager who is housed on campus and works with Admissions, Financial Aid and Student Services.

In order to provide adequate and accurate support to the university, the UA began by conducting a needs assessment. This gap analysis took place between August 2006 and December 2006 by the Survey Research Center at the University of Georgia, in conjunction with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, to understand the current state of Latino students and their relationship to the university. The purpose of this work was to survey a broad range of constituencies regarding their experiences and perceptions of Latino students, both currently enrolled at the university, as well potential future University of Georgia students. The data collected from these surveys provided a base of information to increase opportunities for Latino students to attend UGA, provide support services once they have been accepted and have enrolled and increase the likelihood of success for these students during their University of Georgia experience.

University of GA Needs Assessment (PDF 1.5 MB)

Latino Source Book (PDF 1.4 MB)

HSF Roundtable transcript (PDF 53 KB)