Socio-Economic Status: Building
Partnerships for Student Success
Professional Development Institute
January 7, 2010
Jody Donovan
Associate Dean of Students and Executive
Director of Parent and Family Programs
Oscar Felix
Executive Director
Access Programs
Andrea Reeve
Director
Academic Advancement Program
Paul Thayer
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and
Special Advisor to the Provost for Retention
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado
Session Overview
• Voices of Students
• Demographic Dimensions of Students from
First Generation and Low Income Backgrounds
• Research Perspectives
• Factors in Student Success
• Strategy Options and Decision-Making
• Summary
STUDENT VOICES
“I was a participant in the Aims Community
College Student Support Services Program.
So many times I told myself I couldn’t. Then
I would come into the office and hear, ‘yes,
you can”.
Kathy
“Sometimes it was hard for my Mom to
handle everything alone with my brother,
so I had to return to Denver to help out.
This made it difficult to establish a life for
myself at CSU. I still go home often.”
Rachel
“Pairing with a mentor kept me focused on
educational goals. As a first-generation
student I frequently felt ‘out of the loop’ of
higher education.”
Scott
Family Income Background
Chance for Baccalaureate Degree Attainment by Family Income,
1970-2005 (Thomas Mortenson, Postsecondary Education Opportunity,
June 2008)
80.0%
72.3%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
40.2%
30.0%
20.0%
10.2%
6.2%
10.0%
0.0%
1970
Top Quartile
2005
Bottom Quartile
Parent Educational Attainment
Background
“First Generation:”
Neither parent has earned a bachelor’s degree
Bachelor’s degree correlates with increased income, better
health, increased involvement in cultural activities,
recreation, voting, civic involvement and service
First Generation Students
• More likely to be Black or Hispanic and to be
from families from the lowest income quartile
• Have lower aspirations to earn a bachelor’s
degree, yet many do have such aspirations
(46-64%)
Choy, 2001
Chance for Baccalaureate Degree Attainment by Parent
Education Level, (Thomas Mortenson, Postsecondary
Education Opportunity, January 1999)
90%
85%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Chance for Baccalaureate
Non-first generation
First generation
First Generation
• First generation students compose 47% of all
entering college students (BPS, 1995-1996, in Pell
Institute, 2006)
• Among graduates who did go to college, 56%
of first-generation students attended a twoyear institution or less, compared to 23 % of
students whose parents had college degrees
(Berkner & Chavez, 1997, in Pell Institute, 2006)
Who Are Low-Income and First-Generation Students?
The Numbers…
• 4.5 million low-income, first
generation students enrolled in
postsecondary education
(24% of all undergrads)*
*US Department of Education National Postsecondary Student
Aid Study 2004
Demographics: more likely than
advantaged peers to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Be older
Be female
Have a disability
Come from minority backgrounds
Be non-native English speakers or
born outside of US
Have dependent children and be
single parents
Have a GED
Be financially independent from
parents
Have unmet financial need
Be enrolled at a community/2 year
college
(Pell Institute, Beyond Access, 2008)
15
Educational Outcomes and Socioeconomic Status
80%
Low Score
Middle Score
74%
High Score
70%
60%
51%
47%
50%
40%
30%
29%
30%
21%
20%
10%
8%
3%
7%
0%
Low income
Middle Income
High Income
Fox, Connolly, and Snyder 2005
Educational Outcomes and Socioeconomic Status
80%
Low Score
Middle Score
74%
High Score
70%
60%
51%
47%
50%
40%
30%
29%
30%
21%
20%
10%
8%
3%
7%
0%
Low income
Middle Income
High Income
Fox, Connolly, and Snyder 2005
Student Success at CSU
First Generation Students: Cumulative Graduation Rate
(Fall 2001 Cohort, through 2007)
8.9 percentage point
gap by sixth year
[7.0 percentage point
gap for the previous
cohort]
From CSU Institutional Research data
Pell Recipients: Cumulative Graduation Rate (Fall 2001 Cohort,
through 2007)
10.6 percentage point
gap by sixth year
[8.2 percentage point
gap for the previous
cohort]
From CSU Institutional Research data
Where are we heading?
Pell Recipients at Colorado State University by Fiscal Year
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
Series1
1993
1994
4787
4224
^
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
3678
3573
3622
3905
3921
3945
3632
3503
3671
Institution
Colorado State
University
Rank in Pell Recipient
Gain
Percentage Change:
‘93+’94 to ’07 +‘08
104
-20.4%
Regression Analysis:
What Effects for Various Factors,
Controlling at the Same Time for
Other Factors?
Lacy, Michael et. al., 2007
After adjusting for effects due to all other variables
(residency, gender, first generation, and Index)…
Odds of graduating (within 6
years) in relation to White
Students
Variable
Underrepresented
Race/Ethnicity
.567 to .727
(All statistically significant)
*** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1
After adjusting for effects due to all other variables
(ethnic/racial group, gender, residency, and Index)…
Odds of graduating (within 6
years) in relation to Students
Who Are Not First Generation
Variable
First Generation
College
0.616***
*** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1
Insights from Qualitative Research
Donovan, Jody (2007). Borders, Bridges and
Braiding: A Latino Family’s Meaning Making of
the First in the Family to Go to College.
Schwartz, J.L., Donovan, J. A., & Guido-DiBrito, F.
(2008). Stories of Social Class: Self-identified
Mexican male college students crack the silence.
Felix, Oscar (2002). Success Factors of UnderPrepared Students: A Phenomenological Study.
Borders, Bridges, and Braiding… (Jody
Donovan, 2006)
“I couldn’t depend on my family to tell me what
to do, because that’s usually who does tell me
what to do… I didn’t know what to expect
because I had no one to look to, and then I
wasn’t well prepared… not prepared for what
the college workload was like.”
-- Liz Puente
Borders, Bridges, and Braiding… (Jody
Donovan, 2006)
“It’s true that you don’t have to go to college to be
happy. But you don’t get many things because
we have to work twice as hard to get where
college people can get. She might buy a
Lamborghini and we might buy one too. But we
would have to have two jobs to pay for that and
she only has to have one job. And maybe just
Monday through Friday, and we have to work
seven days a week.”
--Liz’s Mom, Maggie
Success Factors of Underprepared Students: A
Phenomenological Study (Oscar Felix, 2002)
“I thought of three schools and CSU was one of
them. The other was Wyoming. Puget Sound
in Seattle was one of them. I kind of wanted
to go far away, but not too far. I know CSU is a
real good school within Colorado. And our
tuition costs, too, also affected that.”
--Student 7
Assets & Challenges Activity
Assets &
Opportunities
Pre-College
Postsecondary
Challenges
Choosing Strategies
Three Propositions: Which are True?
å Sound educational strategies for all students
benefit underrepresented students.
å Strategies conceived without diversity
explicitly in mind often miss the target.
å Strategies conceived with diverse students
explicitly in mind are likely to be powerful for
all students.
Potential Impact
Institutional /
Structural/
Comprehensive
Individual
Strategic Choice
Example: Academic Support
Institutional /
Structural/
Comprehensive
Individual
Learning Center:
collecting a few
services
Comprehensive
Learning Center
Facilitated Study
Group
Supplemental
Instruction
Letter of warning
to failing students
Tutoring Program
A
Strategic Choice
Access/Pipeline
Institutional /
Structural/
Comprehensive
Individual
P
Strategic Choice
Residence Life
Institutional /
Structural/
Comprehensive
Individual
P
Strategic Choice
Orientation
Institutional /
Structural/
Comprehensive
Individual
P
Strategic Choice
Class Curriculum and Pedagogy
Institutional /
Structural/
Comprehensive
Individual
P
Teaching
Advising
Student Support
Pre-College and Transition
Other?
Institutional /
Structural/
Comprehensive
Individual
Small Groups:
• Identify strategies that support first generation/low-income
students and place on the continuum.
• Propose at least one strategy that moves in the direction of
Institutional-Structural- Comprehensive.
• Share with group.
Resources
• Choy, S. (2001). Students Whose Parents Did Not Go to College:
Postsecondary Access, Persistence, and Attainment. Washington, DC:
National Center for Education Statistics.
• Engle, J., Bermeo, A., O’Brien, C. (2006). Straight from the Source: What
Works for First-Generation College Students. Washington, DC: Pell Institute
• Engle, J. and O’Brien, C. (2006). Demography is Not Destiny: Increasing the
Graduation Rates of Low-Income College Students at Large Public
Universities. Washington, DC: Pell Institute.
• Fox, M., Connolly, B., and Snyder, T. (2005). Youth Indicators 2005: Trends
in the Well-Being of American Youth. Washington, DC: National Center for
Education Statistics
• Mortenson, T. Postsecondary Education Opportunity,
http://www.postsecondary.org/
• Thayer, P. (2000). Retention of Students from First Generation and Low
Income Backgrounds. Washington, DC: National TRIO Clearinghouse.
• Pell Institute www.pellinstitute.org