News & Events
City Tech Participates in Federal Demonstration Project
Measuring Success of Latino College Students
Armoza
New York City College of Technology (City Tech) of The City University
of New York (CUNY) was one of only six colleges selected nationwide
to participate in a demonstration project exploring Latino student
success in higher education.
The project focused on Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) -- those
colleges in which 25 percent or more of enrolled students are Latino
and have economic need. However, according to Sherri Ondrus, the
campus project director and director of assessment and institutional
research at City Tech, “Being designated an HSI is about
more than just numbers. The college must also actively promote
Latino student success in the following areas: completion of a
baccalaureate degree, engagement in campus activities, continuous
enrollment, employment beyond graduation and pursuit of further
education.”
The other participating institutions of higher education were Lehman College/CUNY, California State University-Dominguez Hills, California State University-Los Angeles, The University of Texas at El Paso and The University of Texas at San Antonio. The project was supported by the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).
City Tech found, as did the other participating institutions, that Latino students’ atypical enrollment patterns and diverse pathways to degree completion called for a re-evaluation of traditional measures of success, a revamping of student support services and a commitment to becoming more engaged in community outreach.
Reasons for rethinking their approaches to the task at hand were spelled out in a report on the demonstration project issued by the project team: Latino students -- while coming from diverse national origins, cultural backgrounds and economic circumstances, and sharing such strengths as placing a high value on family relationships, respecting a work ethic and believing in the value of education -- also face a number of specific hurdles. These include the likelihood of being the first in their family to attend college, coming from a low-income background, attending college part-time and, in many cases, working 20 or more hours per week while attending school.
The project team identified four key areas essential to the success of Latino students: institutional leadership, quality academic programs, student support programs and community outreach. Institutional leadership, it was agreed, means the creation of a culture in which Latino students are welcomed as an asset to the institution.
An important component of the demonstration project was the active participation of all six college presidents. “We have a responsibility to recognize the community we serve, to be inclusive, and to be responsive,” said City Tech President Fred W. Beaufait.
At City Tech, most freshmen enroll in at least one learning community, which infuses career content into basic skills courses. “We also have created a New Student Center that provides advising, registration, career counseling and academic support systems for entry-level courses,” explained Marcela Katz Armoza, dean of enrollment management, “These resources are critical for nurturing the potential of our entering students.”
In addition, all six institutions established student chapters of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute. Daniel Fictum, City Tech’s director of student life and development, coordinated the student chapter on campus and invited prominent political leaders from throughout the city and state to address the student members. As well as serving to strengthen community outreach, the chapter is intended to introduce students to public service careers.
The
six participating institutions in the federal demonstration project
agree that, in addition to the completion of a baccalaureate
degree, other criteria for measuring Latino student success
would include:
- the percent of Latino first-time freshmen who are the first
in their family to pursue a bachelor’s degree
- the percent of Latino undergraduates who receive financial
aid and/or scholarships
- the one-year retention rate for Latino first-time, full-time
freshmen and Latino transfer students (especially those from community
colleges)
- the success rate of Latino students in courses that tend
to be the most challenging for all students
- the representation of Latino students in majors in which
historically they have been underrepresented, particularly science,
math and
engineering
- the six-year, eight-year and ten-year graduation rates of
Latino first-time, full-time freshmen, as well as four-year and six-year
graduation rates for Latino transfer students
- the number of Latino students who apply for, are accepted
into and continue on to graduate school
- the number of Latino baccalaureate recipients who receive a master’s and/or doctoral degree
The rethinking of success indicators for these students comes at a pivotal time, given that Latinos are one of the fastest-growing and youngest ethnic groups in the United States. “There is a limited focus on Latino college students in much of the higher education research and analysis to date,” said Armoza. “That’s why the findings of this demonstration project are an important first step in evaluating what does and does not work to ensure the success of Latino students attending Hispanic-Serving Institutions.”
Specifically, the project’s findings on institutional support
programs and the role of appropriate accountability measures should
help to direct the focus of future research efforts -- the results
of which, in turn, can play a significant role in shaping future
higher education policy.
7/15/04
