CCSU Joint Task Force on Minority Student Success - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

CCSU Joint Task Force on Minority Student Success

Sponsored by the Faculty Senate & Academic Affairs

Report to the Faculty Senate, May 4, 2015

Task Force Members:

Joe Paige, Academic Affairs, Co-Chair

Nancy Hoffman, Educational Leadership,

P

olicy, and Inst. Tech., Co-Chair

Marisol Aponte, Student Wellness Services

Beth Merenstein, Sociology

Evelyn Phillips, Anthropology

Luis Recoder-Núñez

, Mathematical Sciences

Heather Rodriguez, Sociology

Carlos Soler, AdmissionsSlide2

The Charge

We were charged to examine the issues and recommend ways that we all might better support the success of CCSU’s minority students, specifically Black and Latino students who have consistently been retained and graduated at lower rates than our overall student population. Slide3

Changing Demographics in CT High Schools

Between

2011 and 2023, the number of students enrolled in

CT’s

public high schools is expected to drop by more than 11

%.

Between 2007 and 2020

the number

of

White high

school graduates in CT is predicted to drop 24

%,

the

number of Black high school graduates in CT is predicted to remain

stable, and

the

number of Hispanic high school graduates in CT is predicted to increase 43

%.

For the foreseeable future, Black and

Latino

students will constitute an

increasing proportion of

the

decreasing pool of high school graduates in

CT.Slide4

Our Changing Student Body

Eighty percent of our UG students continue to be “traditional age” students but in other ways

o

ur undergraduate student population is changing.

In Fall 2010, 75% of CCSU’s UG students were White, 8% were Latino, and 9% were Black.

In Fall 2014

,

66%

of CCSU’s UG students were White,

13%

were Latino, and

11%

were Black.

These changes in our enrollment reflect an accelerating trend of change in the population of CT high school graduates.

Slide5

CCSU Student Success Data

There are persistent and significant gaps between the retention and graduation rates for our White students

and our Black and Latino

students. Slide6

Four-Year Average FTFT Retention

and Graduation Rates

of

White, Black and Latino

Undergraduates

White

Black

Latino

% retained to Yr. 2

78%

77%

76%

% retained to Yr. 3

67%

62%

67%

Cum % graduated by Yr. 4

23%

16%

17%

Cum % graduated by Yr. 6

53%

39%

42%Slide7

Most Recent FTFT Retention and Graduation Rates of White, Black and Latino

Undergraduates

White

Black

Latino

% retained to Yr. 2

81%

76%

76%

% retained to Yr. 3

68%

62%

66%

Cum % graduated by Yr. 4

22%

18%

18%

Cum % graduated by Yr. 6

55%

43%

48%Slide8

Our Data Sources

CCSU data (OIRA data base)

Published literature on supporting student success

Input from other institutions that have increased minority student success

Focus groups with sending agencies and schools

Focus groups with administrative and teaching faculty

Focus groups with Black and Latino undergraduate and graduate studentsSlide9

Our Recommendations

There is no single magical solution.

Students need stronger and more positive connections with the campus, their peers, and, perhaps most importantly, the faculty who teach them.

These are our recommendations

for increasing the success of Black and Latino students at

CCSU.Slide10

Create a culture that values and rewards good advising

Systematically implement more intrusive advising models for students who data suggest are at higher risk

Proactively provide prospective and current students with online access to information like major clusters and academic maps

Develop systems that ensure that all students receive high quality advisingSlide11

Implement proactive programs to better acclimate students and families to CCSU

These might include

Financial aid literacy education

Ongoing outreach to families and community agencies about admissions and aid processes, college expectations, and workload

Using alumni as ambassadors to their home communities

Providing a clear point of contact for families and agenciesSlide12

Provide reliable, financial support to programs

that are grounded in the

literature

and

document the positive impact of their services on CCSU student

retention and

graduation.Slide13

Re-examine the content of our courses to ensure they speak to a diverse audience

Seek

meaningful ways to incorporate diverse perspectives and materials into all courses.

Students who see themselves in the content of a course are more likely to feel connected.

Students who feel connected to college are more likely to be retained and to succeed.

Slide14

Structure our programs to ensure all students experience appropriate high-impact practices early (and often).

High

i

mpact practices (HIPs) build connections to faculty and/or peers AND foster high quality learning–both are key to retention.

HIPs are:

First-Year

Experiences

Common Intellectual Experiences

Learning Communities

Writing-Intensive Courses

Collaborative Assignments and Projects

Undergraduate Research

Diversity/Global Learning

Service Learning, Community-Based Learning

Internships

Capstone Courses and ProjectsSlide15

Provide a robust program of faculty development for teaching and administrative faculty

Differentiate diversity training for teaching faculty and administrative faculty and staff

Focus teaching faculty offerings on classroom practices that support student success and create an inclusive classroom climate

Offer a variety of opportunities for full-time and adjunct faculty to examine their own practice and incorporate best practices that support student success

and

academic rigorSlide16

Continue to develop systems that can avert and resolve financial barriers to student success

There are some problems that are too big for us to solve but we should not lose a student in good standing to a few hundred dollars or the cost of a book.

Students need a better understanding of the financial aid that may be available to them and its long term implications.Slide17

Create a centrally located, highly visible,

staffed

diversity center

H

elp

connect diverse students to affiliation groups,

campus services and organizations, and academic/cultural centers

S

erve as

a

contact

point for

students and for sending

agencies

and families seeking

to support

students

Provide a space for students to gather, meet, hold study groups, etc.

Facilitate proactive connections to programs that foster minority student success (mentoring, coaching, tutoring, targeted intrusive advising, summer prep, alumni, sending agencies, etc.)

Create a diverse advisory board for the centerSlide18

Continue to prioritize hiring of diverse faculty and staff

Our students benefit from opportunities to work with faculty and staff drawn from the diverse communities they come fromSlide19

Our student body is changing and we have to change with it.

Our students do not want us to lower academic standards.

Our students want and need us to help them meet high standards.

Doing things in the ways we have always done things or in the ways that worked for us when we were students is no longer working for an increasing proportion of our students.Slide20

References

National Center for Education Statistics. (2013).

Digest of educational statistics. Table 203.30. Public school enrollment in grades 9 through 12, by region, state, and jurisdiction: Selected years, fall 1990 through fall 2023.

Retrieved from

http://

nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_203.30.asp

Western

Interstate Consortium for Higher Education. (2013).

Knocking at the college door: Projections of high school graduates. Connecticut.

Retrieved from

http://

www.wiche.edu/info/knocking-8th/profiles/ct.pdf

CCSU. (2015).

CCSU Fact Book 2014-15

. Retrieved

from

http://

web.ccsu.edu/oira/factbook_1415/default.asp