College Retention Efforts and Engaging Alumni

• Karl Reid, Moderator (Senior Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Member Engagement, UNCF)

Panelists: • Kya Dixon (Senior Program Officer of College Programs, the

College Success Foundation) • Ashref Elshazli (Alumni Affairs Coordinator, Friendship Collegiate

Academy) • Sirwalter Hemphill (Management Analyst, OSSE)• Emma Levine (Alumni Program Manager and Associate College

Counselor, Thurgood Marshall Academy)

4th Annual Postsecondary & Career Education Conference

A Chronic Pipeline Crisis Exists

3,230,000African Americans

5,485,000Latinos

1,243,550(38%)

Will Not Complete High School

455,175(38%)

Will Graduate

788,621(40%)

Will Not Enroll in College

1,986,450(62%)

Will Complete High School

1,197,829(60%)

Will Enroll in College

742,654(62%)

Will Not Graduate

2,169,893(62%)

Will Enroll in College

3.482,975(64%)

Will Complete High School

2,002,025(36%)

Will Not Complete High School

1,313,082(38%)

Will Not Enroll in College

1,063,248(49%)

Will Graduate

1,106,646(51%)

Will Not Graduate

11,xxx,xxxWhites

2,093,040(19%)

Will Not Complete High School

11,xxx,xxxWhites

2,525,198(28%)

Will Not Enroll in College

11,xxx,xxxWhites

8,922,960(81%)

Will Complete High School

11,xxx,xxxWhites

2,559,105(40%)

Will Not Graduate

11,xxx,xxxWhites

3,838,657(60%)

Will Graduate

11,xxx,xxxWhites

11,xxx,xxxWhites

11,016,000Whites

6,397,762(72%)

Will Enroll in College

Sources:"Public School Dropouts and Graduates from the Common Core of Data, 2007-08", (2010) US Department of Education National Center of Education Statistics. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. <http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010341.pdf>

"Public School Dropouts and Graduates from the Common Core of Data, 2007-08", (2010) US Department of Education National Center of Education Statistics. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. <http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010341.pdf>

Aud, S., Hussar, W., Kena, G., Bianco, K., Frohlich, L., Kemp, J., Tahan, K. (2011). "The Condition of Education 2011" (NCES 2011-033). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. <http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_trc.asp>

Aud, S., Hussar, W., Kena, G., Bianco, K., Frohlich, L., Kemp, J., Tahan, K. (2011). "The Condition of Education 2011" (NCES 2011-033). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. < http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_pgr.pdf>

Low-income studentsFurther defining the college-completion challenge

<10% of students from low-income families graduate from college by their mid-20s

There Are Numerous Contributing FactorsCertain academically disabling factors compound with each educational level

Elementary• Teacher

subject-matter proficiency

• Special education assignments

• 4th Grade Syndrome

• Skills deficits

Middle School• “Elementary”

factors+

• Peer influence

• Identity development

• “Good at”/”Bad at”

• Tracking

• Teacher expectations

• Oppositional attitude

• Affirmation elsewhere (sports, music, clowning)

• High School preparation hindered

High School• MS factors +

• Identity reified

• Expectations reified

• “Good at”/”Bad at” reified

• Aspirations reified

• Academic self-efficacy reified

• College Readiness lacking

College• HS factors +

• “Smartness” questioned

• Habits of Mind

• Faculty integration

• Academically-oriented social integration

• Financial challenges

• Persistence is threatened

Establishing an Ecosystem for Achievement

Environment (Culture)

Motivation

BehaviorIdentity

• Affirmation

• Academic rigor (within Zone of Proximal Development)

• Rewards/Punishment

• Faculty/Teacher integration

• Peer integration (posse’s)

• Racial, gender, sexual orientation

• “To be Popular or Smart”

• Cultural Fluency

• “Habits of Mind”

• Deliberate Practice

• Self-explanation

• Reading comprehension

• Utilizing study groups

• Confidence

• Mindset

• Attribution

• Resilience

Self-Efficacy“I Can”

STEM4All Planning GroupKarl W. Reid, Ed.D.

1.3.14

Adapted from Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company.

College Retention Efforts and Engaging Alumni

• Karl Reid, Moderator (Senior Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Member Engagement, UNCF)

Panelists: • Kya Dixon (Senior Program Officer of College Programs, the

College Success Foundation) • Ashref Elshazli (Alumni Affairs Coordinator, Friendship Collegiate

Academy) • Sirwalter Hemphill (Management Analyst, OSSE)• Emma Levine (Alumni Program Manager and Associate College

Counselor, Thurgood Marshall Academy)

4th Annual Post-Secondary & Career Education Conference

7

FindingsWhat Matters for High-Achieving Black Males in College?

They had high confidence in their academic ability They had strong relationships with faculty They were more socially integrated in the campus

community They possessed a strong "internalized" racial identity

“The way a student perceives and responds to events in the college setting will differentiate his or her college experience

and shape his or her outcomes.” W. R. Allen