"Alliance for Success" Guarantees Alliant Admission & Financial Aid Assistance to Sweetwater High School District and Southwestern College Students

Chula Vista, CA - Monday, June 19, 2006 -- Southwestern College (SWC) is partnering with Sweetwater Union High School District and Alliant International University in San Diego to place middle school students on the path to academic success by helping them transition into high school and, subsequently, college.

“We’re giving students an additional avenue to achieve their academic goals,” said Norma L. Hernandez, Superintendent/President for Southwestern College. “This partnership will work with students starting in the seventh grade and follow them through high school, community college, and their graduation from Alliant,” added Hernandez, who will be joined by Sweetwater Union High School District’s Interim Superintendent Bruce Husson and Alliant International University President Geoff Cox for the signing of a memorandum of understanding.

Southwestern College Superintendent/President Norma L. Hernandez, Alliant International University President Dr. Geoffrey Cox and Sweetwater Union High School District Interim Superintendent Bruce Husson manage a three-way handshake during the June 19, 2006 signing of the “Alliance for Success” agreement
Through the program, 150 English language learners from three area middle schools—Castle Park Middle School, Chula Vista Middle School, and Granger Junior High School—will receive specialized assistance to help them develop their math skills and prepare them to pass the math portion of the California High School Exit Exam.

The Higher Achievement Wisdom and Knowledge (HAWK) project, established by the Sweetwater District and Alliant, will track the students’ success in math courses and follow them through graduation and possibly their first year of college.

The agreement also calls for Alliant International University to establish an undergraduate baccalaureate degree program, which will take place at Southwestern, and directly compliment existing general education, core requirements and elective curricula. The degree program will include the areas of Business Administration, Communication, and Psychology.

"This partnership provides expanded educational opportunities for the students, families, and communities of the South Bay region. It is a pathway for educational success, career, and lifelong fulfillment for the students who participate in this unique and exciting partnership, said Dr. Eric Gravenberg, Vice President for Undergraduate Education for Alliant International University.

The HAWK project was developed as part of Sweetwater District’s GEAR-Up (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), a $19 million grant the district will receive from the federal government over six years. The goal of this innovative program is to increase the number of students that are prepared to attend and succeed in college.

“Alliant International University is giving our students and parents the support they need to see that university study is in their child’s future,” said Sweetwater District Interim Superintendent, Bruce Husson. “They’re going the extra mile by bringing university resources to our backyard.”

Established in 1961, Southwestern College is one of 109 public community colleges in the state of California and is the only public institution of higher education located in the southern portion of San Diego County. Southwestern College employs over 1,200 faculty and staff and serves more than 18,000 students.

Alliant International University serves more than 3,500 students and focuses on preparing them for professional careers in the applied social sciences. Formed in July 2001 by the combination of the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) and United States International University (USIU), Alliant is an independent, not-for-profit institution of higher education with a history distinguished by innovation. Alliant International University applies scholarship to solve social problems and has always had an abiding concern for diversity and internationalism.

The Sweetwater Union High School District is California’s largest secondary district, serving 41,000 students in grades 7-12 and 29,981 adult learners in the south San Diego county communities of Bonita, Chula Vista, Eastlake, Imperial Beach, National City, Otay Mesa, South San Diego and San Ysidro.

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For More Information

Nevada Smith, Southwestern College (619) 482-6564
José A. Álvarez (619) 482-6304