Addressing Minority Students Needs and Planning for Success
Leslie L. Gordon, MS, RHIAUniversity of Alaska
Connie Broughton
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
WCET Denver October 2009
Academic Technology Facilitators
Student Success Student RetentionFaculty Support New StudentsCommunicationOne Student at a Time
WCET Denver October 2009
Distance Delivery in Alaska
WCET Denver October 2009
Student Success
Liaison between student and UA systemTechnical AssistanceMaterial AssistanceAcademic AssistanceRural and Alaska Native populations
WCET Denver October 2009
Student Retention
InterventionAttendanceMissing assignmentsPoor skill level
SolutionsTroubleshootingTutorsStudy skill review
WCET Denver October 2009
New Students
VERY early intervention activitiesCall in center with extended hoursPostcardsEmail communicationGetting StartedProgram tutorials
WCET Denver October 2009
Faculty Support
Academic interventionEarly interventionTechnology issues solved by FacilitatorsStudents given tools to successFaculty asked to provide names of
struggling students
WCET Denver October 2009
Communication
Financial AidRegistrarFacultyBusiness OfficeTechnology CenterAdvising
WCET Denver October 2009
One Student at a time
Quality EducationSynchronous and Asynchronous
DeliveryVirtual Office HoursSuperior student Support Services
WCET Denver October 2009
Questions?
Addressing Minority Student Needs and Planning for Success
Enduring Legacies: A partnership in Washington StateWCETNovember 24, 2009
Issues Related to Native American Higher EducationLow participation ratesLow completion ratesIssues related to first generation,
working, low-income college studentsTribal communities are often located far
from college campusesStudents who complete degrees are given
responsibilities in tribal governments and enterprises.
GoalDeliver a coordinated upper and lower
division curriculum that is culturally relevant to small numbers of reservation-based students who are geographically dispersed
Funded by a Lumina Grant of $800,000 awarded to The Evergreen State College(2005-2009)
The PlayersThe Evergreen State CollegeGrays Harbor College16 other community and technical colleges in
Washington state8 Native American tribes in WashingtonWashingtonOnline (WAOL)Lumina Foundation
History of Evergreen’s Program• Evergreen has offered tribal community
education for over 15 years– A community-based, face-to-face BA degree– The program is thematic and cohort based– Evergreen begins and maintains programs only
with permission of tribal organizations– Themes are developed collaboratively with tribal
governments– Since 1993, the Evergreen program has educated
more than 400 degree seeking students and has a BA completion rate of 76% (compared to a national completion rate of 36%).
Grays Harbor College• One of 34 community and technical colleges
in Washington state system• Offered a complete AA degree online using
WAOL• Developed a Reservation-Based AA degree to
be delivered primarily online• Reservations in the GHC service area• http://www.ghc.edu/distance/reservation/
index.htm
WashingtonOnline• A consortium of the 34 community and technical
colleges in Washington managed by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
• Hosts courses for member colleges and can pool enrollments from multiple institutions
• Students get their services from a single institution and will receive a transcript from a single institution
• For this program the students enrolled at Grays Harbor but received instruction from 16 other colleges as well
• http://www.waol.org
Tribes Involved
Program started in Fall 2005 with three tribes: •Muckleshoot•Quinault•Nisqually
Later additions:•Lower Elwha Klallam•Makah•Squaxin Island•Shoalwater•Chehalis•Green Hill Maximum Security Facility for Incarcerated Youth
Successes117 students, plus 30 at Green Hill facility for
incarcerated youthCompletion, retention and transfer to four-
year programs improved14 redesigned online courses 34 Native casesHybrid model adapted to a nursing program
for incumbent workers in rural areas
The Elements of SuccessHybrid model (online and f-2-f experiences)Wrap-around servicesOrientations and professional developmentCourse redesign for cultural relevanceActive and interactive learning, including
Native CasesEvaluation
Hybrid Model• Most courses delivered online and shared
among 34 community and technical colleges using WAOL
• Saturday classes four times each quarter at The Evergreen State College Longhouse
• Study leaders meet with students in their communities weekly
• Seamless pathway from lower division to upper division
Wrap-Around ServicesDedicated staff at Grays Harbor College: The
“Mark Ramon” factorOne person at GHC provides student intake,
testing and registration servicesActive in communities
Local Study LeadersMeet with students weekly face-to-faceWork with instructors
Orientation and Professional DevelopmentOrientation once a year at Evergreen
Students meet their online and face-to-face instructors, GHC support staff, study leaders and WAOL technical support staff
Upper and lower division faculty meet each other
Everyone becomes more aware of different cultures Culture of Native Americans Culture of American higher education
Course RedesignLumina Grant money used to pay instructors
to redesign online coursesImproved usabilityMade them culturally welcoming
Other students in state system enroll in these redesigned courses, so their impact is larger than the 117 reservation-based students
Native Cases34 Native Cases freely available in 20 content
areasUsed in redesigned online coursesUsed in Saturday program with upper and
lower division studentshttp://www.evergreen.edu/tribal/cases/
home.htm
EvaluationQuarterly “Gleanings”
Project Director Barbara Leigh Smith interviewed EVERYONE—students, faculty, staff—each quarter
Written evaluation based on interviewsQuarterly meetings to discuss what was
working and what needed to be changed
Peter Ewell, NCHEMS
Lessons LearnedStudents did not move in a cohortStudents do find strength in being in a
program with other Native studentsTeachers must be “feeders” not “weeders”Need for developmental courses in English
and math was larger than anticipated and difficult to address with online delivery
Contacts and Links• Grays Harbor College
– Mark Reisman, [email protected] – http://www.ghc.edu/distance/reservation
• The Evergreen State College– Barbara Smith, [email protected] – http://www.evergreen.edu/tribal/– http://www.evergreen.edu/tribal/cases/home.htm
• Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges– Connie Broughton, [email protected]– http://www.waol.org
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