In the Fall of 2016, Mesa College was awarded a 5-year, $5 million Title III, HSI STEM Grant. The initative, entitled "STEM Conexiones" (STEM Connections), supports a number of instructional and student support practices aimed at strengthening the college's capacity to support Hispanic and low-income students. Specifically, the grant aims to increase student connections in STEM through enhanced counseling services, workshops, peer mentoring and outreach, faculty connections through professional learning and STEM curriculum redesign, and pathway connections working directly with high schools and adult learners to prepare them for majoring in STEM. Through this grant, the college will establish a STEM Cetner and a STEM Research Incubator for students to bring undergraduate research projects.
In the Fall of 2014, Mesa College was awarded a "Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions - Title V" five-year grant in the amount of $2.62 million. The purpose of the grant is to improve the retention and graduation rates of Mesa's diverse population, particularly its Latinx students, through systemic, institutional changes and improvements. Mesa's HSI / Title V program is entitled "Proyecto Exito", a name that combines the idea of successfully exiting with a degree, certificate, or transfer-readiness with the Spanish word for "success". Mesa will use grants funds to help a higher proportion of its low-income and Latinx students experience academic success, allowing them to "exit" Mesa with their goals met.