Challenges & Opportunities for Increasing College Success for First Generation Students

Transcription

1 Challenges & Opportunities for Increasing College Success for First Generation Students Frances Contreras, Ph.D. Department of Education Studies UC San Diego UC Irvine October 21, 2015

2 DEMOGRAPHY & POLICY CONTEXT 2

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4 The Urgency of Educating Latinos & Underrepresented students in CA ª Inequities for underrepresented students span the P-20 education pipeline ª CA cannot afford to ignore the needs of diverse students if the state is to witness sustainable communities and economies in the next 10, 20, 50 years ª The future of CA and the nation is largely intertwined with the fate of the Latino community given that over half (54% make up today s K-12 students) ª The crisis in diverse representation in public higher education is getting worse for CA w students of color shut out of UCs

5 BA Degree Attainment year olds,

6 OVERVIEW OF LATINOS STUDENTS IN CALIFORNIA Latino students constitute the largest proportion of K-12 students and are the Most underserved, poor, and segregated Students in CA 53% of the K-12 Population 84% Of English Language Learner Speak Spanish 54% Of all students in Special Education Programs are Latino

7 OVERVIEW OF LATINOS STUDENTS IN CALIFORNIA Latino youth are less likely than other children to enroll in Pre-school, are more likely to live in poverty, and more Likely than their peers to be retained in kindergarten 38% of Latino children in CA live in Poverty 44% Of Latino children age 3-5 NOT enrolled in Pre-K 56% of the kindergartners retained in 2009 were Latino

8 OVERVIEW OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS IN CALIFORNIA African American youth have low pre-school enrollment rates, high poverty rates more likely to live in poverty, high proportion are retained in kindergarten 35% 40% 5.3% Data Source: King, M. et al. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current Population Survey: Version 3.0. [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. Accessed at cps.ipums.org/cps/ index.shtml (Dec. 2013). of Black children in CA live in Poverty Of Black children age 3-5 NOT enrolled in Pre-K of the kindergartners retained in 2009 were Black

9 OVERVIEW OF LATINOS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN CALIFORNIA, 2013 Latino Students have lower graduation rates, high drop out rates, and few transition to UCs 30% Of Latinos drop out of high school 70% Is the cohort Graduation rate in % Of Latino graduates Completed college preparatory classes (A-G)

10 OVERVIEW OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN CA African American students have lower graduation rates, high drop out rates, and few transition to UCs 32% Of African Americans drop out of high school 68% The cohort Graduation rate in % Of Black HS graduates Completed college preparatory classes (A-G)

11 OVERVIEW OF LATINOS STUDENTS IN CALIFORNIA HIGHER EDUCATION Latino Students are more likely to enroll in community colleges or the CSUs, EVEN if they are eligible or highly competitive for UCs 25% Of Latinos transition to community colleges 10% Enrolled in CSUs 3.8% Enroll in the UC system immediately after High school

12 OVERVIEW OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS IN CALIFORNIA HIGHER EDUCATION African American Students are likely to enroll in community colleges or the CSUs, EVEN if they are eligible or highly competitive for UCs High achievers going elsewhere 22% Of Blacks transition to community colleges 9.8% Enrolled in CSUs 4.1% Enroll in the UC system immediately after High school

13 PRESENTATION TITLE HERE UNPACKING THE DATA

14 PRESENTATION TITLE HERE TESTING & PREPARATION

15 Inequities Begin Early

16 Students Scoring Proficient or Higher on Algebra I CST, by Race/Ethnicity: 2013 (Race/Ethnicity) (grades 7-11)

17 UNEVEN ACCESS TO CURRICULUM

18 Percent of Students Completing College Preparatory Courses (A-G), by Race/Ethnicity, 2013

19 TRANSITION TO COLLEGE

20 College Going Rate in CA (2010) High School Graduates College-Going Rate Ethnicity Public UC CSU CCC Total Asian American 42, % 13.00% 23.30% 61.60% Black 25, % 9.80% 22.10% 36.00% Filipino 12, % 16.00% 23.70% 49.40% Latino 157, % 10.00% 24.90% 38.70% Native American 2, % 4.10% 19.10% 29.20% White 136, % 10.00% 20.50% 36.40% Statewide Total 377, % 10.50% 22.90% 40.60%

21 System-wide UC Enrollment, 2013 Ethnicity Fall 2013 Total N American Indian African American Chicano/Latino Asian American White

22 Where are the Latino students most likely to enroll (Fall 2013)? Campus Chicano/ Latino % UC Riverside UC Merced UC Santa Cruz UC Santa Barbara UC Irvine UC Davis UC San Diego UCLA UC Berkeley N

23 PRESENTATION TITLE HERE FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS (FGS)

24 UC Climate is a Consideration & Concern Half of all UC students are first generation students. (UCOP, 2015)

25 Unpacking the Label First-Generation ª First Generation Students (FGS) are the first in their family to attend college (Terenzini, et. al., 1996) ª There is a high correlation between being FGS and being a URM ª There is a high correlation between FGS and being low-income ª Approximately 75% of all Latino students in the U.S. have parents with no college degree (Saenz, et al., 2007; Gandara & Contreras, 2009; Contreras, 2011) ª First Generation Students lack college knowledge and more likely than peers to under match and have a lower academic self concept (Contreras, et al., 2011)

26 What we Know about FGS ª First Generation students are more likely to work 20+ hours while in college (Perna, 2006; Saenz et al., 2007; Gandara & Contreras, 2009) ª First generation students tend to prefer to remain close to home (Contreras et. al., 2011, 2012; Saenz, et. al., 2007) ª First generation students more likely to assist their families financially ª First generation students less likely to know about college reputations (selectivity) College is college ª First generation students have parents who want them to attend college (Saenz, et. al., 2007; Contreras, 2012) ª FGS come from all different backgrounds, ethnic, gender, country of origin

27 Institutional Actions that Impact Success ª Have a the will to assist prior to focusing on how to assist ª Recognize that FGS are: ª Typically from historically Underrepresented communities ª Allocate appropriate resources ª Know the students ª Counteract microagressions & neglect ª Be intentional about learning and engagement 27

28 Steps to Improving Engagement Create Intentional Engagement Opportunities: ª Make people aware of the connection between engagement and learning ª Understand how engagement is prioritized for FGS ª Cultivate the power of networks ª Formal and informal ª Faculty and staff ª Learning communities ª Student organizations ª Mentoring programs & systems in place 28

29 MOVING THE CONVERSATION FORWARD

30 OPPORTUNITIES FOR TARGETED INVESTMENT Climate considerations are real for underrepresented students ACTIVELY work to improve campus climates through faculty diversity, enrolling critical mass of underrepresented students Kanyewestern Party at UCLA 2015 Compton Cookout, UCSD, 2010 Assess and act upon the academic outcomes of FGS on your campus Raise campus endowment levels to be able to give resources for student scholarships for FGS

31 OPPORTUNITIES FOR TARGETED INVESTMENT Financial Aid and Work Study Opportunities. First generation students working on campus are more likely to have greater levels of engagement and access to strong peer networks. Access to Professional Mentors while in College. Internships, research opportunities, exposure to multiple professions and individuals that have made it from similar socioeconomic and racial backgrounds motivates and inspires first generation students. Programs like POSSE, Puente, Meyerhoff, with strong mentorship components have proven to be successful among URMs (Gandara & Contreras, 2009). Merit increases for faculty--working directly with underrepresented FGS students should be among criteria for evaluation

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33 Framing the Conversation & Developing Solutions 1. What is the climate on our campus for first-generation students? ª How are FGS identified? ª How are FGS defined? 2. Compared to non-first generation, are first-generation students on our campus successful? ª Are FGS learning, being retained, and graduating in a reasonable time frame? ª Who is responsible for addressing the needs of FGS? ª Facutly ª Staff ª Programs ª McNair Program ª TRIO Programs (SSS and Upward Bound) Barbra Browning ª What is the motivation to assist FGS? 3. What are we doing to assist first-generation students? ª What might be getting in the way of assisting these students? ª What are the risks/costs of doing nothing? 33

34 PRESENTATION TITLE HERE QUESTIONS? FRANCES CONTRERAS, PH.D. UC SAN DIEGO