| Race-Conscious Student Engagement Practices and the Equitable Distribution of Enriching Educational Experiences, by Shaun R. Harper, Liberal Education, Fall 2009
This article discusses the use of race-conscious engagement practices as a means for colleges and universities to engage diverse student populations in educationally powerful practices. The article highlights current racial gaps in student engagement, defines a race-conscious vision of student engagement, and describes the benefits it accrues for faculty members and institutions as well as for students of color. Importantly, a race-conscious approach to student engagement acknowledges “the environmental factors that either stifle or enable engagement among racially diverse groups of students” and places the responsibility on faculty, staff, and administrators to “explore the institution’s shortcomings” and “alter their practices to distribute the benefits of engagement more equitably."
This report, by the Pew Hispanic Center, was based on findings from the 2009 National Survey of Latinos. The survey asked Latinos ages 16 and older about their educational goals, experiences with high schools and colleges, and their opinions about educational institutions. According to the report, nearly 90 percent of Latino young adults say that a college education is important for success in life, yet only about half that number—48%—say that they themselves plan to get a college degree. The report goes on to detail two additional gaps in the educational aspirations. Forty-eight percent of Hispanic young adults ages 18 to 25 expect to get a college degree or more, compared to 60 percent of the general U.S. population. Furthermore, only twenty-nine percent of immigrant Latinos ages 18 to 25 say they plan to get a bachelor’s degree or more, compared to sixty percent of native-born Latinos in this age group. The report indicates that the biggest reason for the gap between the high value Latinos place on education and their more modest aspirations to finish college appears to come from financial pressure to support a family, and this is especially true for immigrant young adults. The report also includes details about the survey methods and sample.
Minorities in Higher Education: 2009 Supplement
Produced by the American Council on Education’s Center for Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Equity
The 2009 supplement to ACE’s Minorities in Higher Education 2008 provides updated findings on educational progress across racial/ethnic groups in the areas of postsecondary educational attainment, high school completion, college enrollment, and undergraduate and graduate degrees conferred. Most of the findings are also disaggregated by gender. The 2009 findings indicate that enrollment and attainment gaps across racial/ethnic groups remain substantial, and that degree attainment (of at least an associate’s degree) was lower among adults aged 25-29 compared to adults aged 30 and older for African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians. Furthermore, women aged 25-29 surpassed women aged 30 and older in degree attainment for all racial/ethnic groups except for American Indians, while men aged 25-29 fell behind men aged 30 and older in degree attainment for all racial/ethnic groups except for Asian Americans. The Minorities in Higher Education series consists of status reports produced biennially in even-numbered years and supplemental reports produced in intervening years. The series utilizes data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education.
National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME)
NACME is a national organization that seeks to improve the representation and success of underrepresented minority students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and careers. The council accomplishes this mission by developing partnerships with schools, businesses, and educational institutions; conducting research; and providing national trend analysis. NACME is seen as the largest provider of scholarships for underrepresented minority students in Engineering. The NACME Web site showcases its efforts to support students throughout the educational pipeline, from middle school mentor programs to graduate scholarship programs. NACME has released publications such as Confronting the "New" American Dilemma—Minorities in Engineering: A Data-Based look at Diversity and sponsors an annual symposium.
The Condition of Latinos in Education: 2008 Factbook
(registration required to access full report)
Produced by Excelencia in Education, this factbook is a collection of statistical data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education data, and Excelencia’s own research. Comprehensive snapshots are given of Latino and Latina experiences, issues, and conditions in the educational pipeline, from early childhood and secondary education to higher education and the workforce. Factsheets include: top 25 community colleges enrolling Latinos; top 25 institutions awarding Master’s and Doctorate degrees; and top degree awarding institutions in engineering, biology, mathematics, and business. The factbook gives an overview of issues affecting Latinos/as, including the role of parents, the experiences of males and females in college, paying for education, immigration, and participation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM disciplines). These statistics can help support researchers, policy makers, and practitioners make grounded and well-informed initiatives for the Latino/a educational success.
University of Southern Florida Latino Scholarship Program
The USF Latino Scholarship Program focuses on supporting Latina/Latino college students through need-based scholarships as well as mentorship and community connections. Considering the educational challenges many Latino students face, and the low number of Latinos represented in higher education, this integrative approach promises success because it empowers students to navigate social systems, learn about career experiences, and foster a sense of community. The mentor program works collaboratively with parents through events where families can meet mentors in communal settings. The program’s mission also includes outreach to businesses and local organizations to provide moral and career support to scholarship recipients. The USF Latino Scholarship Program serves as an example of traditional support programs that are reappropriated to suit the needs of particular communities.
Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE)
BRITE is an educational initiative and degree program focused on developing new researchers and scientists for biotech industry. Located next to North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park (RTP) and housed in North Carolina Central University, a historically Black university, BRITE is a research facility and curricular program that provides an ideal opportunity to increase the representation of people-of-color in the sciences. BRITE features an undergraduate and graduate program where curriculum, career counseling, and research initiatives are designed in conjunction with local biotech companies in the RTP area. Having an HBCU at such close proximity to local expertise sustains North Carolina’s biotech industry and ensures students will be adequately prepared for today’s industry.
Lost in Translation: Building a Better Path from School to Colleges and Careers (2008) pdf.
The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) report is a collection of conclusions and courses of action from policymakers in 15 states on successful transitions between secondary and postsecondary institutions for overlooked student populations. These populations are defined by the authors as students who attend community colleges, technical schools, or go straight to work. The report calls for stakeholders to consider areas such as; partnerships with secondary, postsecondary, and business leaders; curricular and out-of-classroom learning experiences; high-level learning; skills that are applicable at various settings and remedial education as functions to change and develop in order to facilitate transition. The report’s strength lies in its comprehensive methodology, advocacy for inclusive excellence without complacency, and practical examples.
Modeling Hispanic Serving Institutions: Campus practices that work for Latino students (2008) pdf
This is the third in Excelencia’s series on Hispanic-Serving Institutions, an evolving group of institutions of higher education in America today. The first brief, Inventing Hispanic-Serving Institutions: The Basics, covered the creation of this category of institutions historically, as well as in federal statute and in educational practice. The second brief, Choosing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs): A Closer Look at Latino Students’ College Choices, highlighted the significant role Latino students play in converting existing colleges and universities into HSIs simply as a function of their college choices. This third brief, Modeling Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs): Campus Practices that Work for Latino Students, profiles 12 academic institutions in California, New York, and Texas that are working to increase Latino student success.
Demography is not Destiny: Increasing the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College Students and Large Public Universities (2007) pdf file
This report, funded with a grant from the Lumina Foundation for Education, documents research conducted by the Pell Institute at 14 public universities that serve relatively high numbers of federal Pell Grant recipients. “Demography is not Destiny” describes differences in institutional policies and practices, considers if practices aimed at improving overall graduation rates also work for low-income students, and offers recommendations for institutions and policymakers. In combination with our previous report, Raising the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College Students., we hope to better inform policymakers and practitioners who seek to improve the chances for success for low-income students in higher education.
Characteristics of Minority-Serving Institutions and Minority Undergraduates Enrolled in These Institutions (2007) pdf file
Minority-serving institutions (MSIs) are colleges and universities serving a large percentage of minority students. This study identifies six different subgroups of MSIs and analyzes them from the perspective of the institution and the student. First, using the 2004 Fall Enrollment Survey, a census survey component of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the study compares all subgroups of MSIs to one another and to non-MSIs. Second, from the perspective of the students, data from the 2003-04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04) is used to examine how minority students differ, in demographic and enrollment characteristics, by the type of institution.
VOCES (Voices): A Profile of Today's Latino College Students (2007) pdf file
This report presents the challenges and complexities of college opportunity from the perspective of Latino students. The report was produced by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Excelencia in Education, and includes an updated analysis of Latino college-going trends, as well as a set of first-person accounts from Latino students on how cost and affordability issues have shaped their college decisions.
Straight from the Source: What Works for First-Generation College Students (2006) pdf file
This report, funded with a grant from the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG), presents the findings from focus groups with first-generation students in Texas. The students shared what works to help them make the transition from high school to college, as well as what didn’t work or what could work better to get more first-generation students into college.
College Summit
College Summit works with students, high schools, colleges, and community and employers in order to increase college enrollment and retention. The project offers a 4-day workshop for students, cost-effective college guidance solutions for high schools, access for colleges to a pool of diverse, low-income students who would otherwise slip below their radar screens, and communities and employers get help in building a more diverse workforce and breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty by sending more of their youth to college.
Center for Latino Educational Excellence
The Center for Latino Educational Excellence (CLEE) was established as a major initiative of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) in the spring of 2002 to help improve educational attainment and achievement in Latino communities across the United States. TRPI is headquartered at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Through its policy research, CLEE seeks to provide guidance for Latino leadership - across public, non-profit, and private sectors - on how to better the current systems of education that are, on many levels, failing Latino youth and adults.
Intellectual Entrepreneurship (IE): A Cross-Disciplinary Cnsortium
A cross-disciplinary Consortium of the Colleges of Communication, Liberal Arts, Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, Engineering, Education, Pharmacy, and the Schools of Information and Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin, IE's mission is to develop "citizen-scholars." The philosophy of Intellectual Entrepreneurship (IE) shows promise as an approach to increasing the number of persons of color who attend graduate school. The IE site offers resources for both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as publications and other materials related to "educating citizen-scholars."
GradPortal.org
Gradportal.org helps students at Minority Serving Institutions and their faculty mentors find resources to choose, prepare for, apply to, and pay for graduate school programs. The initiative was developed with the specific goal of increasing the number of students from underrepresented groups who complete Ph.D. programs. GradPortal.org provides students with information on funding opportunities and options, and a search function to easily locate graduate programs in close to 375 fields of study.
Retention
101
Retention 101 is a program sponsored by the Educational
Policy Institute to instruct and provide hands-on resources
for campus personnel devoted to improving student retention
and persistence. Using an evidence-based retention framework
developed by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, EPI President,
Retention 101 aims at teaching administrators, practitioners,
and educators how to plan, implement, and monitor a
campus-wide plan that will curb dropouts.
The
Persisting Racial Gap in College Student Graduation
Rates from The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
African-American college student graduation rates show
some improvement. This is particularly true at the nation's
highest-ranked colleges and universities. But in the
nation as a whole, as well as at the vast majority of
top-rated schools, there remains a stubborn, and very
large, graduation rate gap between blacks and whites.
Raising
the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College Students (PDF)
This report, which was published by the Pell Institute
and Lumina Foundation for Education, presents the findings
of research on retention at institutions that serve
large numbers of Pell Grant recipients. The project
sought to identify differences in institutional characteristics
or practices that might help to explain differences
in student outcomes.
A
Matter of Degrees: Improving Graduation Rates in Four-Year
Colleges and Universities (PDF)
By Kevin Carey, The Education Trust
A new analysis from The Education Trust reveals deep
problems in the graduation rates at 4-year colleges
and universities, but finds that some institutions do
a much better job graduating some students than others.
The
Road Ahead: Improving Diversity in Graduate Education
(PDF)
This publication offers an overview of the state of
diversity in graduate education and considers the racial
and ethnic makeup of the nation’s faculty. In
doing so, it offers recommendations for how to improve
graduate education of students of color. The monograph
is designed to help faculty, administrators and policy
makers by offering strategies that might be utilized
to enable more graduate students of color to assume
positions in the professoriate.
The
National GEM Consortium
For 29 years, GEM companies and universities have worked
together providing graduate education in engineering
and science to over 2,400 underrepresented minority
students. GEM is a unique network of universities, companies,
government agencies, alumni and faculty. The GEM Fellowship
programs are designed to offer opportunities for underrepresented
minority students to obtain MS degrees in engineering
and Ph.D. degrees in engineering and the natural and
physical sciences, through a program of paid summer
internships and graduate financial assistance.
The
Leadership Alliance National Symposium (LANS)
The
Leadership Alliance is a consortium of 29 of this
nation's leading research and teaching acadmic institutions,
including minority-serving institutions, all dedicated
to improving the participation of underrepresented students
in graduate studies and Ph.D. programs and, ultimately,
in research professions in the acamic, public, and private
sectors. The Leadership Alliance National Symposium
(LANS) is the annual focal point for the summer research
activities that brings together a community of young
Alliance scholars, faculty, administrators, selected
private sector representatives, federal officials and
private individuals.
The
Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification
Program (SR-EIP)
The Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification
Program (SR-EIP), principally for underserved and underrepresented
students, offers undergraduates the opportunity to work
for eight to ten weeks under the guidance of a faculty
or research mentor at a participating Alliance institution.
Through this one-on-one collaboration, students gain
theoretical knowledge and practical training in academic
research and scientific experimentation.
The Consortium on High Achievement and Success (CHAS) is composed of 34 private, select liberal arts colleges and small universities dedicated to promoting high achievement, leadership and personal satisfaction of students on member campuses, with a focus on promoting success among students of color. CHAS develops programs to support the whole student academically, socially and culturally. CHAS is funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and is hosted by Trinity College in Hartford, CT.
The Posse Foundation identifies, recruits, and trains incredible youth leaders from urban public high schools and sends these groups as "Posses" to top colleges and universities in this country.
The Black Collegian Online provides cutting-edge
information on career resources for black collegians.
The site includes Job search strategies, graduate school
opportunities, and career and industry reports are abundantly
explored. This site is the cyberspace partner of The
Black Collegian Magazine, serving the career and
self-development interests of African-American collegians
throughout America since 1970.
Collaborative Research Experience
for Women in Undergraduate Computer
Science and Engineering (CREW) is designed
to provide collaborative research experiences
for groups of two or three undergraduate
women during the academic year. It is
hoped that by increasing the opportunity
to do research and by decreasing the
isolation that may be experienced in
doing independent research, women scientists
and engineers will be encouraged to
pursue similar work in graduate school.
The Commission on the Advancement
of Women and Minorities in Science,
Engineering, and Technology Development
was established by Congress in 1998
to research and recommend ways to improve
the recruitment, retention, and representation
of women, underrepresented minorities
(namely, African Americans, Hispanic
Americans, and American Indians), and
persons with disabilities in science,
engineering, and technology (SET) education
and employment.
This site provides links to numerous
publications documenting how noncognitive
measures predict the success of nontraditional
students better than traditional measures,
such as standardized tests and previous
grades. Also on this site is the
Noncognitive
questionnaire (NCQ), developed by
Dr. Sedlacek, to assess attributes that
are more predictive of success of nontraditional
students.
In his Chronicle of Higher Education
article, Reisberg discusses campus efforts
to recruit and retain students of color,
revealing that successful techniques
and strategies (particularly given the
current political and legal climate
and for campuses in predominately white
communities) involve more than enrollment
numbers.
Abandoning numerical goals, the University
of Wisconsin concentrates on alternative
approaches to recruiting students of
color, such as requesting State funds
for more pre-college programs and raising
funds for minority-student scholarships
through private, non-profit foundations.
This new grant program by the W.K.
Kellogg Foundation will provide
funds over a six year period to enhance
the educational opportunities for Latino
students through support of partnerships
among communities, K-12, and higher
education institutions.
The GEAR UP initiative is a competitive
grant program administered by the U.S.
Department of Education that supports
early college preparation and awareness
activities by awarding multi-year grants
to locally-designed partnerships between
colleges and low-income middle schools,
plus two other partners -- such as community
organizations, businesses, or non-profits.
Prepared as part of the ACPA
Senior Scholars Trends Analysis Project,
this essay addresses the need to improve
access to higher education for all students
who seek advanced degrees and the need
to create effective learning environments
for students from diverse backgrounds.
In his essay, Adelman, a senior research
analyst at the U.S. Department of Education,
challenges the use of GPA and class
rank in college admissions. Using national
data, Adelman explains why curriculum
is the most accurate indicator of degree
completion and describes how we can
"take advantage of the power of
curriculum" to maintain a racially
diverse student body in selective public
universities and increase degree completion
rates for students of color everywhere,
within the legal restrictions of recent
anti-affirmative action legislation.
Taught by Professor Pat McDonough,
this experimental course for full-time
working professionals in UCLA's Leadership
Ed.D. program looks at college access
through a K-12 perspective. Specifically,
this course examines how educational
advantage and disadvantage accumulate
throughout the educational process and
affect college access; it looks at the
links between K-12 and postsecondary
stratification within different school
contexts; and highlights the influences
families, students, schools, colleges
and the entrepreneurial admissions process
have on college access.
The CREDE mission is to assist the
nation's diverse students at risk of
educational failure to achieve academic
excellence. Central to its mission,
CREDE's research and development focuses
on critical issues in the education
of linguistic and cultural minority
students and those placed at risk by
factors of race, poverty, and geographic
location.
The Chicago Scholars Program helps
low-income and minority students access
the nurturing environment provided by
member colleges and universities of
The Associated Colleges of Illinois.
Working with the Chicago Public Schools,
ACI identifies eighth-grade students
who show potential for future success
given an effective support system, and
then provides a support system.
Over the past 30 years, the University
of Wisconsin-Whitewater has achieved
national recognition for services to
students with disabilities. The
program has been identified by the National
Association of Student Personnel Administrators
(NASPA) as a 1999 Exemplary Program
to promote student achievement.
The Bridge Project of the Stanford
Institute on Higher Education Research
is a research project with the purpose
of improving opportunities for all students
to enter and succeed in higher education
by strengthening the alignment between
higher education admissions-related
requirements and K-12 curriculum frameworks,
standards, and assessments.
Rationale -- Holmes points out that
often minority students and entering
first-year college students have not
established behavioral patterns that
would motivate them to seek the assistance
of student support services. In this
brief overview she offers "Guiding
Principles of Intrusive Advising."
This excerpt reprinted with permission
from On Campus with Women offers
hints on effective mentoring, such as:
engaging several people as mentors;
if you are a senior female faculty member
or administrator, be available to counsel
junior colleagues. The brief list advises
that Senior women should also participate
on boards of other colleges and nonprofit
organizations to extend the reach of
the network.
From On Campus with Women this brief list of
points advises that you "start with the job description.
Make sure it's reasonable, knowing these individuals
will have lots of informal responsibilities beyond their
job description." From there the piece offers additional
advice on mentoring and providing support in order to
create a comfortable climate for women of color.
Williams discusses effective mentoring
strategies and relationships, as well
as the difficult and sometimes painful
experiences of Blacks at predominantly
White institutions. Williams proposes
five critical criteria for an effective
mentor: (1) located higher in the organizational
structure; (2) older or at least more
knowledgeable and experienced; (3) effective
and respected in university life and
her/his profession; (4) genuine interest
in and respect for the protØgØ; and
(5) willingness to commit time and emotion
to the relationship.
Drawing from his experience directing
a highly successful and nationally recognized
program for retaining students of color
attending Boston College, Brown offers
the following characteristics as essential
parts of a successful retention effort:
high expectations; dedicated and highly
talented staff; attention to the academic,
psychological and social needs of students;
and faculty mentoring. He also cites
research findings on the characteristics
of successful retention programs: a
stated policy; high levels of institutional
commitment; substantial degree of institutionalization;
comprehensiveness of services; dedicated
staff; systematic collection of data;
monitoring and follow-up; strong faculty
support; and non-stigmatization of students.
This report offers insights and a deliberate response
to the underrepresentation of minority students in both
undergraduate and graduate programs. It is a useful
reading for students, as well as a source of ideas to
improve the retention and graduation rates of student
of color. For more information, visit the foundation
web site (http://www.mellon.org).
The National Council of Educational
Opportunity Associations (NCEOA) represents
institutions of higher education, administrators,
counselors and teachers who are committed
to advancing equal educational opportunity
and to promoting diversity in America's
colleges and universities. NCEOA's principal
concern is sustaining and improving
educational opportunity program services.
The majority of educational opportunity
programs are the federally funded TRIO
programs, which currently operate in
over 1,200 postsecondary institutions
and more than 100 community agencies.
College
and Career Programs for Deaf Students,
Ninth Edition, Published by Gallaudet
University and the National Technical
Institute for the Deaf
Site includes information on choosing
the right program, and overview of national
programs broken down by region, and
a section on career areas of deaf and
hard of hearing students. |
