The Pew Hispanic Center has identified the increasing and widespread influx of large immigrant populations as one of the most critical social issues facing the United States in the twenty-first century.  The well-being of these populations and clearly that of the general population of the United States is dependent more and more upon the ability of new immigrants to secure not only public school education but also Associate and Baccalaureate degrees.

Current research has identified a number of barriers that Latino students face in entering and continuing studies in higher education.  For one reason or another, the nuclear family is a factor in several of these barriers.  Between 2006 and 2008, four colleges in the Dallas County Community College District will investigate the significance of key family member involvement in the success of Latino students

• in accessing information critical to their navigation through years of higher education,

• in the retention of the students in their college classes, and

• in their persistence--semester after semester--in the pursuit and completion of their degrees.

In 2006 Mountain View College--the lead campus in the project--and Brookhaven College students will enroll in selected courses that offer "Student/Family Member" contracts. These require participating students to include one or more key family members in course and selected college-wide activities during the semester.  These student will be tracked throughout their course work to monitor their retention and persistence throughout the tenure of the grant period.