Working Paper

"The High-Quality Learning Conditions Needed to 
Support Students of Color and Immigrants at 
California Community Colleges"

California Tomorrow, March 2002

Prepared for the California Joint Legislative Committee to Develop a Master 
Plan for Education— Kindergarten through University

Updated version, March 11, 2002

Introduction

California Tomorrow, a non-profit research organization committed to supporting the development of a fair and inclusive multicultural society, embarked one year ago on a statewide exploratory research project to inform policy, stimulate dialogue and action, and provide information on the experiences of students of color and immigrants in the California Community College system, the barriers they encounter and the efforts of the system to respond to diversity. The research included: a review of relevant literature; an analysis of quantitative, disaggregated, systemwide data on student access and outcomes; and extensive field research at nine campuses across the state. A total of 363 students and 160 faculty and staff were interviewed for the qualitative component of the study. We also conducted a quantitative, longitudinal analysis of outcomes for a cohort of first-time students who first enrolled in 1993, with data provided by the state Community College Chancellor’s Office (referred to as the 1993 cohort study) — findings from that study are currently preliminary; a final report on the complete analysis of outcomes for the 1993 cohort will be completed and available by April, 2002.
 
 

This brief has been written as input to the Joint Committee to Develop a K-16 Master Plan — Kindergarten through University, in response to the Student Learning Working Group’s final report. The Working Group has presented a solid and important case for needed changes to improve teaching quality and student learning, Pre-K – University. This brief, and the study it is based upon, provides a deeper context, added information and recommendations specific to the community colleges and diversity-focused issues in that system.

Community colleges have been vehicles of learning, training and opportunity for low income and working people for decades – and the community colleges are the primary institution of higher education for communities of color in California (particularly African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans). Yet the community college system has not been adequately supported to fully build its capacity to address the needs of all its diverse students and as a result is not fulfilling the dream for many low-income, language and ethnic communities in the state. 

The Working Group report appropriately recognizes the urgent need to address the impacts of increased cultural and linguistic diversity in the student population, and to prepare faculty for more effectively serving this population. We strongly concur with the following issues identified by the report: preserving the open system of higher education for lifelong learning, a purpose largely fulfilled by the community colleges; providing high-quality learning conditions and opportunities at the community colleges (recommendation 5); providing targeted resources at the postsecondary level for academic support (recommendation 6.9); retaining (and strengthening) high-quality career and technical programs at the community colleges (recommendation 1.7); strengthening the community college’s academic programs that prepare students to transfer (recommendation 1.6); and supporting the implementation of "dual admissions" programs (recommendation 6.8). This working paper will focus primarily on the current status of the community colleges and what is needed to support the high-quality conditions for learning and success, based on findings from our comprehensive research on California community colleges.
 
 

The Vital Role of Community Colleges

California’s Community Colleges are designed to fulfill the dream of open access to higher education, support for citizenship, and to open doors to new career opportunities through vocational training. One of the oldest systems in the country, California Community Colleges (CCC) serve approximately 1.58 million students on 108 campuses. Among all institutions of higher education, community colleges are best known for serving students in the communities in which they live and for striving to be responsive to the needs of their communities. In its role in vocational preparation and workforce development, the CCC provides essential training of the human infrastructure of the state – child care workers, police, firefighters, nurses, auto mechanics, etc. The system contributes not only to individual pathways to higher education and the workforce and citizenship, but to the economy and the quality of life in California. And the system strives to achieve all of this with the lowest budget of all three sectors of public higher education in California.

As the largest institution of higher education in the world, in a richly diverse state where youth of color now constitute a majority, the community college system has become the linchpin institution for opening access and supporting more equal participation for the emerging ethnic and racial majority in the economic, educational, social and political life of our state. Three-quarters of the students of color in California’s public institutions of higher education attend the California Community Colleges; as the first point of entry into higher education, the community college experience can make or break these students’ chances for successfully continuing in college and competing in the workforce. Yet the system – designed for a more "traditional" aged, predominantly White student body – is not fulfilling the dream or needs of many low-income, language and ethnic communities in the state.

Tremendous growth in enrollment is projected for each of the three public systems of higher education in California in the next five years, but the greatest number of new students – nearly 74% of the additional enrollment demand – will seek access to one of California’s community colleges (CPEC). At the same time, the increased selectivity of the four year colleges is adding pressure on the community colleges to produce more qualified transfer-ready students and to address the growing need for developmental (remedial) education. 

These enrollment pressures are falling on a system that is already vastly underfunded and stretched to its limit, at a time when the state’s budget is particularly crunched. While the colleges have been doing an incredible job with the limited resources they receive, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for an underfunded system to make change at the system level. 

At the policy level, most of the attention to community colleges focuses around the transfer function – an important function but not the only significant role the colleges play, since they also train much of the human infrastructure of the state. This role of the colleges is central to the success of many students of color and immigrants, and to the well-being of the state overall, yet receives little policy attention. Likewise, the colleges’ role in English as a Second Language (ESL) and basic skills education is key for students of color and immigrants yet little attention, and little funding, is provided in this area.

The community colleges have the potential to make an even greater difference for students of color, immigrants and low income populations – and that is the promise that brings so many of these students to their doors. It is time for renewed public reflection, policy attention and investment in the community college system to ensure the promise of open access to education and workforce preparation and to contribute towards a strengthened future as the nation’s most diverse state.
 
 

Inequitable Patterns of Degree and Certificate Attainment

The Student Learning Working Group poses the question: "Does the percentage of students who successfully gain admission and who complete degrees and certificate programs in California’s community colleges, CSUs, UCs and other public postsecondary programs – represent the diversity of the state?" Unfortunately, the answer remains no. The community colleges, serving a student body that most accurately reflects the diversity of California’s adult population, continue to struggle with persistent indications of underachievement and gaps in the success rates of Whites and Asians compared to other ethnic groups, and between immigrants and non-immigrants in key areas. Community colleges often represent a "second chance" for students who were products of poor K-12 preparation, and as such can play a pivotal role in reversing or narrowing some of these persistent inequities in educational outcomes.

Transfer rates, and the rates for earning Associate’s degrees, are lowest for Latinos, African Americans and Native Americans – with the lowest rates for part-time students from these groups. From a preliminary analysis of our 1993 cohort study, we found that about a third of students from those groups aspired to transfer, but within six years, of those who desired to transfer, only 16% of African Americans had done so, 18% of Native Americans and 18% of Latinos – compared to about 40% of Asian students and 28% of White students. African Americans also earned Associate degrees at the lowest rates.

In the past decade, the community colleges have become more ethnically diverse, but greater gaps have developed for Latinos and African Americans. Comparing California postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) enrollment and outcome data from 1989 to 1999, and comparing first time freshmen enrollment in 1996 to specific outcomes three years later, a picture emerges of increased representation of students of color, but greater gaps in outcomes. While Latino and African American student enrollment has increased numerically and proportionately in the community colleges over the past decade, they seem to be losing ground in the proportion of transfers to CSU and particularly to UC. 

Immigrants overall remain largely invisible, since no data is collected on their numbers or outcomes. Our preliminary analysis of our 1993 cohort study did track outcomes over time for immigrants. On one hand, most immigrants (except for Pacific Islanders) earned Associate degrees at higher rates than non-immigrants and many immigrant groups transferred at rates comparable to their non-immigrant peers or slightly better. However, Filipino and Latino immigrants transferred at lower rates than non-immigrants from those groups. 

High-quality Learning Conditions Needed at the Community Colleges

We strongly concur with the Student Learning Working Group’s recommendation to guarantee high-quality learning conditions and opportunities at every level of education. As the Working Group notes, providing such opportunities involves providing additional resources, opportunities and support for some students – particularly immigrants or children of immigrants, low-income students, historically underrepresented ethnic groups, and English language learners. Given that the community colleges serve these populations in greater proportion than any other system of higher education, the colleges themselves need to be funded at a much higher level to create the conditions needed for the success of all their students.
 
 

1.  Better Mechanisms for Accessing Information and Counseling

Community colleges are large, complex institutions. Applying for admission, signing up for classes, figuring out what classes are appropriate and needed, finding out about support services – all of these require access to information. The majority of community college students are the first generation in their family to attend college – 60% of the students we interviewed. Thus, many do not have access to information and knowledge about higher education systems within their families or communities. Many enroll in college after attending high schools where expectations to further their education were low, counselors scarce, and where they received little if any information about pathways into and through higher education. Without the proper access to information and counseling, they can become lost in the system and increasingly frustrated in their attempts to fulfill their goals in a timely manner. 

The search for information is a prominent feature of the community college experience. Whether or not a student manages to access information, and whether or not that information is accurate, makes a tremendous difference in their success. Peer networks, the advice of teachers, the impressions of a neighbor or cousin, these are the avenues through which community college students attempt to glean the information they need. Sometimes these avenues are sufficient –often they are not.

For these reasons, formal counseling is viewed by students and faculty alike as essential. Counseling services were highly valued by the students we interviewed, and the majority (55%) had seen a general counselor, though often just once. White and Asian students were most likely to have seen a counselor (65-70%); Latinos and Native Americans were less likely to do so. Those who did see counselors looked to them for good information about the programs and courses to follow and for the most part, felt they received the information they needed.

A major barrier to accessing counseling, cited by counselors and students alike, is simply counselor workload. It can be hard for students to see a counselor – particularly given the pressured time limits on working students and the large counselor load. In a study conducted in the mid-1990s, the average counselor load was approximately 1200 students per counselor, although the variation was wide, ranging from 500 to one, to 5000 to one, depending on the college (California Community College Counseling Association). Thus long waits, difficulty in getting appointments, and rushed conversations when a student does see a counselor are characteristic. 

In the support program context (i.e. EOPS, CalWORKS, Puente), where counselors are assigned to a group of students with a more realistic ratio, almost all students speak positively and often passionately about their counselors, their supportive and caring attitudes, their help in navigating the system, and the quality of information they receive. For students who are not in support programs, however, the landscape looks quite different. While the information is helpful, few students speak of having ongoing relationships with the counselors—relationships that students need to succeed.

While counselors serve a key role in helping students access the information they need, many of the students interviewed identified counseling barriers. These students indicated that counselors were not available, did not listen well, or at times demonstrated negative attitudes towards them. Some students felt they were given inaccurate information or conflicting information, or were placed in inappropriate classes. Immigrant students in particular spoke about wanting to talk with bilingual counselors, of which there were few, even for Spanish speaking students. Cultural misunderstandings were also noted. Students of color sometimes felt their counselors did not listen to their needs and some said they find it difficult to connect with a counselor because of cultural and language differences.

2.  Qualified Faculty with the Skills to Teach a Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Population

Teaching is at the heart of the community college experience and teachers can be the greatest influence on students in college. When students we interviewed were asked to name the top two or three things that helped them to be successful, the most common response was "teachers." Teachers were an especially valuable support for immigrant students, vocational students, part-time students, Latinos, African Americans and Asians.

Overall, students we spoke with appreciated their teachers – half spoke about the value of faculty with supportive attitudes. This appreciation is both a response to the actual teaching approaches and to the attitudes teachers expressed towards them. But the power of teachers can go both ways – effective teachers with positive, validating attitudes to students are powerful supports, while teachers who demonstrate negative attitudes to students were the most frequently cited challenge to learning. (For a further discussion of faculty and teaching, see our Working Paper "Professional Personnel Development and the Importance of Faculty Diversity in the Community Colleges" also submitted to the Joint Committee).

Characteristics of powerful instruction and effective faculty: 

Students in our study said they learn best when:

• teachers use a variety of interactive, hands-on, and participatory teaching strategies 

• multiple perspectives are encouraged
• faculty are passionate and knowledgeable about their subjects
• the course is made relevant and the teacher invites students to bring in their own views
• teachers give specific, clear feedback on assignments 
• teachers have effective strategies to check whether their students understand the concepts 
• faculty are accessible to students before, during and after class for questions
• faculty are caring, patient and supportive of students

About half of the students interviewed in our study indicated that the attitude of the faculty played a significant role in their ability to be successful and maintain interest in their classes. In general, supportive attitudes meant caring, personable and patient teachers, who students felt were committed to their success. Students wanted faculty who "like students to ask questions and are willing to explain or go over [the material] again and again."

Accessible faculty ranked high in the students’ consideration of good teachers. Most students felt that having faculty available to them was a key to their success, especially for Latino and African American students – conversely, the lack of accessibility of faculty was noted as a major issue for some students.

Interactive teaching was cited by most students as the most essential aspect of a good class, and was particularly valued by Latino, African American, Native American and White students. Hands-on approaches, varied activities, projects and group work were seen as helpful. Lecture was least favored by all ethnic groups except White students.

Students favored class experiences that brought the "curriculum to life" by connecting it to the students’ lives or "real world" experiences– especially African American, Native American and Latino students. 

"I learn by being in a group, so they put us in a group, and once we find out you know what to do, then he'll go to another group and work with you one on one. You’re a group of four or five, but the teacher comes over and lets you know what ideas to come up with, helping maybe an individual who's stuck. So he walks around making sure the groups know what they're doing. I think that helps." (African American male, 22 years old) 
 
 

3.  Greater Financial Aid and Other Supports for Community College Students

More than students in other sectors of higher education, community college students struggle mightily with juggling the burdens of work, family responsibilities and school. Thus most community college students attend part time to make ends meet – yet part time students succeed at dramatically lower rates. More than half of the students in our interview research worked in addition to attending school. Almost two out of five were responsible for children. We found that the entwined issues of work, affordability, money and financial aid were high on the list of major challenges for students in our interview study – yet students received little support in figuring out how to successfully balance work, family and school. The requirement of a full-time load (12 units) to receive full financial aid further compounds the problem for many students who need to work and receive financial aid to support themselves and their families. The impact of what many consider to be an unrealistic requirement of a full time load with insufficient financial aid is dropped courses, stopping out of school, and stress. 

Financial support is crucial. Almost half of the students we interviewed received financial aid of some kind – and could not manage to attend school without it. The aid is, however, far from sufficient to solve the financial problems that plague many students. Almost one-quarter of the students in this research indicated that they did not receive enough financial aid or were not eligible for aid, or talked about the struggles of taking 12 units to qualify for financial aid and still needing to work to make ends meet. 

Many faculty and counselors understand these realities and do what they can to support students in being successful despite the competing and stressful demands on their lives. But when faculty and counselors do not display understanding and are not flexible, students can be devastated.

4.  Effective Learning Support

Availability of basic skills courses

At the community college level, effective learning supports include having high-quality basic skills courses available for the many students who arrive with inadequate K-12 preparation in areas such as math and English. The majority of community college students enter with a need to further develop basic skills in English or math (estimated at about 60%). Often, these classes present a last chance for students to become "college ready" – to take the classes needed to transfer. As the UC and CSU systems continue to limit the amount of developmental education they offer their students, community colleges are being expected more and more to fulfill this mission, but they are not provided additional funding to do so. 

There are indications that the developmental classes offered cannot meet the needs of students – in 2001, only 20% of students were enrolled in a basic skills class (Community College Chancellor’s Office data). Students of color are more likely to be enrolled in these classes – in 2001, almost a third of Latinos were enrolled in basic skills, just over 20% of African Americans and Native Americans and over a quarter of Asians, compared to 12% of White students. 

However, there is a climate at some campuses that is not favorable to increasing the amount of basic skills instruction. Faculty on some campuses talked about how their college "does not want to become a high school" by offering too much developmental education. Teaching basic skills courses is a lower-status job on some campuses, and students and instructors in those courses can be considered not part of the college community. One counseling director told us that the students with unmet needs were those with the lowest level of basic skills, who tended to be students of color – "we don’t and we can’t offer enough basic skills classes, unless you want to wipe out half of the transfer program, and we won’t do that. Basic skills can overwhelm an institution." In the constrained funding reality of the colleges, this sense of forced choices ("either we provide this or we provide that") is common and works against the colleges’ ability to fulfill all their valuable missions as effectively as they could. There also need to be effective "ladders" in place for students to transition to the next level of coursework in the sequence from basic skills to "collegiate" courses.

Basic skills instruction is a vital part of what the community colleges offer, particularly in their ability to serve the needs of underprepared students. However, this mission of the colleges receives less policy attention, basic skills instruction has less status on the campuses, and students remain underserved in this area. Given the greater push for community colleges to be the main institution of higher education to provide these classes, much more attention is needed in this area to ensure access and success for all students. 

The need for supplemental academic support

Whether because of language barriers, insufficient educational background or simply difficulty in understanding a subject, many students spoke of the need for academic support beyond the classroom. All campuses have one-on-one and drop-in tutoring centers and many offer guidance classes. Full-time faculty have office hours. A small number of students reported that these guidance classes, tutoring in general and the math and computer labs were making a big difference in their academic success. However, not all students appeared to know about the availability of such supports. Students who were aware of the services sometimes did not access them because of a number of barriers, such as finding the time to stay on campus, especially for part time students. However, when the additional support is structured into a class, through learning communities, integrated tutoring or in-class faculty and peer support, more students benefit from the support and more succeed.

About a third of the students in our sample received tutoring, the majority of them through special support programs that include tutoring among the comprehensive services. To a large degree, students who used tutoring felt it was helpful. Limited hours of some tutoring centers, and the inconsistent quality of tutoring was cited as a problem by students. The lack of bilingual tutors and a scarcity of tutors in subjects other than math and writing also requires attention.

Addressing the needs of immigrant students

Immigrants comprise approximately a quarter of the community college population, and have for at least a decade. These are students who were born in another country and are not international students on student visas. Despite their significant presence in the system, immigrant students’ unique needs remain relatively invisible and unaddressed. Over 130 immigrants were interviewed for our study, and approximately one third of them had been in the country five years or less. Some of the more newly arrived students were interviewed in their primary language (Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese or Cambodian). The issues they described include: the language barrier, access to ESL and lack of appropriate courses, and inadequate academic support.

The language barrier: The language barrier impacts success in many ways: students may have trouble understanding their teachers, and then drop the class or not do well in it; they may not get the counseling, orientation and information they need bilingually; and they are often less connected with non-immigrant students and their knowledge of how to get through the system; they may not have enough courses to take that match their level of English proficiency and so they take courses that are very hard for them; most services are provided only in English (such as tutoring, counseling, orientations, registering for classes, admissions applications, etc). 

Immigrants are not getting enough help with the language issue beyond English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. According to the students we interviewed, there is simply not enough bilingual staff or information in primary languages to help them get the info they need – they end up relying on friends, ESL teachers, family members. They often do not know about the support programs that are available (like EOPS), or they may be in a program but only know about some of the kinds of support it offers because the information about the program is only in English. 

Immigrant students often know the least about the system yet are perhaps the least well oriented – few campuses offer orientations in languages other than English, and very little print material is available in other languages. Phone registration systems are almost always in English and constitute a real challenge for newer immigrants who struggle both with the language and the unfamiliarity of registering by phone... 

Lack of courses that meet their needs and limited access to ESL courses. Few campuses offer bilingual classes that would enable an immigrant to fill an academic schedule with academic courses. Few campuses provide language support that might enable immigrants to succeed in English taught academic classes. Yet, eligibility for support programs and for transfer are linked to how many units a student takes and how efficiently they complete the program. Placement can also be a problem. Counselors often do not understand levels of English fluency (how oral and written proficiencies may vary for the same student) and many ESL students speak of being placed in classes which are either too high or too low for them, which leads to wasting time and academic failure.

English as a Second Language courses are an important offering of the community colleges. In many areas, however, there are long waiting lists to enroll in the classes because not enough are offered. Some campuses do not offer the introductory, basic levels of ESL at the credit level, providing those either in a non-credit program or expecting students to take them in adult school. But every transition between institutions increases the difficulty for students to get through to the next level. ESL non-credit courses are funded at a much lower level than credit courses, and as a result they operate with much larger class sizes, which affects the quality of these courses.

Inadequate academic support. Overall, staff and faculty seem to have little awareness of what immigrant students need beyond ESL classes – and little support is provided beyond ESL, international student programs at some campuses (only for those on international student visas), and non-credit citizenship programs. There seems to be little awareness of how long it takes to learn English at an academic level (6-7 years). Since immigrants are not tracked by the state, few campuses have a clear picture of how many immigrant students they serve and what their success rates are. Also there is little awareness of the vast array of skills many adult immigrants bring – some are already doctors, teachers, lawyers, nurses, in their own countries, but are treated as knowing little because they speak accented English.

5.  Welcoming and Supportive Campus Atmospheres for Immigrants and Students of Color

Without a doubt, many community college students find a very supportive atmosphere on their campuses – and some come to discover the joys of learning for the first time in their lives. We spoke with many students who had transformed themselves with the help of what the community colleges have to offer.

"I used hate school, when I was young. Now, I have a 4.0. I am on the Dean’s List. I love school now. And, it is all due to the teachers and counselors at this school."
(Native American male, 55 years old, certificate & transfer goal)

Yet community colleges are like every other institution in this society. Lower expectations of students of color and immigrants, prejudice, stereotypes and racism exist. One of the barriers identified by 19% of students of color and 16% of immigrants in this study involved encounters with the invalidating attitudes and behavior of counselors, teachers and staff: disrespect, racism, negative stereotypes, rudeness, picking on or embarrassing students in class. Though many felt they were "treated fairly" in general, students of color and immigrants also described experiences of racism on campus, from teachers, counselors and fellow students – usually in the form of subtle exclusion and bias, such as being stereotyped, facing lower expectations, being disrespected, teachers making inappropriate jokes or not intervening when racist comments were made. 

These invalidating attitudes and behaviors can be deeply undermining. Some students dropped out of classes or seriously considered dropping out of college, due to the negative behavior of faculty or staff. 

"One of my math teachers, she was like, why didn’t I get it . . . she was like, ‘you look like the kind of person that should get this.’ It made me feel like I didn’t want to talk to her anymore" (Asian female, 20 years old, transfer goal)

"You can get shot down. Oh, yeah. You can get shot down and made to feel just very small. But you have to know that this ain't personal. You know. Straight up - I'm a Black man. It's completely different for us."

(African American male, 38 years old, Associate’s degree goal)

African Americans were more likely than others to encounter racist incidents on campus, although Asian, Latino and multiracial students did as well. Minority students express distress about faculty who avoid challenging other students who make racial slurs or negative comments towards minorities. In particular, students noted surprise and disappointment that faculty did not intervene when such remarks are made. 

The more recently arrived immigrants we interviewed often spoke about facing an unwelcoming atmosphere. English language learner students spoke of feeling isolated socially, unwelcomed by fellow students and sometimes by their non-ESL teachers, and unable to connect with American students. Overall, immigrants appeared to be a fairly invisible group — they often felt that staff and teachers did not understand their specific issues . They seemed to be isolated on campus, especially if enrolled in an ESL program. Campuses had few structured ways to help immigrants interact with native speakers or to become part of the campus life. Also, immigrants encountered anti-immigrant sentiments at times. A common view held by other students and faculty and counselors alike is that immigrants ought to first "learn the language" before taking on serious content-level work – yet immigrants are trying to learn the language at the same time that they are trying to progress towards their goals. Few have the "luxury" of just learning English before getting a certificate or working towards transfer. This means both that newer immigrants may try to take courses they are not ready for yet, and that the institution provides few "bridges," courses or programs that help them progress on goals and English at the same time.

In contrast, some students did cite examples of faculty initiating cultural awareness exercises in their classes, speaking up about prejudice, and teaching about other cultures. And when that occurred, students almost universally reported an engagement and excitement about those classes.

"Working with her, she embraces differences and she brings them up, you know, where an African American would do this or a Hispanic would do that or a Laotian would do this [raising children] and it's not that she sees — I don't know, in some classes they kind of see everybody as one race, you know what I mean? Like everybody's the same color no matter what they are, and in working with some teachers like her, there are different colors and there are different cultures and they're all good but she embraces the diversity, so I thought that was neat." 
(Latina, 29 years old, certificate goal)
 

The Importance of Targeted Resources and Support Programs

We agree with the Student Learning Working Group that the most effective models of support incorporate supplemental instruction into an overall plan of instruction, and not simply as additional tutoring outside the classroom. Learning communities have been created at a number of the colleges in our study and demonstrate real success; they are particularly effective when the learning communities include a counseling component and involve basic skills and ESL courses. Learning communities also seem to function as professional development, as the team teachers involved learn from each other and from their students. 

We also want to stress the important role that support programs play, particularly for first-generation, low-income and immigrant students. Students told us that counseling makes a difference. Access to good information makes a difference. Good tutoring and academic support make a difference. Encouragement and the understanding about students’ cultural and life experiences that impact on schooling make a difference. But there are barriers to accessing each of those supports, and very few students are able to access all of them – unless they are in one of the college’s comprehensive support programs.

Programs such as the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services program (EOPS), the Puente Project, and CalWORKS serve a relatively small proportion of students in the colleges – but can make, and are making, a big impact. Preliminary results of our 1993 cohort study indicate that students who participated in EOPS were more likely to transfer, earn Associate’s degrees and certificates than students who were not in EOPS and did not receive financial aid. Immigrant students, who were more likely to be part of EOPS, also gained more from their participation, transferring, earning Associate’s degrees and certificates at higher rates than non-immigrants. Puente students also consistently demonstrate higher course retention and transfer rates than similar students not enrolled in that program. Yet the most extensive program, EOPS, served only 3.4% of the state’s community college students in 2000-2001 (94,827 students), Puente reaches only 5000 students at 45 campuses, and CalWORKS in 2000-2001 served 47,000 students (1.7%), representing 12% of the state’s CalWORKS population.

About half of the students interviewed for this study were part of a support program (EOPS, CalWORKS, Puente, CARE). Primarily, these were African American and Latino students, many of whom claimed they "would not have made it" without the support of the program. Support programs were highly valued by students due to several factors. They spoke of personalized and intensive tutoring, the support of their peers in the program, and the extra financial help such as grants, child care, book and transportation vouchers, as essential. Students strongly praised the staff as well. Such programs tend to be staffed by individuals with whom students can identify – either because they share a language, ethnicity and culture, or are simply because they are people with whom they can establish rapport and an on-going relationship. Since counselors in the support programs have smaller caseloads, students meet more often with them and develop stronger relationships. The counselor is more able to monitor course selections related to a students’ goals, and know when academic or other support may be needed. Personal development workshops and more in-depth first year orientation and bridging programs were also noted as key to success by students in these programs. 

Across the nine campuses included in this study, students made almost no negative comments about these comprehensive support programs. Their only concerns were related to program eligibility requirements –e.g., students who do not qualify due to number of units they have or income requirements. CalWORKS’ two year timeline and focus on short-term vocational certificate often did not match the educational aspirations of the students enrolled in that program. 

Yet despite their evident success (demonstrated through student satisfaction, staff/faculty assessment, and improved outcomes for Puente and EOPS students), there are challenges for these programs. They are limited from including more students because of insufficient funding. On many campuses, the programs are running at capacity. They are often not fully staffed, or are staffed with part-time positions, which makes it hard to maintain staff stability. Puente is successful in part because it is culturally and ethnically specific to the needs of Latino students (though open to all students). But other under-represented groups could also benefit from programs specific to their needs — in particular, immigrant students, Native American students, African American students and Asians. Furthermore, Puente is focused on transfer, and there are few parallel programs to support students in succeeding in the vocational programs.

The consensus from our interviews with faculty and staff is that what makes a difference about all of these support programs is having staff sensitive to the cultural and life issues of the students, who are deeply committed and "go the extra mile," who provide a support network that combines services, including more intensive counseling and monitoring. EOPS and CalWORKS both offer comprehensive support, in the form of counseling, grants, support for childcare or books, etc. Puente is also considered effective because it is specifically designed in a culturally responsive way for Latinos, focuses on building small cohorts of students, and has the goal of cultural support as a component of the overall academic retention and success strategy.
 
 

Conclusion and Recommendations

The community college system in California represents the promise of open access to an education leading to vocational and workforce preparation, transfer and access to higher education, and citizenship preparation. It is a system with a student population unlike any other. The majority are students of color and immigrants, most are low-income. They are older, most of them having to work as well as attend school, many of them parents, and most have to overcome the inequities of a K-12 system that disproportionately failed to provide them with opportunities. Yet the student population in the community colleges is wonderfully hopeful and excited about learning and the majority of faculty and staff in the colleges are working hard to meet their needs. 

Yet as a system, the community colleges are largely unprepared to fully meet the needs of the many diverse students they serve. The community colleges are the least resourced system of higher education in the state, funded at levels far below the national average for community colleges, attempting to serve the least prepared students who are facing the greatest stresses and challenges. There is much to be done to build the capacity to respond more effectively– and high stakes if we do not, high stakes for the future of California as a diverse state, facing potentially greater and greater inequities. There is also tremendous pay-off if we commit to meeting the challenge— in the energy, skills and perspectives to fuel the economic life of the state, in the strength of a democratic political life with fuller participation from all of its communities, in the quality of cultural life, and in the strength of our social fabric. It is time to invest in the high-quality conditions for learning, the expansion of support programs, faculty development and bottom-line basic funding that is needed to fulfill the promise of what the community colleges can be for the nation’s first "no ethnic majority" state. The costs of continuing to defer this investment are enormous.
 
 

Recommendations

• Ensure sufficient funding for the community college system to enable it to address the equity, educational opportunity and access issues

Currently, the community colleges budget is about $4.6 billion. The 108 campuses receive less government support than any community college system in the U.S. Funding is insufficient to support the increased level of student enrollment resulting from the shifting demographics in California, to ensure high program standards and to guarantee universal access. The colleges are funded at approximately $3,500 per full time equivalent student, while the national average is about $6,200. This has resulted in the raising of fees, constriction of course offerings, deferral of maintenance, postponement of infrastructure investment, and contraction of student services. It has also been made possible by larger class sizes (community college classes in California exceed the national average by about 10 students per class) as well as by the harder work of community college faculty in California who teach on average some 25% more than the national average ("The Future of the Community College: A Faculty Perspective", 1998, Academic Senate). The underinvestment in the community colleges as the primary institution of higher education for students of color and immigrants in California perpetuates and will exacerbate inequities with devastating impacts for decades to come in the state. We recommend reinvestment in the community colleges to bring the funding closer to the national average. A strong start in this direction would involve ensuring that the community colleges receive their full 11% allocation of Prop 98 funds.

• Ensure adequate support programs and services such that students of color, immigrants and low income students can participate and succeed in community college education

California has strong models of comprehensive support programs. These must be not only maintained, but also expanded to increase the number of students who benefit. In the funding climate the colleges operate in now, effective programs such as Puente are often described as "too expensive" to replicate or take to scale. Yet such programs are demonstrated to be effective in recruitment, retention and successful completion. We recommend:

• Maintaining categorical funding for these programs
• Expanding the level of funding to increase enrollment
• Funding pilot and demonstration efforts to develop similar culturally specific and targeted comprehensive support programs addressing the needs of immigrant students, African American students, Asian American students and Native American students.
• Expanding the book grant program to allow all students receiving BOG waivers to participate.

• Ensure the continuation of counseling services and direct student services by adequate funding — and by monitoring funding formulas and budget cuts to avoid inadvertently creating disincentives to provide such services.

• Increase the number of counselors to reduce counselor/student ratios, especially in districts and colleges with extremely high ratios.

• Advocate for reducing the number of units required to receive full financial aid to 9 (3 classes instead of the full time load of 4) and calculate financial aid grants based on the cost of living in an area rather than the cost of the school’s fees.

• Create and fund an initiative to develop faculty and staff with the skills and understanding needed to be effective in a diverse state. 

Such an initiative would include: Establishing a professional process for the development of standards for cultural competency that can be used by the field for hiring and tenure review. 

Instituting widescale, intensive professional development efforts (summer institutes, coaching cadres, etc.) focused on issues of diversity, cultural competency, language acquisition and the needs of immigrants, and infusing multicultural perspectives into curriculum. 

Recommending that all faculty show proof of cultural competency and creating a certificate of completion of cultural responsiveness training.

Creating a clearinghouse and centralized resource/referral service in the state on professional development resources, materials and models related to culturally responsive teaching and addressing language barriers.

Ensuring that campus instructional centers and the new community college leadership center include intensive strands that focus on effectively teaching students of color and immigrants.

Providing structural invitations and incentives for faculty to participate in diversity-focused professional development.

• Recommit to the historic mission and promise of the community colleges – open access for all and multiple purposes 

The community colleges should maintain their multiple focus on transfer and access to higher education, workforce and vocational preparation, citizenship and English as a Second Language, and ongoing learning – valuing all of those aspects of the program. 
 

For further information about this study, please contact: 
Dr. Laura Woodlief, Project Director
California Tomorrow
1904 Franklin Street, Suite 300
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 496-0220, ext. 319
lauraw@californiatomorrow.org
fax: (510) 496-0225