AUSTIN, Texas—The Migrant Student Graduation Enhancement Program at The University of Texas at Austin has received the 2005 Minority Affairs program award from the national Association for Continuing Higher Education (ACHE). Peggy Wimberley, program coordinator for the Migrant Student Graduation Enhancement Program, accepted the award on Nov. 1 in Madison, Wis., at the 67th annual ACHE conference.
The annual award recognizes ACHE members for lifelong learning programs that demonstrate outstanding service to underserved populations. To be eligible for the award, the winning program must be innovative, have a proven success record, demonstrate excellence, be adaptive to other settings or institutions and document service to populations typically underserved by continuing higher education.
Seven other programs competed in the Minority Affairs category.
“We were all in agreement that the UT Migrant Student Graduation Enhancement Program was well deserving of the award,” said Reggie Oxendine, chairperson of the ACHE Minority Affairs committee. “We were pleased to learn that this program is the only distance learning program offered by a university that is solely dedicated to the unique needs of high school migrant students.”
The Migrant Student Graduation Enhancement Program offers tools, courses and support services to help support migrant students earn high school credit, whether the students are in their home Texas schools or traveling to remote areas of the country.
“This program represents the best of the university’s capacity for outreach and service,” said Wimberley. “We help migrant students achieve their educational goals by fostering innovation, facilitating educational continuity and nurturing the students’ determination.”
Texas has the second-largest migrant education program and the largest interstate migrant student population in the nation. The Migrant Student Graduation Enhancement Program, operated by the Distance Education Center in the Division of Continuing Education, originated in 1987 and has since enrolled nearly 17,000 students. The program is funded by a special project grant from the Texas Education Agency. In addition, the Microsoft Corporation, the Exxon Mobil Foundation and the Beaumont Foundation of America support the program through gifts.
For more information contact: Peggy Wimberley, Migrant Student Graduation Enhancement Program, 512-471-6037; Ramona Kelly, Division of Continuing Education, 512-471-2772.
