Embedding Social Inclusion
in Universities
Adam Howard
Colby College
Research Process
• Phase 1: Library Research
• 36% of low-income students attend higher education
institutions, compared to 88.3% of high-income students
• Research focus only on increasing enrollment, not retention
• Late 1990s stopped compiling national data related to SES
• Phase 2: National Center for Education Statistics and
College Board
• Lawrence Gladieux and Watson Swail found only 6% of
low-income students receive degree within five years
• 9% receive receive degree within six years;
Some Consequences of
Dropping Out
• Many low-income students who drop out of university are
worse off than if they had never attended in the first place.
These students leave postsecondary education with no degree
and, most of the time, a debt to repay (In Australian context, a
wasted investment)
• Feeling a sense of failure, decreased self-esteem and confidence
• Studies show that some of the common effects of dropping out
are family conflicts, limited career options, lower earning
potential
• Millions of Americans are taking on the debt of college
without getting the earnings boost that comes from a degree.
Those who dropout are more than four times as likely as
graduates to default on their student loans.
Common Misconception
• It’s only about the costs of attendance
• The main factor in the higher drop-out rates,
according to a recent Harvard study, is the rising cost
of a college education. The cost of college has nearly
sextupled since 1985 and the total amount of student
loan debt held by Americans surpassed $1 trillion in
2011.
Research Process
• Phase 3: Evaluation of Programs at Universities and
Colleges with highest rates of retention
• Phase 4: Interviews with students who dropped out
• academic skills needed for college
• the financial means to cover the expenses beyond tuition
• the level of self-esteem and confidence necessary for overall
success
Necessary Systems of Support
 Academic
 Social
 Financial
Academic Support
• Pre-university Academic Programs
• Intensive academic preparation programs within students’
communities
• Summer intensive programs (1-2 months before officially
entering)
• Academic Advising
• Before students arrived on campus through the first year
• The ins and outs
• Academic Retention Circles
• Collaborative Approach to providing support
• Early outreach to students
Academic Support
• Professional Development Opportunities for Professors
• Adopting new pedagogical approaches/changing practices
• Addressing students’ academic needs
• First-year course requirements
• For example, main goals of one course are to help students
become better writers and readers, to get them more familiar
with the library, and to become more comfortable with using
technology for academic purposes. Students who need to
significantly improve their reading and writing skills attend
additional tutoring sessions.
Social Support
• Orientation Programs
• First-Year Common Experiences
• Courses
• Civic engagement experiences
• Meaningful Contribution/Connection to the Institution
• Barriers: Lack of time because of work and other
obligations; potential additional costs
• Student-led initiatives
Social Support
• Similar/Same Social Connections Prior to Enrollment
• Establishing relationships with families
• Mentoring programs
• Peer Support Groups
• Barriers: May be potentially counterproductive
• Establishing relationships with others with similar
backgrounds and experiences
Financial Support
• Financial Counseling
• Doing more than required: to provide students suitable
amounts of financial aid as determined by their levels of need,
to inform students about their responsibilities in accepting this
financial aid, and to comply with federal regulations.
• Offer workshops, one-on-one meetings, presentations, and
other methods in order to effectively establish lines of
communication and establish relationships with college officials
responsible for services related to financial aid, loans, etc.
• Providing students guidance to make informed financial
decisions about their future and to begin financially planning
for life after college
Financial Support
• Helping Students Manage the Hidden Costs
• Transportation, expenses related to units/classes
• Providing computers
• Reduce the costs of textbooks and class materials
• Employment services/on-campus opportunities
• Community/University partnerships
• Career Advising from the start
• Learning how to take advantage of social networks
Effective Practices
• Addressed all three forms for support
• Didn’t try to do everything. In fact, the most successful
efforts were focused ones – institutions directed
resources and energies toward small number of
programs/services
• Designed and implemented programs and services
specific to the institution and their students
Deficit Perspectives
• Sonia Nieto (1996) defines cultural deficit
perspectives as those that: “Hypothesize that some
people are deficient in intelligence and/or
achievement either because of genetic inferiority or
because of cultural deprivation (because of their
cultural background and/or because they have been
deprived of cultural experiences and activities
deemed by the majority to be indispensable for
growth and development).”
Colby College
• Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts
college in US
• 1,815 students; 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio
• Ranks among the top 20 liberal arts colleges in the country
• $59,110 per year comprehensive fees
• 39% of students on financial aid (therefore, 61% do not qualify for
financial aid) and $25 million in aid awarded each year
• 11% first-generation students; 19% students of color; 11%
international students (from over 70 countries)
• First Year Student Retention: 94%
• Overall Retention Rate: 91%
• Latino 51%; African American 73%; [1st gen 42%]
The “liberal arts college experience” in the US is
characterized by three main aspects that distinguish it
from undergraduate experiences in other countries:
• smaller size than universities, which usually
means more individual attention is given to each
student;
• residential, which means students live and learn
away from home, often for the first time, and
learn to live well with others; and
• a typically two-year exploration of the liberal
arts or general knowledge before declaring a
major.
Posse Program
 Mission
› The Posse Foundation identifies public high school students
with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who
may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes.
 Goals
› To expand the pool from which top colleges and universities
can recruit outstanding leaders from diverse backgrounds
› To help these institutions build more interactive campus
environments so that they can become more welcoming
institutions for people from all backgrounds
› To ensure that Posse Scholars persist in their academic
studies and graduate so they can take on leadership positions
in the workforce
Posse Program
 Program Components
› Scholars receive full-tuition leadership scholars
› Recruitment and Selection - Dynamic Assessment Process
(DAP), a unique evaluation method designed to identify
young leaders who might be missed by traditional
admissions criteria, but who can excel at selective colleges
and universities. Performance-based assessment.
› Posse Foundation provides a pre-collegiate training
program
› Colby provides a campus program to ensure the retention
of Posse students – Mentor meets with scholars
individually for 1 hour every two weeks, 2 hours
collectively per week
› Career Program
› Posse Access is an online database to give partner
universities and colleges exclusive access to unselected
student nominees
Within the affluent, white culture of Colby,
their outsider-within status had begun to take
shape. While just starting to identify as a part
of Colby, they also were beginning to realize
that they would be apart from it.
New England Consortium on Assessment and
Student Learning (NECASL)
 Participating institutions
› 5 coed and 2 single-sex liberal arts colleges in New
England
 General goals of the project
› Understand transition from high school to college
› Understand academic and social decision making
› Explore learning in relation to institutional practices
› Involve faculty and students more directly in assessment
› Share institutional research findings
› Improve educational experience of students
Results from Third Year Survey
Class
Dorm
Meals
Sports
Student
Orgs
Economic background
75.3
64.1
61.8
25.4
44.2
Race or ethnicity
Personal values
79.8
75.0
77.7
73.9
63.4
60.0
60.1
60.4
66.3
59.3
60.6
58.2
24.5
22.8
21.4
23.7
48.0
42.5
44.4
41.1
Political beliefs
73.1
51.8
52.1
20.7
36.5
Sexual orientation
64.8
48.6
49.6
15.1
38.5
Religious beliefs
Cultural background
Students saw classrooms, much
more than social encounters, cultural
events, or other out-of-classroom
experiences, as important arenas in
which genuine interaction around
diversity occurred in a safe
environment.
Course Background/History
• 2008-2010—president-appointed working group
• JanPlan 2011—year 1 (18 students; 4%)
• JanPlan 2012—year 2 (75 students; 17%)
• JanPlan 2013—year 3 (120 students; 27%)
• Projected for 2014—year 4 (140 students; 31%)
There are roughly 450 first-year students
Knowledge and Skills Associated with
Multicultural Literacy
• accepting and respecting differences
• becoming aware of one’s own culture/background
and biases, and the effect these realities may have on
people whose culture/background/biases are
different
• understanding the dynamics of power, privilege, and
oppression, and how these dynamics impact
interactions across differences
• developing skills to communicate across differences,
to manage conflict in positive ways, and to intervene
in negative situations
Course Goal
To provide knowledge and skills
that will enable students to interact
effectively with others across
multiple dimensions of difference.
Structure/Syllabus
• 1 professor, 2-3 student teaching assistants in
each class
• Teaching assistants are fourth year students
• Course is structured around major identity
categories—gender, sexuality, race, class,
ability, religion
• Individual/Cultural/Institutional Levels
• Capstone Action Project
Understanding the concept of unearned privileges
You consider yourself as having racist attitudes,
beliefs, and feelings
What It Means to be an “Ally”
Learning Outcomes
• A More Critical Awareness
• Deeper Understanding of Self and Others
• A Stronger Commitment to Engagement
• Dialogue Across Differences
Student Feedback
• “I learned that I actually can make a
difference with these issues. I do have the
power to get things started and to stand up
for these groups and make a difference.”
• “I am more privileged than I thought. I
shouldn't feel guilty about it, but rather use
my position of power to advocate for
change.”
• 89% of students who took the class (unit)
believe it should be required for all students
Students Taking Action