Post on 07-Aug-2020
Enrolling and Supporting Undocumented Latino/a Students
in Higher Education
Donna Lee Sullins
Jesús Hernández
Texas A&M University 0
Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending this presentation, participants will be able to:
• State why enrollment and retention of undocumented Latino/a students is an area that cannot be ignored
• Identify barriers for enrollment of undocumented Latino/a students
• Illustrate examples for meeting the needs of undocumented Latino/a students through the OTR lens
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Overview of Latino/a as an identity
• “Latino/a” vs. “Hispanic”
• “Hispanic” – “a word created by the United States that does not recognize ethnic differences as well as countries of national origin” (Castania, 2003, p. 3)
– Spanish as a common language
• Commitment to the family unit
• Stereotypes of Latino/as
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Definition of Undocumented and how to know them
• “Undocumented” - term used to describe people who do not fall into any of the legal categories of U.S. residents
• “Undocumented” vs. “illegal alien”
• Motivation to provide for their families who afforded new chances to them
• Childhood arrivals
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Statistics and Enrollment
patterns • Undocumented Latino/a students enroll in
college in much lower numbers
• 66% of all high school graduates enroll in college
• Estimated 5% to 10% of the undocumented high school graduate population enroll in college
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College Choice
• Steps of the college choice process:
predisposition, search, and choice
• “Good fit” vs. viable option
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Barriers to Undocumented Latino/a enrollment
• Discontinuous education
– Moving to where there is work
• Lack of cultural capital, such as direct knowledge of college processes
• Geographical location
• Ability to finance education
– Lack of access to employment
– Lack of access to financial aid
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Work Life
• “Some immigrant children, and undocumented children in particular, are expected to generate income for their families by working at different points of the year” (Gildersleeve & Ranero, 2010, p. 24).
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Family Life
• Responsibility to the family unit
• Strong familial support system
• Taking the college experience into the home of the student
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Parental language barrier
• College materials sent to parents are in
English
• Orientation and other campus programs is often only offered in English
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First Generation Status
• First in their families to be reared in the United States
• Parents face the unknown both culturally and with their children’s academics
• “First-generation students do not view going to college as a solely individual pursuit, but rather as the culmination of generations of effort and progress in their families and communities” (Engle, Bermeo, & O’Brien, 2006, p. 22)
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What’s your state’s status?
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Reference
Financial Assistance
• Access to in-state tuition could be limited
• Unable to receive some forms of financial aid
– FASFA is sometimes a prerequisite
• MALDEF
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Barriers to Undocumented Latino/a retention
• Non-college life-events
• “Invisible population” – difficult to track
• Ability to finance education
• Extensive work experience often not considered
• Change from homogenous school environment to heterogeneous
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Undocumented Students & OTR
• UC-Berkley
• UC-Davis
• Texas A&M University
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Institution Highlights: University of California - Berkeley • Undocumented Student Program
– Services: academic counseling, Haas Dreamers Resource Center, emergency grants, immigration legal support, housing resources, holistic health and wellness, lending library
– Resources: provide financial aid and scholarship information, facilitate student connections, empower students to tell their stories
– Commitment to research and education
• UndocuAlly Training Program
• Centralized information
• Not a Hispanic Serving Institution
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Institution Highlights: University of California - Davis
• AB540 and Undocumented Student Center
– Resources: confidential legal counsel, academic advising, access to counseling support, scholarship information, financial advising
• AB540 education
– California Education Code § 68130.5; exempt from paying non-resident tuition for certain non-resident students who attended high school in California and received high school diploma or equivalent
• Campus collaboration that involves Student Recruitment and Retention Center, Chicana/o Studies, King Hall Law School (law clinics)
• Not a Hispanic Serving Institution
• AB 540 Infographic
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Institution Highlights: Texas A&M University
• New Student Conferences en Español
• Services provided by Student Counseling Service – Individual personal counseling
• Adjusting to the university environment, uncertainty about major or future, excessive worry or inability to concentrate
– Career counseling (considering DACA)
– Support for first generation college students
– International student discussion group
• Council for Minority Student Affairs student organization
• Information/services not centralized
• Not a Hispanic Serving Institution – 17.4% Hispanic student population (as of 2013), 25% of 2014 freshmen class
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Summary of Services
• Many institutions provide information for undocumented students via admissions or financial aid web sites
• Many institutions provide resource guides
• Retention of undocumented students is not usually a formal process for keeping students on campus, but rather keeping them in the country
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Discussion Questions
• What support systems are currently in place on
your campus for undocumented students?
• What services that you already offer could be slightly altered or marketed differently to serve this student population?
• We wonder, why are non-HSIs doing well in providing services to undocumented students?
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References
• Baum, S., Kurose, C., & McPherson, M. (2013). An overview of American higher education. Postsecondary Education in the United States, 23(1), 17-39.
• Broido, E. M. (2004). Understanding diversity in millennial students. In M. D. Coomes & R. DeBard (Eds.), Serving the millennial generation. New Directions for Student Services, no. 106 (pp. 73-85). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Castania, K. (2003). Diversity: The evolving language of diversity. Ithaca, NY: Communication and Marketing Services at Cornell University.
• Chang, M. J., Milem, J. F., & antonio, a. l. (2011). Campus climate and diversity. In J.H. Schuh, S.R. Jones, S.R. Harper, & Associates (Eds.), Student services: A handbook for the profession (pp. 43-60). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Cox, B. E., & Reason, R. D. (2011, April). Life happens (outside of college): Race-specific effects of non-college life-events on students’ likelihood of on-time graduation. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
• Engle, J., Bermeo, A., & O’Brien, C. (2006). Straight from the source: What works for first-generation college students. Washington, DC: Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education.
• Gildersleeve, R. E. (2010). Access between and beyond borders. Journal of College Admission, (206), 3-10.
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References (continued)
• Griffin, K. A., & Hurtado, S. (2011). Institutional variety in American higher education. In J.H. Schuh, S.R. Jones, S.R. Harper, & Associates (Eds.), Student services: A handbook for the profession (pp. 24-42). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Immerwahr, J. (2002). Public Concern about the price of college. In Losing ground: A national status report on
• the affordability of American higher education, (p. 14). San Jose, CA: National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
• Jones, S. R., & McEwen, M. K. (2000). A conceptual model of multiple dimensions of identity. Journal of College Student Development, 41, 405-414.
• Levine, A. & Dean, D. R. (2012). Generation on a tightrope: A portrait of today’s college
• student. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• MALDEF (2009) Scholarship resources. Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Retrieved from: http://www.maldef.org/leadership/scholarships/index.html
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References (continued)
• Museus, S. D. (2008). The model minority and the inferior minority myths. About Campus, 13(3), 2-8.
• National Orientation Directors Association. (n.d.). Parent & Family. Retrieved from http://www.nodaweb.org/?page=network_parent
• Paulsen, M. B., & St. John, E. P. (2002). Social class and college costs: Examining the financial nexus between college choice and persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 73(2), 189-236.
• Phinney, J. S., & Haas, K. (2003). The process of coping among ethnic minority first-generation college freshmen: A narrative approach. The Journal of Social Psychology, 143(6), 707-726.
• Renn, K. A. & Reason, R. D. (2013). College Students in the United States: Characteristics,
• experiences, and outcomes. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Taylor , P. & Keeter, S. (Eds.) (2010). Millennials: A portrait of generation next, confident, connected, open to change. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
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Questions?
Please feel free to contact us!
Donna Lee Sullins
DonnaLee@tamu.edu
Jesús Hernández
JesseH@stuact.tamu.edu
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