Portland Community College's Rock Creek campus, which borders North Bethany and serves roughly 20,000 students a year, is part of a college that just crossed a major enrollment milestone.

PCC surpassed the 25% Hispanic undergraduate enrollment threshold this fall, positioning the college to transition from an Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution to a full Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), according to a college announcement. Latine students now make up 32.1% of new credit enrollees. The designation applies college-wide, not to individual campuses.

For Bethany-area families, the shift means PCC can now compete for federal grants aimed at strengthening bilingual support, culturally responsive teaching and student-success programs at Rock Creek and the college's other locations.

HSI status does not guarantee money. Excelencia in Education, a national research organization, reports that only about one-third of qualifying institutions have received grants under the federal Title V program over the past 30 years. PCC has not announced a specific grant application or award.

PCC's Latine enrollment grew more than 33% between 2021 and 2025. The college pointed to its College Access Latinx Initiative, known as CALI, as a model for what HSI-level support can look like. Launched in 2022, the cohort-based program pairs bilingual family engagement, advising and peer mentoring for Latine, first-generation, DACA and mixed-status students. It has served 122 students, including 30 during the 2024–25 academic year.

CALI participants completed 78% of attempted credits over three years, compared with 69% among Latine students outside the program. First-year retention hit 100% for the first two cohorts, versus 52.6% for Latine nonparticipants.

The program reports an average graduation rate of 92%.

"CALI shows what is possible when we intentionally design support around students' experiences," said Liz Mota, PCC's DREAMers and Latine Student Success coordinator. "We have seen students go from being the first in their families to navigate college to becoming paid peer mentors."

Two 2026 CALI graduates, Paola Inciarte and Brandon Lemus Ávila, transferred to Portland State University and Lewis and Clark College, respectively. Former participants now return as paid mentors to help current students navigate financial aid and registration.

PCC said CALI was named a finalist in Excelencia in Education's 2026 Examples of Excelencia, a national recognition for programs serving Latino students.

The college also secured $267,000 from the City of Portland to fund campus immigration legal services through a partnership with SOAR Immigration Legal Services. That funding includes $150,000 from the Portland City Council and $117,000 from the Office of Civic Engagement.

According to PCC's announcement, the college's HSI Task Force is using the Seal of Excelencia framework to connect student data, practices and leadership accountability across the institution. Efraín Rivas-Flores, dean of College Access Programs, said the goal is building a culture of support across the entire college. PCC has not announced a public meeting or grant deadline tied to the HSI transition.