IMPROVING SUCCESS AMONG UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS* California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office Equal Employment Opportunity and Faculty Diversity Summit November 4, 2015 Jacquelyn (Jackie) V. Reza Professor and Director of Professional Development De Anza College, Emeritus

Dr. Fairlie‘s Research and other aspects of faculty dynamics that foster success of underrepresented students: Presentation of Dr. Robert Fairlie’s article: A Community College Instructor Like me AND.... Dr. J. V. Reza 2

3

Fairlie’s Broad Research Interest Interested in studying how to improve economic outcomes for people, especially those who are disadvantaged and poor. One ongoing research theme is to understand how we can increase human capital especially related to helping people find jobs. Two recent research projects examine the relationship between community colleges and human capital. One type of human capital that is important especially for low-income populations is community college. Dr. J. V. Reza 4

More context for his study… The achievement gap between historically underrepresented minority students and non-minority students is one of the most persistent and vexing problems of the educational system in the United States. African-American, Latino and Native-American students have substantially lower test scores, grades, high school completion rates, college attendance rates, and college graduation rates than non-minority students (U.S. Department of Education 2010). Dr. J. V. Reza 5

National Data (Fairlie) Dr. J. V. Reza6

Why Focus on Community Colleges? Community colleges enroll the majority of all minority students attending public universities and nearly half of all students attending public universities. Larger share in California, representing 70 percent all public higher education enrollment (Sengupta and Jepsen 2006; California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office 2009) Community colleges serve as an important gateway to 4-year colleges in addition to providing workforce training and basic skills education. Nearly half of all students attending a 4-year college previously attended a community college (CCCCO 2009) CSU transfers from community college expected to grow by 25 percent over the next decade (California Postsecondary Education Commission 2010). California Community College System – largest higher education system in the world, over 100 campuses, 2.9 million students Dr. J. V. Reza 7

8

Introduction to An Instructor Like Me Many social researchers and public policy makers argue that the college achievement gap may be partly explained by the general lack of minority teachers at the post-secondary level. Only 9.6 percent of all full-time instructional faculty at U.S. colleges are black, Latino or Native American (U.S. Department of Education 2010). In contrast, these groups comprise one-third of the college-age population and an even higher percentage of children. Many social scientists hypothesize that the lack of minority instructors limits the availability of role models, increases the likelihood of “stereotype threats” and discrimination against minority students, and limits exposure to instructors with similar cultures and languages. Dr. J. V. Reza 9

Fairlie’s Key Research Questions Do underrepresented minority students preform better in courses taught by minority instructors? Do African-American students do better in courses taught by African-Americans? Do Latino students do better in courses taught by Latino instructors? How much does this represent of the achievement gap? Dr. J. V. Reza 10

Dr. J. V. Reza11

Data Student-Course level data from De Anza College Observe over 30,000 students in nearly 21,000 classes Academic histories of students enrolled sometime between Fall 2002 and Spring Student-instructor match is possible  Demographic characteristics for students and instructors. Use statistical regression analysis Dr. J. V. Reza 12

Statistical Regression & Fixed Effect Model Individual fixed effects classroom fixed effects Minority Student dummy Minority Instructor dummy Fixed Effect Model re: 1) Focus on the differential effect between minority and non-minority students of being assigned to a minority-instructor in the same class. (Answers the question of whether the minority achievement gap is smaller in classes that are taught by minority instructors.), 2) Controls for differential student performance, 3) Controls for different types of courses taken (e.g. majors, transfer, etc…), 4) Controls for different classes taken, 5) Controls for different instructors taken, 6) Controls for different grading standards or procedures. Dr. J. V. Reza 13

Results: How Large are Effects Relative to Achievement Gap? Underrepresented minority Similar Instructor Effect White-Min Achievement Gap Percent of Gap (change) Minority Base Rate Dropped Course %0.281 Passed a Course %0.835 Course Grade %2.587 Grade of B or Higher %0.567 Dr. J. V. Reza 14

Results: Effects on Long-Term Outcomes Examine effects of taking courses with minority instructors on: Awards and degreees Majors Transfers Positive effects Dr. J. V. Reza 15

Fairlie‘s Conclusions Strong, positive and robust minority-interaction effects for all outcomes examined Strong, positive own-race interactions African-Americans seem to have largest gains Evidence for students reacting to instructors rather than vice versa Role model effects, take additional courses and majors Focus on courses with more objective grading More details, full article Dr. J. V. Reza 16

OK....SO WE GET IT....HIRE QUALIFIED FOLKS OF COLOR... Dr. J. V. Reza 17

Percent of Graduate Degrees Conferred to Minorities by Sector * Source – DIVERSE MAGAZINE, ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION, VOL. 32, NO. 13, Page 16. Dr. J. V. Reza 18

Dr. J. V. Reza 19

Dr. J. V. Reza 20

Dr. J. V. Reza 21

Summary Fairlie‘s Conclusions Strong, positive and robust minority-interaction effects for all outcomes examined Strong, positive own-race interactions African-Americans seem to have largest gains Evidence for students reacting to instructors rather than vice versa Role model effects, take additional courses and majors Focus on courses with more objective grading More details, full article Reza’s Conclusions Dr. J. V. Reza 22

THANK YOU Jacquelyn (Jackie) V. Reza Professor and Director of Professional Development De Anza College, Emeritus