Women in Elite Colleges

Hi all,

I just came across this study out of Michigan (2014) that outlines an interesting dynamic in admissions in the most selective colleges. At those institutions, women actually account for less than half of enrolled students. It's counterintuitive considering the well-known nationwide trend of women out-enrolling and out-performing men in college!

The research team posits that SAT scores explain the dynamic. Women score lower, and such colleges weight test scores very highly in admission. I think there are two possible threads of discussion for us:

• test bias and under-performance on the SAT (we know this applies to many students)
• insistence by elite institutions to highly value test scores

Here's a post about the study from The Chronicle of Higher Education:
http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/what-keeps-women-out-of-elite-colleges-their-sat-scores/39109

And here's the original source:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bastedo/papers/BielbyPosseltJaquetteBastedo.pdf

Economically Adrift: Sequestration is HERE and There are Serious Consequences for Low Income Students

Today is the day. March 1, 2013, the deadline created in 2011 in an attempt to force congress to agree on terms to reduce the federal budget after raising the debt ceiling (source). Instead of steep budget cuts, the Obama administration proposes tax hikes for those who make 250,000 and above. Republicans are holding out for increase reduction in federal spending (source). Regarding of position, indecision of the federal government and subsequent sequestration, has deleterious effects on the financial stability of higher education and ability of many low-income students to reduce cost of attendance in our nations institutions.

Low-Income students across the country rely on sources of funding that fall under the "discretionary income" purview of the federal budget. Sequestration means that 5% will be cut from discretionary programs such as Upward Bound, Federal Work-Study, and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. It also includes federally funded research, which solves pressing world problems, and funds graduate students at research institutions across the county.

Scholars have estimated the state by state cost, indicating that the State of Illinois would have 3,280 fewer students on financial aid and 2, 650 fewer work study jobs (State by State breakdown). This could set a precedent, one in which encourages the federal government to makes these cuts permanent instead of looking for other long term solutions in making up the federal deficit.

As you think of readings from Kezar, what does this mean for access and retention of all low-income students  with special attention to private for profit, and two-year institutions, where most low-income students are located?

If you were President or Chancellor of an institution of higher education, what may be an appropriate action to take in order to:

1. Support currently enrolled low-income students and
2. Attract future low-income students to your campus?


To read more about sequestration, and its impact on Higher Education here are a few articles of interest:
CNN Explains: Sequestration
Education Sequestration: State By State Breakdown (Diverse Issues In Higher Ed)
Dire Warnings as Cuts Approach ( Inside Higher Ed)
America's Research Community Speaks Out

A Call to Action: How one Community College Addresses Disparities in Higher Education

In the Fall 2012 Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) newsletter, Dr. Baber and I contributed to an important conversation around educational equity in the community college system (see newsletter here). Current scholarship around students in the community college system, addresses the educational disparities facing African American and Latino males. Part of the conversation, and scholarship, which I address in the newsletter highlighted above, is the importance of structural (institutional) change that promotes the retention and support of students.

The Community College of Denver has answered the call. Diverse Issues in Higher Education featured the Urban Male Initiative (UMI) at the Community College of Denver. It was found that at the Community College of Denver, African American and Latino males made up under 10 percent of the student population yet accounted for  63 and 52 percent of the students in developmental courses, respectively. Dr. Ryan Ross, Dean of Student Development has taken a proactive stance, focusing on the needs of the students as well as the institutional barriers that inhibit success. 

Adopting the proverb, it takes a village, Dr. Ross strongly believes “Where are we (educators)? Are we only in the village from 9 to 5? And only in the village from 9 to 5 if they come see us on campus? We’ve got to get out in the village and see our students where they are to get them to where they need to be.” As a result of the UMI program which has grown from 15 to 135 young men, the collective G.P.A of group has increased from 1.8 to 2.4.

You can read the article Urban Male Initiative: Seeing Students Where They are To Get Them To Where They Need To Be here.

What Happens to a Dream Deferred?: The future of TRIO

TRIO, founded in the late 1960's, describes three federally funded education initiatives for low-income, first generation students. Talent Search, Upward Bound, and Student Support Services emerged out of the Higher Education Act of of 1965 and 1968 amendments (Office of Post Secondary Education, 2011). Years later, the Ronald. E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Program, Educational Opportunity Programs, and Upward Bound Math and Science were developed as part of the TRIO initiative.

The mission of TRIO is to provide  baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate opportunities by offering academic and financial support, pathways, and research opportunities that help students realize the dream of higher education. TRIO programs help students level the playing field by providing the cultural capital needed to navigate the college and post-baccalaureate preparation and application process.

Budget cuts threaten the future of this program, as the federal government is set to seize 43 million dollars from TRIO on March 1, 2013. In the Diversity of Higher Education February 6, 2013 article, "TRIO Support Advocates Seek Support in Congress", members of the Congressional TRIO Caucus are advocating for the support of this initiative, siting its history of creating pathways for college access and success and helping young people who may otherwise be crushed by an unjust system, have a fighting chance. See article here: TRIO Program Advocates Seek Support in Congress

In my professional role at The Pennsylvania State University, I have had the opportunity to work with Ronald E.McNair students. These are amazing students who conduct intensive research throughout the school year with world-renowned faculty in preparation for graduate school. In addition, the McNair program assists and develops students so they are prepared academically, socially, and mentally for the challenges of the post-baccalaureate degree. They are now in graduate school or graduates of the nations top institutions, such as Yale, University of Georgia, Johns Hopkins, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign . What happens to students, if Ronald E. McNair is cut or the number of slots greatly reduced? Will these same students still gain access to graduate education? Probably. Will they be as prepared and socialized for the graduate role as they are now when competing against applicants who have had research experience? Maybe,maybe not.

This is the story of so many young people in middle, high school, and college for whom access is afforded through the TRIO initiative. What happens when students are no longer provided an opportunity to develop and advance the skills needed to be admitted and graduate from college?  As scholars, what can we do to advocate for dollars so that initiatives such as TRIO can move forward without the threat of financial seizure?

Is this a public good or a private matter?


What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load. Or does it explode?
-Langston Hughes

Community Colleges Offer Online Courses to Address Specific Needs of Remedial Students

Given the increasing attention surrounding remedial education for under-represented students, this article seeks to explore the attractive possibilities of remedial education through online self-paced learning modules. The Monterey Institute for Technology (TMIT) has embraced the online remedial education approach by offering free remedial courses (online) for under-performing students. Arguably, TMIT is helping to eradicate the inequities in education specific to access -as many students often who are concentrated in preparatory course level offerings are less-likely to attend college. TMIT's intentionality in self-paced online learning may yield interesting results and implications for community colleges and policymakers.

LINK: http://diverseeducation.com/article/15015/