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Coleman, M. S. (2018). AAU Request Membership to The Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council [Letter written November 21, 2018 to Kirstjen M. Nielsen]. Retrieved from https://www.aau.edu/sites/default/files/AAU-Files/Key-Issues/Immigration/Nov_21_2018_DHS.HSAAC.Letter.pdf

Johnson, D. R., Wasserman, T. H., Yildirim, N., & Yonai, B. A. (2013). Examining the Effects of Stress and Campus Climate on the Persistence of Students of Color and White Students: An Application of Bean and Eaton’s Psychological Model of Retention. Research in Higher Education,55(1), 75-100. doi:10.1007/s11162-013-9304-9

Loschert, K. (2018). Gains in High School Graduation Rates Mask Persistent Gaps in Postsecondary Education Enrollment for Students of Color. Retrieved from https://all4ed.org/gains-in-high-school-graduation-rates-mask-persistent-gaps-in-postsecondary-education-enrollment-for-students-of-color/

Mitchel, T. (2018). Higher Education Associations Call for Timely DACA Renewals [Letter written April 13, 2018 to Kirstjen M. Nielsen]. Retrieved from https://www.aau.edu/sites/default/files/AAU-Files/Key-Issues/Immigration/Letter-to-DHS-on-Timely-DACA-Processing.pdf

Nellum, C., & Valle, K. (2015). Government Investment in Public Hispanic-Serving Institutions. American Council on Education. Retrieved from https://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Documents/Government-Investment-in-Public-Hispanic-Serving-Institutions.pdf.

Quintana, C. (2018). How U. of Michigan Appealed to Low-Income Students With a Colorful Invitation — and a Promise of Aid. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-U-of-Michigan-Appealed-to/245294?cid=wcontentgrid_20_1

Saenz, V., & Ponjuan, L. (2016). The Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color: Cross-Sector Collaboration as a Model for Improving Educational Outcomes. American Council on Education. Retrieved from https://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Documents/Texas-Education-Consortium-for-Male-Students-of-Color.pdf.

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What I learned About Enrollment and Persistence Rates for Students of Color

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What I learned About Enrollment and Persistence Rates for Students of Color

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As the populations of students grow in the United States, so does the research surrounding these populations in higher education. Unfortunately, the research shows that students from underrepresented minorities are not closing gaps as fast as they should be based on their population. For example, the Latinx community continues to be fast growing population in the United States but still lack behind in college graduation rates compared to other populations (Nellum & Valle, 2015). Further, Black and Latinx students are graduating high school at the highest rates in recent history but are not matriculating into college or graduating from college at the same rates that the high school graduation rate is increasing (Loschert, 2018). In my estimation, this points to functional difference in which institutions and the students from underrepresented backgrounds experience the college landscape preventing them from college educational achievement gaps.

There is research to support that students from underrepresented minorities require a different forms of assistance compared to their white peers. Many researchers are pushing for a shift for initiatives that specifically support minority populations (Saenz & Ponjuan, 2016). Other research seems to believe that institutions should take into consideration the different stresses minority students encounter because of their different life experiences compared to their white and Asian peers (Johnson, Wasserman, Yildirim, Yonai, 2014). Further, political climate has also made it difficult for DREAMers and other immigrant students for gaining access to higher education (Mitchel, 2018). In short, the research suggests a rehaul of the college environment to grow with the diverse populations that are now enrolling at higher education institutions. However, to even fund these programs various institutions who primarily serve these populations are experiencing budget restrictions (Nellum & Valle, 2018).

As the populations of minority students continue to graduate high school at higher rates and the importance of the college degree grows as well, we are obligated as educators to ensure that minority students receive the opportunity for educational equality. Until policies change, I seek to inform myself as much as I can on the issues surrounding the effect populations. In doing so, I hope to become qualified enough to guide future generations of underrepresented students out of the vicious cycles that have prevented educational equality for all.

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Enrollment and Persistence Rates for Students of Color - Library Search

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Enrollment and Persistence Rates for Students of Color - Library Search

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In my search of enrollment and persistent rates for students of color on the Angelo State University library’s database, I discovered a study that examined the effects of stress on students of color and how that relates to their retention. Ultimately, the study “adds to the literature by identifying aspects of students’ psychological experiences and campus racial climate perceptions that affect their persistence decisions at this predominantly White institution”

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Angelo State University - Library Online Resources

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Unauthorized use is prohibited; Usage may be subject to security testing and monitoring; Misuse is subject to criminal prosecution; No expectation of privacy except as otherwise provided by applicable privacy laws.

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Enrollment and Persistence Rates for Students of Color - Internet Search

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Enrollment and Persistence Rates for Students of Color - Internet Search

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In my online search of enrollment and persistent rates for students of color, I encountered an article through the Alliance for Excellent Education that detailed the research that shows that students of colors are not enrolling in college despite the populations increased high school graduation rates (Loschert, 2018). While achievement gaps for Black and Latinx students are closing in some areas like high school graduation, it is not translating to the collegiate level at the same rates.

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Recent national data shows that high school graduation rates for African American and Latino students continue to climb, narrowing gaps in achievement between these students and their white and Asian peers. Yet these gains in high school graduation rates have not yet translated to comparable increases in postsecondary education enrollment and degree attainment.

In fact, college enrollment rates for African American students lag those for Asian students by nearly 24 percentage points among a cohort tracked by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The NCES study, known as the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), follows a nationally representative sample of approximately 20,000 students from their time as ninth graders in 2009 into postsecondary education and the workforce. This latest report, High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) Second Follow-Up: A First Look at Fall 2009 Ninth-Graders in 2016, includes data collected approximately three years after the cohort's high school graduation.

By February 2016, 92 percent of all students in the cohort had earned a high school diploma and 72 percent had enrolled in postsecondary education. On high school graduation rates, Latino students lagged white students by only 3 percentage points, while African American students lagged white students by just 5 percentage points, as shown below in the table from the report. The Asian-Latino and Asian-African American high school graduation rate gaps were about 8 percentage points and about 10 percentage points respectively.

By contrast, the African American and Latino gaps in postsecondary education enrollment were more than twice the gaps in their high school graduation rates. Latino and African American students lagged white students by almost 8 percentage points and 11 percentage points respectively. Meanwhile, the Asian-Latino gap was 20 percentage points, while the Asian-African American gap was nearly 24 percentage points as the table below shows.

Among all NCES cohort students who enrolled in postsecondary education, 12 percent had earned either an undergraduate certificate or associate's degree by February 2016, while 47 percent still were continuing their education at a four-year institution.

Approximately one-quarter of students, though, no longer were enrolled in any postsecondary education program, even though those students had not earned a credential. African American and Latino students had the highest college drop-out rates, at 29 percent and 27 percent respectively. By comparison, about 19 percent of white students and 14 percent of Asian students left postsecondary education without a degree or certificate. Nearly half of all college leavers from the NCES cohort cited family or personal reasons for discontinuing their education, while 40 percent cited financial reasons.

Meanwhile, students in the study who never enrolled in postsecondary education faced their own share of financial challenges. Sixty percent of these students said they worried about having enough money to meet their expenses and only one-quarter worked full time by February 2016. Moreover, almost 40 percent of those employed full or part time earned less than $10,000 in 2015.

This latest report builds on NCES's first follow-up report, which featured data collected when most students from the study's cohort were in eleventh grade. That report, released in 2013, examined students' educational expectations, math performance and gains since ninth grade, and initial plans for applying to and enrolling in postsecondary education.
Kristen Loschert is editorial director at the Alliance for Excellent Education.

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Gains in High School Graduation Rates Mask Persistent Gaps in Postsecondary Education Enrollment for Students of Color

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Recent national data shows that high school graduation rates for African American and Latino students continue to climb, narrowing gaps in achievement between these students and their white and Asian peers. Yet these gains in high school graduation rates have not yet translated to comparable increases in postsecondary education enrollment and degree attainment.

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Legal and Ethical Issue of Interest to Me - Students of Color

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Legal and Ethical Issue of Interest to Me - Students of Color

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Of the legal and ethical issues that I had encountered during the process of this assignment, none have interested me more than the enrollment and persistent rates of students of color. This topic is very near and dear to my heart as I have spent the last four and a half years helping students of color get accepted into college. However, matriculations rates and persistence rates for those students continues to be an issue that I feel powerless to overcome in my current position. I want to find better ways to help students of color regardless of gender, nationality, citizenship or sexual orientation complete their collegiate aspirations.

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Exploration Option 3 - Chronicle of Higher Education

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Exploration Option 3 - Chronicle of Higher Education

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During my search of the Chronicle of Higher Education website, I encountered many headlines concerned with president issues at Michigan State. However, the article that caught my attention was an article at its rival institution, the University of Michigan. This piece describes the university’s strategy to attracting high-achieving, low-income students to apply and enroll at their institution. Chris Qunintana (2018) details that it might be as telling these students that they CAN apply.

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What if getting low-income students to apply to a highly selective college was as simple as telling them the doors were open?

A new working paper suggests that, along with the promise of financial aid, might be the case. The paper describes an experiment to reach out to potential applicants to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The researchers found that after telling high-achieving, low-income students they should apply to the institution, many of them did.

Of the targeted potential applicants, nearly 70 percent applied, a rate that was more than double that of the control group's 26 percent. Moreover, about 27 percent of the targeted students enrolled at the university, compared with just 12 percent of students in the control group.

Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, U. of Michigan

"Our results show a low-cost intervention can profoundly alter student application to and enrollment at highly selective colleges," reads the paper, "Closing the Gap: The Effect of a Targeted, Tuition-Free Promise on College Choices of High-Achieving, Low-Income Students." It was published as part of the National Bureau of Economic Research's working-paper series and was written by Susan Dynarski, an economist at the University of Michigan; C.J. Libassi of College Board; Katherine Michelmore, an assistant professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University; and Stephanie Owen, a doctoral student at Michigan in public policy and economics.

Their findings suggest what may be a particularly effective strategy for highly selective institutions to increase the number of low-income students they enroll. Such a strategy could counteract the phenomenon known as "undermatching," in which students attend less-selective colleges than their grades and test scores suggest they could.

But as the paper's authors point out, getting those students to even apply to highly selective institutions is a challenge. Such students typically don't believe they have the academic record or financial means to attend top colleges, even though they are qualified and, when they enroll, tend to perform well there. So, the authors argue, the students end up at institutions with fewer resources, and often experience poorer outcomes than they would otherwise.

A 'Powerful Message'

In 2015 the University of Michigan started the High Achieving Involved Leader scholarship, or HAIL. Its goal was to send "a powerful message that this world-class university is open to Michigan's talented students, regardless of their income," Dynarksi said at the time.

Key to the study was a scholarship letter that was sent to 1,932 students over two cohorts and was intended to amplify the HAIL effort. A similar letter was sent to the students' parents or principal a few weeks later, to reinforce the message.

"Since your child is an excellent student, we want to offer a potentially transformative college opportunity," each letter began. "If [first name] applies and is admitted to the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, your child will be awarded the HAIL scholarship covering the entire cost of U-M tuition and fees for four years."

Each letter, which cost less than $10 to produce and mail, was designed to demand attention. It was enclosed in an envelope emblazoned with the university's blue-and-yellow colors. The words "Free tuition" conspicuously appeared several times in the letter. In other, similar studies, drabber versions of an envelope appeared to be "from an unrecognized source" and so "were largely ignored or disregarded as fraudulent," the authors write. The letter in the experiment was meant to feel like a golden ticket.

The letter also promised students the scholarship whether or not they filled out the Fafsa, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The Fafsa has long been the key for many students to receive federal financial aid, but its byzantine format can be difficult to navigate, especially for first-generation students who are more often from low-income backgrounds.

The authors write that their model is especially well suited to Michigan and could be less effective in states, like Massachusetts, where private institutions provide more financial support to high-achieving students. Moreover, the authors acknowledge, the University of Michigan "is the most-selective, highest-quality, and least-expensive option for low-income students" in the state, and that could partly explain the program's success. So while the preliminary results are encouraging, the paper's authors urge caution.

"When well-targeted, a HAIL-like intervention could substantially improve postsecondary outcomes for low-income students," the paper says. "When poorly planned, or wielded by bad actors, it could do serious harm."
Chris Quintana is a staff reporter. Follow him on Twitter @cquintanadc or email him at chris.quintana@chronicle.com.

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How U. of Michigan Appealed to Low-Income Students With a Colorful Invitation - and a Promise of Aid

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What if getting low-income students to apply to a highly selective college was as simple as telling them the doors were open? A new working paper suggests that, along with the promise of financial aid, might be the case. The paper describes an experiment to reach out to potential applicants to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

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The Texas EducationConsortium for MaleStudents of Color

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The Texas EducationConsortium for MaleStudents of Color

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Education Option 2 - Association of American Universities (AAU) and Immigration

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Education Option 2 - Association of American Universities (AAU) and Immigration

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While reviewing the Association of American Universities (AAU) website, I came across two discussion focused on immigration policies and higher education. One covered a call to expedite the DACA renewal process and the other concerned the AAU’s continued involvement in the Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council (HSAAC).

1. The AAU and thirty-six other higher education associations composed a letter the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that asked for a faster review and processing of DACA renewal applications as the current process has become “inequitable and unproductive” (Mitchel, 2018). The letter also offered an opportunity for the associations to meet with the DHS to discuss these issues openly (Mitchel, 2018).

2. Mary Sue Coleman who is the AAU president wrote a letter to the DHS to ask for the AAU’s reestablishment into the Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council. It is her hope that be being reinstated into the HSAAC, AAU can continue its efforts in pushing for the conversation concerning “the accrual of unlawful presence and increases to student visa fees” (Coleman, 2018).

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Exploration Option 2 - American Council on Education (ACE) and Minority Students

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Exploration Option 2 - American Council on Education (ACE) and Minority Students

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While reviewing the American Council on Education (ACE) website, I came across two discussion focused on minority students. One covered the issues surrounding enrollment of Black and Latino male students and the other discussed the funding of Hispanic-serving institutions.

1. Many institutions struggle to enroll and keep these populations, so researchers Victor Saenz from the University of Texas at Austin and Luis Ponjuan from Texas A&M University developed a blueprint “for creating and sustaining programs for male students of color” to assist institutions in improving these populations educational outcomes (Saenz & Ponjuan, 2016). Their research address three main points; planning and development, resource development and sustainability, and finally outreach and communication (Saenz & Ponjuan, 2016).

2. Research by Christopher Nellum and Katherine Valle examined the breakdown of funding outlets and the trends from those outlets for Hispanic-serving institutions in the United States over the years (Nellum & Valle, 2015) The significance for such research is based on the Latino population being the “fastest-growing demographic group in the U.S” but the institutions that primarily serve the population being underfunded (Nellum & Valle, 2015).

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My professional perspective stems from a background in college access for underrepresented populations as a high school college adviser and a high school college preparation teacher. Upon completion of a Master of Education in Student Development and Leadership in High Education, it is my dream to continue assisting these populations by leading higher education programs centered on college retention.

Below is a picture of students I have helped on the road to college over the last two years. My hope is that my completion of my program allows me to be in a position that assists students like these achieve their collegiate goals by staying enrolled.