The Role of Community Colleges in Closing the Gaps in Access and Success

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The Role of Community Colleges in Closing the
Gaps in Access and Success

• El Centro College
• Karen Laljiani
• Rick Leyva

Presented at the 28th Annual Conference of the
Texas Association for Institutional Research,
February 2006, Austin TX.
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Objectives

• High Risk Students
• Where are the Men?
• Students of Color
• El Centro Programs
• Student Engagement at El Centro College
• Future programs H.S.I. Grants

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High Risks Students

• Students attending community colleges are three
  to four times more likely than their counterparts
  in four-year colleges and universities to reflect
  four or more of the key risk factors. The risk
  factors are
• being academically underprepared,
• not entering college directly after high school,
• attending college part-time,
• being a single parent,
• being financially independent,
• caring for children at home,
• working more than 30 hours per week, and
• being a first-generation college student.

CCSSE Survey 2005 Results
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A Large Percent of El Centro Students Require
Remedial Coursework
Self Reported on CCSSE, 2005
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Many El Centro Students Juggle School and Children
Self reported on CCSSE, 2005
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First-Generation Studentsat El Centro College
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El Centro College Students Contend with Competing
Priorities
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Source El Centro Student Data System
Source El Centro CCSSE Results
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Closing the Gaps

• Where are the gaps in college access and success?
• What are the strengths of the community colleges
  in narrowing these gaps?

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The Gender Gap Where are the men?Women
outnumber men on college campuses

• Between 1970 and 2001, women went from being the
  minority to the majority of the U.S.
  undergraduate population, increasing their
  representation from 42 percent to 56 percent of
  undergraduates (Freeman 2004).
• Between 1980 and 2001, women also received a
  majority of associates degrees (55-60) and
  bachelors degrees (50-57) (Peter and Horn,
  2005).

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The Gender Gap Where are the men?Women
outnumber men on college campuses

• The percentage of young men going from high
  school to college today has scarcely changed
  since 1968, hovering around 61 percent. By
  contrast, the percentage of women enrolling in
  college increases every year, reaching 72 percent
  in 2004.
• This male-female disparity exists across all
  racial groups. Among white 18- and 19-year-olds
  in 2002, women outnumbered men on campus by about
  2 percentage points. Among blacks, the figure was
  6 percentage points and 5 percentage points for
  Hispanics. In all cases, the gap widens as the
  student population ages.

Michael H. Hodges / The Detroit News
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Education of Minority Groups

• Steve Murdock, State Demographer, says Hispanics
  are fastest growing population in Texas, but are
  not entering college at the same high rate.
• If the education of minority groups does not
  improve, per capita income would drop from
  23,404 in 2000 to 22,222 in 2020 a decline of
  1,182 or 5 percent when adjusted for inflation,
  the study predicts.

Alison BertGannett News Service
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Education of Minority Groups

• Over the past decade, the gaps have narrowed
  between whites and other ethnic groups in the
  proportions of students earning certificates and
  degrees relative to the numbers enrolled.
  Nonetheless, substantial gaps remain.
• Measuring Up 2004 The State Report Card on
  Higher Education (Texas)

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The Ethnic Gap Success Rates of Students of Color
Graduates, Spring 2005
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El Centro Demographics
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El Centro Male Distribution
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El Centro College Programs for High Risk
Students

• Brother to Brother Mentoring Program
• Rising Star
• TRIO
• SURGE
• Other Student Services (CCSSE)
• Future Hispanic Serving Institutions Grants

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2005SP to 2005FA Retention Rates
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ECC Programs Graduation Rates Based On 2001FA
Cohort
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Brother to Brother African American Mentoring
Program

• Encourage academic excellence and success among
  the African American Male Students (ages range
  from 18-50 yrs old)
• Mentors work on a volunteer basis with students
  in the program
• Create lasting relationships and support networks
  among African American Men by bringing students,
  staff, faculty, and administrators together in
  variety of programs and activities

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Brother to BrotherQualifications

• Must be enrolled at El Centro College
• Invitations were sent via email to all African
  American male students
• Currently, the program is expanding to include
  Hispanic males

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Brother to BrotherBenefits

• 1 on 1 Advising with Mentor (encouraged to meet
  with mentor as often as possible)
• Financial Aid assistance- applying and answering
  questions
• Scheduling of Classes assistance
• Build network with other students in program (two
  meetings per semester)
• Assistance finding employment

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El Centro African American Male Population vs
Brother to Brother Completion
Percentages
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El Centro African American Male Population vs
Brother to Brother Success (ABC Grades)
Percentages
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ECC vs Brother to Brother Retention Rates
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Rising Star Program

• This Foundation guarantees high performing high
  school students the opportunity to earn a
  two-year college education from any one of the
  seven Dallas County Community Colleges with
  tuition covered.

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Rising Star Qualifications

• Graduating from any Dallas County public high
  school or Dallas CAN! Academy
• Meet eligibility guidelines for financial
  assistance
• Graduate in the top 40 of class or have at least
  a "B" average or pass the required skills
  assessment exam (TSI) before enrolling in college
  classes

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Rising Star Benefits

• Academic support services
• Assigned advisors
• One on one tutoring
• Promote student engagement through community
  projects, field trips, new student mentoring, and
  other special programming
• Up to 4,000 for tuition and books (covers two
  years of college)
• Funded by private corporations
• Special introduction to college course for Rising
  Star cohorts

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El Centro Population vs Rising StarCompletion
Percentages
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El Centro Population vs Rising StarSuccess (ABC
Grades)
Percentages
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ECC Rising Star Students Taking Developmental
Courses
Percentages
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ECC vs Rising Star Retention Rates
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El Centro and Rising Star 2005FA Ethnic
Distributions
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El Centro and Rising Star 2005FA Gender
Distributions
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TRIO- Educational Opportunity for Low-Income and
Disabled Americans

• The program assists students to overcome class,
  social and cultural barriers to higher education.
  Individual attention is provided to the TRIO
  student in a personalized, supportive
  relationship with their TRIO Advisor who assists
  the student in setting and achieving educational
  goals.
• TRIO services enhance successful retention,
  graduation and transfer outcomes

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TRIO Qualifications

• El Centro student enrolled in at least 6 credit
  hours each semester
• Must meet two of these qualifications
• Either low-income, disabled, or first generation
  college students (neither parent has received a
  bachelors degree)

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TRIO Benefits

• One to one or group tutoring assistance
• Advising/Counseling for degree/course selection,
  career and registration
• Assistance with Financial Aid and Scholarship
  Applications
• Transfer planning for 4-year college or
  university including field trips to four year
  colleges
• Referrals for social services, personal
  counseling, as needed

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TRIO Benefits cont.

• Workshops such as time management and study
  skills as well as cultural events in the arts,
  music, dance and theater
• Monitoring of academic progress and early
  intervention if problems arise
• Special events where students meet and reinforce
  each others' successes including Summer
  Orientation
• Information via weekly email and bi-annual
  newsletter on activities, trips, scholarships,
  jobs, etc. available only to TRIO students.

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El Centro Population vs TRIOCompleters
Percentages
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El Centro College vs TRIOSuccess (GPA)
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El Centro Population vs TRIOSuccess (ABC Grades)
Percentages
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ECC vs TRIO Retention Rates
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El Centro and TRIO 2005FA Ethnic Distributions
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El Centro and TRIO 2005FA Gender Distributions
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El Centro and TRIO 2005FA Age Distributions
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Students in Underrepresented Gender Education
(SURGE) Program

• This program offers male students who are in need
  of financial assistance and pursing degrees in
  male underrepresented programs such as
• Paralegal
• Nursing (LVN, RN or Medical Assisting)
• Interior/Fashion Design
• Office Technology
• Accounting

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SURGE Qualifications

• Financial need- if eligible for FA, they are also
  eligible for financial assistance from this
  program (Perkins Grant money)
• Must have a degree plan on file that shows they
  are a male in a female dominant program

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SURGE Benefits

• 300.00 per semester for books and supplies
• Participation in early intervention program
• Advising by an ARC counselor

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El Centro Male Population vs SURGE Completion
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El Centro Male Population vs SURGE Success (ABC
Grades)
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ECC vs SURGE Retention Rates
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El Centro and SURGE 2005FA Ethnic Distributions
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El Centro and SURGE 2005FA Age Distributions
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Other Services CCSSE Data
56.9
55.5
53.0
51.1
49.3
El Centro College scored among the 2005 high
performing colleges in our size category on
Student Effort and on Support for Learners
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Student Effort

• Key Findings 2005 El Centro College students
  were significantly more likely than the national
  average, medium colleges, and the Texas Small
  College Consortium students to use these
  services

Significantly different from other Medium Sized
Colleges Only
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Support for Learners at El Centro
A significantly higher percentage of El Centro
College students than the other groups said that
they used these services...
Plt0.001 different from medium sized colleges.
Plt0.001 different from medium and Texas Small
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Future Programs for Closing the Gaps- Hispanic
Serving Institution Grants

• Institutional Grant (Closing the Gaps)
• Cooperative Grant with NLC
• Totaling 6,250,000

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HSI- Institutional Grant

• Strengthening Institutions Grants (Title III and
  V)
• 5 Year Grant
• Hispanic Serving Institution- over 25 FTE
  Hispanic and at least 50 low income
• Coordinating Board plan to increase enrollment-
  Closing the Gaps

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Financial Aid

• The chances of staying in school and getting a
  degree by age 24 are more than 8½ times less
  likely for a needy student than one whose family
  has a combined income of more than 95,000,
  according to Postsecondary Education Opportunity.
• "One of the greatest problems in need-based
  financial aid is that the poor are the least able
  to understand what is available and how to get
  it.

Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
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El Centro HSI Grant

• Hiring an additional financial aid person for
  student follow up
• Hiring student ambassadors (ftic student
  recruiters)
• Increase minority male recruitment
• Pilot assigned advisor program
• Summer activities for h.s. students (Xtreme Camp)

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HSI Cooperative Grant with North Lake College

• 5 Year Grant for Hispanic Serving Institutions
• Career Pathways
• NLC is our satellite for Nursing
• We have strong Urban Education program
• They want to improve their Education program
• They have strong transfer program
• We want to improve our transfer program
• E.g., New Transition Center

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Any Questions?
Thank You
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