1. Title:  Virtual Exchange Program
Sponsor: NPORG/ The Aspen Institute
Principal Investigator: Professor Amy Ramson
Department: Behavioral & Social Sciences
Award Amount: $68,475
Award Period: 2.5 years
Overview: The grant of a total of $750, 000 was awarded by the Aspen Institute/Stevens Initiative to 5 CUNY institutions including Hostos Community College along with four institutions in the MENA region.  The Principal Investigators created the two-year Global Scholars Achieving Career Success (GSACS) program in which faculty from the 9 campuses are chosen in a competitive process to work in pairs to develop and implement discipline-specific or interdisciplinary 6 to 10-week virtual exchange modules for their students who work in bi-national teams to undertake the activities. GSACS modules enable students to investigate the world through the lens of a UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) while engaging in collaborative experiential learning assignments. Each faculty will receive a stipend to collaboratively develop a module with their partner during rigorous professional development workshops held during the summers of 2021 and 2022, which they will incorporate into in a credit-bearing course during the following academic year.
At Hostos, the project will be led by Prof. Amy Ramson, Professor in the Public Policy and Law Unit. She also coordinates Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), a virtual exchange pedagogy for faculty to engage their students with peers abroad through collaborative assignments that build intercultural fluency. 


2, Title: Hostos DYCD Train and Earn Services Career Pathways Program
Sponsor: NYC Department of Youth and Community Development
Principal Investigator: Evelyn Fernandez Ketcham, LCSW
Department: Continuing Education and Workfoce Development
Award amount and period: This team's relationship with DYCD dates to 2017. They have been awarded four grants totaling $649,332 plus a most recent one for 2 years (2021-2023) to continue our partnership in total of $385,740 for a complete total of $1,036,072.
Overview:This grant provides comprehensive supports, career and transition to employment and/or college services to 18 to 24-year olds while completing an occupational training course. Rooted on a psycho-educational model focused on transition planning, the program includes an Intro to Careers in Healthcare and IT Seminars. This vestibule, acts as a bridge to the occupational training courses/programs available to students in the Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development (CEWD) and that articulate to college credits if enrolled at Hostos. Students enroll in the Patient Care Technician (PCT) training and receive a NYS CNA credential or in the Medical Administrative Assistant (MAA) course which also generates an industry recognized credential.
A “Theory and an Alliance,” Bridging Multiple Worlds Theory (Cooper, Dominguez, Cooper, Jr., Higgins and Lipka, 2018) is a framework that informs the Hostos Train and Earn Career Pathways Program model, creating a pathway for underrepresented college goers. Cooper et al.'s, (2018) research has demonstrated the need for transition planning to 1) begin as early as possible 2) be comprehensive 3) include activities that help students identify their strengths and weakness, particularly those with disabilities 4) is inclusive of employment and post-secondary admissions requirements and 5) encourages self-advocacy. Funding covers tuition, books, travel, lunch, exam fees and tutoring when needed.


3. Hostos Oasis for Parents’ Education (H.O.P.E) Project
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Principal Investigator: Professor Sarah Hoiland, Behavioral and Social Sciences
Co-Principal Investigators: Profs. Elys Vasquez-Iscan (Education), Norberto Hernández Valdés-Portela (Behavioral and Social Sciences), JungHang Lee (Mathematics), and Biao Jiang (Natural Sciences)
Award Amount: $2.3 milion
Award Period: 5 years
Overview: Hostos Oasis for Parents’ Education (HOPE) is a Two-Generation (2Gen) STEM summer program for college-ready parents and their children. It offers STEM and social science courses in a holistic 7-week program for student parents, HOPE Scholars, and a STEM-focused on-campus Academy for their children, Academy Scholars. HOPE Scholars will earn 6-7 college credits with wraparound support services. A bedrock of HOPE is an online professional development (PD) course, which will be an open educational resource (OER) for teaching faculty and pre-K-8 Pre-Academy and Academy teachers with concentrated focus on Experiential Learning Opportunities (ELOs), a High Impact Practice (HIP) designated by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. HOPE’s 3D 2Gen Model provides three-dimensional (3D) supports for 1) family (on-site Pre-K and STEM Academy and nutritious food), 2) academic (ELO courses with HOPE faculty, tutoring, advising, and structured study time), and 3) social/ professional (mentoring, colloquia, and workshops) support. Pre-Academy and Academy Scholars, ages 3-14, will have a college-going experience side-by-side with their parents, exploring STEM through ELO activities.