Analyzing and Mapping Census and Student Data 2007 Innovations Conference New Orleans March 6, 2007

Acknowledgements The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges wishes to thank the Ford Foundation’s Bridges to Opportunity Initiative and the Washington State College Spark Foundation for their support for this project.

Presenters Tina Bloomer, Director, Student Achievement Projects, Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges Maureen Pettitt, Director of Institutional Research, Skagit Valley College Essential contributions to this presentation by Beth Hartsoch (Skagit Valley College) and David Prince (Washington SBCTC)

Presentation Topics Project Background Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges Data Structure College-Level Applications Student Demographics Minority Populations Marketing Q & A

Project Background

A Census-Based Proxy for Student Socioeconomic Status and Income Based on census data for income, education (BA or higher) and occupation (professional/managerial) Student address matched to census Student assigned median household income and SES for area mapped

Washington State Socioeconomic Status Quintiles 1990 and 2000 Washington State SES 1990 Household Income ($1999) Adults with BA degree or higher Persons employed professional % Total State Population Highest $61,61545%44%20% Higher $46,58126%31%23% Middle $39,86518%24%22% Lower $34,08812%18%19% Lowest $24,4447%12%17% Washington State SES 2000 Household Income ($1999) Adults with BA degree or higher Persons employed professional % Total State Population Highest $74,70754%55%19% Higher $55,62534%40%20% Middle $47,43723%33%20% Lower $39,92516%26%21% Lowest $29,51510%18%20%

Race still matters

State population- more than ever before our future adults are being born and raised in low SES households.

Participation rates measure how close the resemblance is between state population and CTC students Part Rate = % of students ÷ % state population Part Rate less than 1 = less than population Part Rate 1 = Parity Part Rate greater than 1 = more than population

Participation for Younger and Older Students by SES Quintiles LowestLowerMiddleHigherHighest CTC Students (18-24 Yrs) CTC Students (25 +)

Students socioeconomic differences become even more magnified by colleges, raising the question: “How best can the system support colleges so varied in student body and community make-up?”

Additional Information For the full research report, Socioeconomic Well-Being of Washington State: Who Attends Community and Technical Colleges (Sept 2006), link to: 4.doc

Data Structure

Relational Database (MS Access) SBCTC Data Warehouse (student data) Census Data Tables (population data) Spatial Data GIS

GIS – Quick Intro GIS = Geographic Information System Useful for: Visualizing distribution Spatial analysis Types of Data: 1. Point home addresses) 2. Line (roads, rivers) 3. Polygon (block groups, lakes, cities) 4. Raster (hillshade, aerial photo)

Spatial Data – Raster

Database – Examples of Variables DW – Student Data Family status Fund source Ed background Ethnicity Program Intent Census – Population Data Demographic Ed background Ethnicity SES Median household income/ethnicity Employment

Database – Placing Students in Block Groups GIS BG# DW Address: 234 Main St, Bellingham Student on Map BG # on Student Record

Database – Adding Student Data to Block Groups BG# Student data is aggregated for each block group and can be joined to the block group data by block group number BG# Students: 218 % Hispanic Students: 5.4% # Transfer Students: 59

Applications: SES of Students attending Washington State Community & Technical Colleges

Applications: Demographics of Students attending Skagit Valley College

1. Where do our students come from? 2. How has the SES of our district changed between census dates?

Applications: Serving our Minority Population

1. What is the median household income of Hispanic students in our district? 2. Where are minority groups concentrated within our district? 3. Should we extend our ESL program to a remote location?

Hispanic SVC Students' Household Income N1,414 Mean$31,782 Median$31,500 Std. Deviation$18,196 Quartiles25%$27,012 50%$31,500 75%$37,273 Based on Median Household Income Census data for the Hispanic population of the block group.

Applications: Improving our Enrollment/Marketing Efforts

1.What percent of the population is between 18 and 25 years of age? 2. What is the geographic distribution of the population older than 25 years who have less than an Associate’s Degree? 3. What percent of the district population attends a community or technical college?

Available to WA Community Colleges Access Database Statewide Map Images Provided as *.kml files by SBCTC Maps can be displayed on Google Earth Free software (upgrade options for additional $$) at SBCTC has ArcGIS software available

Thanks for joining us… Questions??