Serving Special Populations in California Community Colleges

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Serving Special Populations in California
Community Colleges

• Laurie Harrison
• Special Populations Collaborative Project
• and Joint Special Populations Advisory Committee

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Research Questions

• What services are provided and what are the
  barriers?
• What is the impact of career and technical
  training?

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What Services are Provided?What are the Barriers?

• Data source
• Special Populations Collaborative Project, West
  Hills Community College District

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Survey Methodology

• Electronically administered to all colleges
• Personal follow-up of non-respondents
• 94 colleges responded (87)

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Survey Results
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Where do Colleges Focus Attention?
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Services Provided by Colleges

• Career Counseling 96
• Voc Ed Marketing 89
• Child care Textbooks 82
• Interpreters 70
• Transportation 60

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Barriers Encountered by Colleges

• Need to address remedial skills 80
• Insufficient Funds 77
• Low recruitment retention 64
• Transportation 59
• Inadequate job market 51
• Insufficient staff 50
• Insufficient facilities 39
• Inadequate support services 30
• Timing of classes 25
• Lack of institutional support 16

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Survey results were also reported by

• Each of the six special population groups
• Each community college region

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Selected Findings
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Career Counseling for Special Population Students

• Career counseling was most frequently provided
  activity for each special population group.
• However, the students who were least likely to
  get career counseling were nontraditional
  students.
• May indicate a need for counseling with a
  nontraditional focus.

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For nontraditional students

• Developing/Disseminating vocational marketing
  materials was the second highest activity.
• Yet, low recruitment was the highest ranking
  problem for these students.
• Clearly a need for more effective recruitment
  strategies for nontraditional students.

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Transportation Factor

• Transportation was the least frequently provided
  activity.
• Yet, lack of transportation was the fourth
  greatest barrier.
• Need to address transportation for special
  population students.

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Transition to the workplace

• Most frequently listed as a barrier for students
  with disabilities and limited English proficient
  students.
• A need for better coordination with employers and
  the workplace for these two target groups.

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What are Effective Practices?

• Categorized by target population
• For each practices there is a description and
  contact information

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Survey Results and Effective Practices available
at

• www.jspac.org (Website of the Joint Special
  Populations Advisory Committee)
• www.vteabp.org (Website of the California
  community college industry/technology
  collaborative project which is coordinating with
  the special populations collaborative project.)

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What Effect is Career and Technical Training
having on Special Population Students?

• Data source
• Success for All Study
• Anita Mathur, U.C. Berkeley
• for Joint Special Populations
• Advisory Committee

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Methodology

• Examined records of students who exited the
  community college system in 1999-2000, and
• Earned a vocational degree, certificate, or 12
  units of vocational credit.
• Linked these students data with Employment
  Department wage data.
• 48,000 students in the sample

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• Compared students from special populations groups
  to other students
• Examined data for each special population group

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Major Findings
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The number of special population students

• 52 of students in the sample were classified in
  at least 1 special population group.
• The sample included only completers or those with
  12 units.
• We know that special populations drop out at
  higher rates therefore initial percentages for
  special populations students are higher.

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Special population students are more likely to be

• Female
• Non-white
• Lacking a high school diploma
• Unemployed or earning less prior to entering
  community college

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Increased Earnings

• After receiving career and technical education
• Special population women increased median annual
  earnings by 182
• Special population men increased median annual
  earnings by 149

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Learn More - Earn More

• The more vocational education attained, the more
  likely special populations students are to be
  employed year round.
• Students with associates degrees or 60 unit
  certificates benefit the most.
• Therefore, encourage longer length programs

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Nontraditional Careers Pay Off for Women

• Women in nontrad careers earn more than women in
  traditional occupations.
• The one exception is nursing
• Therefore, encourage nontraditional enrollment

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Equal work does not always mean equal pay

• Women in nontraditional careers still earn less
  than their male counterparts.

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Findings for Particular Special Population Groups
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Students with Disabilities

• Disabled students were the most likely special
  population group to earn an Associates Degree.
• But they had the lowest post college earnings.
• Need to work on employer interface for students
  with disabilities.

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Limited English Proficient Students

• LEP women are most likely to leave with only a
  certificate.
• They showed lower gains in income (only slightly
  ahead of disabled students).
• Encourage LEP student to pursue more in-depth
  training.

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Economically Disadvantaged Students

• Only about 9 of economically disadvantaged
  students go into nontraditional programs where
  earnings are highest.
• Encourage economically disadvantaged to consider
  nontraditional training.

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Success for All study available at

• www.jspac.org
• (Website of the Joint Special Populations
  Advisory Committee)

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Data over time
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Core Indicator 2 -Completions
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Core indicator 3a - Employment one year later
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Strategies to Increase Completions for

• Single Parents
• Displaced Homemakers
• Economically Disadvantaged Students

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• Key support person
• Financial support including transportation
• Support groups or clubs
• Role models
• Mentors
• Classes on parenting, money management, and
  stress management
• Identify transferable skills
• Interview and work clothes

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Strategies to help Limited English Proficient
students stay in school longer and succeed in the
workplace
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• Become aware of cultural differences
• Create group projects and flexible seating
  arrangements
• Write lesson objectives/key points on board
• Provide foreign language dictionaries and
  thesauruses

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Strategies to help students with disabilities
succeed
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• Ensure that the environment is well-equipped,
  accessible, and welcoming
• Work closely with DSPS
• Promote teamwork and cooperative learning
• Incorporate role models who are disabled
• Work closely with potential employers

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Strategies to increase Nontraditional enrollment
and success
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• Refer to high skill - high wage programs rather
  than nontraditional programs
• Expose students to role models, job sites
• Recruit in groups
• Create nontraditional student clubs/support
  groups
• Prepare students for the nontraditional workplace

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Remember

• Special population students increase their
  incomes by 149 - 182!
• And the more they learn, the more they earn!

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So

• Spread the word about the effectiveness of Career
  and Technical Education for Special Population
  Students!
• AND..

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Toot Your Own Horn!