As part of its charge to provide recommendations to President Stephen Jordan by February 2008 on how to double Latino enrollment at Metro State, the Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Task Force is soliciting proposals from the Metro State community for policies, programs or strategies toward achieving HSI status. Approved proposals will be incorporated into the recommendations presented to Jordan in February.

“HSI proposals provide the Metro State community with an opportunity to affect, inform and interact with the HSI Task Force and its activities,” said Judi Diaz Bonacquisti, associate vice president for enrollment services, who co-chairs the task force.

Proposals will be accepted through Monday, Oct. 8 and are sought in three areas:

• Policy: Proposals on potential changes in institutional (Metro State) policies that may be altered to positively affect students.
• Programs: Proposals for one-time or ongoing programs or projects to positively affect students.
• Strategies: Proposals on strategies that will enhance improved performance of students on campus.

Any member of the Metro State community with an idea on how to increase Latino enrollment at the College is encouraged to submit a proposal. Attaining HSI status entails increasing Latino enrollment from its current 13 percent to 25 percent.

After proposals are received on Oct. 8, they will be posted to the HSI Web site, so that anyone from the Metro State community can provide public input on them. That input is due by Oct. 15.

Proposals should be a maximum of five pages of single-spaced narrative text, consisting of a cover letter and four pages of description, in outline format. The cover letter should provide the following:

• Whether the proposal is a policy, a program, or a strategy
• Title and proposed dates of implementation
• Contact name, e-mail address, campus box number and phone number of the submitter
• Specify the area of consideration for which the proposal is intended (campus climate, retention and recruitment, public relations, professional development, assessment or curriculum)

The remaining four pages should include:

• Goal(s) of recommended HSI initiative
• Policy, program, or strategy to support goal
• Measurable outcomes of policy, program or strategy
• Timeline for implementation
• Area/person/division responsible for implementation
• Resources necessary for implementation (per year with budget breakdown)
• Existing or proposed funding source for implementation

A copy of the RFP selection criteria is available at http://www.mscd.edu/president/hsi/documents.shtml.

Proposals must be submitted in both hard copy, to Campus Box 16, and electronically, to snorton6@mscd.edu.