PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Student Loan Authority has received a $75,000 grant to provide information to Latino students to make it easier for them to attend college.

The grant, awarded by the Rhode Island Foundation, will be used to support the work of the Latino College Access Coalition, a collection of community agencies whose goal is to educate, inform and assist Latinos of all ages to succeed in college. The coalition will work with partner agencies around the state to help Latino families understand issues such as financial aid, college planning and selection, financial literacy, SAT preparation and scholarship searches.

At a news conference Monday in Elmwood, Cynthia Garcia Coll, a professor of education at Brown University, said that the Latino population in Rhode Island has grown from 19,000 people to more than 118,000 since 1980. The median age of the Latino community is 23 years old, and 60 percent of the population is younger than 30, which underscores the need to increase college access for Latino youths.

With the grant money, the coalition will be able to train volunteers from City Year and local colleges to staff workshops on college preparation for Latino youths. The coalition plans to embark on a media blitz that will publicize public workshops and town halls where families can find out information about applying to college and, in particular, about applying for financial aid.

A number of Latino organizations and churches have already agreed to join the coalition, including CHISPA, The Rhode Island College School of Social Work, Dorcas Place, The Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown, and Quisqueya in Action.

Since the Latino community has one of the lowest graduation rates in Rhode Island (62 percent versus 74 percent for white youths), Latino leaders said there is a real need to provide accurate information about the college application process.

Delia Rodriguez, program manager for the coalition, said her organization hopes to enroll 250 students in college workshops this year. The College Planning Center, a free program provided by the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority, will train volunteers to provide information on financial aid. College counseling will be provided in English and Spanish.

lborg@projo.com