Unstack the Odds: Help All Kids Access College—and Graduate!
by
Joe Rottenborn
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)
14. Success, Part 3
“Moreover, we find that learning in higher education is characterized by persistent and/or growing inequality. There are significant differences in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills when comparing groups of students from different family backgrounds and racial / ethnic groups. More important, not only do students enter college with unequal demonstrated abilities, but their inequalities tend to persist—or, in the case of African-American students relative to white students, increase—while they are enrolled in higher education.”--Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010, excerpt pp. 121-25. http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/028569.html
What are some recommendations to increase the chances of success in college for underrepresented students? The Latino Roadmap report suggested the following [emphasis in original]: “Increase student retention efforts for working students in good standing. The majority of Latino college students work while enrolled. Given changes in the economy, more students in good standing encounter shifts in their work schedules after they begin a semester that can decrease their retention or the quality of education they receive." (Roadmap for Ensuring America’s Future By Increasing Latino College Completion, Excelencia in Education, March 2011, p. 14.) http://www.edexcelencia.org/initiatives/EAF/Roadmap
"Require a simplified transfer pathway to colleges and universities. About half of all Latino undergraduates are enrolled in two-year institutions. Unfortunately, too few complete an associate degree or transfer to a college/university. To encourage completion of an associate degree and continuation to a bachelor degree, the confusing pathway to transfer from one institution to another should be simplified." (Ibid., p. 16.) http://www.edexcelencia.org/initiatives/EAF/Roadmap
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