Socio-Economic Status: Building Partnerships for Student Success Professional Development Institute January 7, 2010

Jody Donovan Associate Dean of Students and Executive Director of Parent and Family Programs Oscar Felix Executive Director Access Programs Andrea Reeve Director Academic Advancement Program Paul Thayer Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Special Advisor to the Provost for Retention Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado

Session Overview Voices of Students Demographic Dimensions of Students from First Generation and Low Income Backgrounds Research Perspectives Factors in Student Success Strategy Options and Decision-Making Summary

STUDENT VOICES

Kathy “I was a participant in the Aims Community College Student Support Services Program. So many times I told myself I couldn’t. Then I would come into the office and hear, ‘yes, you can”.

Rachel “Sometimes it was hard for my Mom to handle everything alone with my brother, so I had to return to Denver to help out. This made it difficult to establish a life for myself at CSU. I still go home often.”

Scott “Pairing with a mentor kept me focused on educational goals. As a first-generation student I frequently felt ‘out of the loop’ of higher education.”

Family Income Background

Family Income Chance for Baccalaureate Degree Attainment by Family Income, (Thomas Mortenson, Postsecondary Education Opportunity, June 2008)

Parent Educational Attainment Background

“First Generation:” Neither parent has earned a bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree correlates with increased income, better health, increased involvement in cultural activities, recreation, voting, civic involvement and service “First Generation:” Neither parent has earned a bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree correlates with increased income, better health, increased involvement in cultural activities, recreation, voting, civic involvement and service

First Generation Students More likely to be Black or Hispanic and to be from families from the lowest income quartile Have lower aspirations to earn a bachelor’s degree, yet many do have such aspirations (46-64%) Choy, 2001

Parent Education Level Chance for Baccalaureate Degree Attainment by Parent Education Level, (Thomas Mortenson, Postsecondary Education Opportunity, January 1999)

First Generation First generation students compose 47% of all entering college students (BPS, , in Pell Institute, 2006) Among graduates who did go to college, 56% of first-generation students attended a two- year institution or less, compared to 23 % of students whose parents had college degrees (Berkner & Chavez, 1997, in Pell Institute, 2006)

The Numbers… Demographics: more likely than advantaged peers to: 4.5 million low-income, first generation students enrolled in postsecondary education (24% of all undergrads)* *US Department of Education National Postsecondary Student Aid Study 2004 Be older Be female Have a disability Come from minority backgrounds Be non-native English speakers or born outside of US Have dependent children and be single parents Have a GED Be financially independent from parents Have unmet financial need Be enrolled at a community/2 year college (Pell Institute, Beyond Access, 2008) 15 Who Are Low-Income and First-Generation Students?

Educational Outcomes and Socioeconomic Status Fox, Connolly, and Snyder 2005

Educational Outcomes and Socioeconomic Status Fox, Connolly, and Snyder 2005

Student Success at CSU

First Generation Students: Cumulative Graduation Rate (Fall 2001 Cohort, through 2007) 8.9 percentage point gap by sixth year [7.0 percentage point gap for the previous cohort] From CSU Institutional Research data

Pell Recipients: Cumulative Graduation Rate (Fall 2001 Cohort, through 2007) 10.6 percentage point gap by sixth year [8.2 percentage point gap for the previous cohort] From CSU Institutional Research data

Where are we heading? Institution Rank in Pell Recipient Gain Percentage Change: ‘93+’94 to ’07 +‘08 Colorado State University %

Regression Analysis: What Effects for Various Factors, Controlling at the Same Time for Other Factors? Lacy, Michael et. al., 2007

After adjusting for effects due to all other variables (residency, gender, first generation, and Index)… Variable Odds of graduating (within 6 years) in relation to White Students Underrepresented Race/Ethnicity.567 to.727 (All statistically significant) *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1

After adjusting for effects due to all other variables (ethnic/racial group, gender, residency, and Index)… Variable Odds of graduating (within 6 years) in relation to Students Who Are Not First Generation First Generation College 0.616*** *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1

Insights from Qualitative Research Donovan, Jody (2007). Borders, Bridges and Braiding: A Latino Family’s Meaning Making of the First in the Family to Go to College. Schwartz, J.L., Donovan, J. A., & Guido-DiBrito, F. (2008). Stories of Social Class: Self-identified Mexican male college students crack the silence. Felix, Oscar (2002). Success Factors of Under- Prepared Students: A Phenomenological Study.

Borders, Bridges, and Braiding… (Jody Donovan, 2006) “I couldn’t depend on my family to tell me what to do, because that’s usually who does tell me what to do… I didn’t know what to expect because I had no one to look to, and then I wasn’t well prepared… not prepared for what the college workload was like.” -- Liz Puente

Borders, Bridges, and Braiding… (Jody Donovan, 2006) “It’s true that you don’t have to go to college to be happy. But you don’t get many things because we have to work twice as hard to get where college people can get. She might buy a Lamborghini and we might buy one too. But we would have to have two jobs to pay for that and she only has to have one job. And maybe just Monday through Friday, and we have to work seven days a week.” --Liz’s Mom, Maggie

Success Factors of Underprepared Students: A Phenomenological Study (Oscar Felix, 2002) “I thought of three schools and CSU was one of them. The other was Wyoming. Puget Sound in Seattle was one of them. I kind of wanted to go far away, but not too far. I know CSU is a real good school within Colorado. And our tuition costs, too, also affected that.” --Student 7

Assets & Challenges Activity Pre-College Postsecondary Assets & OpportunitiesChallenges

Choosing Strategies

Three Propositions: Which are True? Sound educational strategies for all students benefit underrepresented students. Strategies conceived without diversity explicitly in mind often miss the target. Strategies conceived with diverse students explicitly in mind are likely to be powerful for all students. √ √ √

Potential Impact Institutional / Structural/ Comprehensive Individual

Strategic Choice Example: Academic Support Letter of warning to failing students Tutoring Program Facilitated Study Group Supplemental Instruction Learning Center: collecting a few services Comprehensive Learning Center A Individual Institutional / Structural/ Comprehensive

Strategic Choice Access/Pipeline P Individual Institutional / Structural/ Comprehensive

Strategic Choice Residence Life P Individual Institutional / Structural/ Comprehensive

Strategic Choice Orientation P Individual Institutional / Structural/ Comprehensive

Strategic Choice Class Curriculum and Pedagogy P Individual Institutional / Structural/ Comprehensive

Teaching Advising Student Support Pre-College and Transition Other? Individual Institutional / Structural/ Comprehensive Small Groups: Identify strategies that support first generation/low-income students and place on the continuum. Propose at least one strategy that moves in the direction of Institutional-Structural- Comprehensive. Share with group.

Resources Choy, S. (2001). Students Whose Parents Did Not Go to College: Postsecondary Access, Persistence, and Attainment. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Engle, J., Bermeo, A., O’Brien, C. (2006). Straight from the Source: What Works for First-Generation College Students. Washington, DC: Pell Institute Engle, J. and O’Brien, C. (2006). Demography is Not Destiny: Increasing the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College Students at Large Public Universities. Washington, DC: Pell Institute. Fox, M., Connolly, B., and Snyder, T. (2005). Youth Indicators 2005: Trends in the Well-Being of American Youth. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics Mortenson, T. Postsecondary Education Opportunity, Thayer, P. (2000). Retention of Students from First Generation and Low Income Backgrounds. Washington, DC: National TRIO Clearinghouse. Pell Institute