SPARK Collaborative’s Post

How can higher education institutions better support diverse student needs? Recent research conducted by Gallup and Lumina Foundation suggests that Black and Hispanic students are more likely to consider leaving their programs due to emotional stress, mental health issues, and cost concerns, which are consistent across all racial/ethnic groups. While overall enrollment has slightly improved, Black and Hispanic undergraduates still face higher risks of leaving their programs compared to their White peers. Certificate and associate programs are more attractive to unenrolled Black and Hispanic Americans, with financial aid crucial for their enrollment. Therefore, financial aid and scholarships are pivotal in attracting Black and Hispanic adults to enroll in postsecondary programs more than White adults. Higher education institutions must take concrete steps to retain underrepresented students to increase inclusivity and address discrimination. By doing so, we ensure that everyone can pursue their educational and career goals. #HigherEdDiversity #StudentRetention #FinancialAidMatters #InclusiveEducation #StudentWellbeing #EducationEquity

September 15 to October 15 marks National Hispanic Heritage Month. This month, and every month, the Research Institute celebrates Dallas College’s designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and engages in research to learn how we can continue to best serve and empower the Hispanic community through education. While Dallas College awards more associate degrees to Hispanic students than any other institution in Texas (and second-most in the United States), we recognize that we are not alone in our efforts. The Research Institute is committed to examining long-term student outcomes not just at our own institution, but across the state and nation. Using data from the Postsecondary Value Commission’s Equitable Value Explorer, we recently examined the extent to which HSIs across the country are providing economic value to their students. Two key findings from Texas show promising outcomes for Hispanic students: 🔸 Hispanic students in Texas realize positive value from higher education. 🔸 Earnings have risen for Hispanic students from more recent cohorts (see graph below). While there is much to celebrate regarding the long-term outcomes of Texas’s Hispanic college students, higher ed researchers must continue to examine nuances across student groups, such as the wage gaps that persist between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White students, as well as varying outcomes for Hispanic students across gender, race, special education status, and independent status. Link to the full Research Institute report in the comments. #SomosDallasCollege #HispanicHeritageMonth #HSIs

More Americans than ever are questioning the value of higher education, and college presidents are worried about that. In a survey of 380 college and university presidents released Thursday, trade publication Inside Higher Ed found 66% reported being “very” or “extremely” concerned about public confidence in postsecondary education. The Inside Higher Ed's 2023 Survey of College and University Presidents https://lnkd.in/drkpZW9a, conducted by Hanover Research, involved 442 presidents from a mix of public, private nonprofit, and for-profit institutions. This neagtive sentiment reflects a broader trend of skepticism towards the value and contribution of higher education to society and the economy, as seen in recent years. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 “𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮” 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜. They identified ideological bias on campuses, a sense of higher education being “disconnected” from society and racial equality as the next-biggest reasons, in descending order. “A quarter of presidents (26%) say they’re extremely concerned about the state of public confidence in higher ed today, while the largest share (40%) say they’re very concerned,” Inside Higher Ed said of the findings. #highereducationleadership #highereducation #higherlearning #highereducationconcerns #collegepresidentsworried #colleges #publicconfidenceineducation #insidehighered2023survey #students #skepticismintowardshighered #affordabilityineducation #education #workforcepreparation #ideologicalbiasoncampus #educationexcellence #educationandsocietydisconnect #racialqualityinhighered #stateofhigheredconfidence

Interesting data in this report.

Students of color are severely under-represented at #HigherEd institutions in the US. In this blog, Sandra Perez, EdTrust’s higher education research analyst, and Omar Ibrahim, EdTrust’s Nichols fellow, share a deep analysis of #CollegeAccess for undergraduate students from seven different races/ethnicities across the nation’s four-year educational institutions, as well as recommendations to increase college accessibility for students of color: https://edtru.st/3Q4D56F

New research shows that dual enrollment programs are helping millions of high school students attend and complete college at higher rates than their peers. However, the report also highlights significant gaps in access and success for low-income, Black, and Hispanic students. As dual enrollment expands, states and educational leaders are encouraged to use this data to close equity gaps and ensure all students can benefit from these programs. Read more about this and other news at insightintodiversity.com today! #HigherEd #DualEnrollment #StudentSuccess #EquityInEducation

ICYMI from Liam Knox/IHE admissions coverage: Selective colleges have started releasing much-anticipated demographic data for the Class of 2028, the first to be admitted after the Supreme Court banned affirmative action last summer. The picture is far from complete, but the slow trickle of data from about a dozen institutions clearly shows that the decision had an impact.    Some colleges, such as MIT, Brown and Amherst, reported a double-digit percentage-point decline in Black and Hispanic enrollment, and most saw a sizable increase in Asian American enrollment, though the share of white students remained largely stable. But results varied widely among institutions; some, including Duke and Yale, even saw their share of Black and Hispanic incoming students grow this fall.    https://lnkd.in/e5vFAH-d

Why Do Elite Institutions Dominate Our Screens? Did you know nearly 45% of Americans, including figures like Gov. Tim Walz, attended regional public universities? Yet when it comes to how higher education is depicted in TV shows, memoirs, and movies, the focus is overwhelmingly on private, elite institutions. This imbalance in representation skews our collective understanding of where the majority of students—especially first-gen and nontraditional students—are being educated. At My Tribe Media, we are committed to diversifying the portrayal of higher education in mass media and pop culture. We believe that the stories of regional public universities, community colleges, and the experiences of transfer and adult learners deserve just as much attention. By telling these stories, we reflect the realities of millions of students whose paths to success differ from the traditional, Ivy League-centered narrative. What’s one film, book, or TV show that positively represents regional public universities or the experiences of nontraditional students? If you can’t think of one, why do you think these stories are missing from mainstream media? Let’s discuss! #HigherEd #MediaRepresentation #RegionalUniversities #PublicEducation #FirstGen #MyTribeMedia #HigherEdInMedia https://lnkd.in/gekFkNPU

A new research paper from Opportunity Insights was published this month! The headline: the race gap on achieving the American Dream (defined as climbing to the middle class, after being born poor) is shrinking. A few takeaways for programs like National Math Stars that work to create more opportunity for children: (1) As race gaps shrink, class gaps are widening. We need to better support lower-income students of all races (2) Outcomes for children are closely tied to the communities they interact with most. There's likely value in heterogenous groupings where children interact with peers whose parents come from across the income, education, and employment spectrum (3) Changing outcomes requires helping participants build social capital (e.g., college counseling, school advocacy, extracurricular advising), not just providing financial and human capital (i.e., money and education) (4) The race gap may be getting smaller, but it's still there. Outreach efforts should ensure that, in targeting lower-income students broadly, we don't miss the Black students whose a priori odds of achieving the American dream are lower than their white peers'

As institutions seek new ways to diversify their campuses, prioritizing first-generation success from admission to graduation is key! These data sets shed light on the unique perspectives and identities we know our students hold. A great reminder that the work we do matters! #trioworks #firstgen