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ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES Volume 8, No. 1 2004 DCommunicatingI Di versityV in Highere Ed u c a t i o nr STYI D I G E S T I N S I D E The Right to Learn and the Pathways to DI V SI TY er D I G E S T College Network By Mark Giles, editor, Diversity Digest, and director, Office of Diversity, Equity, INSTITUTIONAL LEADERSHIP AND and Global Initiatives C O M M I T M E N T 1: The Right to Learn and the Pathways “The mission of the Pathways to College Network is to focus research-based knowledge to College Network and resources on improving college preparation, access, and success for underserved populations, R E S E A R C H including low-income, underrepresented minority, 2: Designing Pathways to a Four-Year and first-generation students” (www.pathwaystocol- Degree lege.net). With that clear and focused statement, the 4: Preparing Students to Succeed in Pathways to College Network has set a powerful Broad Access Postsecondary national education agenda that is socially responsive, Institutions transformative, and action-oriented. 6: African-American Student In June 2003, the Association of American Achievement in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) joined the Colleges and Universities Pathways as a lead partner. Carol Geary Schneider, 12: College Choice and Diversity president of AAC&U, explained AAC&U’s commit- ment to supporting viable pathways to college for all Carol Geary Schneider, MAKING DIVERSITY NEWS students: “As we articulated in a recent statement president, AAC&U 8: Media Watch issued after the Supreme Court’s decisions on affir- mative action, higher education must take on an expanded role in our nation’s ongoing STUDENT EXPERIENCE quest for equal opportunity. We must redouble our efforts to work in partnership with 10: Linking Student Support with Student primary and secondary educators to improve the quality of educational outcomes for all Success: The Posse Foundation the nation’s children, especially those who have been underserved by the system.” Various educational, civic, and philanthropic partners across the nation are actively A A C & U N E W S engaged with and fully committed to the values, principles, and mission of Pathways. 14: Diversity Digest’s New Editor Indeed, several major educational funding organizations support Pathways and its efforts 14: October 21-23, 2004: Diversity to help underserved students gain access to and find success in college. In turn, those and Learning: Democracy’s postsecondary experiences hold the promise of opening the doors to greater earning Compelling Interest potential, of broadening participation in society, and of ending the cycle of inadequate schooling and limited life opportunities faced by many underserved students. The Pathways to College Network’s major policy report, A Shared Agenda: A Leadership Challenge to Improve College Access and Success, outlines six major principles that guide action for teachers, researchers, leaders, policy makers, and community mem- bers involved with K-12 and higher education. The report is more than a simple call to action; it is a flexible and workable blueprint for pedagogical, institutional, and opera- tional changes that will improve education for underserved and marginalized students. continued on page 15 Volume 8, No. 1 2 DI VerSI TY R E S E A R C H DIVERSITY DIGEST Volume 8, Number 1 Designing Pathways to 2 0 0 4 a Four- Year Degre e Published by the Association of American By Alberto F. Cabrera, professor, department of Colleges and Universities, 1818 R Street, Educational Administration, WISCAPE senior researcher NW, Washington, DC 20009; tel 202.387.3760; fax 202.265.9532. Diversity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and member of Digest is published with support from the the Research Scholars Panel, Pathways to College Network; Ford Foundation and is available at Kurt R. Burkum, graduate research assistant & doctoral www.diversityweb.org/Digest student, Center for the Study of Higher Education, Pennsylvania State University; and Steven M. La Nasa, visiting assistant professor, School of Education, University Diversity Digest AAC&U Staff of Missouri-Kansas City CARYN MCTIGHE MUSIL Executive Editor and Senior Vice PROVIDING ACCESS TO A MYRIAD OF SOCIAL, President for Diversity, Equity, and Alberto F. Cabrera Global Initiatives ECONOMIC, AND INDIVIDUAL BENEFITS, THE BACHELOR’S DEGREE REMAINS THE M A R K G I L E S Editor and Director of Programs, PROVERBIAL STEPPING-STONE TO A BETTER LIFE. AS EARLY AS THE 1960S, FED- Office of Diversity, Equity, and Global Initiatives ERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS RECOGNIZED THAT COMPLETION OF A ANN KAMMERER FOUR-YEAR DEGREE COULD BE AN INSURMOUNTABLE STEP FOR INDIVIDUALS Production Editor FROM DISADVANTAGED SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS. STUDENT ASSISTANCE AAC&U Editorial Advisors CAROL GEARY SCHNEIDER PROGRAMS SUCH AS CHAPTER I, TRIO, AND GEAR-UP RECOGNIZE THAT ACADEMIC P residen t PREPARATION, AWARENESS OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLEGE, AND ASSISTANCE IN DEBRA HUMPHREYS Vice President for Communications COMPLETING THE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS ARE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT and Public Affairs FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS WHOSE PARENTS ARE NOT COLLEGE-EDUCATED. Diversity Digest Advisory Board JOSÉ CALDERÓN As helpful as these need-based programs • access to and understanding of infor- CHRISTINE CLARK CARLOS CORTES have been in facilitating access to and mation about financial aid; LAURIE CRUMPACKER success in college, they do not appear to • preparation for entrance exams; GWENDOLYN JORDAN DUNGY B O B B Y F O N G explain fully why low-income students • the type of first institution attended; BEVERLY GUY-SHEFTALL enroll in college. Nor do they explain • enrollment patterns; ELIZABETH L. HOLLANDER why low-income students persist once • the nature and kind of remediation; SYLVIA HURTADO PARKER JOHNSON enrolled. In addition to a student’s • curricular patterns; LEE KNEFELKAMP socioeconomic background, a host of • collegiate experiences; JACK MEACHAM LESTER MONTS other factors affect whether students • performance in college; and ENRIQUE “RICK” OLGUIN enroll. These factors include: • family responsibilities. JONELL SANCHEZ DARYL SMITH ROBERT STEELE • parental expectations, support and The High School Sophomore STEPHEN SUMIDA encouragement from family, high Cohort of 1980 URI TREISMAN school friends, and teachers; We studied the high school sophomore • educational and occupational aspira- cohort of 1980 to understand why post- N O T E : The opinions expressed by individual tions which should be developing by secondary attendance patterns differ authors in Diversity Digest are their own and the ninth grade; markedly between socioeconomically dis- are not necessarily those of the D i g e s t ’s editors or AAC&U. • high school experiences; advantaged students and their better-off The Pathways to College network generously • high school academic resources; peers. This article is a summary of the provided funding for this issue of D i v e r s i t y • access to information about college findings. (Complete information, includ- D i g e s t . offerings; ing references, can be found in the online file cited at the end of this article.) 3 Volume 8, No. 1 The cohort followed nine different way, resulting in an 81 percent gradua- resources, degree aspirations, enroll- pathways to a four-year degree. These tion rate. ment patterns, college courses in paths were determined by the academic Students with the lowest socioeco- math and sciences, and financial aid, resources secured in high school and the nomic status journeyed on a pathway and by whether students have chil- first type of postsecondary institution defined by moderate academic resources dren while attending college. attended. The chance to secure a four- and enrollment in a two-year institution. year degree varies in relation to the par- Only 3.3 percent of these students went I m p l i c a t i o n s ticular pathway followed. on to earn a four-year degree. Helping students plan for college should The pathway most likely to lead to a begin in grade school. Interventions four-year degree is one defined by acquir- Transfer designed to advance college aspirations ing high academic resources in high Forty percent of the high school sopho- and preparation should take at least three school and entering a four-year institu- more cohort of 1980 first entered a com- groups into account: students, their fami- tion upon high school completion. Those munity college. Of them, 29 percent lies, and K-12 school personnel. who followed this path had a 78 percent transferred to a four-year institution Community colleges and four-year insti- chance of graduating within eleven years. within eleven years. When examining the tutions can also help educate students Students with the highest socioeco- socioeconomic background of the stu- and their parents about the benefits asso- nomic status (SES) followed this path- dents, our analyses suggest a stratification ciated with college degree completion. pattern whereby: They can advise students and parents about K-12 curricular choices that pre- C O M M U N I C A T I O N • Fifty percent of students with the pare students for college. College person- lowest socioeconomic status first nel can best provide information about Most new research—particularly enter a community college, while the college application process, including research that debunks myths or only 17 percent of them eventually financial aid. Summer camps, summer challenges common perceptions— transfer to a four-year institution. bridge programs, and targeted visits by will have value to a reporter, espe- • Thirty percent of all students with college representatives also can help cially if it relates to an issue that is the highest socioeconomic status first eleventh- and twelfth-graders learn more currently in the news. Research like enter a community college, and 37 about college. Making these opportuni- that featured in the high school percent of them eventually transfer.

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