(NAME-MCE) Study Outlines Path to Increasing Hispanics’ College-Graduation Rates

[Anselmo Villanueva]

Study Outlines Path to Increasing Hispanics' College-Graduation Rates

October 20, 2007

Colleges and universities across the country can promote greater
academic success among Hispanic students by emulating the practices of
11 public universities with higher-than-average graduation rates for
such students, says a new report from the American Association of
State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and The Education Trust.

To obtain the full report, go to:

http://aascu.org/documents/student_success.htm

Hispanic Student Success Study - study supported by AASCU, Lumina
Foundation for Education and the Education Trust (EdTrust)

Executive Summary

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities' (AASCU)
Hispanic Student Success Study was an initiative aimed at
understanding why some state-supported four-year colleges and
universities retain and graduate Hispanic students at much better
rates than their peers. The study, supported by the Lumina Foundation
for Education and sponsored by AASCU and the Education Trust
(EdTrust), used a methodology similar to AASCU's 2005 Graduation Rate
Outcomes Study titled Student Success in State Colleges and
Universities. Eleven campuses were selected for participation, either
because they maintained high graduation rates with little or no
difference in the rates for Hispanic and majority-group students, or
because they experienced substantial increases in Hispanic students'
graduation rates since 2000. Campuses were visited in the spring of
2007 by study teams consisting of faculty and staff from AASCU member
institutions.

Like the earlier study, the visiting teams did not find one overriding
factor that was responsible for students success at the institutions
that participated in the study. Indeed, these institutions engaged in
many of the same kinds of programming and had cultural features
similar to those involved in the earlier study. But the 11
institutions visited as part of the study did exhibit some distinctive
characteristics in three areas:

-- mission and culture
-- student-success programming
-- organizational leadership and development

The first distinctive attribute of these campuses with respect to
mission and culture was that they were intentional and overt in their
commitment to Hispanic students' success, highlighting this commitment
in their mission statements, strategic plans, and public
communications. Secondly, although they are committed to diversity,
these institutions are successful with Hispanic students in part
because they are dedicated to success for all students. Finally, these
campuses are able to succeed in part because they have been able to
recruit a critical mass of Hispanic students, one large enough to
create a viable community within a community.

In the realm of student-success programming, these institutions were
committed to maintaining connections between the campuses and Hispanic
students and their families and communities through early-recruitment
programs, activities that actively involve family members, and
community-service programming in Hispanic neighborhoods. They also
established on-campus programs targeted at Hispanic students, using,
for example, Greek organizations, cultural centers, and academic
support designed to create networks of mutual support among Hispanic
students. Finally, many of these institutions had academic programs
aimed directly at Hispanic students, including diversity requirements
in general-education courses, academic majors in such fields as
Hispanic studies, and special programs for Hispanic students within
traditional academic majors.

Turning to organizational leadership and development, presidential
leadership at these institutions emphasized a commitment to success
for Hispanic students and fostered collaborative and broad leadership
throughout the campus, especially in bridging the gap between academic
and student affairs. These campuses also devoted unusual attention to
recruiting and supporting Hispanic faculty and staff, as well as
engaging in substantial faculty and staff development to educate
non-Hispanic faculty and staff about Hispanic students' culture and
how to help Hispanic students succeed. Finally, these campuses had a
small, but important, number of Hispanic staff members who, regardless
of their formal job descriptions, were vividly committed to fostering
success among Hispanic students, acting as coaches and role models and
providing direct intervention and support.

Recommendations

Given these institutional attributes, presidents and academic leaders
at all AASCU institutions can do six things to foster campus cultures
and programs that are effective in retaining and graduating Hispanic
students. Leaders should:

• Make an explicit commitment to serving Hispanic students an integral
and visible element of the institution's mission, strategic plans, and
public messages.
• Listen carefully to Hispanic students to determine their distinctive
needs and experiences.
• Recognize the importance of family and community connections to
Hispanic students by directing the establishment of programs that
maintain those connections.
• Work to replicate the networks of support that are typical of
Hispanic families and communities by directing academic-affairs and
student-affairs staff to design programs that promote multiple
connections among Hispanic students.
• Create the conditions to sustain a culture of success for Hispanic
students, through faculty and staff recruitment, staff development,
and targeted investment.
• Evaluate programs and progress continuously to determine what is
working and where modifications might be required.

The results of this study demonstrate that any AASCU institution can
achieve levels of success for Hispanic students similar to those at
the institutions studied, given the proper combination of leadership,
programs that recognize the distinctive cultures and academic
experiences of Hispanic students, and persistent consistency in
decision-making.