Running Head: RESEARCH PAPER, OPTION #1

Research Paper, Option #1 Eden Tullis SDAD585-Seattle University August 7, 2013

RESEARCH PAPER, OPTION #1 Introduction

College access for first-generation and/or low-income students plays a significant and essential role in todays Higher Education system. First-generation students often identify as low-income, and low-income students usually always identify as first-generation. In fact, back in 2008, about 60% of all low-income young adults were attending college (Institute for Higher Education Policy, Low-Income Young Adults in Higher Education, 1993-2010). In 1995-96, first-generation students made up 47% of students entering higher education, up from 43% just six years earlier. [] The current first-generation population likely makes up the majority of postsecondary enrollment (Stoll, p. 5). These students are usually perceived as high-risk candidates for obtaining a degree for a number of reasons. Parents and guardians profoundly influence a students persistence, but selfconfidence, academic success, social expectations, and financial standing also have a significant impact (Hicks, 2013). In comparison to peers, first-generation and low-income students may not have a reference or a guide for what college will entail. Readiness and preparedness to take on the rigor of a system that is unknown can be exciting and challenging all at the same time, and it can be extremely helpful when there is a service to help students navigate this transition. What used to be a population of minorities in the college system is now a majority (Hicks, 2013), and programs such as Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID), College Access Now (CAN), Summer Search, and TRIO serve as complex but efficiently run sectors for the needs of any student who identifies as high-risk. Unfortunately, rising tuition costs, social and personal demands, and unemployment rates force more first-generation and low-income students to miss their shot to enroll and finish a postsecondary degree. The reality is that higher education is beginning to head towards a detrimental

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future where it is becoming a privilege for the poor, a luxury for the rich, and a sacrifice for the first-generation students of the middle class. What is worse, is that there is significantly less federal funding going towards the efforts of these programs, even though they are fighting the detriment to foster college matriculation and support student achievement for first-generation and low-income students. What makes college access programs efficient still is that their model shows how to have an established and holistic relationship with students for longer periods of time. By providing a bridge to transition from high school to college, college access is ultimately recruiting more students for institutions and spending more time supporting these students. Higher graduation and retention rates are then boosted by services like counseling, tutoring, and financial aid assistance, all of which push students toward completion (AASCU State Relations and Policy Analysis Team, 2013). Other goals of these programs align with the Top 10 Higher Education State Policy Issues for 2013, too (AASCU State Relations and Policy Analysis Team). There is also something to be said about how these programs are funded or supported in relation to other higher educational sectors. Another efficiency is bringing in a population and supporting them with a low cost that is easy on institutional budget. The Non-Profit Programs AVID, CAN, and Summer Search are non-profits focused on college readiness in the elementary and secondary school systems. These efforts contribute to a college support pipeline (AVID, AVID for Higher Education- Overview, 2013). AVID In 2009, AVID began to establish satellite offices on college campuses, and by 2013, there are 28 total (AVID, Where is AVID, 2013). AVID for Higher Education also has strong

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initiatives that promote development and retention amongst all key players staff, faculty, and administrators. The Student Success Initiative supports readiness and success while the Teacher Preparation Initiative instructs how to support college readiness (AVID, AVID for Higher Education- Overview, 2013). If any elementary, secondary, or post-secondary school sees a need for an AVID program, AVID has enough monetary support to help create one (AVID, Grand Writing Resources, 2013). This is based on grant request, therefore AVIDs incoming funds are dependent upon partnerships that include: districts, communities, foundations, and federal and state initiatives (AVID, Funding AVID, 2013). CAN CAN, a Seattle-based non-profit, pledges to help 500 students from six different high schools choose the right [college], create sustainable habits, and prepare for the transition away from family (College Access Now, What We Do: Persisting through College, 2013). The efforts of this non-profit are supported by donations, monetary gifts, community partners, and an established volunteer group (College Access Now, Give Funds, 2013). Coordinators and volunteers at CAN work on site at each of the six high schools for oneon-one appointments and their popular mentoring program (College Access Now, Partner Schools, 2013). Until recently, CAN concentrated on secondary education but saw a need for a more hands-on approach with the FAFSA and admissions process. This is because 99% of their students were being admitted to colleges but a much lower number (46%) were graduating from them (College Access Now, Partner Schools, 2013). In 2012, their College Persistence program was launched to better track challenges and barriers of their freshmen to connect them to respective college representatives and departments

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that would help them succeed (College Access Now, What We Do: Persisting through College, 2013). This encourages retention throughout high school and beyond because it gets students headed in the right direction with both awareness and support. Summer Search The awareness and support for Summer Searchs established alumni group is something unique about how they are effective in persistence. There are Summer Search locations urbanely stationed in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, and New York City (Summer Search, Locations, 2013). In 2012, there were $8 million of individual contributions to fund the program (Summer Search, Governance & Board: 2012 Annual Report, 2013). There was also almost $5 million donated from corporations and foundations that supported the cause, but since a majority of their total $12 million in support came from individual gifts, it appears Summer Search is doing something right (Summer Search, Governance & Board: 2012 Annual Report, 2013). Summer Search might not have an actual place in Higher Education yet, but their funding is directly tied to their alumni program so that each graduate of the program has a PostSecondary Program Coordinator (Summer Search, Stay Connected, 2013). The program

coordinator is in in charge of keeping the most up-to date status on students and their academic and professional pursuits. They can help with the internship process, no matter what area, and they offer to connect students with mentors in their respective fields (Summer Search, Stay Connected, 2013). They also try and encourage Summer Searchers to stay connected whether that means through attendance at Summer Search conferences and events, participation in Summer Search committees, or giving back to help support current Summer Searchers (Summer Search, Stay Connected, 2013).

RESEARCH PAPER, OPTION #1 Partnerships These Non-Profits Create

AVID, CAN, and Summer Search have a more indirect partnership with higher education and direct partnerships with other communities. They are successful and efficient because they believe in the pipeline approach of moving students towards a future of post-secondary education and work with their students to get them to a college or university they will be successful at. All three of them are also beginning to recognize how getting high-risk candidates to college is not efficient enough so they are dedicating the time to providing some kind of follow through or support through post-secondary schooling. AVID has made up for this through satellite sites, CAN has created initiatives focused on the personal challenges and accomplishments of each student that makes it to college, and Summer Search values their community of alumni while continually connecting and engaging them even after they have graduated high school, left the program, and found balance in higher education. TRIO Programs TRIO is a federally-funded service for students who identify as low-income, firstgeneration, and/or disabled. Talent Search (TS) and Upward Bound (UB) are two support groups for students in the elementary and secondary school systems. Student Support Services (SSS) is the support group for students pursuing a post-secondary education. Over time, five other programs have been established out of need-base for veterans, staff members, nontraditional students, Doctorial candidates, and the demand of math and science proficiencies (U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs- Home Page, 2013). Many of these eight groups can be centrally placed together in the community or on a college campus. One efficiency of this is that it drives a comfortable ease into the transition of higher education. It takes this pipeline concept of non-profits and streamlines the process.

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Often, students enroll in the same college they have been going to for the services that helped them through middle school and high school. This might be the next step for them before they transfer, but it is still essential to their development. Regulations Furthermore, since TRIO is federally-funded and usually supported by establishments of higher education, there are copious regulations to abide by. One representative from the program must meet one-on-one with a campus budget manager or research analyst because a small amount of the grant money is given back to the college or university for student-worker wages, conferences, and some travel (T. Benjamin, personal communication, August 4, 2013). A thorough grant application process replaces annual contributions, gifts, and donations. The U.S. Department of Education sets objectives for TRIO departments and only considers the departments with previous experience and participant need (U.S. Department of Education, USC Chapter 28, Subchapter IV, Part A, p. 2). Grants must be renewed every five years now, and this checks and balances system is also layered with peer review from underrepresented members of higher education including African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, and Native American Pacific Islanders are represented. [] The Secretary shall also ensure that persons from urban and rural backgrounds are represented as readers (U.S. Department of Education, USC Chapter 28, Subchapter IV, Part A, p. 2). Advocacy Trudi Benjamin, a retired Director of TRIO, served the program for 20+ years. After the allocations were processed to her program at Emporia State University (ESU), Benjamin would then distribute small grant amounts to a percentage of students in the Student Support Services program (personal communication, August 4, 2013). Her selection process was based on a

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students utilization of TRIO services, their participant need, and their overall GPA (T. Benjamin, personal communication, August 4, 2013). From observation and retention assessment the TRIO office completed there at ESU (T. Benjamin, personal communication, August 4, 2013), students who were given the grants were more likely to advance and complete their studies. College affordability is a huge policy issue in 2013 (AASCU State Relations and Policy Analysis Team, 2013) and an even bigger issue for low-income students enrolled in TRIO programs. To ensure that these students financial needs are being met, there has to be some dedication to this piece. Take for example how Benjamin committed to advocating for TRIO while in the capacity of Director; advocacy significantly impacts how much grant money TRIO offices can give out in the first place. She and other TRIO professionals in Director or Assistant Director roles go to Washington D.C. to fight for national allocations every year. Today advocating at our nations capital is essential for TRIO, she says. Our departments are getting cut left and right since there are less grants to give and the participant need is becoming tighter (T. Benjamin, personal communication, August 4, 2013). Fostering Transition and Support These may not be the most exciting or strongest times in TRIO history, and whole programs being cut is not promising, but since there is no extra money to be handled and participant need is tightening, TRIO departments are being more efficient about what students need. There can be little to no deviation from the proposed budget which promotes sticking to the priorities of student readiness, preparedness, retention and completion. TRIO is efficient because the program fosters the transition into college academics and combines that with personal and financial support.

RESEARCH PAPER, OPTION #1 Low Cost and Policy Issues

Budgets of college access programs stand as self-supporting auxiliary budgets (Barr, 2011). They provide a service for a readily identifiable subgroup of a campus population (Barr, p. 120) through federal allocations or partnerships with donors and corporations. This further promotes transparency, detailed development, and a direct comparison to state priorities (Barr, 2011); the personal and financial support these services provide may cost a significant amount, but they are well thought out and planned for annually. Four 2013 policy issues the college access sector happens to be invested in have been mentioned; those key issues are boosting institutional performance (#1), tuition prices and tuition policy (#3), state student grant aid programs (#4), and (#5) college readiness (AASCU State Relations and Policy Analysis Team, 2013). Out of the 10 total issues discussed by the AASCU State Relations and Policy Analysis Team (2013), state operating support for public higher education (#2) and economic and workforce development as it relates to STEM majors (#9) are other policy issues the college access sector is dedicated to. TRIO, for example has already been readjusting to the dramatic changes of state operating support because of their tighter participation needs, and they have also recognized a need to prioritize science and math (U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO ProgramsHome Page, 2013). By being in the elementary and secondary school systems these programs fulfill a need for innovative approaches such as field trips to college campuses and presentations by other first-generation college students enrolled in a STEM major which provides valuable opportunities to better prepare [these] students before the beginning of their college studies (Hicks, 2013, p. 71). Another approach taken by the non-profits and TRIO is financial literacy and advising. By highlighting the realities of tuition, loans, scholarships, grants, and general

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budgets, they are empowering students to make informed decisions in order to take control of their own debt. This can play a dramatic role in personal and workforce development, too since budgeting is a valued asset in any career. Conclusion The ultimate message here is how college access programs exist to provide just that: access and support. Generally speaking, college campuses are designed for those who possess familiarity with postsecondary culture and values, meaning first-generation students face the lonely reality of being outsiders on campus and often times without the support of an understanding community (Stoll, 2013, p. 6). College access programs provide resources to first-generation and low-income students so they can have a successful post-secondary career. This makes college access fundamentally efficient especially because high-risk candidates are a subgroup of higher education whom can excel when given the tools and resources to do so. College access programs also sustain retention with advising, counseling, and tutoring, and they are low-cost sectors for a good majority of todays college population. Finally, non-profits and federally-funded programs pipeline enrollment by bringing students into the higher education system while respectively abiding by common governance and policy.

RESEARCH PAPER, OPTION #1 References AASCU State Relations and Policy Analysis Team. (January 2013). Top 10 Higher Education state policy issues for 2013: A Higher Education policy brief. American Association of State Colleges and Universities. AVID. (2013). AVID for Higher Education- Overview; Where is AVID; Grant Writing Resources; Funding AVID. Retrieved August 4, 2013, from: http://www.avid.org/ Barr, M.J., and McClellan, G. (2011). Budgets and financial management in higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Benjamin, T. (2013, August 4). Phone interview. College Access Now. (2013). What We Do: Persisting through College; Give Funds; Partner Schools. Retrieved July 31st, 2013, from: http://www.collegeaccessnow.org/ Hicks, T., Heastie, S., Allen, T., Ford, S., and Taylor, R. (2013). College social experiences between first-generation students and other students enrolled in a STEM discipline at a

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historically black college and university. NODA: The Journal of College Orientation and Transition, 20 (2): pp. 61-77. Institute for Higher Education Policy. (1993-2013). Low Income Young Adults in Higher Education. Retrieved August 4, 2013, from: http://www.ihep.org/lowincomeyoungadults.cfm Stoll, E. (2013). First-generation college students: Navigating the worlds of school and home. NODA: The Journal of College Orientation and Transition, 20 (2): pp. 5-15. Summer Search. (2013). Locations; Governance & Board; Stay Connected. Retrieved July 31st, 2013, from: http://www.summersearch.org/ U.S. Department of Education. (2011). Federal early outreach and student services programs, 20

RESEARCH PAPER, OPTION #1 USC Chapter 28, Subchapter IV, Part A, pp. 1-49. Retrieved July 31st, 2013, from: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/index.html U.S. Department of Education. (2013). Federal TRIO Programs- Home Page. Retrieved July 31st, 2013, from: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/index.html

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