Diversity: Underrepresented Students
Jack Mino of Holyoke Community College poses a problem and raises several questions related to the COPPER cluster domain (theme) of "diversity" in the following post:
Underrepresented Student Success
Access to post-secondary education is fundamental to the goal of achieving equal educational opportunities for all students. Community college students seeking the baccalaureate must transfer. For them, transfer is neither an option nor a convenience. It is a requirement built into the structure of the higher education system. As a result of their geographic accessibility, open-door admissions policies, and reduced costs, community colleges are especially likely to serve a diverse student body. And because most under-represented students--first-generation, low-income, and older students, as well as students of color—begin their post-secondary studies at community colleges, their access to the baccalaureate depends (to a large degree) on a successful transfer experience (London, 1992; Rendon, 1995; Richardson & Skinner, 1992; Willett, 1989). Here’s the problem: many don’t transfer. This is especially true for students of color, particularly Latino and African-American male students.
Do you know the course completion, persistence, graduation, and transfer rates of under-represented students at your institution? Which populations are most at-risk, and why? Is your institution responding to this problem, and if so, how? How are you responding to the needs of under-represented students in your classroom? To what extent have you been successful?
Jack Mino, Professor of Psychology
Holyoke Community College