Project IMPACT: Improving Minority Paths to Achievement Through Community Transformation

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Project IMPACTImproving Minority Paths to
Achievement Through Community Transformation

• Western Connecticut State University
• Community of Practice Leaders
• S. Alba D. Skar, Chair, Department of World
  Languages Literature
• skars_at_wcsu.edu 203-837-8485
• Linda Vaden-Goad, Dean, School of Arts and
  Sciences
• vaden-goadL_at_wcsu.edu 203-837-9400

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Project IMPACTCommunity of Practice Core Team
Leaders

• Academic Success Community
• Dr. Linda Rinker, Provost, Vice President for
  Academic Affairs
• Dr. William Petkanas, Professor and Chair of
  Communication, Director of Faculty Advisement and
  Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
• Student Life Community
• Dr. Walter Bernstein, Vice President for
  Student Affairs
• Regional Educational Community
• Bill Glass, Associate Superintendent of Danbury
  Public Schools
• Local Danbury Community
• Eva Colón, Director of the Hispanic Center of
  Greater Danbury
• Student Cohort Learning Community (crosses all
  communities)
• Jonathan Rodriguez, Student, President of LASO

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Outline of Presentation

1. What is the nature of our retention problem at
   WestConn?
2. What have we accomplished up to this point?
3. Where are we headed as we develop our
   implementation proposal?
4. What supports are useful from other campuses?

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What is the nature of our retention problem at
WestConn?

• Our Start
• AASCU Latino/Hispanic Student Success Self-Study
• Successes So Far
• Retention Programs

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Our StartAASCU Latino/Hispanic Student Success
at WestConnSelf-Studys Main Questions

• How are we doing in terms of access, retention
  and graduation?
• AASCU Self-Study
• What are our current efforts at WestConn that
  encourage student success?
• Pre-Collegiate Programs
• Building a Bridge to Improve Student Success
• First-Year Experience
• Other Initiatives

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Our StartLatino/Hispanic Self-StudyPurpose

• To learn from the experiences of 10 AASCU
  institutions that have demonstrated greater
  success than would be expected in the
  recruitment, retention and graduation rates of
  Latino/Hispanic students.
• To assess the current state of these factors at
  WestConn
• To begin closing the loop using data-driven
  findings and input from the university and
  greater community.

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Our StartLatino/Hispanic Self-StudyWestConns
Basic Data

• One of 4 Universities in CSU System
• Carnegie Classification Masters 1
• 4 Academic Schools
• 38 Undergraduate Programs Division of Graduate
  Studies
• 6,086 Students
• 15.4 to 1 Student to Faculty Ratio

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Our StartLatino/Hispanic Self-StudyWestConns
Basic Data, continued

• 2006 Average SAT for FTIC students 1000
• 90 of the students are from Connecticut
• 7 in university self-identify as Latino/Hispanic
  or Puerto Rican
• 15.8 in Danbury 2005 Census self-identify
• By 2030, it is predicted that Danbury will be 25
  Latino/Hispanic
• 1-Year Retention for L/H (using 2004 data)
  68.4
• a difference of 2.6 with non-Latino/Hispanic
  Caucasian students
• 6-Year Average Graduation Rate for L/H
  (1996-2000) 26.5
• a difference of 9 for non-Latino/Hispanic
  Caucasian students

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Our StartLatino/Hispanic Self-Study7 Current
Features That Contribute to Student Success

• Leadership, Values and Visioning, and the new
  Strategic Plan
• Pre-Collegiate Programs
• First-Year Experience Program
• Advising, Advisement Center, Orientation,
  Scheduling
• Provosts New Initiatives to enhance advisement
  and scheduling
• Learning Labs and Tutoring Resource Center
• Student Life, Organizations
• Curricular Initiatives

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Our StartLatino/Hispanic Self-Study5
Pre-Collegiate Programs Dedicated to Retention

• Pre-Collegiate Collaborative Programs (5)
• ConnCap/Upward Bound (with Danbury High)
• EXCEL Middle School Program (with Rogers Park
  and Broadview)
• Educational Achievement and Access Program EA2P
  here at WestConn, a summer preparation program
• ESL Adult Certificate Program (4 courses, TOEFL
  Test Prep)
• Building a Bridge to Improve Student Success
  (with Danbury and Bethel High Schools)

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Our StartLatino/Hispanic Self-StudyProblems
and Discoveries

1. Programs are present, but not joined
2. Programs are working, but not focused on
   Latino/Hispanic Student Success

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Our StartLatino/Hispanic Self-StudyBut, A
Bright Future

• Leadership and Campus Community
• Committed to the valuing of diversity and the
  learning that occurs in diverse settings
• New initiatives and integrated strategic plan
• Shared goals
• Many features already in place that contribute to
  student success at WestConn

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Our StartLatino/Hispanic Self-StudyGeneral
Conclusions

• We are making great strides to address student
  success in general.
• We are only beginning to address student success
  as it specifically relates to Latino/Hispanic
  students and their families.
• We are in an excellent position to address these
  issues in specific ways (Project IMPACT).

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Our StartLatino/Hispanic Self-StudySo, where
shall we go?

• How can we make appropriate changes such that
  Latino/Hispanic students feel
• Included
• Successful
• Motivated
• Invited
• What do families have to do with this?
• What does the greater community have to do with
  this?

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What have we accomplished up to this point?

• Project IMPACT - Structure
• Meeting Plans and Accomplishments to Date
• Conferences Attended / Associations Joined
• Data Plans Baseline Data (Faculty, Student and
  Beginning Student Engagement) and Demographics
• Website Transformations in Spanish!

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What have we accomplished up to this point?

• Project IMPACT - Our Structure
• Four Communities
• Academic Success Community
• Student Life Community
• Regional Educational Community
• Local Danbury Community
• Student Cohort Learning Community Crosses all
  four communities

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What have we accomplished up to this point?

• Potential for Community Transformation
• Integrating Diverse Support Services Faculty,
  Staff, Community
• Support for Students and Families in Transition
  to College
• Diversification of Curriculum and
  Student-Centered Pedagogy
• Community Engagement through Living, Learning,
  and Listening

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What have we accomplished up to this point?

• Meeting Plans and Accomplishments to Date
• 2-Day Introductory Meeting
• Student Perspectives
• Discussion of Retention Problem with Community
  of Practice
• Introduction to National Data on Retention of
  Latin_at_ Students
• Research on Successful Campuses AASCU
• Group and Individual Responses to Potential for
  Transformation
• Consultant Workshop in November Dr. Cathy
  Engstrom

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What have we accomplished up to this point?

• Conferences Attended / Associations Joined
• HACU Hispanic Association of Colleges and
  Universities
• Research Conference Attended October 2007
• Membership as Partner Institution November
  2007

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What have we accomplished up to this point?

• Data and Research Plans
• Demographics Admissions and IR
• NSSE Student Engagement
• BCSSE Beginning College Student Engagement
• FSSE Faculty Engagement
• Web-based research available on IMPACT web page

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What have we accomplished up to this point?

• Integration of Diverse Languages for Support
• Bilingual and Bicultural Assistant Director of
  Admissions
• Translations of Admissions Print and Web
  Materials
• Spanish-Language Financial Aid Information

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Where are we headed as we develop our
implementation proposal?

• Synthesizing Meeting Outcomes and Generating
  Emphasis for Each Community
• Planning Upcoming Meetings Consultants,
  Workshops, Readings
• Researching and Growing Library Holdings to
  Support Proposal (University, School and
  Regional Libraries)
• Creating a WIKI for Portfolio Development

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What supports are useful from other campuses?

• Successful Strategies for Retention of
  Latino/Hispanic Students
• Examples of Student Success Centers
• Which ones work and how can they best support
  Latino/Hispanic students?
• How can they be centers for diversity and
  community?
• Community Engagement Living, Learning, and
  Listening