The Angelo State University Veterans Educational and Transitional Services (VETS) Center is responsible for the administration of US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Educational Benefits and supporting the administration of other military service related benefits like tuition assistance and the state of Texas Hazlewood Exemption. It is a team of veterans and university administrators whose secondary missions are taking care of our VETS Center's student clientele, to include their development both academically and personally, as well as providing collaborative assistance in support of our students and the university in general to the other sections of Student Affairs, the Faculty and Academic Affairs Division, the External Affairs Division, and the Finance Division.

The VETS Center endeavors to live up to our university’s core values every day. We expect integrity both from our employees and our student clientele and when shortcomings are identified, we mentor our people on the best ways to do and be better in the future. The military (both those active and those that have completed their contracted service) live in an incredibly diverse environment. This continues in the VETS Center. We work to develop our clientele to be part of an organization, and as a team we care most about what the individual can do to help the team succeed. Higher education is a pathway that can change the future, not just for our students, but their families as well. When our students graduate and move on to their careers, we know we have made an impact on their lives.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format.

PROGRAM SCALE: Large-scale (reaches more than 25 percent of its intended target population)

APPROXIMATE PARTICIPANTS SERVED IN 2021-22: 1417

HOW TO ENROLL: All stakeholders have access to this program. As such, there is no enrollment process

EVALUATION STATUS: Data related to program outcomes are currently being internally collected

PRELIMINARY OUTCOMES DATA: The average first-year retention rate of VETS Center students is 68.7%, roughly 12 percentage points higher than that of the overall student body. VETS Center students also have a six-year graduation rate of 57.5%, compared to an institutional average of 37%.

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Affiliated Military and Veteran Education Services

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Phillip Nichelson at phillip.nichelson@angelo.edu or 3254866618

Del Mar College Viking Pantry, in partnership with the Coastal Bend Food Bank, strives to alleviate food insecurities by providing food options to students who have limited resources and are experiencing difficulty meeting their basic needs. The pantry is available to currently enrolled Del Mar College students who have been referred, complete The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) form, and meet guidelines are eligible to receive support from the Del Mar College Food Pantry. Participants can be self-referred or referred by friends, classmates, other students, faculty, staff, administration, or community members. Eligible students will have access to the food pantry twice a month may receive up to 35 lbs. of food per visit. Students are required to present a current Del Mar College ID when utilizing food pantry services.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format.

PROGRAM SCALE: Small-scale (reaches fewer than 10 percent of its target population)

APPROXIMATE PARTICIPANTS SERVED IN 2021-22: 342

HOW TO ENROLL: Participants must apply to enroll in this program

WEBSITE TO APPLY: https://www.delmar.edu/offices/engage/food-pantry.html

EVALUATION STATUS: Data related to program outcomes are currently being internally and externally collected

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Student Engagement and Retention Office

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Travis Collingsworth at foodpantry@delmar.edu or 361-698-1277

Weatherford College’s (WC) International Student Organization (ISO) serves as a vehicle to ensure that our international students are given the extra support needed to have a successful learning experience at Weatherford College. ISO partners with International Student Inc. (a national organization), c2 (a community-based organization), and local churches to serve WC’s international students.

Our ISO:
- Helps to build camaraderie among the international students
- Helps to connect international students to other non- international students
- Provides mentoring to international students via faculty, staff, student peer mentors and community members.
- Provides engaging and meaningful events and activities for international students on campus and in the community.
- Provides international students with the opportunity to learn more about the Weatherford community first hand
- Provides international students with the opportunity to volunteer in the community.
- Provides international students with the opportunity to learn more about our community through cultural field trips
- Provides international students with the opportunity to visit four year universities in case they wish to continue their education after completing Weatherford College.
- Provides international students with the opportunity to help foster global citizenship in the community.

PROGRAM SCALE: Small-scale (reaches fewer than 10 percent of its target population)

APPROXIMATE PARTICIPANTS SERVED IN 2021-22: 52

HOW TO ENROLL: Participants must apply to enroll in this program

WEBSITE TO APPLY: Www.wc.edu

EVALUATION STATUS: Data related to program outcomes are currently being internally and externally collected

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Weatherford College

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Adam Finley at Afinley@wc.edu or 817 598 8831

The Wings Up Tuition Grant funds up to two courses (6-8 credits) of summer semester tuition for junior- and senior-level undergraduates who complete a minimum of 30 college credits combined in the academic year. The objective of the Wings Up Tuition Grant is to improve OLLU's on-time graduation rate for undergraduates and to enhance persistence to graduation.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.

PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)

PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Analysis indicates that those cohorts that use the Wings Up Tuition Grant (WUG) do indeed graduate at faster rates than their peers that do not use, or qualify for, WUG. On average, students that participate in WUG graduate 8 months faster than students who do not. Transfer students who participate in WUG graduate, on average, 3 months faster than their non-WU peers. In addition, of the WUG students that do not graduate in the summer, 99% of them persist into the subsequent fall semester.

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Office of Academic Affairs

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Teresita Munguia at tmunguia@ollusa.edu or 210-434-6711

The NTCC Work4College (W4C) Program is a program that allows students the opportunity to EARN their degree at NTCC. The PURPOSE of the NTCC Work4College Program is to help students earn their degree with two goals in mind: 1) to give every student the opportunity to attend college without acquiring debt; and 2) to provide a hands-on learning experience in a meaningful work area allowing students to earn while they learn. The MISSION of the NTCC Work4College Program is to instill each student with qualities they will rely on for the rest of their lives while also helping them to earn a debt free education. Those positive attributes include a strong work ethic, time management, fiscal responsibility, interpersonal skills, and knowledge of other things expected of them in the workplace. These are all a part of the student’s learning experience in the NTCC Work4College Program.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program is in-person only.

PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)

APPROXIMATE PARTICIPANTS SERVED IN 2021-22: 324

HOW TO ENROLL: Participants must apply to enroll in this program

WEBSITE TO APPLY: www.work4college.com

EVALUATION STATUS: Data related to program outcomes are currently being internally and externally collected

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Advancement

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Jon McCullough at jmccullough@ntcc.edu or 9034348115

The Z-Degree provides Zero Cost Books degree pathways for students in three majors: Business, Multidisciplinary Studies, and Associates in Science. Zero Cost Books courses are provided rough the use of Open Educational Resources and Open Access teaching and learning materials.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.

PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)

PROGRAM OUTCOMES: We have seen the number of Zero Cost Books courses increase over the duration of the program, both in terms of total enrollment and the number of courses. Students in ZCB courses tend to have success rates (C or better) as high or higher than comparable students in the same course.

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Instructional Services

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Jerome Drain at jerome.drain@hccs.edu or 7137185261