ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT LATINO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
STUDENTS’ABILTY TO TRANSFER TO A FOUR-YEAR UNIVERSITY
Nancy Flores
B.A., California State University, Chico, 2008
THESIS
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
EDUCATION
(Multicultural Education)
at
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
SUMMER
2011
© 2011
Nancy Flores
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ii
ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT LATINO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
STUDENTS’ ABILITY TO TRANSFER TO A FOUR-YEAR UNIVERSITY
A Thesis
by
Nancy Flores
Approved by:
__________________________________, Committee Chair
Albert S. Lozano, PhD
__________________________________, Second Reader
Carlos Nevarez, PhD
____________________________
Date
iii
Student: Nancy Flores
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University
format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to
be awarded for the thesis.
__________________________, Department Chair
Susan Heredia, PhD
Department of Bilingual/Multicultural Education
iv
___________________
Date
Abstract
of
ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT LATINO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
STUDENTS’ ABILITY TRANSFER TO A FOUR-YEAR UNIVERSITY
by
Nancy Flores
Statement of Problem
The majority of Latinos continue their education by attending a two-year college
after high school instead of going directly to a four-year university. Unfortunately, less
than twenty percent of these students are able to transfer to a four-year institution (Haro,
2008), statistics that exemplify the fact Latinos are not succeeding in higher education.
Education is important and a crucial element in the progression of any community in the
United States (Guerrero-Avila, 2001). The effects of undereducated Latinos for
California and the United States will be that the nation will have an undereducated
population unable to compete with other countries (Abergo, 2008).
Sources of Data
There was total of ten Latinos interviewed in this study. They were all first and
second generation students of Mexican descent in their twenties or early thirties. Five
subjects interviewed had attended community college and transferred to a four-year
institution and five others who attended community college, left without completing a
degree or transferring. The interviews all took place in a public location.
v
Conclusions Reached
The data indicated that those Latinos who transferred to a four-year university had
two or more the five factors that Nevarez and Woods (2010) argue help students
successful in a community college. These five factors include: background factors,
personal factors, social factors, macro level support (e.g., funding, teacher development,
etc), and institutional (e.g., affective, sense of belonging) factors. On the other hand, for
those who were unable to transfer, three of those participants did not possess any of the
give factors and dropped out of community college. Two participants had two factors that
are considered successful determinants for students to be successful in community
college (Nevarez& Woods, 2010), but were unable to overcome additional obstacles to
successfully transfer. According to Nevarez& Woods’s (2010) Community College
Achievement Gap Model, having all five; background factors, personal factors, social
factors, macro level support for institution, and institutional factors, enable students to
succeed in a community college system.
_______________________, Committee Chair
Albert S. Lozano, PhD
______________________
Date
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thought that I would never complete this thesis and thanks to my friends, family,
colleagues, Mujeres, professors and advisors; I have now accomplished this difficult, yet
satisfying task. Thank you to my advisor and mentor Dr. Albert Lozano for all your
extensive help and I greatly appreciate the long hours you have spent helping me through
this process. I would also like to thank my second reader Dr. Carlos Nevarez for his great
and much appreciated input.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... vii
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1
Background ..............................................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................5
Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................7
Importance of Research ...........................................................................................7
The Researcher’s Relation to the Issue ....................................................................9
Theoretical Framework ..........................................................................................10
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 15
Importance of Latinos in the United States............................................................15
Comparison of Latinos and African-Americans ....................................................17
Latinos and Education............................................................................................18
Latinos and Higher Education ...............................................................................21
The Master Plan .....................................................................................................23
California Community Colleges ............................................................................25
The Importance of Education and Benefits for Latinos .........................................30
Financial Aid ..........................................................................................................31
Family Support.......................................................................................................31
Academic Support ..................................................................................................33
Student Support Services .......................................................................................36
Summary ................................................................................................................38
viii
3.METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 40
Restatement of the Problem ...................................................................................40
Positionality ...........................................................................................................40
Research Design.....................................................................................................41
Procedures ..............................................................................................................43
Sample....................................................................................................................45
Latinos who left community college without completing .....................................48
The Community Colleges ......................................................................................51
Data Collection ......................................................................................................53
Data Analysis .........................................................................................................54
4. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION .......................................................... 55
Reasons for attending community college .............................................................55
Academic Support in Community College ............................................................62
Family Involvement ...............................................................................................65
Peer Influences/Support .........................................................................................67
Financial Support ...................................................................................................71
Overall Culminating Experience............................................................................72
Transferred vs. Dropped Out .................................................................................75
Conclusion .............................................................................................................76
5. OVERVIEW, DISCUSSION, LIMITATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS .............. 78
Overview ................................................................................................................78
Discussion ..............................................................................................................78
Limitations .............................................................................................................82
Recommendations ..................................................................................................83
Future Research .....................................................................................................86
Conclusion .............................................................................................................87
Appendix A. Consent to Participate in Research .............................................................. 89
Appendix B. Questions for Interviewees .......................................................................... 91
ix
References ......................................................................................................................... 93
x
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Background
Recently, Latinos1 have become the largest minority group in the United
States (Ramos, 2004), but have had difficulty succeeding in American schools (Valdés,
1996). According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Hispanics are now 16 percent of the U.S.
population which is a three percent increase from the 2000 U.S. Census (Ennis, RiosVargas & Albert, 2011). In California, Latinos compromise 27.8 percent of the Latino
population, making California the state with the most Latinos(Ennis, Rios-Vargas &
Albert, 2011). Latinos in California public schools compromise about 48 percent of the
student population (Gándara& Contreras, 2009).Latinos and African-Americans are the
lowest achieving ethnic groups in the United States (Noguera& Wing, 2006). Many
people blame Latinos for their failures in academics and many times this blame is put on
their culture or the language barrier (Valencia & Black, 2002). Many Latinos come to the
United States to find a better life than in their home country (Acuña, 1996). They want to
be able to provide a better future for their children.There are many arguments scholars
have developed to explain why Latinos do not succeed in the American school system.
For example, in the early 1900s a lot of the blame of these educational failures had been
1
The terms Latinos and Hispanic are used interchangeably.
2
placed on the supposed laziness of Mexican-Americans and children of color (Valencia &
Black, 2002). Another argument has been that due to the language barrier that Latinos
face they are unable to succeed in American schools (Valdés, 2001). This assumption,
along with many others, has been made about minorities since the early 1900s and many
of these still continue to exist today. For example, Valdés (1996) discusses three different
categories that describe non-mainstream children’s school failure. These three categories
are the genetic, cultural and the class analysis arguments (Valdés, 1996). The genetic
argument states that some ethnic groups are more genetically able to perform well in
schools than others. The cultural argument is broader. For one, it argues that nonmainstream students do not do well in schools because they are born to a poor family and
poor students underachieve in schools, which perpetuates itself (Valdés, 1996). The other
side of the cultural argument says that because parents do not value education, their
children also do not value education; therefore, these students do not succeed in school.
Lastly, the class analysis argument states that class difference is what maintains poor
students on the low end of the success rate in American schools; this argument blames
the capitalist society (Valdés, 1996). The class analysis also states that the education
system is set up in such a way that reproduces classes without providing avenues for
upward mobility (Valdés, 1996). Here students are made to believe that they can achieve
and succeed if they work hard. When they fail to move up the social ladder, they simply
3
blame themselves. Overall, it is evident that Latinos have had difficulties in education for
many years and numerous reasons have been cited as causing this failure.
These difficulties in the education system are seen as early as in elementary
school and this is shown in the testing data. In California elementary schools, students are
given the California Standards Tests (CST). The CST is given to ensure that students are
meeting California standards (California Department of Education, 2011, C). When
comparing CST data results for the third grade, Latinos not only score lower than their
Caucasian counterparts but they score lower than the California average. For example, in
2010, CST results for all third grade students showed that on average 44 percent scored
either advanced or proficient in the Language Arts portion (California Department of
Education, 2011, D). For Latinos, however, in the language arts section of the CST, 30
percent scored advanced or proficient. In the math portion, 65 percent of all third grade
students who took the test obtained advanced or proficient level (California Department
of Education, 2011, D). While 57 percent of Latinos obtained an advanced or proficient
level in the math portion (California Department of Education, 2011, E), the gap between
Latinos and other ethnicities like Caucasians are clearly evident in these statistics. In the
language arts portion of the CST, 61 percent of Caucasian students scored either
advanced or proficient. In the math portion, 78 percent scored either advanced or
proficient (California Department of Education, 2011, F). These test scores show the
numerous problems that exist in our educational system. Latino students are taught the
4
same curriculum in the same time frame without taking into consideration each student’s
needs and/or accommodations. This is evident in the testing data that shows there is a
significant gap between minorities, especially Latino students and Caucasian students.
The testing quandary follows Latino students into high school. In high school,
students are required to take the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) in the
tenth grade. If students do not pass the exam on their first try then they must continue to
take the CAHSEE until they pass or they are not able to graduate. This is yet another test
that students are required to take and another test where Latinos do not perform well. For
example, on the July 2009 CAHSEE, there were a total of 12, 387 students who took this
exam (California Department of Education, 2011, A). Out of the 12,387 students, 8,347
(67%) were Latino students. Out of the 8,347 Latino students only 2,680 (32%) passed
the Math portion of the CAHSEE (California Department of Education, 2011, A). On the
English CAHSEE the passing rate of Latinos was even lower, only 23 percent passed
(California Department of Education, 2011, A). In May of 2010, there were 24,000
Latinos students who took the Math CAHSEE, but only 6,741 (24%) passed. Latino
students continue to perform at a lower rate than their Caucasian colleagues. When
Latinos are compared to their Caucasian counterparts they fall extremely behind.
Although there were less Caucasian students who took the exam, their percentage passing
rates were around 50 percent (California Department of Education, 2011, B).
5
Tests and exams are now the standard in California schools and students are not
allowed to think critically. As Aronowitz (2009) states,
In the quest to restore authority, conservative educational policy has forcefully
caused schools to abandon, both rhetorically and practically, the so-called childcentered curriculum and pedagogy in favor of measures that not only hold
students accountable for passing standardized tests and for a definite quantity of
school knowledge-on penalty of being left back from promotion or expelled-but
also impose performance-based criteria on administrators and teachers (p.107).
Students are no longer able to critically think and are rather forced to think like
computers while forced to take countless tests and assessments (Emery, 2007). For
example, the researcher attended a conference that was supposed to discuss the
innovations in education in California. This conference only discussed ways to further
assess students in California and failed to acknowledge the diversity in this state. There
was no discussion about the budget cuts and how this is affecting the teaching of
students. How is it possible that a four day conference missed the real issues California is
facing in education? This conference was an example of where the priorities were for
some politicians and education policy writers.
Statement of the Problem
According to the Master Plan, community colleges were structured as a bridge to
a four-year institution and yet the transfer rate of students is extremely low (Christopher,
6
2005). As Nevarez and Woods (2010) articulate, transfer is one of the primary roles of
the community college system, with offering terminal degrees, remedial education, and
continuing education the other three. Moreover, the transfer rate of Latinos to a four-year
university is even lower. Statistics show that 49% of K-12 students in California are
Latinos; yet, Latinos only represent 16% of college students in this state (Chavez, 2009).
Latinos are now the largest minority in the United States and are almost the majority in
California and yet this is not represented in higher education (Bernstein, 2007).
Moreover, in California alone there are over 100 community colleges that are intended to
help students transfer to a university (Lay, 2010). The majority of Latinos continue to
attend a two-year college after high school instead of going directly to a four-year
university (Haro, 2008). Unfortunately, less than twenty percent transfer to a four-year
institution (Haro, 2008). These statistics show that Latinos are not succeeding in higher
education at the same rate as their Caucasian counterparts. Education is important and a
crucial element in the “advancement of any community in the United States” (GuerreroAvila, 2001). The effects of undereducated Latinos for California and the United States
will be that the nation will have an undereducated population unable to compete with
other countries (Abergo, 2008).
7
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to document the academic and social factors
impacting Latino student community college success2 through the voices of Latino
students who have attended a community college. The research questions were:
1. What are the reasons why Latinos chose to attend a community college?
2. What are the academic resources that Latino students utilize?
3. To what extent does family influence student success in community college?
4. How influential are peers to Latino students in community college?
5. What financial struggles do Latinos have to face and what are their financial
situations?
6. What aretheoverall opinions that Latinos have about their community college
experience and what are the types of support they would have liked to receive?
7. What academic and social factors assisted or impeded their ability to transfer?
Importance of Research
Education should be for everybody regardless of their background, economic
status, race, religion, gender, etc. Yet education tends to be more accessible for those who
have the resources3and for those who are considered to be smart. Education means
2
Success in this context means Latino students that entered community college and transferred to a four-
year university.
3
Resources such as money and knowledge of the academic institution in the United States.
8
different things for different people. Specifically, education can be a pathway to upward
mobility for those who come from a low social-economic background. The Latino
population in the United States is growing at a greater rate than other groups and,
unfortunately, many of these Latinos are undereducated and working in low-wage and
hard labor jobs (Hendricks, 2002). Latinos are known to do the jobs that other Americans
are not willing to do such as picking fruit and working in dire working conditions. In the
2000 Census there were 281.4 million people who were counted in the United States
(Guzman, 2001). Out of those 281.4 million people, 35.3 million people were Hispanic
and out of those 35.3 million Hispanics, 58.5% were Mexican (Guzman, 2001). From the
Census 1990 to the Census 2000, the Hispanic population grew by more the 50 percent
(Guzman, 2002). How can we move forward as a society without educating our people?
And when I say our people I am referring to every single person in this country.
Latinos enroll at a community college at a higher rate than at a four-year
institution and therefore it is important to look at the causes of their preferences of
enrollment, especially because the transfer rate to a four-year institution is alarmingly
low (Chapa &Schink, 2006; Flores, 2010; Zell, 2010). There are numerousresearchers
that lay the blame on Latinos for their failures, but fail to look at the educational and
social systems as possible contributors to the failures of Latinos. With the increase of
tuition in the California State University and University of California systems, it will
become a greater challenge for Latinos to attend higher levels of education (Chavez,
9
2009). With the increase in tuition, the CSUs and UCs are also increasing the admission
requirements and are becoming more selective, while the California Community Colleges
are reducing the number of course offerings (Moore, Offenstein, &Shulock, 2011). The
budget adversity that higher education is facing is affecting Latinos and ethnic minorities’
access to an equitable education and to the resources the students need in order to
succeed (Moore, Offenstein, &Shulock, 2011).
The Researcher’s Relation to the Issue
One night at a family dinner the researcher sat next to an older cousin. They
began to have a conversation about college. He told her that the reason he did not
continue college was because he was paying for it out of pocket and felt it was too
expensive to continue, not to mention his concern of the financial burden for his single
mother. Not too long after this conversation the researcher met a friend’s family and she
noticed that all the younger generation of this family was attending college. In her family,
going to college was the exception. The usual trend is that if somebody does decide to
attend college, they attend community college and then discontinue. The researcher’s
questions began there: Why does her family decide not to go to college? Why do they
decide to attend a community college instead of a four-year institution? For those who do
go to community college, why do they leave without transferring, or at the very minimum
finishing a degree or certificate? Is there a lack of information? Is there a lack of
10
motivation from the family? Is there a lack of motivation from these individuals? Are the
schools failing the Latino population in the field of education?
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework that the researcher used in this study was Social
Capital Theory. As Stanton-Salazar and Dombusch (1995) state, “Social capital refers to
social relationships from which an individual is potentially able to derive institutional
support, particularly support that includes the delivery of knowledge-based resources, for
example, guidance for college admission or job advancement” (p. 119).Social capital, for
the purpose of this research, encompassed peers, family, teachers, administrators, or any
other individual that influence a student’s life. The researcher used social capital to
examine and explain why some Latino students transferred to a four-year university and
why others left community college without obtaining anything. The researcher argued
that although Latino students have high aspirations of obtaining a degree and succeeding
in higher education, it is the lack of resources and knowledge that prevents them from
achieving their educational objective.
It is imperative that it is understood that social capital can also be a negative
factor as well. For example, many minorities when pursuing their educational goals can
be seen as trying to be white and this can discourage minority students from continuing
their educational route (Ream &Rumberger, 2008). Therefore, although students may
have the social capital, their friendships and networks may not allow them to take
11
advantage of that capital. In turn, this will lead them to become satisfied instead of
pursuing their educational goals.
In addition to the concept of social capital, the researcher implemented the
Community Achievement Gap Action Model developed by Nevarez and Woods (2010)
as a way of conceptualizing and describing student success and failure. This model
contains five factors relevant to access, retention, and completion. They are: background,
personal, social, macro-level support from the institution and institutional factors.
Nevarez and Woods (2010) claim that these five factors affect the enrollment,
persistence, graduation, and transfer rates (EPGT) and are the achievement gap
indicators.
Limitations
The researcher had difficulty finding Latinos from different countries and
therefore, the Latinos that were interviewed were all Mexican-Americans. Therefore, no
assumption can be made on the Latino population as whole. Due to the small sample of
the participants there cannot be any generalizations of Latinos or Mexican-Americans
made. All the participants were from Northern California, thus, there is limitation within
the geographic location. The researcher interviewed people from only three different
community colleges and therefore no generalizations or conclusions can be constructed.
Given that the study involved interviewing Latinos individually gave the
researcher a limitation on the way participants responded. There could have been a
12
possibility that participants felt or had the perception that they had to answer the
questions in a particular way. Another limitation that could have potentially affected the
participants’ responses is that for some of them the researcher knew them personally and
once again they could have felt they had to answer the questions in a particular way.
Lastly, some of the participants the researcher knew very well and she knew their
background, therefore the researcher was able to describe them more descriptively than
those who she had no prior relation or interaction with before the interview.
13
Definitions
Help Seeking –“One person’s request for resources from another…” (Mueller &Kamdar,
2010, p. 263).
Mexican/s—“A native or inhabitant of Mexico” (American Heritage College Dictionary,
p. 876).
Mexican-American-“A U.S. citizen or resident of Mexican descent” (American Heritage
College Dictionary, p. 876).
Latinos– “Latino is a term used in the United States to identify persons of Spanish
speaking origin or descent who designate themselves as Mexican American, Chicano,
Puerto Rican, Cuban, or of some other Hispanic Origin” (Torres Campos, et.la,
2009,p.158).
Hispanic– “The federal government defines Hispanic or Latino as a person of Mexican,
Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture origin
regardless of race” (Ramirez, 2004).
Cultural Deficit Thinking–This is the belief that a person’s culture (i.e., environment,
poverty level, family values, etc.) helps shape their educational or performance outcomes
(Pearl, 1997). For Latinos, this is the belief that they do not value education which as a
consequence turns the blame from the institution to the student (Ornelas&Solorzano,
2004).
First-generation college student— A student who is from a home where neither parent
obtained a college degree (Striplin, 1999).
14
Transfer–A student is considered to be transferred when they complete community
college and have enrolled in a four-year institution (Striplin, 1999).
Overview of the study
This thesis will continue with chapter two where the importance of Latinos will
be discussed as well as their historical background in education. There will be discussion
on community colleges and the student support programs that some community colleges
offer. Chapter three will entail the methodology and it will offer a brief description of all
the participants that were interviewed for my study. Chapter four will discuss and analyze
the data collected. Lastly, chapter five will give recommendations and suggestions for
further research in the topic of community college and Latino students.
15
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter will cover an in-depth analysis of literature with the emphasis on the
following sub-areas; Importance of Latinos in the United States, Comparison of Latinos
and African-Americans, Latinos in California, Mexican-Americans, Latinos and
Education, The Master Plan, California Community Colleges, The importance of
Education for Latinos, Family Support, Academic Support, Student Support Services, and
Summary.
Importance of Latinos in the United States
By 2050 it is said that Latinos will comprise 22 percent of the United States
population (Ramos, 2004). Many do not recognize the reality that Latinos are growing at
a rate faster than all other racial and ethnic groups and their influence is evident in every
corner of the United States (Ramos, 2004). Because of the large Latino population it is
unavoidable that they are significant contributors to the United States’ economy.
Melguizo (2007) writes,
When members of ethnic minority groups are particularly disadvantaged in
reaching their full educational potential, a state like California loses substantial
income, since an increasing proportion of its residents will end up in lower-paying
jobs that generate lower tax revenue (p. 52).
This is a significant issue that many people do not ponder about when it comes to
acknowledging Latinos as an important asset to the United States. It is important to
16
educate Latinos because they will not only be a benefit to the economy but it will also
have societal benefits. Latinos who are educated are “more likely to engage in political,
societal, and economic functions that actualize the democratic ideals of the United States
(i.e., justice, peace, due process, honesty, egalitarianism, and human rights)” (Nevarez&
Rico, 2007, p. 3).
Latinos in California. Latinos account for half of the California population
younger than five years old, while Caucasians comprise less than 30 percent of children
under five years of age (Chapa &Schink, 2006). It is projected that by 2040, there will be
3 Latino babies for 1 white baby (Lay, 2010). According to the U.S. Census, California
has the most Latinos in all of the United States with 13,074,156 Latinos as of 2006
(Ethnicity and Ancestry Branch Population Division U.S. Census Bureau, 2006).
California is one of the most diverse states in the country but has not served
minority students well in education (Chapa &Schink, 2006). According to Chapa
andSchink (2006) the proportion of Caucasians who have a bachelor’s degree is 27.9
percent while for U.S. born Latinos the percentage is only 10.1 percent. When all Latinos
(foreign born and those born in the United States) are combined in the same category, the
rate is even lower, with 5 percent of all Latinos in the United States having a bachelor’s
degree. Education is vital because it allows people to have voices and it allows them to
move up the social and economic ladder. Many students, especially minority students are
underserved and underrepresented. Peter McLaren (2009) stated that school is not only a
place where instruction takes place but it is also an environment where there is
17
encouragement of student empowerment and self-transformation. Our current state of
education is suffering due to various, combining factors such as the teachers, staff, and
the school system and the way it is structured. Theorists in the school arena have argued
that the tribulations are entrenched and are perpetuated in the school system with the
result of a structure that results in the same people dominating and exploiting those with
disadvantaged backgrounds (Darder, Baltodano, & Torres, 2009).
Mexican-Americans. The Mexican descent population in the United States is
unique because of the different residency status and times of arrival to the United States.
There are some who have been in the United States for many generations and consider
themselves the first to settle here and there are those who have recently arrived to the
United States legally and illegally (Valdés, 1996). The Mexican origin population is the
largest group among the Latino population. Sixty percent of all Latinos are of Mexican
descent (Martinez & Fernandez, 2004). Mexicans have traditionally come to the United
States in search of employment (San Miguel &Donato, 2010). Historically, Mexican
immigrants had settled in the southern U.S.-Mexican borders but in the twentieth century
many began to migrate to the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest (San Miguel &Donato,
2010). Now you can find people from Mexican origin all over the United States.
Comparison of Latinos and African-Americans
Latinos and African-Americans have parallel experiences in education. The
success rates and statistics of Latinos and African-Americans are similar and yet for each
group there is an excuse associated with each issue these groups face. For example, a
18
little over half of Latino and African-American high school students graduate from high
school (Ream &Rumberger, 2008). For these groups, enrollment into a university is low
and graduating from an institution of higher education is significantly lower than high
school graduation. One of the common arguments by researchers is that Latinos fail in
public schools because of their language and culture (Valdés, 1996). Ironically, AfricanAmericans, who are born and raised in the United States, are also doing poorly in the
American school system and are not attending higher education at the same rate as their
Caucasian counterparts (California Postsecondary Education Commission, 2007; Valdés,
1996). The California Postsecondary Education Commission conducted a study in 2007,
where they found that both Latino and African American students, especially male
students, earn fewer degrees or transfer to a four-year university much less than their
Caucasian and Asian counterparts. It is a fact that students who live below the poverty
line do not receive the same educational and vocational training as someone with high
income levels because of the funding that is available for each school (Henriksen, 1995).
Although many Latino and African American students would like to continue their
education after high school, often, they only have access to community college because
of their financial situation and because universities’ tuition continues to rise (Henriksen,
1995).
Latinos and Education
Latinos in K-12.Education for ethnic minorities has always been a challenge in
the American school system (Valdés, 1996). One of the challenges has been that ethnic
19
minorities, by default, because of their ethnic/cultural background have been tracked to a
vocational track (Valdés, 1996). Henceforth, this prevents these students from continuing
on to a postsecondary education. There have been many theories on why ethnic
minorities do not perform as well as their Caucasian counterparts. Many of these theories
have blamed the students, their culture and their families (Ornelas&Solorzano, 2004;
Valdés, 1996). Latino students have always been perceived as “at-risk” students because
of the gap between them and their Caucasian counterparts (Torres Campos et al., 2009).
In the early twentieth century, schools were not willing to support or accommodate the
challenges that Latino students faced and they provided limited and inferior access to
education (San Miguel &Donato, 2010). Test scores were used to excuse the unfair
treatment of Latino students in school. The results of test scores would place Latino
students, in particular, Mexican and Puerto Rican students in one of four categories;
educationally mentally retarded (EMR), slow, regular, or gifted. Latino students were
mostly placed in the educationally mentally retarded category; therefore, no
encouragement to succeed in school was offered (San Miguel &Donato, 2010). Due to
Latino students’ low academic achievement, many students were placed in vocational or
general education courses and therefore not given the opportunity to take college track
courses (San Miguel &Donato, 2010). Once again the evidence shows that Latino
students were not able to obtain an adequate education because they were wrongfully
categorized and not accommodated with their specific needs such as extra help with their
language acquisition, or their culture was not validated in the classroom. This in turn led
20
to the discouragement of Latino students to continue their education at a higher
institution (San Miguel &Donato, 2010).
Some conditions in the k-12 school system have remained consistent in the last
decade. The achievement gap between Latino and Caucasian students remain the same
(Kober, 2010). For example, when comparing fourth grade Latino and Caucasian
students’ reading proficiency, 85 percent of Caucasian students scored at least at the
proficiency level, meanwhile, only 64 percent of Latinos scored at the proficiency level
(Kober, 2010). This gap between both ethnic groups remains the same in eighth grade
and it worsens in high school. Fifty-eight percent of Latinos scored at the proficiency
reading level while 81 percent of Caucasians reached a proficiency reading level. In high
school, 56 percent of Latinos scored at reading proficiency while 78 percent of
Caucasians scored at a reading proficiency level (Kober, 2010). In math proficiency,
there is also a significant gap between Caucasian and Latino students. For example, 55
percent of Latinos in eighth grade scored at a math proficiency level in math while 77
percent of Caucasians in this same grade level scored at the proficiency level (Kober,
2010). In high school, 50 percent of Latinos scored at a math proficiency level while 71
percent of Caucasian students scored at the proficiency level (Kober, 2010). Many
Latinos are not receiving the adequate education and support needed to complete high
school. If the statistics on high school completion rate are low, the college completion
rate is even lower.
21
The 2000 U.S. Census found that 52.7 percent of Latinos ages 25 to 35 did not
finish high school (Chapa &Schink, 2006). The National Center for Education Statistics
conducted one year research from October 2007 to October 2008 to study the dropout
rate of students 16-24 years of age in the United States. This study found that 32.8
percent of Latinos born outside the United States and 10.5 percent of Latinos born in the
United States were considered a dropout during the time period (Chapman, Laird
&KewalRamani, 2010). There was a significant gap between female and male Latinos
who had a status of dropout during this year; approximately 19.9 percent of Latino males
and 16.7 percent of Latinas had a dropout status (Chapman, Laird &KewalRamani,
2010). As of 2008, Latinos 16-24 years of age continue to have the highest rate of
dropout status (18.3%) followed by 14.6 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native
(National Center for Education Statistics, 2010).
Latinos and Higher Education
There have been many initiatives, some from the public and some from the
private sector, to increase the educational attainment of Latinos. Some of those initiatives
include, ENLACE, Affirmative Action, and The Higher Education Act. Affirmative
Action pertinent to higher education established a percentage of acceptances of minority
students, including women, to colleges and universities (Kaufmann, 2007). However,
affirmative action no longer exists and was banded in 1998. ENgaging Latino
Communities for Education (ENLACE) is an initiative created by K.W. Kellogg
Foundation to support students from seventh grade to college and ensure students have an
22
education pipeline to succeed in college (Brown, Santiago, & Lopez, 2003). The Higher
Education Act, in particular Title V of 1998, allowed for Hispanic-Servicing Institutions
(HSI) to receive extra funding aimed to increase the availability and quality of courses for
Latinos (Brown, Santiago, & Lopez, 2003).
Recently, President Obama established a goal on college degree attainment.
President Obama’s goal is to be the world leader in college attainment by the year 2020
(Santiago, Kienzl, Sponsler, & Bowles, 2010). Currently, Canada is the leader in
educational attainment and the United States is falling behind. Statistics show only 39
percent of all adults ages 25 to 64 have earned an associate degree or higher (Santiago,
Kienzl, Sponsler, & Bowles, 2010). In order for President Obama’s goal to be reached,
the education attainment and college completion of Latinos has to increase (Santiago,
2011). Although there has been an increase in the enrollment of Latino students in higher
education, their completion rate is still one of the lowest among Asians, AfricanAmerican, and Caucasians (Flores, 2010). Figures show that only 35 percent of Latinos
and 46 percent of European Americans who are between the ages of 18-24 enroll in
higher education (Fry, 2002). In 2008, only 19 percent of Hispanics had earned an
associate’s degree or higher. In contrast, 39 percent of Caucasians had an associate’s
degree or higher (Santiago, Kienzl, Sponsler, & Bowles, 2010). Although there are
various initiatives, like President Obama’s initiative to increase the number of higher
education degrees in the United States, it is astounding that in the state of California they
are cutting the resources for higher education (Lay, 2010; Rosenhall& Johnson, 2009).
23
Latinos represent only 11 percent of students in college and of those who attend
college 23 percent receive a bachelor’s degree compared to 47 percent of Caucasian
students (Zell, 2010). Latinos tend to be first-generation, attend a two-year institution,
live at home, are considered low-income, and attend college part-time (Santiago &
Cunningham, 2005). Among undergraduate Latinos in the United States 48 percent are of
Mexican descent, 28 percent are “other Hispanic origin,” 16 percent are Puerto Rican and
3 percent are Cuban (Santiago & Cunningham, 2005, p. 4). These different characteristics
(i.e., background and the typical Latino college student) are important to understand
when assisting Latino students in their higher education career because they provide
policy makers, administrators and teachers a picture of what are the needs of Latinos.
This will also better ensure the success of Latino students in the United States. It is
reiterated once again, the Latino population is growing rapidly in the United States and if
we do not support their needs in order to obtain a degree we will have a great portion of
the U.S. population undereducated and therefore, will not be able to complete with the
growing global economy (Ramos, 2004).
The Master Plan
The purpose of the Master Plan for Higher Education was to serve as a beginning
point for those who aspired to obtain a post-secondary education in California (California
Postsecondary Education Commission, 2007). The originators of the Master Plan
recognized the need for accessible higher education for everyone in California. They
believed that if they instituted standard admission and transfer policies, the goal of
24
obtaining education equity for everyone could be met (Henriksen, 1995). The Master
Plan created a three tier set-up where the University of California (UC) system would
admit the top one-eighth of students from California high schools. The California State
University (CSU) system would admit the top one-third of high school graduates and the
California Community College (CCC) system would have an open admission policy
(Chapa &Schink, 2006; Leigh & Gill, 2007; Ornelas&Solorzano, 2004). University of
California campuses would be geared towards research as a primary function and would
offer BA, MA, Ph.D. and professional degrees (Leigh & Gill, 2007). California State
University campuses would primarily offer BA, MA, and teacher credentials and their
faculty concentrated on teaching because their primary role would be instruction (Leigh
& Gill, 2007). Finally, California Community Collegeshad as their main mission to
prepare students academically (these students would eventually transfer) and/or to train
and prepare students for a vocation. Community colleges would accept those who
recently graduated from high school as well as older students who wished to improve
their occupational skills (Leigh & Gill, 2007). California Community Colleges were
originally free to the public until 1984 when there was an economic shortfall. To this day,
California Community Colleges maintain low tuition or at least lower than other public
institutions (Leigh & Gill, 2007).
Although the Master Plan has great intentions it is currently not meeting its goals
and Latino students are not transferring to a CSU or UC from a community college at the
same rate as their Caucasian counterparts and, especially not keeping up with the
25
population increase since the document was first written (Chapa &Schink, 2006).
Currently, tuition is increasing at both University of California Systems and the
California State University Systems and this is now deterring students from attending
college (California Postsecondary Education Commission, 2011). For example, in 2000
the cost of attending a UC was $15, 000 and by 2009, the price had increased more than
10 percent (California Postsecondary Education Commission, 2011). With tuition
increasing the increase in class sizes are also increasing. Not only are the class sizes
increasing but to make the matters worse, many student services are being cut (Moore,
Offenstein, Shulock, 2011). Students will be left with high debt and an inequitable
education.
California Community Colleges
Community colleges have both a vision and a mission that is supposed to
encompass the needs of students from different backgrounds and with different goals.
The vision of community colleges is to broaden postsecondary education and serve a
wide variety of functions (Nevarez& Woods, 2010). The missions of community colleges
include: (a) open-access to all students; (b) comprehensive educational programs; (c)
service the community; (d) an emphasis on teaching and lifelong learning and (e)
students becoming successful (Nevarez& Woods, 2010). The mission of community
colleges is presumably to offer students equal and equitable access regardless of their
academic, social, and economic background. Although this is what community colleges
claim is their purpose, many times is not the case for those individuals that come from a
26
disadvantaged background. Community colleges have different functions and serve
different purposes but the two most common functions are obtaining a terminal degree
and transferring to a four-year institution (Nevarez& Woods, 2010). Although the visions
and missions of community colleges are with great intentions, often students are not able
to succeed in community college.
Students who attend community college come from different backgrounds and
have different purposes for attending a two-year college. Some attend community college
because they did not do well in high school, others attend community college because it
is more economical and others attend community colleges because they are only looking
to obtain an associate’s or a vocational degree. Many students work full-time and/or have
a family (i.e. are married and have children) and therefore their studies come second
(Henriksen, 1995; Pope, 2007). Students also have different factors (i.e. remedial classes,
waiting list, financial, etc.) that now force them to remain in community college for more
than three years (Pope, 2007). Therefore, it is difficult to judge a community college and
not take into account the different reasons why students choose to attend community
college instead of a four-year institution.
California Community Colleges have low tuition and an open admission policy,
and many underrepresented groups are more prone to attend community colleges (Leigh
& Gill, 2007). Leigh and Gill (2007) describe underrepresented groups as first generation
college students, working and/or raising a family and those individuals that come from a
low-income background. Today there are over one hundred California community
27
college campuses all around the state and the system is the largest in the nation of its kind
(Lay, 2010; Pope, 2007). The community college system enrolls a large percentage of
low-income students, many of whom have the intent on transferring to a four-year
institution (Christopher, 2005). Community colleges are the choice for many because of
the open access policy and because they are extremely affordable compared to four-year
institutions (Chapa &Schink, 2006). In the 2009-10 school year, more than one-half of
students who had received their bachelor’s degree in California had begun their college
career at a California community college (Lay, 2010). As stated by Leigh & Gill (2007),
California Community Colleges include;
1) courses and programs that equip students to transfer to four-year colleges and
universities (the transfer function), 2) voc-ed training that provides occupational
skills immediately salable in the local labor market, and 3) basic skills training
that provides students with skills necessary to succeed in regular academic and
voc-ed college course (p. 23).
Justine Pope (2007) from the Washington Post explains that although California
ranks as one of the top states in having students enter higher education, they rank at the
bottom when measured by how many students graduate with either a degree or transfer to
a four-year institution. In 2006, more than half of the California State University
graduates had previously attended community college (Pope, 2007). In this same year it
was found that almost 40 percent of first-generation, freshmen, college students, begin
28
their college career at a community college and many have aspirations of transferring but
fail to do so (Doyle, 2006).
The Transfer Function.One of the main functions of community college is to
transfer students into four-year institutions (Nevarez& Woods, 2010). Roughly 40
percent of first-time freshmen begin their college career at a community college and
many whose main goal was to transfer are not able to do so because of the many barriers
they encounter. One of these barriers is the fact that some of the courses in community
college do not transfer to a four-year institution (Doyle, 2006). One of the reasons why
students are in community college is because they are forced to take extra classes to
prepare them for their future classes. For example, Nevarez and Woods (2010) found that
40 percent of students who enter community college are forced to take some type of
remedial course either in math or reading. In addition, of those who enroll in full-time
college, 72 percent transferred to a four-year institution. Doyle’s (2006) study found that
the longer students are enrolled in community college the least likely they are to graduate
because of their outside of school obligations. For those students who do transfer, they
typically transfer to a CSU because the California Community College system seems to
overlap with the course requirements at a CSU versus the UC system (Chapa &Schink,
2006).
Latinos and Community College.Overall, Latinos are underrepresented in
higher education (Nevarez& Rico, 2007). Community colleges are the first choice of
attendance for Latinos. Research shows that 50 percent or more of Latinos in higher
29
education are enrolled in a community college (Campa, 2010; Chapa &Schink, 2006;
Flores, 2010; Rendon, 2002). Some of the attributes that draw Latinos to community
college are the economical tuition, the convenience of having flexible class schedules
which allow students to hold employment, their open admission policy which allows
those students who were not prepared adequately in high school to bolster their
academics, and the lack of information in regards to other potential colleges and
universities (Martinez &Fernandez, 2004; Melguizo, 2007; Zell, 2010). Santiago and
Cunningham (2005) found that Latino undergraduate students were more likely to attend
a two-year public institution than any other institution and that for-profit institutions were
attended at a higher rate by Latinos than public four-year institutions (Santiago &
Cunningham, 2005). Although community college is a great and economical way to
begin a college career, unfortunately those who do begin at a community college are less
likely to finish or reach their educational goal (Flores, 2010). Moreover, Latino students
do not enroll in community college at a rate that is proportionate to their population
growth (Chapa &Schink, 2006). Only 18.7 percent of Latino students graduate from a
community college and for Hispanic males the rate is even lower at 17.3 percent
(Nevarez& Woods, 2010). Another important measure of community college is
attainment of any degree. Latino and African-American students fall behind their
Caucasian and Asian counterparts. Approximately, 29.5 percent of Latino and 26 percent
of Black students obtain a degree while 38.9 percent of their Asian and 38.1 percent of
their Caucasian counterparts obtain a degree (Nevarez& Woods, 2010).
30
The Importance of Education and Benefits for Latinos
As Flores (2010) states, “…any gain in educational attainment affects the overall
goal of increased economic and social welfare for a Latino family, which in turn
increases the educational prospects of successive generations” (p.213). If Latinos receive
and complete their education they will be able to obtain better employment and enable
their children to pursue an education. Education is a way for Latinos to be able to move
up the economic and social ladder in the United States (Martinez & Fernandez, 2004).
The increase of the Latino population also has an impact on the United States’ political
system (Ramos, 2004). If Latinos are aware of their rights, and the power that they have,
they can create change for the Latino population. If Latinos are not entering and
achieving success (i.e., obtaining a degree or certification) in higher education they can
be left without a voice.
Personal benefits for Latinos. There are many personal benefits that Latinos can
enjoy from obtaining high education levels. There are various benefits and here are just a
few: (a) career advancement, which for many without a college degree can be difficult;
(b) become critical consumers, which will allow them to be economically stable; (c), it
would enable them to increase their social and professional networks; (d) will enable
them to have better job skills therefore, making them more marketable; and (e) enhance
the probability of obtaining better job security among countless other benefits (Nevarez&
Woods, 2010).
31
Financial Aid
Financial aid for Latinos is a stress factor when attending college (Zell, 2010).
Three types of financial aid are available; federal, state, and institution support (Santiago
& Cunningham, 2005). There are only a few ways of paying for college, such as grants,
loans, work-study, and personal contributions (Santiago & Cunningham, 2005). Financial
aid is important for Latinos and ironically they are the group who receives less financial
aid on average. In 2003-04, eighty percent of Latino undergraduate students applied for
financial aid and yet only sixty-three percent of those students received financial aid
(Santiago & Cunningham, 2005). Although financial aid is a great way for students to
pay for college, tuition continues to rise and available funding for higher education
continues to decrease. This can make it challenging and can discourage students to
continue their post-secondary education (Henriksen, 1995).
Family Support
Family is an important component for the Latino student and many come from a
close knit family culture. In the Latino culture, family is how an individual creates their
own self-identity and they have a strong bond with their family members. A main
characteristic of Latino families is the high value that they place on seeking family
support and/or guidance instead of peers and/or other social networks (Marin & Marin,
1991).
Ong, Phinney, and Dennis (2006) conducted a study on the psychosocial and
family factors of Latino college students. One of the factors they focused on was family
32
influence on the academic success of Latino college students. The researchers in this
study found that family influence and strong ethnic identity was positively linked to high
academic achievement. This study, however, did not differentiate the types of
relationship or if by family they meant parents or an extended family member. Making
the distinction of what family member is having the positive influence is vital in order to
determine which family member is causing stress and which family member is supporting
(i.e., emotional and/or financial support) the Latino student.
Rodriguez, Mira, Myers, Morris and Cardoza (2003) conducted a study among
338 Latino college students who attended a predominately Latino university. Rodriguez
and her colleagues wanted to determine if family and friends added to the stresses of
Latino students and if it affected their adjustment to college life. One of the issues that
Rodriguez, et al. found was that Latina students had a difficult time adjusting to college
life due to factors such as familial conflict, cultural identity, relationship problems, and
financial concerns. Unpredictably, they found that a Central American male with a high
family income and a mother who has a modest education is less likely to have a burden of
acculturation and have less college stresses (Rodriguez, Mira, Myers, Morris &Cardoza,
2003). Essentially, their study found that in this group of Latino college students, family
was not as an effective support group as friends were. The study found that peers were
more of an important resource than family. This is an important finding because it
suggests that students sought those who were currently or had already gone through the
college process. It also is a significant finding because Latino students tend to place
33
higher value on family opinions than peers yet they turn to their peers when they need
help in navigating the college system. Lastly, Rodriguez et al., found that neither peers
nor family support controlled or decreased the stress in students, therefore, there was no
concrete finding stating what controlled a Latino student’s stress. Discovering the stress
factors of Latino students is critical because this would allow administrators to
understand what these student s are experiencing and how to best support them.
Academic Support
Academic support (i.e., counselors, staff, professors, mentors, etc.) is a crucial
piece for students in higher education. One of the issues is the lack of knowledge that
administrators have in community college about the needs of the Latino population. For
example, Ornelas and Solorzano (2004) conducted a case study at a community college in
California where they found that most of the administrators at that campus felt their
resources to assist students to transfer were sufficient and, therefore, no more resources
were needed in that area. These administrators also felt the need to relocate the scarce
resources to vocational programs because it would better suit the population they served.
These same administrators also felt that their transfer rate was proportionate even though
they fell below other California community colleges.
When Ornelas and Solorzano (2004) interviewed the counselors they found that
many felt that external responsibilities (i.e., family, employment, etc.) were what
prevented Latina/o students from advancing in their academic studies. There was also a
major disconnect found in this study; both counselors and students had a different
34
perception of each other. Students felt that many counselors did not provide adequate
information and counselors felt they provided sufficient information to students:
Counselors spoke about sharing information and resources with students and
expressed genuine concern about the limited time restrictions they had to spend with
students. On the other hand, students reported that counselors shared minimal
information with them overall and they often felt rushed out of counseling appointments
even though it seemed that the sessions had just begun (Ornelas&Solorzano, 2004).
It was evident that students and counselors had different views on the needs of students.
It is also evident that academic advising is extremely critical when it comes to
transferring and succeeding in a community college (Ornelas&Solorzano, 2004; Striplin,
1999; Torres Campos et al., 2004).
Another study that exemplified the critical role that mentors/advisors have in a
community college student was conducted by Torres Campos et al. (2004).This was a
pilot study conducted at a community college where Latinos who were found to be at a
high risk of not succeeding were connected with a mentor. These students met with their
mentors on a weekly basis through different forms of communication (i.e. e-mail, in
person meetings, text messages, and phone calls). Many students stated that their mentors
made them feel more knowledgeable about the college and transfer system, and felt more
confident in succeeding and completing college (Torres Campos et al., 2004). Therefore,
students who have contact (academic and social) with a faculty and/or staff member are
35
more likely to remain enrolled in college and are more likely to complete with an
education objective (Henriksen, 1995; Zell, 2010).
There have not been many changes in the academic support roles from the past.
For example, Henriksen (1995) surveyed students from a California community college
where it asked students to rate their experience with the orientation and counseling
services at their campus. The questions were formatted to draw out information from
students who were from different ethnic backgrounds. The purpose of these questions
were to determine if these students from different ethnic backgrounds desired specific
student services that were not currently provided by the college. This study found that
most Hispanics who did not participate in counseling services stated they were unaware
of the services offered to them. Students who did have contact with counselors felt
frustrated with the lack of knowledge they were provided. For example one student
stated,
The counselors were not helpful at all because I came to ask her if USC will
accept credit or no credit for my pre-calculus class; she told me yes…then she
told that no, USC does not accept credit or no credit (Henriksen, 1995, p. 67).
Another student stated,
All the teachers and counselors give different information. Get the facts straight
or don’t give it at all (Henriksen, 1995, p. 67).
Another frustration that students shared was the feeling of being led away from their
intended courses by having to take prep classes that they might not need or classes that
36
were not transferable to a four-year institution. Many students felt skeptical about the
quality of the academic and career counseling they received (Henriksen, 1995).
Henriksen (1995) found that students must have positive initial contact with their
community college and they must feel comfortable with staff and faculty in order for
them to be successful. Students want to be listened to and want to feel that they are an
important component of the college (Henriksen, 1995).
Student Support Services
Student support programs are important to Latino students because many are firstgeneration college students and therefore, may have little knowledge of the higher
education system (Torres Campos et al., 2009). For this reason, student support programs
for Latinos are critical when navigating the college system and in particular the
community college system.
PUENTE.The PUENTE program was created in 1981 to help Latino students
transfer from a two-year college to a four-year institution at Chabot College in Hayward,
California (Rendon, 2002). This program later expanded to different California
community college campuses and in 1993 there was a pilot PUENTE program at a high
school campus. The community college PUENTE program strives to ensure Latinos are
transferring into a four-year institution (Rendon, 2002). PUENTE at the community
college campuses provides three key individuals: an English instructor, a counselor, and a
mentor (Rendon, 2002). An English instructor is important because this faculty member
assists students with their writing and reading skills. A counselor is vital because this is
37
the person that will assist students with the transfer process and also will provide any
specific information the student might need. Lastly, a mentor is important because this is
the individual that may guide and will assist the student with networking and possible
employment leads (Rendon, 2002).With the collaboration of instructors, counselors and
mentors, PUENTE is geared to retain students and have them succeed (Martinez &
Fernandez, 2004).
Extended Opportunity Program and Services.Extended Opportunity Program and
Services (EOP/S) is a program that is geared to encourage the enrollment, retention and
transfer of students who are disadvantaged due to language, social, economic and
educational factors. This program facilitates the successful completion of the students’
goals and objectives while in community college. EOP/S provides academic and personal
counseling, tutors, book assistance, financial aid assistance, and UC/CSU application
waivers among other support services (Medina, 2004).
RISE.Respect, Integrity, Self-Determination and Education (RISE) is a student
support program that provides personalized counseling, book loan program, computer
access, tutoring, community involvement opportunities, college tours and different
networks to competitive four-year institutions (Medina, 2004). The main goal for RISE is
to provide a place where students feel valued, respected and confident. RISE provides a
positive environment where students can share all their experiences while in college
either positive or negative (Medina, 2004).
38
Student support programs like these are important because they provide support to
students who otherwise may not have the opportunity to succeed in college. College is a
place where it is easy to get lost if one does not know the system. As previously
mentioned, Latino students tend to be first-generation, part-time, low-income students
and attend community college, and because of these different characteristics, Latino
students need supplemental help in order for them to succeed in higher education (Brown,
Santiago, & Lopez, 2003). Programs like PUENTE, EOP/S and RISE, help build a bridge
for students and help them succeed in community colleges.
Summary
Latinos are not attending higher education at the same rate as their Caucasian
counterparts; moreover, they are choosing to attend a two-year institution and many times
they do not accomplish their educational goal of transferring to a four-year institution.
Having an education is becoming crucial in the United States because in many instances,
individuals are required to possess more than a high school diploma (Santiago &Callan,
2010). In order for the United States to once again become the leader in education, they
must close the gap between race/ethnicities lines (Santiago&Callan, 2010; Santiago,
2011). In order to increase the attainment of degrees in the United States like President
Obama would like to, Latinos, as a large part of the population in the United States, has
to increase their college completion rate. To facilitate this, education policy makers and
advocates must be able to cater to and meet the needs of Latinos (Santiago, 2010).
Although minorities in the United States have made great strides in enrolling in higher
39
education, this literature review demonstrates that there is still a large gap between
Caucasians and Latinos.
40
Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
Restatement of the Problem
About 60 percent of Latinos enter a community college but they do not transfer or
complete community college at the same rate (Flores, 2010; Zell, 2010).California
community colleges were designed with four functions in mind; (1) help students transfer
to four-year institutions; (2) provide students with remedial education; (3) offer terminal
degrees; and (4) provide access to continuing education (Nevarez& Woods, 2010).
Moreover, community colleges offer students an education at a more affordable rate than
four-year instructions. However, students are not transferring at acceptable rates
(California Postsecondary Education Commission, 2007). The purpose of this study was
to document the academic and social factors impacting Latino students' community
college experiences using student voices.
Positionality
The researcher has always had a passion for education. In her family, her older
sister and she have been the only two who have attended college and have graduated. The
researcher’s sister first began her college career at a community college, but then decided
to leave it to work full-time.She later married and returned to school. The researcher has
only had three other male cousins who have attempted to go to college and they all
attended community college. These three cousins all left community college without
transferring and without receiving a terminal degree. The researcher always heard, “you
41
are smart and that’s why you went to college,” from her family members, but she does
not feel any smarter than them. The researcher has always thought that if they put their
mind to it they would be able to accomplish what she has accomplished.
Community colleges should provide more guidance for students. For example,
counselors should make students feel welcomed and they should provide information
depending on the student’s needs or circumstances. Professors and staff should also be
involved in mentoring students. If students feel like they have someone who they can
count on for support then they will seek that help. On the other hand, if students feel they
do not have anyone to go to when they encounter problems on campus then they will
more than likely feel lost and not want to return. There are many students who are not
help seekers and therefore, will not ask for help, leading them to get lost. Lastly, in order
to increase the odds of Latino students’ success in community college, they must also
have strong family support. There is not one specific factor that causes Latino students to
either succeed or to not transfer to a four-year institution. Rather one must look at a group
of factors and figure out the best way to support Latino students.
Research Design
The research design was qualitative. Qualitative research explains a person’s
experiences and how that shaped their worldview. Essentially, qualitative research is,
“…the view that reality is constructed by individuals interacting with their social worlds”
(Merriam, 1998, p. 6). The researcher used Merriam’s model of research in education.
Merriam (1988) states that, “a qualitative case study is an intensive, holistic description
42
and analysis of a single instance, phenomenon, or social unit” (Merriam, p.21). The
purpose of the study was to document the academic and social factors impacting Latino
student community college success4 through the voices of Latino students who have
attended a community college. This research used interpretive research. Interpretive
research is “considered to be a process and school lived experience” (Merriam, 1998,
p.4). The researcher utilized a case study method and used interviews as the method for
collecting data.The researcher interviewed five Latina/os who transferred to a four-year
university from a community college and five Latina/os who left community college
without completing an Associate Art’s degree or transferring. Looking at the two
different groups of Latinos was important because evident examples can be seen of the
impact community colleges have on Latino students, and the different factors that
motivated Latinos to continue their education or discouraged them to continue. The
researcher asked acquaintances who she knew had dropped out of community college if
they would like to participate in her study. She also asked those acquaintances if they
knew people who had left community college without completing a degree, vocational
certificate and/or transferred.This method of participant acquisition is described as the
‘snowball effect.’ The snowball effect, according to Gall, Gall, and Borg (2010) is, “…in
which cases are recommended by individuals who know other individuals likely to yield
relevant, information-rich data” (p. 348). For students who had transferred into a four4
Success in this context means Latino students that entered community college and transferred to a four-
year university.
43
year university the researcher asked acquaintances that she knew to participate in the
study and the researcher used the snowball effect to get in contact with more Latina/os
who had transferred.
It was important to conduct interviews because the researcher wanted to hear the
voices of Latino community college students. Although conducting this research in a
quantitative manner could had resulted in hard data, qualitative research gives genuine
thoughts, attitudes, and the voices of these people. Words are powerful and that was what
the researcher was looking for. It wasimperative to find out what was important tothe
participants and what could have made the difference between continuing their education
or making the decision to leave.
Procedures
The researcher developed criteria for the participants. This criterion was developed
in order to obtain participants that had dropped out of community college and those who
had transferred to a four-year university. The researcher wanted to find out what the
differences were from each group of Latinos.The criteria that were chosen for the
participants were the following:
1. Had to be Latina/o
2. Attended community college
3. Transferred to a four-year or left community college without obtaining a
degree or certificate
44
4. Had the intention of transferring to a four-year university
Most of the subjects were friends and acquaintances of the researcher, and the
snowball effect was utilized in orderto reach other Latinos who had attended community
college.Having interviewed friends could have been a conflict of interest because their
answers could have not been as honest as possible because they could have felt
embarrassed or felt intimidated. Each participant was given the consent form to read.
After they read the consent form they were asked if they had any questions or concerns.
At that time, each participant was provided with clarification and further information in
regards to the study and its purpose. The content of the interview questions had six
components; the first subheading was Reasons for Attending Community College; this
section was designed in order to ascertain why the participant went to a community
college versus attending a four-year university. The purpose was also to find out how
they were able to navigate through their community college system. The second subheading was Family Involvement. This sub-heading was intended to provide information
about the family and how it impacted the participant’s academic journey, for example, if
the family was helpful or provided moral support. The third sub-heading was titled,
Academic Support. Here the researcher wanted to find out what kind of academic
support the participant had received. The goal intended here was to find out if
participants were aware of their resources and the different types of student services their
campus offered. This section was important to because the researcher felt faculty/staff
should support all students with adequate information, support, and services the campus
45
offers. The fourth sub-heading was titled Peer Influences/Support. The goal of this
section was to determine if the peers of the participants impacted their decision to attend
community college, to transfer or to drop out. The researcher wanted to know if the
experiences of his or her peers impacted their own education experience. Lastly, the
researcher wanted to know if they received any help or discouragement from their peers.
The fifth sub heading was Financial Support. This sub-heading was critical because
financial problems can hinder a student’s success in higher education. If the student does
not have the resources to pay for college or if they do not have the financial means to
support themselves while attending college then this might be a quandary for them.
Finally, the sixth and final section was called, Overall Culminating Questions.These
questions were essential to summarize the participants’ final thoughts and their overall
experience in community college. The reason why the researcher chose these subheadings were because she wanted to document the academic and social factors that
impacted Latino students in community college using student voices.
Sample
There were a total of ten Latinos interviewed for this study. They were all first
and second generation of Mexican descent and in their twenties or early thirties. There
were five people interviewed who had attended community college and transferred to a
four-year university and five people who attended community college, but left without
completing a degree or transferring. The interviews all took place in a public location (i.e.
a coffee shop and or the library of California State University, Sacramento).
46
Luke. Luke5was a Latino male in his early thirties. The researcher met Luke at
work and he is a teacher’s assistant at a charter high school in Northern California. Luke
was interviewed in a classroom at the charter school. Luke began his college career at a
community college and dropped out after a year. Luke described his initial experience in
community college as an extension of high school. His friends would skip classes and
hang out in the campus cafeteria. Luke dropped out of community college because he
failed some of his classes and lacked motivation. Luke returned to community college at
the age of twenty-three. This time he had a friend who went back to college with him and
a girlfriend while at this community college. Luke’s girlfriend was ahead of him and
helped guide him through the transferring process. Luke not only transferred to a fouryear institution but also entered graduate school and has received his Masters Degree in
Counseling. Neither of Luke’s parents attended college. Luke was really excited about
the topic the researcher was examining and therefore he engaged in a lengthy
conversation and was interested in the final result. When asked if he would participate in
my study he eagerly accepted.
Rebecca. Rebecca was a Latina in her mid-twenties and recently graduated with a
Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. At the time of the interview, Rebecca worked with
5
Names of participants and community colleges are fictitious in order to maintain
privacy.
47
children who have been diagnosed with Autism. The researcher met Rebecca through a
common friend a couple of years ago. Rebecca was interviewed at the local university’s
library. Rebecca finished community college in two years. When Rebecca was
interviewed, the researcher kept asking her how she knew how to navigate the
community college system and Rebecca kept saying, “I followed the course catalog and I
looked for a counselor when I had questions.” An interesting thing about Rebecca was
that her father was a college graduate and received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical
Engineering in Mexico. Her mother did not go to college, but she encouraged her
children to go to college and take advantage of the opportunities this country, the United
States, offered.
Adrian.The researcher met Adrian through Rebecca. Adrian was also in his midtwenties and transferred to a CSU from a community college. He received his degree in
Psychology and at the time of the interview he was looking into graduate programs.
Adrian worked as a photographer part-time. Neither of his parents attended college or
finished high school. Adrian was at a community college for three years before he
transferred to a four-year university.
Roberto. Roberto was an undergraduate student at a local four-year university
and was an editor for a literary journal that functions at the university he was attending.
The researcher met Roberto through Adrian. Roberto was a part of an honors program
and his currently applying to different Ph.D. programs. Roberto’s major was English
Literature with an emphasis in creative writing and he graduated with honors. Robertohas
48
won first place in the undergraduate poetry section of the Bazzannela literary awards for
2010 and wasa recipient of the Warmdal and Willhelm Memorial Scholarships. His
works appear in Carcinogenic Poetry, The Legendary Literary Review, Softblow Review,
Puffin Circus, Psychic Meatloaf A Journal of Poetry, Poetry Now! and Calaveras Station
among others. Roberto attended community college for two years and worked part-time
while attending community college. Neither of Roberto’s parents attended college.
Jessica. Jessica was in her mid-twenties from a small town in Northern
California. The researcher met Jessica through Adrian as well. She first attended her local
community college but after a year transferred to another community college an hour
away. Jessica transferred because she felt distracted at her local community college.
Eventually, after two and a half years she transferred to a four-year university. She
received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. At the time of the interview, Jessica
was seeking employment where she would be able to work with children in academia.
Jessica ultimately hoped to become a counselor at the college level to help students
achieve their goals of graduating from college. She also planned to go to graduate school
in the future and work on the next part of her educational goals. Neither of Jessica’s
parents attended college.
Latinos who left community college without completing
Karla.Karla was a Latina in her early twenties. Karla was a student that the
researcher worked with in a charter school. Karla attended a vocational program to
become a nurse’s assistant through a federally funded program. When Karla first attended
49
community college she wanted to obtain an Associate of Arts degree in a business field
and had the intention of transferring to a four-year institution, but that did not occur. She
attended community college for about a year and left due to a financial aid issue. Karla
said she was bounced from office to office and no one seemed to be able to help her solve
her issue. At the time of the interview, Karla had plans on attending a community college
once she was done with her current vocational program, but was no longer interested in
transferring to a four-year institution. Karla was raised by her single mother who did
attend community college and received an Associate Art’s degree.
Marcos.The researcher knew Marcos through a friend, and he was in his midtwenties. He was married and had one child. Marcos began his college career at a
community college and did not complete his education. He is currently working full-time
in a warehouse. Neither of Marcos’s parents attended college. During his interview he
seemed a little nervous and his answers to the questions were short. Marcos originally
attended college because he felt that in order to get a better paying job he had to go to
school. Marcos knew he wanted to get a bachelor’s degree but did not know how the
process worked or how the classes were going to transfer. He really did not have an idea
of what college was about or what he wanted to major in while in college. At the time of
the interview, Marcos was looking for a vocational school to learn the trade of Heating,
Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC). He no longer had a desire to go to college
and pursue a degree. He felt he did not have time to attend four or five years of college
because he had a family and a household to maintain.
50
Alex.Alex was in his early thirties and is single with one child. The researcher
met Alex through Marcos. Alex attended community college for about a year. When he
first attended community college, Alex was not aware of his financial aid options and
was paying for it out of pocket. Alex learned about financial aid through his college
counselor and applied but he did not qualify. Alex did not understand why he did not
qualify. At the time of the interview, Alex worked for a company that sold restaurant
items for businesses and in addition to his day employment, he was a local music artist.
He no longer had any intentions of returning to college in the near future. His mother was
a single mother of two and attended community college; shetook English as a second
language (ESL) courses.
Andres.Andres was in his late twenties and was married with two children.
Andres went to the same high school as the researcher and has been a long time friend.
Neither of his parents graduated from high school. Andres attended community college
for a year (two semesters) because he believed that it was a lot easier to receive financial
aid. When Andres attended college he thought it would be structured but he said it was
not like that at all. He did not like that there was no accountability to attend classes and
claimed that professors did not care if he showed up to class or not. Andres works as a
shipping and receiving manager in a non-profit organization and at a local retail store. He
does not believe he will return to community college.
Eve.Eve was in her mid-twenties and is married with one child. The researcher
met Eve at her current place of employment. Her mother attended college, but dropped
51
out of a four-year university because she found out she was pregnant. Eve attended
community college for seven years on and off. She is only short three classes but has not
returned to community college. Eve works a part-time job helping at-risk youth finding
employment.
The Community Colleges
All of the participants attended community college in northern California. The
California Community College system is one of the largest of its kind in the United
States. There are approximately 112 community colleges in California alone (Keller,
2010). The subjects were students from three different local community colleges. One of
the interesting observations made while researching the community colleges was that
some of the community colleges make their demographic information easily and readily
available while others were vague and provided little demographic information. All three
community colleges had a transfer center that was established to help students’ transition
to a four-year institution. They also provided the most up to date information on the
transfer classes and information about the different universities. Also, all three
community colleges had the Educational Opportunity Program and Services (EOPs) on
their campus. Only Land Community College had the Respect, Integrity and Success
through Education (RISE) program. Land and Rain Community College both had the
PUENTE program.
Land Community College.Land Community College was located in a
metropolitan city in Northern California. This school had nearly 30,000 students. In 2009,
52
the college had 17.6% Latinos, 15.2% African Americans and 30.8% Whites. In 2009,
36.3% of the students were first generation college students. In this same year 53.6% of
the students attending Land Community College wanted to transfer to a four-year
institution. This school had seven different technical careers that students couldhave
chosen to take. It offered approximately 101 Associate Art’sdegrees and 80 Certificates
of Achievement.
Desert Community College.Desert Community College had three different
campuses. The main campus was located in the main city, and two other campuses were
located in nearby towns that did not have community colleges in the areas. Many of its
students came from the surrounding small towns, which were farming communities. For
the purpose of this study and because of the students that were interviewed, this study
only focused on Desert Community College main campus and its specific statistics.
Students at Desert Community College main campus were typically younger and, more
traditional college students.In the 2009-2010 school year, the Desert Community College
main campus had approximately 11,694 students enrolled. Approximately, 5,223 were
enrolled full time.The population at this campus in 2009-2010 school year was as
follows; 49% White, 24% Hispanic, 12% Asian, 5% Black/African-American, 4%
Unknown/Undeclared, 2% for Other and 2% for Native American, 1 percent Filipino and
1 percent Pacific Islander. Over half of the population at Desert Community College
main campus was female. In 2009-2010 school year 462 degrees were awarded and 200
certificates.
53
Rain Community College.Rain Community College was located in a metropolitan
city in Northern California. This community college had six other campuses besides its
main campus in the city. There were about 35,000 students that attend Rain Community
College. The most current student demographic information found was from 2005 to
2007. The majority of students at Rain Community College attended school part-time
(43%). Only 25.6 percent of students attended full-time. About 20.9 percent of students
that attended Rain Community College were ages 18-20 and about 20.3 percentwere ages
from 21-24. Forty-nine percent of the students that attended Rain Community College
were White, with 8.4 percent African-American, 13.8 percent Hispanic and 15 percent
were classified as other.
Data Collection
The first step of this research was to receive approval from Sacramento State
University’s Human Subjects Committee. There was an application completed and the
consent form, along with the interview questions that were going to be used for this
study,was submitted to the Human Subjects Committee. Once the approval was granted,
the researcher was able to proceed with the search of subjects for the research. Once the
subjects were found, the researcher proceeded with interviewing each person. The
interviews were recorded and then transcribed. The interviews took place at a coffee shop
and at the local campus library. The interviews were one on one and participants were
able to take a look at the questions before the interview began. This allowed time for
them to think about their responses. They were also given a consent form that not only
54
informed them of their rights, but also provided them with more information about the
study. The answers to the interviews were used to ascertain what factors were most
significant for their decision to transfer to a four-year institution or leave community
college without transferring or obtaining a degree.
Data Analysis
Through the review of the data, in this instance, the interviews, themes were
searched that were conspicuous about the reasons that Latino students left community
college without obtaining a degree, certificate or transferring to a four-year
university.The researcher also searched for themes that demonstrated the different factors
that helped those students who did transfer to a four-university. The different factors that
were investigated in the interview data were: family, peers, academics and financial
support/influence. These factors were the networks these Latino students had and were
what researchers consider social capital (Ream &Rumberger, 2008; Stanton-Salazar
&Dornbusch, 1995) and correlate with the factors described in the Achievement Gap
Action Model (Nevarez& Woods, 2010).
55
Chapter 4
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
In this chapter, data will be presented and analyzed on the six components used in
the interviews. These six components are: (a) Reasons for Attending Community
College; (b) Family Involvement; (c) Academic Support; (d) Peer Influences/Support; (e)
Financial Support and (f) the overall culminating thoughts about the community college
experience of each participant. The researcher will be using both the Social Capital
theory (Ream &Rumberger, 2008; Stanton-Salazar &Dornbusch, 1995)and the
Community Achievement Gap Action Model (Nevarez& Woods, 2010) to analyze the
data in the respective six components.
Reasons for attending community college
This section will answer the following the question, what were the reasons why
Latinos attended community college?And it will examine four issues; high school
experience, community college intentions/goals, financial reasons, and expectations.
Moreover, a closer examination of two participants, Roberto and Rebecca, will be
included.
High School Experience.High school is a place where students should be
building social networks and obtaining information that will help them enroll in college,
yet for half of the participants, this was not the case. Five of the participants (Alex,
Jessica, Marcos, Rebecca, and Roberto) stated that they had someone in high school that
pushed them to continue their education in college. Out of those five who had someone,
56
three transferred to a four-year university and two left community college without
transferring or without obtaining a degree. Those three participants that transferred
(Jessica, Rebecca and Roberto) were a part of a college bound program. Jessica was a
part of the Upward Bound program. The Upward Bound Program is a federal operated
program that prepares their participants to succeed in high school, enter an institution of
higher learning, and graduate from that institution (US Department of Education, 2011).
Rebecca and Roberto were both a part of Advancement Via Individual Determination
(AVID). AVID is a student support program to assist and prepare disadvantaged middle
and high school students enter college (Oswald, 2002). In addition, Jessica and Rebecca
both had their high school counselors encourage them to pursue a college education. This
is what Stanton-Salazar and Dornbusch (1995) would consider as institutional agents.
Institutional agents are those individuals or group of individuals (i.e., teachers,
counselors, college bound programs, community leaders, college bound-youth, etc.) that
have knowledge and resources about college (Stanton-Salazar &Dornbusch, 1995).
Two participants (Alex and Marcos) that stated they had encouragement in high
school but were not a part of any college bound program, ultimately did not transfer to a
four-year institution. The encouragement they received was from teachers who
encouraged them to pursue a college education. Although their teachers are considered
institutional agents, those teachers may not have provided them with the knowledge and
resources (i.e., show them how to read a college catalog, discussed majors and
requirements, discuss about the different college opportunities) needed to succeed
57
(Stanton-Salazar &Dornbusch, 1995). There is a difference between encouraging an
individual to succeed and sharing the knowledge in order for that individual to succeed.
Both Alex and Marcos were encouraged initially but did not ultimately succeed.
High school is an influential institutional agent that includes other institutional
agents within. Those that were a part of a college bound program, which is considered an
institutional agent, were better able to navigate the college system. Those who just
received encouragement to attend college still felt lost once in college.
There were also five participants (Adrian, Andres, Karla, Luke, and Sandra) who
stated that they did not receive any guidance or encouragement to attend college while in
high school. Out of the five, two (Adrian and Luke) entered community college and
transferred to a four-year institution but took at least three years to transfer. Adrian was
involved in Student Support Services (SSS) while in community college. Student Support
Services is a federally funded program that provides, “tutoring, counseling, and remedial
instruction to low-income, first-generation college students and students with disabilities”
(The Pell Institute, 2009, p. 2). This is what Nevarez and Woods (2010) call macro-level
support; the student was a part of a federally funded program to assist him academically
as well as financially. Luke had a social factor (Nevarez& Woods, 2010) that helped him
through community college and that was his girlfriend. Luke’s girlfriend was able to
share her knowledge about community college because she was a year ahead of him.
Although Adrian and Luke did not have strong support in high school, both had social
networks in community college that they were able to utilize and facilitate their transfer
58
to a four-year university (Stanton-Salazar &Dornbusch, 1995). The other three did not
transfer out of community college. High school is a place where students begin to build
their social networks and although it is not the only determinant on whether or not a
student will succeed in college, it is a significant agent.
Their Community College Intentions/Goals.All of the participants, with the
exception of one (Luke), in the study had an intent to transfer. Four of the participants
hoped to obtain an Associate’s degree and then transfer while five of the participants
hoped to just transfer. Out of the four who wanted an associate’s degree and then transfer,
three left community college without achieving either of the two goals. Only one,
Rebecca, was able to obtain her Associate’s degree and then transfer. Rebecca was
unsure of what major to choose and therefore decided to obtain her Associate’s degree in
general education.
Luke was the only person who attended college with the goal of only obtaining a
degree; he assumed he needed to take a few courses in order to become a police officer.
He states,
umm…when I first started going yes I had a plan, nothing written on paper or
anything like but I knew I wanted to major in criminal justice because I wanted to
be a cop…originally. So that’s the route that I started taking but like I said
otherwise I didn’t have any real plans.
Luke stated that he just assumed courses just counted but he was not aware of
how the process functioned.
59
Karla, Andres, and Alex had intended to obtain a business degree. However, it
appears all three participants did not have a clear reason on why they attended
community college. For example, Karla entered community college as a Criminal Justice
major because she enjoyed shows like CSI (Crime Scene Investigations) but later
changed her major to Business Management because she worked as a secretary in an
office. Andres had an expectation that college would help him figure out life. Alex
thought he would be going to college to learn how to become responsible and that the
institution would guide him on how to obtain a college degree. Community colleges
have different functions and this is one of the reasons why students may not achieve their
goals. Students attend community college to transfer to a four-year university, to take
remedial courses, to obtain terminal degrees, and/or for continuing education (Nevarez&
Woods, 2010). For these three students, transferring was an option they considered, but
were not given enough guidance on the process.
Financial Reasons.Many people choose to attend community college because of
the low tuition (Leigh & Gill, 2007). In this research study, six out of the ten people
interviewed stated that financial issues were a reason for attending a community college.
Four out of the six who stated financial issues as one of their reasons were students who
transferred to a four-year university and two were Latinos who left community college.
Expectations.Three of the participants (Luke, Rebecca, and Sandra; two that
transferred and one who dropped out of community college) stated they had no
60
expectations about college and did not have a clear vision about what college entailed.
One of the participants, Rebecca, said,
Well I always knew I wanted to go to college. I wasn’t sure at first if I would go
straight to a university or a community college but I always had...like a goal of
like furthering my education after high school.
One of the participants (Adrian) stated, “I had low expectations about college
from what I heard from friends. DesertCommunity College was basically described as an
extension of high school.” Two of the participants (Jessica and Marcos) felt that college
was going to be difficult and that it was going to be strict. On the contrary, Roberto felt
that in college he was going to have more freedom but it was not the case, “I came into
college expecting to have more free will in my education but came to find out that the
classes defined under a restricted set of paths.” Here, although Roberto did not like that
he had structure, structure was good because it helped him follow a path that would lead
him to transferring to a four-year university and ultimately lead him to earn his bachelor’s
degree.
Three of the participants (Alex, Andres, and Karla) expected college to be a place
of personal growth, not just academic (and ironically these three participants all majored
in business). The fact that these three participants who dropped out of community college
wanted to obtain a business degree and wanted college to help them grow personally may
indicate that these participants were not sure or did not have a clear idea on what to do in
college. They expected college to teach them how to become responsible and
61
independent adults and to help them figure out the path their lives would take. Alex,
Andres, and Karla did not have an institutional agent in community college to guide them
and share college knowledge with them (Stanton-Salazar &Dornbusch, 1995).
Roberto and Rebecca.Roberto and Rebecca are two students who were
independent and sought help when they needed assistance. They both had the goal of
transferring and wanted to do so as soon as possible. Stanton-Salazar and Dornbusch
(1995) describe a help-seeker as a person who asks for help when needed and this is what
Roberto and Rebecca did. Roberto and Rebecca are independent and help-seekers
because they do not hesitate to ask for help. They had a clear goal and when they found
barriers to that goal they would find people to help them. When the researcher asked
both Roberto and Rebecca how they knew what classes to take they both stated they just
followed the form [California State University General Education–Breadth Requirements
form].
For example, when the researcher asked Rebecca how she knew what classes to take, she
stated,
Well when I was in community college I didn’t know what my major was going
to be so I just got a general education…ummm…AA for my classes. I pretty
much just went following that little chart that tells you how many classes you
needed for that area and…yea I just followed it.
Roberto stated,
62
I simply went down the list of the classes that I needed to transfer over to Sac
State. The small selection that I had was just within the individual categories. I
never had much of a problem with not knowing what classes to take.
Rebecca and Roberto both had a clear idea on why there were attending community
colleges and that was to transfer. While in high school, both participants prepared to
attend a university but because of different circumstances decided to attend community
colleges. Their goal and intent, however, was clear from the beginning.
Academic Support in Community College
This section will examine the academic resources Latinos utilized while in
community college.
Five out of the ten participants (Adrian, Karla, Luke, Rebecca and Sandra) were
part of a student support service, or had what Nevarez and Woods (2010) would classify
as “macro-level support” while at community college. Four out of the five were a part of
EOP/S and one was a part of Student Support Services (SSS). Out of the five students
who were a part of a student service, three transferred to a four-year university. One
participant who was able to transfer, Rebecca, stated that although EOP/S had great
benefits, she was not satisfied with the program because they required too much
specificity. For example, Rebecca explains,
Like, I didn’t like how they required a certain amount of hours in to do the study
time in the library I mean it was in a certain part of the library and I just didn’t
feel comfortable being there, I liked the fact that they offered tutors and that when
63
I needed tutors I would go there but I rather go to a different part of the library
and those hours wouldn’t count. So I just felt really pressured that I had to be
there like I couldn’t just do my own study wherever I wanted to so I didn’t like
that and since couldn’t well I don’t know I wanted to do it on my own where I felt
comfortable so I ended just getting out because of that.
Jessica, a student who was able to transfer, expressed her feelings about the counseling
service,
I honestly didn’t enjoy my experience with the counselors because it wasn’t as
personal as my counselors from high school. I would always see somebody new
and they would all tell me different things about what I needed to transfer, grades,
etc.
Luke explains, “It was strictly business…” Out of the four that stated they had a
good relationship with their counselor, three of them were talking about either their
EOP/S or SSS counselor. Only one stated it was their general counselor. Out of those
four participants the three that had a good relationship with their EOP/S or SSS counselor
transferred to a four-year university. Luke did not feel that he had a mentor in community
college and rather found his mentor through friends. As Luke explains,
As far as a staff is concerned or even counselors I didn’t really have a mentor in
them. I mean I had my friend who well she was my girlfriend who encouraged
and pushed me to finish but otherwise no I didn’t have anyone else.
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The two participants (Karla and Sandra) that did not transfer claimed to have had
difficulties getting in EOP/S. Karla reported,
Yea yea I was a part of EOP. That was hard to get into umm… I don’t know why
cuz I was low-income and the only reason it was hard for me to get into because
like they had to have my principal sign because my scores were high and I was
like well that shouldn’t matter.
Karla later stated that EOP/S helped her financially with books and through them she was
exposed to the Board of Governor’s Waiver (BOGW). Sandra claimed that although it
took her a while to get in to EOP/S, the program was beneficial and helpful in the end.
When asked about their relationship with the counselors, six out of the ten
participants (Alex, Andres, Jessica, Karla, Luke, and Marcos) stated they did not have a
relationship with their counselors. For example, Karla felt as though she was being a
bother to the counselors and did not feel welcomed. Andres felt that their relationship
was purely business:
He stated,
umm…just…ummm not…it was just business I guess…I don’t know how to
explain it. It wasn’t like friendly or anything it wasn’t like…it was just I would
ask them questions and that was it, it wasn’t like I felt comfortable going in there
and talking to them or anything like that.
Although participants often stated they did not receive any guidance from the staff
besides those in EOP/S or TRIO programs, which are federally funded programs that
65
were created by Johnson’s administration and include: Student Support Services, Upward
Bound and AVID (Swail, 2001). It appears that in order to succeed in community college
there are other factors (i.e., background factors, personal factors, social factors, macrolevel support, and institutional factors) that play a role in the success of each student
(Nevarez&Woods, 2010). Participants found their own social network to make their way
through community college and converted this relationship into social capital (Ream
&Rumberger, 2008).
Family Involvement
This section examines the extent in which family influences students while in
community college.
Three of the ten participants had no prior family members who attended college.
Although the others had a family contact who did attend college, many of their family
members did not complete a degree and/or did not share their college experience with the
participant. For example, Luke had a distant cousin who had attended college but he
never talked to her about it, nor did she ever talk to him about her college experience.
The only person who had a family member attend college and graduate was Rebecca; her
father attended college in Mexico and completed an engineering degree. Rebecca’s father
understood the struggles of being a college student and offered his support. Rebecca
states,
Well since he had the opportunity to go to a university he always encouraged us
to go to school, me and my sisters. And he always offered us support like if we
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weren’t able to work he provided us money but for him it was always very important
that we also went to college.
Rebecca had three out of the five factors from the Community College Achievement Gap
Model (Nevarez& Woods, 2010); background factors (her father obtained a bachelor’s
degree in Mexico and owns his own business), personal factors (she always knew she
would attend college), and macro-level support (although temporary, she was a part of
EOP/S and in high school she was a part of AVID) that aided her to succeed in her
community college experience (Nevarez& Woods, 2010).
Alex’s mom attended a community college but only to take English as a Second
Language courses and she never showed him how to navigate the community college
system or shared her knowledge with him. Andres did have a cousin who attended
college but his cousin never talked about his college experience. Consequently, Andres
felt that having a cousin in college was not helpful to him.
All of the participants lived at home while attending community college although
some moved out in the midst of their community college experience. Sixty percent of the
participants stated that living at home was a positive experience while 40 percent stated it
was not helpful or were indifferent. Jessica had a split opinion about living at home. She
states,
Financially, yes, but socially, no. I feel like I could have networked and met so many
more people had I lived on campus. In the end, however, I feel that the money my
family saved was well worth living at home.
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Although Jessica recognized that being financially supported was a positive thing, she did
not think that living at home was a positive effect on her social networking and it
prevented her from becoming more involved. On the other hand, when the researcher
asked Andres if living at home was helpful, he stated,
…college doesn’t matter if you live at home or not. It all depends on your own
will of going to school and if you want to push yourself. Cuz everybody can
always push you all they want but it’s always ultimately up to you what you want
to do with your life, you know.
Andres’ feelings were indifferent; he believed that if someone wanted to succeed in
college, they would succeed regardless of the situation.
A noticeable observation is that there is a difference between encouragement and
knowledge. Although family, just like high school staff, can be encouraging about the
pursuit of a higher education, there is a difference between someone encouraging and
providing the knowledge. Showing someone how to enroll in classes and apply for
financial aid is different from someone stating that they want the individual to attend
college. Although the parents of these participants were encouraging, they may not have
been able to show them how to navigate the community college system.
Peer Influences/Support
This section will examine the influence of peers that Latino students had while in
community college.
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Some research shows that one of the main influential factors in a college student’s
life is their peers (Dennis, Phinney&Chuateco, 2005; Nevarez&Woods, 2010), but in this
research, the data did not strongly support this contention. Many of the participants in this
research said they kept to themselves or that their friends in college were different from
their friends from home. Like Roberto states,
I didn’t really have “Friends” to hang out with, I had my girlfriend and she had
her own classes. I stuck to myself and my poetry.
And he goes on to say,
Most of my friends started out at a four year like SacState and Chico. However,
after two years, they dropped out, got a job, and are either back at a community
college to start over a little more seriously or never went back.
Luke’s girlfriend was his social capital agent who guided him through community
college. She was the person who told him what classes he needed and assisted him in
transferring to a university. He also said that once his girlfriend graduated, her brother
entered community college and Luke became his mentor:
I also had another friend of mine, which was my ex-girlfriend’s brother who when
she left, he kind of…went to school with me and I helped him pick his classes and
so I kinda returned the favor for him yea and I encouraged him and did all the
stuff she did for me.
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Karla stated that although almost everyone she graduated from high school with went to
the local community college, this was not helpful to her because they did not share the
experience with her. As she explains,
When I found out about signing up at all, I was already late for one thing and so I
was like, I felt behind because I didn’t even know people were even applying for
colleges so yea I wish I would have had that, that would have been great.
Karla continued to say that she did not keep in touch with most of her friends and the
only person she knows that transferred to a four-year university was a friend’s mom.
Karla’s social networks of friends were not influential in her community college
experience. For one, her friends did not share with her when they were applying to
college. Secondly, she maintained the same high school friends while in community
college. This is a dilemma because if those same friends did not talk to her about college
in high school they were not going to talk to her about transferring while in community
college. The conversations between Karla and her friends did not include academic
conversations. Therefore, her friends were not institutional agents that assisted her
through her community college experience (Stanton-Salazar &Dornbusch, 1995).
When asked about their friends and which one dropped and who transferred,
several participants expressed similar sentiments. For instance, Luke said that “…I saw a
lot of people who dropped out during my stay there,” while Roberto commented that
“Most of them dropped out or came back for a fourth year.” Adrian explained that; “Most
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of my friends dropped out for a few semesters and are in the process of completing their
Associate's Degree,” and Alex added,
“Man…I would say more dropped out than actually pursued and went all the way.
I would say that a lot more of my friends did not go and the ones that did a lot of
them did not go all the way.”
When the researcher asked participants if their friends were helpful when
transferring or continuing their education there was another echo; Rebecca stated, “well
not really cuz I transferred by myself when I transferred to Sac State, nobody that I knew
transferred at the same time,” while Roberto stated, “I wouldn’t say so; I was pretty much
on my own.” Jessica surprised me with her answer, she explains, “No, if anything they
we’re a distraction. I transferred to a different c.c. after a year and I did much better
academically”.
From the different responses of participants in regards to their friends it was
concluded that many had acquaintances versus friends. For example, Sandra makes a
distinction, “my friends from college were different and separate from friends outside of
school.” This seemed to be the theme for most of the participants who stated that they did
not have friends while at community college. Most had acquaintances while in
community college and the participants did not consider them friends. Consequently, it is
evident that participants did not discuss their dreams, goals, intentions or about their
future goals with these acquaintances.
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Financial Support
This section will examine the financial struggles that Latino students had to face
and their financial situation while in community college.
All of the students held at least part-time employment while attending community
college. This is consistent with research by Henriksen (1995) and Pope (2007) who state
that students are likely to work at least part-time while in community college. Nine
participants either did not pay for any bills or only paid their personal bills: there was
only one participant, Roberto, who had to help pay rent and bills. Luke was the only
participant that did not have to pay for anything. Although he did not qualify for financial
aid, his father paid for everything; Luke worked for his own spending money.
Alex, Luke and Roberto did not qualify for financial aid while in community
college. Luke received financial aid once he turned 24 years old. Five out of the 10
participants received their information about financial aid through their high school, i.e.,
counselor, peers, college bound programs. Sandra did not receive FAFSA until later in
her college career because she was not aware of this option:
I got by and never worried about money because I worked a little, and my stepdad’s Veteran Affairs Benefits paid for tuition as well as financial aid and BOG
fee waiver [Board of Governor’s Fee Waiver] with pell grant…It took awhile, a
few years, before I tapped into financial aid and got money. I didn’t know it was
there and some student along the line told me it was there and to just do the
paperwork and ultimately helped me and it worked.
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The only participant who stated that she dropped out for financial reasons was
Karla. Karla stated that she lost her financial aid because one of her instructors accidently
dropped her from the class. Karla tried to solve this issue but each person (Admissions &
Records, Financial Aid, and her instructor) involved in this incident kept telling her she
had to see the other person. All nine other participants stated that they did have financial
issues, which deterred them from continuing education.
Overall Culminating Experience
This section will examine the overall opinions that Latinos had about their
community college experience and what were the types of support they would have liked
to have received.
All ten participants stated that no one was opposed to their education. All the
participants also stated they would have liked to have received more information about
college and what it was all about. A support that students stated they would have liked to
receive while in community college was more financial assistance. Roberto explains,
The only support I would have liked to receive was financial support. I was able
to finish because I worked two jobs at times to pay for my personal life like rent
and bills while also paying for books. If someone or a program would have at
least covered the cost of my books throughout my two year experience, I know
that my GPA would have been higher.
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Luke also stated that knowing more about financial aid, having someone in the school
explain to him what financial aid was all about, would have been helpful for his
community college experience. He said that he feels that many people are not aware of
their financial options and therefore, get discouraged from continuing their education like
he did.
For those that transferred to a four-year university, four (Adrian, Jessica, Luke,
and Roberto) answered the questions about what helped them through the process of
transferring. Adrian said that his SSS counselor helped him through community college
and exposed him to different opportunities. Jessica stated that in general attending a
community college was helpful because it helped her prepare for a university gradually.
Luke states that he began to see progress in school and realized that it was possible to do
well in school. He states,
Once I started to get units down and once I saw the light at the end of the tunnel
as far as getting out of community college you know cuz I was there for so long
like that’s what motivated me I was like wow I can do this. Before then I was kind
of like you know in the beginning when I went back initially to college I was just
like getting C’s and I was happy that I didn’t’ think I could do any better you
know until I got that one D and I knew I had to retake that math course and I was
like what am I doing? I am just wasting my time. You know if I am going to be
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here I better try my hardest and push as hard as I can. So it was kinda me that
motivated myself to, to get it done you know, to get good grades you know.
Roberto said that he knew someone from the admissions department who he
would seek out help about transferring. He said that this person made his transition
smooth. Rebecca said she could not think of anything or anyone really that assisted her
with the transferring process. There was no clear concise result on what assisted these
students to transfer, the only consistency was that they received help from different
people, their social network.
Alex, a student unable to transfer, felt that he would have liked to have had a
family member or friend who had gone through the college system and who would have
explained the process to him. Alex explains,
And then maybe on the support, I think like if I would have had someone else
who would have already went through it if I would have someone close to me like
a family member or somebody had already went through college and someone
who already [had] their AA or already had their Masters, you know I think that
person in a family could be somebody to lean on to when you have questions you
know or how did you coupe with this…you know when you’re young fresh out of
high school and you are dealing with a job and school and friends and partying
and so many things going it’s hard to balance.
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Alex was not a self-seeker (Stanton-Salazar &Dornbusch, 1995) and it was not because
he was not motivated but rather it could have been that he did not know he could ask for
help or who he could receive help from at the school.
When asked about what kind of support participants would have liked to have
received, four of the participants (Andres, Jessica, Karla, and Luke) stated that they
would have liked to receive more individualized support from staff, i.e., counselors.
Andres explains, “Umm…probably mainly more towards, maybe towards reaching my
goal…more one on one maybe with your counselors...” Jessica also comments, “I would
have liked more individualized attention from the counselors.”
Transferred vs. Dropped Out
This section will examine the academic and social factors that assisted or impeded
Latino students to transfer.
To reiterate, Adrian, Jessica, Luke, Rebecca and Roberto transferred to a fouryear university and Alex, Andres, Karla, Marcos and Sandra dropped out of community
college. An important observation was noted between the group that transferred to a four
year institution and their counterparts; four out of the five participants interviewed who
transferred to a four-year university were born in Mexico. On the other hand, all five
participants interviewed who dropped out of community college were born in the United
States. This finding runs contrary to the notion that those with a language barrier tend to
do worse than those who were born and raised in the United States and who were brought
up learning English (Valdés, 1996).
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Lastly, all five participants that did transfer to a four-year university were a part
of a college bound program either in high school and/or in college. This is a significant
finding because it clearly shows the importance of programs that are created to mentor,
guide and provide knowledge. This is also important given that about 50 percent of
Hispanics are first generation college students (Santiago, 2011), and therefore, do not
have the family capital to help guide them through the process.
Conclusion
Overall, students in this study felt that there was a lack of guidance while they
were in community college. Those participants that felt they received adequate
guidance/assistance were the ones that participated in a student support service while at
community college. Nine out of the ten participants were first generation college students
and had to learn to navigate the college system on their own. Not knowing how to
overcome the bumps in the road or not knowing where to ask for help impacted students’
college journey whether it was transferring or dropping out of community college. This
research fits the Social Capital Theory Model (Stanton-Salazar &Dornbusch, 1995). This
model explains that different social relationships with individuals that either have
knowledge they can share or are college-bound youth can have a positive academic effect
on students. It is important to keep in mind that these social relationships can also have
negative consequences if these social relationships are antiestablishment, which is the
case with many minority students (Stanton-Salazar &Dornbusch, 1995). None of the
participants had all five factors that the Community College Achievement Gap Model
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described. More specifically, this research found that none of the participants were
involved in any student activity or student club while in community college. The Nevarez
and Woods Community College Achievement Gap Models calls for a strong immersion
in the campus culture and campus activities (Nevarez& Woods, 2010). But even the
students that did transfer to a four-year institution were not immersed in the campus
activities/culture. In fact, most stated that they just attended their classes and left home or
work after they were done. In conclusion, the participants’ voices indicate that it was not
only one factor, i.e., counselors, but rather a list of factors that had an effect on reaching
their educational goals.
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Chapter 5
OVERVIEW, DISCUSSION, LIMITATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Overview
The purpose of this qualitative research was to document the academic and social
factors impacting Latino students’ community college success through the voices of
Latinos who have attended a community college.
In this chapter, the researcher will engage in a rich discussion about the findings
in relation to the research questions posed in chapter one. The researcher will then
reiterate some of the implications, and discuss some of the recommendations and future
research on how to assist Latino community college students accomplish their goals of
either transferring or obtaining an Associate’s degree that were drawn from the
completion of this study.
Discussion
The Latinos in this study had a lack of guidance.Although five of the students
were able to transfer to a four-year university, the other five left community college
without transferring. Latinos are not only the largest minority but they also attend
community college at a high rate (51%) (Santiago, 2011).If Latinos are not succeeding at
an acceptable rate than there will be an undereducated population. The study researched
here is an excellent example of the lack of knowledge provided to Latino students and
lack of resources spent on Latino students.
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Overall, the conclusion that can be drawn from this study was there was not one
factor that was a determinant to whether a student succeeded or left community college
without transferring or obtaining a degree. There were two students who had two out of
the five factors that Nevarez and Woods (2010) point out as factors that assist students in
having a successful experience in community college. Both Luke and Sandra had macro
level support and social factors identified as helpful in transferring to a four-year
institution. At the macro level Luke and Sandra were a part of EOP/S later in their
community college career. The other factor that both of these students had in common
was social, but there was a significant difference in the type of social support each
individual had. Sandra’s mother had attended college. Sandra spoke about having people
who she admired and would reach out to them when she needed mentoring. However, she
was not able to transfer and left community college. On the contrary, Luke’s social
support was his girlfriend who walked him through the community college process.
Although in theory they both had the same factors while attending community college,
these factors were in different forms. Luke had someone who knew the community
college process very well and was able to guide him through that experience, versus
Sandra, who only sought people when she felt the need. However, no one held her hand
through the matriculation process or walked her through her options. Given this situation,
faculty and staff must realized and be cognizant of these differences in the type of social
support students possess.
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Out of the five participants who did transfer to a four-year university, three were
a part of EOP/S. Two participants, Jessica and Roberto, were not a part of EOP/S, but had
supplemental support. Jessica was a part of Upward Bound which taught her how to
navigate the college system. Roberto was a part of AVID during high school, but also
sought guidance from the former director of EOP/S because he was a friend of the family
and Roberto felt comfortable seeing him when he needed help. One of the findings the
researcher found was those who transferred to a four-year institution from a community
college were typically involved in one of the TRIO programs. These findings coincide
with Zell’s (2010) research where it found those who were successful in transferring to a
four-year institution were a part of one of the TRIO programs. TRIO programs are
federally funded programs to prepare students and provide them with access to higher
education (Zell, 2010).
Both Andres and Marcos felt that they had to go through the process of college on
their own. They were not aware of their options or that in fact it was okay to ask for help.
Their story is interesting because like many of the participants in the study, they were not
aware of their resources and how to seek help. Knowledge of the steps of getting through
college (Downs, Martin, Fossum, Martinez, Solorio, & Martinez, 2008) and knowing
how to navigate through community college is imperative for Latino students’ success.
Knowing what resources are available is a crucial part of community college because it
enables students to be able to navigate the community college system
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While researching the different community colleges and their student support
programs, the researcher found that one of the programs had waivers for application fees
to the California State University system (CSU) and to the University of California
system (UC). However, it was appalling to see that this student support program would
provide unlimited fee waivers for California State Universities but would only provide
ONE fee waiver for a University of California. It is already clear that Latinos have many
barriers to attending college (Downs et al., 2008) and yet when Latino students find a
program that is suppose to assist them attend the best university for them, they are still
limited in their options at the UC level from doing so because they are not provided with
the adequate help. This is already perpetuating students from disadvantage backgrounds
to remain in the lower tier of society because they are not given access to prestigious
universities such as those in the UC system. This is a disturbing situation because student
support services should be encouraging to any student and what this does is limiting
students from attending a university of their choice. This is an issue of institutional
oppression (Freire, 1980). By institutional oppression the researcher is making the
inference that this program is not giving the students the best opportunities. Perhaps this
is not the programs responsibility but it is the responsibility of whoever is responsible for
making the agreement between the program and the UC system.
Ultimately, what can be derived from this study is that students need to have
support from their institution. There are many factors that can limit the resources for
Latino students and administrators have to be mindful of this. Because of the uniqueness
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of Latinos, staff and administrators must also be cognizant of this and therefore, must be
able to provide additional support.
Limitations
This was the researcher’s first time conducting interviews and she felt that she
could have done a better job in asking probing questions. One of the sections of the
interview questions titled, Family Involvement, could have had probing questions that
could have resulted in more in-depth answers. What the researcher was trying to find out
in this section was what were the stress factors that resulted from the family and how this
affected their college experience. There is a difference from encouragement that students
can receive from their family members and the knowledge that family can provide their
children to navigate the college system. Parents can encourage their children, but a
wealth of knowledge about the higher education system can make the difference. As Alex
best explains,
I think like if I would have had someone else who would have already went
through it if I would have someone close to me like a family member or
somebody had already went through college and someone who already their AA
or already had their Masters you know I think that person in a family could be
somebody to lean on to when you have questions you know or how did you coupe
with this…. So I think if somebody was there who had already gone through the
experience and would have helped me balance and prioritize maybe a little better
then that probably would have made a difference.
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Recommendations
Many of the participants felt that they had a lack of knowledge of the community
college system and about the available resources. Counselors and staff should be
cognizant of these feelings students are having and should make an effort to provide
support to the individuals that need it. Thinking outside the box would be helpful; this is
the time when everybody must work together to build relationships with students. It does
not only have to be a counselor who is helping but rather the registrar or the financial aid
technician, a professor, everybody can help students have a positive experience in
community college. Many students felt that when visiting their counselors it was a
business meeting rather than an encounter with a mentor who is supposed to guide them.
The more interaction students have with faculty and staff, the more likely students are to
remain enrolled and the more likely that faculty/staff will give self-confidence to students
(Henriksen, 1995; Zell, 2010). This is a process where the whole community college
personnel must be involved. Students also expressed that many times they saw different
counselors and were given conflicting advice, and because of this, students should be
assigned to one counselor during their time in community college. This assignment can
be by major or alphabetical order, but students need a constant person that they seek help
from. Student would feel more comfortable seeing the same counselor versus seeing
different counselors each time.
As part of the counseling experience students should be required to (a) attend an
orientation, where they are provided information on the different purposes and paths
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available to them at a community college, and (b) required to take a college counseling
course. The orientation would be beneficial because it would give students a tour of the
campus and it will show them where the different office of services that they may need
are located. A college counseling course would be beneficial and critical because this
class would allow students to learn how to enroll in classes and what classes are
available. In addition, college counseling would give students more one on one help with
navigating the community college system and would allow more time to get students’
questions answered.
It is highly advised that outreach begins as young as middle school. This will
allow students to learn more about community college and how to navigate the system
(Lay, 2010).Outreach should start early because this permits time for students to become
familiar with the college system and once they reach the point when they are ready to
apply for college and are in community college, they will have the knowledge necessary
to make informative decisions about college. There should be programs that prepare
students where they begin at the lower levels in schools in order for students to move
from “one level of education to another” smoothly (Nevarez& Rico, 2007).
Many participants in this study stated that more financial help could have helped
them through the college process. In order for Latino students to succeed they must have
the financial means to attend full-time. Financial status is one of the stress factors that
impede Latinos to continue college (Zell, 2010). Research has shown that although
Latinos have a considerable need of financial assistance to attend college, they are one of
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the groups that receive less financial aid (Santiago & Cunningham, 2005). Hence, many
Latinos are forced to work during college and are forced to attend community college
part-time (Santiago & Cunningham, 2005). Financial stresses create a domino effect
because students are then forced to remain in college longer, which then creates a high
probability of them not finishing their intended goal. This has been demonstrated by other
researchers who have found that the longer students are in community college the less
likely they are to transfer to a four-year institution and hence earn a bachelor’s degree
(Doyle, 2006).
Community colleges should focus on the student population at their particular
campus and should develop strategies that will help meet the goals of those students.
Each campus is different from the other because the student population will be different.
Focusing on each campus’ needs will increase the likelihood that students are receiving
the help they need to be successful. The decisions on where and how to allocate the
resources should be specific to each campus. In addition, the community colleges should
focus on creating a welcoming campus culture. From the results of this research many
students stated that they never spent time on campus besides the time that they were in
class. Creating a comfortable and welcoming campus culture will allow students to have
a sense of belonging, therefore creating a positive experience for students (Nevarez&
Woods, 2010).
As many of the studies have shown, having a mentoring program or at least
having staff or faculty members have contact with students on a frequent basis is essential
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in order for Latino students to feel confident, determined and to increase the transfer rate
(Striplin, 1999). Studies have shown that students who have a faculty advisor are more
likely to transfer to a four-year university (Striplin, 1999). If budget is an issue, then there
should be a student mentoring program where a student who has already been at the
community college at least a year can mentor an incoming freshman.
Future Research
There is still significant amount of research to be done about Latinos and
community colleges. Community colleges are the first choice for many Latinos and
therefore their success must be ensured (Santiago & Cunningham, 2005). One of the
things that can be researched and explored is the impact of peer influences on Latinos’
college attainment and retention. Based on the result of this research Latinos need more
support and mentorship, yet there needs to be more research conducted on the type of
support Latinos receive and how that affects their academic progress.
There should be research conducted on the changing patterns of Latinas
increasingly attending in high numbers versus Latino males. Recent studies show that
Latinas are attending college at a higher rate than Latino males. There can also be
research done on why Latinas are attending and graduating from college at a higher rate
than are male Latinos (California Postsecondary Education Commission, 2007).
Latinos are diverse from one another and research could be conducted on the
different groups of Latino college students. For example, there is a difference between
Puerto Rican college students and Mexican college students. Also, there are Latinos who
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are more acculturated than others; this should be investigated as an independent factor.
For example, there should be a study on Mexican college students who live at home
because there are many stress factors that this carries. Research for Latino college
students must now become more specific.
Conclusion
In conclusion, community colleges are the first choice for Latino students,
therefore, there should be abundant research conducted in this arena. Students are in dire
need of support and guidance and community colleges should work as a community to
help students achieve their intended goal. Although there are many needs in community
college, it is remarkable to see more and more Latinos attend college regardless of their
circumstances.
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APPENDICES
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APPENDIX A
CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
You are being asked to participate in research which will be conducted by Nancy Flores,
who is a candidate for a Masters in the Bilingual/Multicultural Education Department, at
California State University, Sacramento. The purpose of the study is to investigate the
factors that contribute to the transfer rate of Latinos from community colleges to fouryear institutions. This information is important to gather as we attempt to increase the
number of Latinos in higher education.
I will ask you general questions about your community college experience. Moreover, I
will ask you personal questions focusing on four areas of your community college
experience: (1) Family involvement, (2) Academic support, (3) Peer influences/support,
and (4) Financial support. This interview will be conducted on an individual basis. This
interview will take place at a location that is most comfortable to you (i.e. a public place
at your convenience). These questions will be personal and you may feel uncomfortable
answering them. Please know that you may skip any question you prefer not to answer or
stop the interview at any time. There will be no negative consequences for declining to
answer a question or stopping the interview.
If you experience discomfort during the interview, you can contact the Recovery Inc. in
Sacramento, at 916-483-5616. These services are provided free of charge. If you are a
Sacramento State University student, you can contact the Student Health and Counseling
Services (which is located at The Well) phone at (916) 278-6416 and their website is
http://www.csus.edu/psysrv, they are also free of charge.
You will not personally benefit from participating in this research. However, your
answers will give other researchers a more clear idea on what kind of support community
colleges can provide for Latino students in the future.
No names or other information that would identify you will be included with your
interview responses.The data will not be associated with any identifiable information.
The interview will take thirty minutes.
There will be no compensation for answering these serious of questions.
If you have any questions about this research, you may contact Nancy Flores at (916)
555-5555 or by e-mail at nf@saclink.csus.edu. You may also contact Dr. Albert Lozano
at (916) 222-2222 or by e-mail at lozano@csus.edu.
90
You may decline to be a participant in this study without any consequences. Your
signature below indicates that you have read this page and agree to participate in the
research.
________________________________ ____________________
Signature of Participant
Date
91
APPENDIX B
QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEWEES
Reasons for attending community college:
1. Tell me the reasons why you chose to go to a community college.
a. What were your own expectations about college?
b. Was there someone in high school who pushed you to go to college?
2. Did you have a plan for your community college career?
a. Describe how you picked your major and/or classes.
b. Describe how you knew what classes to take?
3. Roughly, how many units did you take each semester/quarter?
4. How long did you attend community college for?
Family Involvement:
1. Did anyone in your family attend college before you?
a. Explain if and how this person’s or persons’ experience was helpful to
you?
2. What were your family’s expectations of your education?
3. Where did you live while you were attending community college?
a. Did you think this helped you?
Academic Support:
1. Did you have what you consider as a “mentor” while at a community college?
Explain who your mentors were and what suggestions and advice they provided
you with.
2. Explain your relationship with the community college counselors.
3. Explain your experience with the different student services on campus.
a. How did you find out about the different student support services?
4. What was your Grade Point Average (GPA) after community college?
Peer Influences/Support:
1. Did you have friends that also attended community college?
2. Did your friends who also attended community college transfer to a four-year
university?
92
a. Did they receive a trade or Associate’s Degree?
b. Or did they drop out?
3. Were these friends helpful to you when transferring into a four-year institution?
Financial Support:
1. Describe your financial situation while you were enrolled at a community college.
2. Describe how you became aware of your financial options.
3. Describe your work experience during college.
Ending Questions
1. Did you continue your education after community college experience? Was
anyone opposed to you continuing your college education, or did not understand
the reasons why you wanted to attend a four-year institution? If so, how did they
convey their opposition and/or reasons for not supporting your decision?
2. Describe the kind of support you would have liked to receive while in community
college.
3. If you transferred to a four-year institution what was the most helpful? If you did
not transfer, what was your biggest obstacle?
93
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