Perceptions of the Financial Aid Office through the Eyes of Students of Color

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Perceptions of the Financial Aid Office through
the Eyes of Students of Color
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What Would Students of Color See When
They View the Financial Aid Office?
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Would They See This?
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Would They See This?
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Would They See This?
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Would They See This?
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Would They See This?
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RMASFAA
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RMASFAA
State Population (2010 Census) Ranked
Colorado 5,029,196 22
Kansas 2,853,118 33
Utah 2,763,885 34
Nebraska 1,852,994 38
Montana 989,415 44
South Dakota 814,180 46
North Dakota 672,591 48
Wyoming 563,626 50
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RMASFAA by Race and Ethnicity
State Population African-American Asian-American Hispanic-American Native-American
Colorado 5,029,196 201,737 145,651 1,038,687 56,010
Kansas 2,853,118 167,864 70,000 300,042 28,150
Utah 2,763,885 29,287 79,839 358,340 32,927
Nebraska 1,852,994 82,885 33,572 167,405 18,427
Montana 989,415 4,027 6,921 28,565 62,555
South Dakota 814,180 10,207 8,004 22,119 71,817
North Dakota 672,591 7,960 7,229 13,467 36,591
Wyoming 563,626 4,748 4,853 50,231 13,336
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Students of Color
Term used, primarily in the United States, to
describe all people who are not white. The term
is meant to be inclusive among non-white groups,
emphasizing common experiences of racism.
Introduced as a preferable replacement to both
non-white and minority, which are also inclusive,
because it frames the subject positively
non-white defines people in terms of what they
are not (white), and minority frequently carries
a subordinate connotation.
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Reasons why Communities of Color Exist

• Historical Reasons
• Economic Reasons
• Sociological Reasons

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Historical Reasons

• Discriminatory Laws
• Segregation

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Discriminatory Laws

• African-Americans
• 1. Slavery (3.5 million by 1860)
• 2. Jim Crow Laws
• 3. De-segregations Laws

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Discriminatory Laws

• Native Americans
• 1. Wars and massacres
• 2. Forced Displacement, Forced Education
• 3. Indian Citizenship Act of 1924

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Discriminatory Laws

• Asian-Americans
• 1. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
• 2. Internment camps for Japanese Americans
  during WW II

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Discriminatory Laws

• Hispanic-Americans
• 1. Mexican Deportation programs
• (e.g. Operation Wetback, 1954)
• 2. Reed-Johnson Act of 1924
• 3. Immigration Act of 1965
• 4. Recent Immigration Laws

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Economic Reasons

• Poverty levels
• Income gap levels

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2011 HHS Poverty Guidelines

• Persons in Family 48 Contiguous States
  
• 1 10,870
• 2 14,710
• 3 18,530
• 4 22,350
• 5 26,170

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U.S. Poverty Rate in General

• 46.2 Million
• Highest rate in 52 years
• 1 in 7 Americans
• Based on 2010 U.S. Census Data

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Poverty Rate by Race and Ethnicity

• White (9.4)
• African-American (25.1)
• Hispanic (21.9)
• Asian-American (10.5)
• Native-American (25.9)
• Based on 2010 Census Figures

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Federal Pell Grant Recipients by Race and
Ethnicity

• Among 1999-2000 college graduates, percentage
  with selected characteristics by Pell Grant
  status 2001
• A Profile of Successful Pell Grant Recipients by
  National Center for Education Statistics,
  Published July, 2009

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Income Gap

• Income gap has grown to widest level in 25 years.
• 1984 (black/white income gap ratio was 121)
• Today (black/white income gap ratio is 201)
• Today (Hispanic/white income gap ratio is 181)
  
• Source Pew Social Demographic Trends, July,
  2011

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Median Income by Race and Ethnicity

• All households. 49,400
• White, not Hispanic54,600
• Black.32,100
• Hispanic (any race)....37,800
• Asian.64,300
• Native-American..33,600
• Based on 2010 Census Figures

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Sociological Reasons

• Survival
• Identity formation theories

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• The major issues we face now are survivalhow to
  live in a modern world. Part of this is how to
  remain Indian, how to assimilate without ceasing
  to be Indian. I think some important strides
  have been made. Indians remain Indian, and
  against pretty good odds. They remain Indian and
  in some situations, by a thread.
• Their languages are being lost at a tremendous
  rate, poverty is rampant, as is alcoholism. But
  still there are Indians, and the traditional
  world is intact.
• N. Scott Momaday, Confronting Columbus again,
  in P. Nabokov (Ed.), Native American testimony A
  Chronicle of Indian-White relations from prophecy
  to the present, 1492-1992 (New York Viking,
  1991), p. 438)

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Perceptions

• A cognitive process based on various personal
  experiences that formulate values, morals, ethics
  which influence their decisions and perceptions.
  
• Each individual will have their own unique
  perceptions due to the unique way they have been
  brought up.

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One can only show how one came to hold whatever
opinion one does hold. One can only give ones
audience the chance of drawing their own
conclusions as they observe the limitations, the
prejudices, the idiosyncrasies of the
speaker. Virginia Woolf, A Room of Ones Own.
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Perceptions

• Created by historical reasons
• Created by economic reasons
• Created by sociological reasons

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Perceptions based on Impersonal Contacts

• Webpage
• Facebook
• Publications

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Perceptions based on Personal Contacts

• Physical Environment
• Staff

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Perceptions based on Financial Aid Policies and
Procedures

• Meeting Eligibility Criteria
• Completing the FAFSA
• Completing Verification
• Maintaining Eligibility Criteria

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Conclusions/Thoughts