Enrolling and Graduating in an Hispanic Serving Institution

Dina Gonzalez-Pina, Assistant Dean for Multicultural Ministries

Steve Varvis, Provost

WASC ARC, 2014

Valley Hispanic Students

• High percentage first generation• Poverty, field workers• High Pell Grant recipients• High(est) Cal Grant recipients• Many—English is second language• Brookings Institute: “concentrated poverty,”• Fresno County and Region: “this Appalachia” Expectation: not private institution, low(er) academic success

16 Year History (Traditional Undergraduate)

96 98 0 2 4 6 8 10 120%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Hispanic Student Population

Student Success: Fall to Fall Retention (FT/FT)

F 2010-11 F 2011-12 F 2012-130

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

HispanicWhite/NHAverage

Graduation Rates (FT/FT)

4 Year (50) 5 Year (60) 6 Year (63)

2006 All 47% 56% 59%Hispanic 46 56 61

2007 All 43 53 54Hispanic 41 52 54

2008 All 49 60Hispanic 49 61

2009 All 48Hispanic 49

Top 10 HSI Graduation Rate

“FPU has been ranked 10th nationally among Hispanic-Serving Institutions in graduating Hispanic students by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

According to the Chronicle’s 2013-2014 Almanac, FPU’s overall graduation rate for first-time, full-time students is 57.1 percent in six years (based on 2011 figures). The rate for Hispanic students is nearly identical at 55.2 percent. http://chronicle.com/article/The-Almanac-2013/141183”

(FPU Press Release, September 6, 2013)

Beginnings

• Intentional Hire, Admissions, 1993• Institutional Mission• Admissions Director meets Vicente Fox• Staff and Faculty Commitment• Financial Aid—Cal Grant (and return of), Pell

Grant, academic aid, need based—using every resource available—affordability

Dynamics of Student Success

• From Admissions to “Multicultural Ministries”• Family Trust; Trusted Mentors• Meeting with families in their homes

• Residences, financial aid, registrar, university bureaucracy

• Counseling • Encourage academic discipline

Dynamics of Student Success

• Service learning; purpose, goals• Relevance, contextual learning• Clubs: Cultural Awareness and Knowledge Enrichment (CAKE) • Amigos Unidos, La Fe, Colors of India, Asian Flavor, Images

• Conferences and International Travel (academic credit)• Validate culture, Central America• Conferences of Hispanic students

• Graduate studies

Samaritan Scholars

2001-02 Undocumented Students

• Elementary and Secondary; not College• High School Counselors—No Options• Outreach/DiversityAdmission Director

DeanPresidentBoard Chair• 2/year to 8; later academic aid added

Stories of Samaritan Scholars and Others

• Nayely—deportation and US Senate• Javier--Graduate studies and return to rural area as Physician’s

Assistant• Dulce—PhD Physics• Maribel--PhD Clinical Psych• Miguel--MBA• Edgar--Mexican Consulate• Siro—CPA• Lubia—Forensic Scientist, Dept of JusticeMennonite Central Committee—legal assistance

Explanations and Developing Program

• Administration’s questions• Program and needs• Cross-cultural understanding• Difficulty of measuring

• Financial Aid• Samaritan housing—tuition or full cost?• Work-study, internships/research

• Questions from other schools• Research and analysis

Recognition of Importance

• Multi-cultural Ministries—• A place to be, work, learn, serve

• Cal Grant Day, Sacramento—President Attends• Latina Action Day• Former Admissions Director/current board member now co-

chair• Latina faculty and staff attend

• Advocacy

STEM Partnership

• Title V: College of the Sequoias/FPU School of Natural Sciences• Public/Private partnership

• Creative Leadership: former Provost, Dean of Natural Sciences• Summer Bridge/Parents• Learning Communities• Sense of place• GE Core and Math/Sciences• Supplemental Instruction

• Educating the entire campus

STEM: Hispanic/Latino Supplemental Instruction/Learning Comm.

BIB 100 BIB 100A CHEM 103 CHEM 103A COM 110A HIST 120 MATH 2100

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

0.80

0.71

0.25

0.83

0.40

0.30

0.79

1.00

0.75

0.93

0.79

1.00

STEMNonSTEM

Further Work

• Development of Learning Communities• Network of Latino alumni• Other Ethnic Groups• African-American, Southeast Asian

• Deepening understanding on the campus• Mentoring of young staff/faculty leaders• Hiring of staff and faculty