Financing Social Mobility - Sharif

8/6/2019 Financing Social Mobility - Sharif

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Table of ContentsIntroduction ................................................................................................................................................... 4

Problem Statement .................................................................................................................................... 4

Understanding the Context of the Problem ............................................................................................... 4

Bucknell at a Glance: ................................................................................................................................ 5Mission Statement and the Plan for Bucknell ........................................................................................... 5

Literature Review .......................................................................................................................................... 7

Understanding the Problem ....................................................................................................................... 8

Potential Solutions .................................................................................................................................. 10

Internal Strategies ............................................................................................................................... 10

External Strategies .............................................................................................................................. 11

Incentives to Implement Solutions .......................................................................................................... 11

Other Perspectives .................................................................................................................................. 11

Research ...................................................................................................................................................... 13

Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 13

Findings .................................................................................................................................................. 14

Analysis .................................................................................................................................................. 16

Solution to the Problem .............................................................................................................................. 17

Proposed Solution ................................................................................................................................... 17

Challenges and Limitations ..................................................................................................................... 18

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 18

Appendix IInterview Transcripts ............................................................................................................ 20

Interview 1 - Summary: Paula Myers ..................................................................................................... 20

Interview 2Summary: Mark Davies .................................................................................................... 23

Interview 3Summary: Kurt Thiede ..................................................................................................... 28

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................... 31


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Introduction

Problem Statement

The number of students enrolling at community colleges is on the rise. This increase is

accompanied by an increase in the proportion of all undergraduate students that attendcommunity colleges. Currently, almost half of all undergraduate students are enrolled incommunity colleges. However, opportunities for even the most talented of low-income studentsremain limited. Opportunities for these students to transfer to selective four-year institutions arefew and far between. In fact, the number of such opportunities is shrinking. (Dowd & Gabbard,2009)

While some efforts are being made by a select group of highly selective four-year institutions,much more can be done. A coordinated effort from highly selective institutions has the potentialto significantly increase the number of low-SES transfer students by reaching out to talentedcommunity college students, educating high school and community college students about

financial aid, and actively working on their respective campuses to break down cultural barriers.

The failure to take the initiatives described above would mean that the existing cultures at elitefour-year colleges would be preserved. This would neutralize the role of elite higher educationinstitutions as vehicles for upward social mobility.

The lack of diversity in the socioeconomic backgrounds of students will also hurt the overallability of institutions to truly diversify their student bodies and provide an education that nurturesthe institution of critical thinking, promotes the understanding and acceptance of differences, andabove all prepares students for success in the world that they will enter as graduates.

Understanding the Context of the Problem

In spring 2008, I attended a talk by Dinesh dSouza on campus that was sponsored by theBucknell University Conservatives Club. Throughout the talk, the speaker made grossgeneralizations about the Muslim population of the world and how it was a threat to the UnitedStates and its ideals. I was shocked at the end of the talk at the realization that throughout theevening I had been the only person in the audience who had asked questions that were critical ofthe speaker, or went beyond just scratching the surface on the crucial global issues that he wastalking about. I left the room very frustrated and angry that night.

Since that night, I have attended many talks on campus by well-known, often controversial,speakers. I have tried to keep track of which sections of the audience have engaged speakersparticularly well at the end of these talks. While there is significant variation in the compositionof the audience, and the student engagement, there is a constant. This constant is the highproportion of students recruited through pathway programs that actively participate in campus-wide events that deal with important socio-political issues.

Most of Bucknell's traditionally recruited students choose to remain in their comfort zones moreoften than not. However, I have also noticed that when these traditional students are witness to


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the non-traditional students outstanding ability to challenge the norms, they are more likely tohave a higher level of engagement.

The non-traditional students at Bucknell's campus may form the core of its highly engagedstudent body, but they are being joined in their efforts by an increasing number of traditional and

typical Bucknell students. One of the clearest examples of this phenomenon is the CommonGround retreat. While the retreat program at Bucknell was founded and organized by atraditional, white student, more than half of the students who took part in this years programwere minority students. Many of these students have been recruited to attend Bucknell throughprograms funded by the Posse Foundation or the Jack-Kent Cooke Foundation. Several othersare international students whose attendance at Bucknell is made possible by a grant from theDavis Educational Foundation.

Bucknell at a Glance: Mission Statement and the Plan for Bucknell

Figure 1: Bucknell's Undergraduate Population1

Bucknells mission statement describes the University as one that educa tes men and women fora lifetime of critical thinking and strong leadership characterized by continued intellectualexploration, creativity, and imagination.

Furthermore, the mission of the University is to provide an environment in which studentsdevelop intellectual maturity, personal conviction and strength of character, informed by a deep

understanding of different cultures and diverse perspectives.

The Universitys commitment to all forms of diversity is emphasized in the mission statement, asis the provision of an education that develops the institutions of critical thinking and strongleadership.

1 Diversity: All Undergraduates, Graphic obtained from University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN),http://members.ucan-network.org/bucknell.

3 %

3 %

80 %

3 %

7 %


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The Universitys Board of Trustees approved in 2006 a strategic plan known as The Plan forBucknell. Five strategies were highlighted in this plan that would enable the University toachieve it highest purposes:

1. Strengthen the academic core.

2. Deepen the residential learning experience.3. Enhance diversity.4. Build bridges.5. Secure our financial future.

Each one of these strategies, like the mission statement, highlights the importance of a diversestudent body. Highlights from the detailed discussion of four of these strategies that summarizetheir relevance to and/or dependence on diversity in its various forms are presented below:

Strengthen the Academic Core

In order to provide students with an education that fulfills its mission and vision, Bucknell mustcreate a campus culture that transcends the classroom walls, valuing diversity in all of its formsand ensuring a high level of student engagement.

Enhance Diversity

The existence of diverse perspectives and experiences in the classroom creates more profoundkinds of learning. The differences in race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic class, religion,political perspectives, geographic origins, gender, sexual orientation, and physical capabilitieswork together to enhance students ability to examine issues from multiple and sometimesunique perspectivesa skill that is essential for effective critical thinking.

Build Bridges

The Build Bridges strategy focuses on augmenting Bucknells efforts to reach out tointernational students, scholars, alumni, as well as guest speakers. These efforts may take theform of on-campus presence of these carriers of global culture, or of programs that allowBucknells students to interact with the same in their home countries, through study abroadprogram and electronic connections. Through these efforts students and faculty at Bucknell willcollectively seek a disciplined understanding of our global culture and the forces that shape theevents of our time.

Financial Future

This strategy is the most pertinent in the discussion of the issues that this research paper attemptsto address. As the introductory passage to this strategy states, the Universitys commitment to adiverse student body including socioeconomic diversity and the accompanying need forample need-based financial aid resourcesincreases the costs that the institution must bear.


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This strategys main aim is to gather sufficient financial resources so that the limitations placed

on the Universitys ability to achieve some of the goals set as part of other strategies outlineabove can be eased.

A cursory look at the various tactics outlined within each strategy in The Plan for Bucknell

would reveal that without the financial resources, the Plan will not even be able to see the light atthe end of the tunnel, let alone emerge from the other end. This makes discussion of financial aid

availability, particularly to students who form a crucial component of the diverse population that

the University is seeking to make itself attractive to, of even greater importance.

Literature Review

There is an abundance of literature that addresses various aspects of the problem underdiscussion here. While each piece of literature addresses one or more component of this problemin a very unique context, most literature can be seen as addressing one of five barriers to studentsuccess at one of three stages that non-traditional, first-generation, and/or low-income studentsmust go through in order to enter a four-year college. These stages and barriers are depicted inthe illustration below. (Assistance, 2008)

Figure 2: A visual break-down of the stages and barriers within the stages leading up to a student's transfer to a four-year

college. Collectively, these stages are referred to as the pathway in this paper.

It should be noted that the stages depicted above can be viewed from two different perspectives.The first is that of the two-year community colleges. Here, enrollment would mean enrollmentinto the two-year college, and persistence would mean continued enrollment in the same. Thetransfer stage would represent the transition to a four-year college from this perspective.

Enrollment

Academic Barriers

Social Barriers

Informational Barriers

Complexity Barriers

Financial Barriers

Persistence

Academic Barriers

Social BarriersInformational Barriers

Complexity Barriers

Financial Barriers

Transfer

Academic Barriers

Social Barriers

Informational Barriers

Complexity Barriers

Financial Barriers


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In the second perspective, the first two stages would signify the same stages as those for a two-year community college, but the transfer stage would be eliminated, and replaced instead by themilestone of graduation.

This second perspective better relates to the scope of this paper than the first. Here we will

concern ourselves with gaining a better understanding of the effects of financial aid availabilityto non-traditional, low-income, or first-generation students on socio-economic mobility withinsociety, and on the efforts that four-year institutions should make to tackle the various barriers inthe applicable stages of the pathway described above.

Furthermore, it is the financial barriers that we are most concerned with. However, sincefinancial aid resources directly or indirectly affect the ability of students or institutions toovercome the other barriers, those too will be discussed as may be relevant in this paper.

Understanding the Problem

Most minority students in the US attend public two-year or four-year institutions. These students,many of who come from low- or moderate-income homes, are also more likely to be part-timestudents than their white counterparts. The readiness with which these minority students acceptloans and/or grants is much lower than that found among white students. As a result, minoritystudents are more likely to work to finance their education, and enroll only as part-time students.(King, 1999)

In the high school graduate cohort of 1992, only 20 percent of low-income students who werequalified to go to college actually attained a bachelors degree by the year 2000. (Assistance,2008) Even though the costs of a community college education remain low compared to privateinstitutions, these costs have increased as a percentage of the income for low-income families. In

2005, the annual cost for attending a community college as a percentage of family income wasseven times higher than the same proportion for high income families.

A mere eight percent of the total number students entering the nation s most prestigious publicuniversities are transfer students from two-year institutions. The corresponding percentage forelite private colleges is less than one percent. (Fischer, 2007) Only 10 percent of the students atthe 28 most selective private schools in the United States come from the bottom 40 percent of theUS family income distribution. It should also be noted that the reason for this abysmalrepresentation of low-income students in selective institutions is not caused purely as a result ofthe scarcity of high-ability students who belong to the low-income families of this nation. (Hill &Winston, 2006)

The problem is further exacerbated as individuals rendered jobless by an ailing economy arereturning to college to learn new, better, and more marketable skills. This is creating a greaterburden for community colleges as they remain the preferred choice for higher education amongthe low- and moderate-income population. (California Postsecondary Education Commission,2008)


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Yet another challenge to low-income students is posed by the attitude of four-year institutionstoward part-time enrollment. Most selective institutions do not allow students to enroll as part-time candidates for bachelors degrees. This reluctance on the part of selective four-yearcolleges, in effect, disenfranchises the students from low-income homes who are usually jugglingseveral responsibilities in addition to attending college which prevent them from enrolling as

full-time students. (Handel, 2009)

Based on the evidence cited above, it can be concluded that clear inequities exist in transferaccess for low-income community college students. This problem is not new, it has existed for along time and has been known to affect first-year enrollment of low-income students as well astransfer to other, less selective, four-year colleges.

These inequities in the US higher education system where the community colleges are supposedto serve as low-cost vehicles for social and economic mobility severely undermine the ability ofthe system to perform its function. It is crucial in a democratic system that access to eliteinstitution be equitable so that public investments in higher education do not yield the same class

structure that is already prevalent in the population. (Dowd, Cheslock, & Melguizo, 2008)

Dowd and Gabbard (2009) also argue that it is no longer sufficient for community colleges tosimply ensure that students enrollment. These colleges must also make efforts to increase theproportion of students who enroll and are then able to proceed to the completion of theirbachelors degree at a four-year institution. The complex nature of the financial aid systemmeans that low-income, first-generation, and non-traditional students may not possess theknowledge or have access to the guidance which would enable them to understand the net cost ofattending college.

In the current scenario, the pathway from high-school to a bachelors degree for low- andmoderate-income students is uncertain at best. Availability of finances is not the lone factormaking this pathway uncertain, but it is one that certainly undermines the chances that thesestudents have to access and persist in higher education. (The Advisory Committee on StudentFinancial Assistance, 2008)

Dowd and Gabbard, aware of this concern, make recommendation in their study that emphasizefinancial aid in every aspect of practice since it forms such a crucial component of transferaccess to elite institutions. (2009)

Even though it is clear that the availability of financial aid resources and lack of informationabout the same form some of the most significant barriers that prevent students from low- andmoderate income families to attain four-year degrees from selective institutions, there is no quickor easy fix for this problem.

Very few colleges have the large endowment needed to exercise any significant degree offreedom in the allocation of financial aid resources. Most other colleges and universities in thepublic and private sectors do not have the ability to make significant changes to the way that theyallocate financial aid and other financial resources. These less fortunate institutions are


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dependent on state and federal government policies in order to bring introduce significantchanges. (McPherson & Schapiro, 2006)

However, this is not to imply that these institutions are powerless. Potential solutions for thereduction of barriers at various stages in the pathway to the attainment of a four-year bachelor s

degree at a selective institution are presented in available literature concerning these issues. Aselect set of these solutions are presented below.

Potential Solutions

In this section several solutions are presented. All of these address the various barriers that wereintroduced earlier. Some of the solutions presented here may pertain specifically to theovercoming of certain barriers, however, in order to limit the discussion to the scope of thispaper, an emphasis is laid on strategies and tactics that will enhance the accessibility of financialaid resources to students from low- and moderate income background, whether they are transferstudents or trying to enroll directly into selective four-year institutions. A conscious effort hasbeen made to discuss strategies to facilitate transfer of students from low-cost, less selectiveinstitutions to elite, selective institutions. This has been done with the recognition that this is theroute that millions of students in the target population intend to take when they enroll at publicinstitutions.

Internal Strategies

Dowd and Gabbard provide a set of suggestions for ways in which students, administrators, andfaculty at selective institutions can reduce barriers at the various stages of the pathway to a four-year degree at their institutions. (2009)

1. Adopt the perspective of the target population of students in the offices of recruitment,admissions, financial aid, as well as on planning committees by including inputconcerned students, as well as other champions for the cause.

2. Support programs and people that create trusting community environments and provideextra mile advising to transfer students.

3. Distribute institutional aid in equal amounts in the financial aid awards of transfer andnative four-year students through endowed scholarships dedicated to transfer students.

4. Publicize the awarding of these scholarships and the award winners achievements. Thiswill enhance the cultural and informational aspects of this financial commitment.

5. Direct institutional research resources to collect data, evaluate programs, and assess theparticipation in and academic performance of pathway programs. Use the findings fromthese research efforts to inform decisions to allocate appropriate resources intended to

expand access to socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

Some of these recommendations are also supported by other scholars. McPherson and Schapiro,for example, also suggest that in some cases it helps to dress up need-based aid as merit-basedaid to make it more appealing, especially students who traditionally look down upon financialaid grants. (2006)


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Another strategy that can help non-traditional students persist at selective institutions is theoption for them to enroll as part-time students. While the implementation of such a strategy mayface stiff resistance from most selective institutions, it provides the institutions with a uniqueopportunity to demonstrate their strong commitment to meet the needs of students from non-traditional backgrounds. This will also make the institution a more attractive option for students

in the target population as the institution becomes known for its commitment to ensuring theirsuccess. (Handel, 2009)

External Strategies

There are two main external strategies that are emphasized in the literature studied. The first isthe implementation of an information and outreach strategy. The purpose of this would be toeducate students about the various aspects of financial aid. The information relayed would bepresented with the target population in mind, emphasizing, for example, the need to moderate thenumber of hours they work in order to avoid negatively impacting their academic performance,as well as improving their financial aid eligibility, and hence improving their persistence tocompletion of their four-year degrees. (The Advisory Committee on Student Financial

Assistance, 2008)

The second external strategy, broadly defined, aims to create collaborative partnerships withcommunity colleges so that they can serve as low-cost entry points for non-traditional studentswho are planning to continue their education at four-year institutions. By streamlining advisingand counseling efforts, the institutions can encourage talented students to consider transferring tothe partnering elite four-year institution. (Farnsworth, 2005) (Dowd & Gabbard, 2006)

The specifics of such partnerships can vary immensely, depending on variables particular to anygiven pair of institutions. These will be discussed in detail later in this report.

Incentives to Implement Solutions

Implementing any set of solutions suggested herein will help a selective institution achieve abetter state of diversity in the student body. The existence of students from diversesocioeconomic, experiential, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds in a campus student bodyincreases the opportunities for the exchange of different ideas, leading to their cross-fertilization,and hence a better learning experience for all. (McPherson & Schapiro, 2006)

In addition, institutions that create partnerships with public institutions can also benefit fromwhat has been nick-named the 2+2 model for international student recruitment. Much like thestreamlining of other non-traditional students transfer described above, the transfer of talented

international students can be encouraged and facilitated. This provides the partnering eliteinstitution a great opportunity to boost international student enrollment at a reduced cost. In aglobal environment where international student enrollment in the US has seen a decline over thepast few years, this is an opportunity many institutions would love to exploit. (Farnsworth, 2005)

Other Perspectives


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The literature cited so far in this paper has been supportive of initiatives to promote theenrollment of non-traditional, low-income, and first-generation students. However, such pathwayprograms are not without their opponents. In fact, some criticism of strategies suggested aboveoriginates from within elite four-year colleges.

For example, part-time enrollment is frowned upon at selective four-year colleges. Facultymembers at these institutions see part-time enrollment as a bad approach to higher education, onethat focuses on marketing, consumerism and convenience instead of the intellectualenlightenment of students. In their view, leaders of great caliber can only be produced through acollege experience wherein the students demonstrate their commitment to learning inside andoutside the classroom and this is not possible without being a full-time student. These criticspoint to research that shows resident students being more committed to their education thancommuters.

For their part, many faculty members at selective institutions criticize community colleges'commitment to part-time enrollment as a misguided approach to baccalaureate education that has

more to do with marketing, consumerism, and convenience than with intellectual enlightenment.They believe that full-time enrollment is an essential element of the college experience.

Their institutions, they argue, educate the nation's leaders in business, education, and thecommunity. To train for these roles and/or to become well-prepared entrants into the nation'sprofessional and graduate programs, students must make a considerable commitment, in and outof the classroom. These faculty point to research showing that students who remain on campus(either in university-run housing or in nearby neighborhoods) are more committed to theireducation, experience greater cognitive growth, and evaluate their college experience morepositively than students who commute. (Handel, 2009)

Additionally, opponents of broader access to higher education argue that system of merit thatfavor underrepresented and low-income candidates over their majority and wealthycontemporaries are unconstitutional. Furthermore, these opponents claim that student of highersocioeconomic status and majority students are more successful in completing the demandingcurriculum requirements at selective higher education institutions. These students, these criticsfurther claim, are also better positioned to benefit more from the educational experience offeredby selective institutions than their minority and low-income counterparts.

While the constitutional validity of preferential treatment in admissions programs remains anissue of contention, with some states banning affirmative action, the claim that non-traditionalstudents are less successful than their wealthier, white counterparts was disproved by Millett andNettles in their research work. They found that students background differences play astatistically significant, but very minor role in predicting their success at the collegiate level.(2006)

Some observers have suggested that since most of the minority families are heavily concentratedat the bottom of the income distribution, it is possible to rid the education system of race-sensitive admissions by giving more preference to applicants from poor families, regardless ofrace. However, statistical analysis has shown that such a move would leave the minority


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enrollment in colleges at half the level that it stands at today. Therefore, even thoughsocioeconomic status and racial background are related, the suggestion that accommodation forthe former could lead to the elimination or even reduction of a need for race-aware enrollmentprograms is grossly misinformed. (Bowen, 2006)

Research

Methodology

All interviews were conducted using broad, open-ended questions wherever possible. In mostcases the interviewee led the conversation and was asked follow-up questions that arose as aresult of answers to the preceding question(s). Additional questions were asked when follow-upquestions were exhausted. Each of the three interviews lasted for approximately one hour.

Interviews were not recorded; detailed notes were taken during the course of each interview,these have been used to produce the following interview summaries. Most responses have beenparaphrased. The summaries, to the best of the interviewers ability, represent what wasexplicitly stated during interviews and not what was implied.

Three interviews were conducted as part of this research project. The first interview wasconducted with Paula Myers. Paula is the Director of Bucknell's International Student Services.Her job includes international student recruitment, orientation, and support. Thesecond interview was conducted with Mark Davies, Assistant Vice President of EnrollmentManagement at Bucknell University. Mark heads many of Bucknell's pipeline programs'recruitment processes and is also the man in charge of Bucknell Community College ScholarsProgram - a transfer program co-funded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. And the third andfinal interview was conducted with Kurth Thiede. Kurt is the Vice President for EnrollmentManagement at Bucknell.

In addition to interviewing the individuals mentioned above, I took part in many of the activitiesthat were made available to the undergraduate student population at Bucknell University. Thisimmersion experience allowed me to experience first-hand some of the diversity-related issuedthat this research paper attempts to address. The activities that the author participated in aredescribed below:

1. Common Ground: A Fall Break retreat during which approximately thirty participants,led by a dozen student moderators, took part in intense conversations surrounding thesubjects of race, gender, and sexuality. The program was conducted over the entirety ofthe four-day break.

2. The Big Questions Discussion Series: This program comprised of four, two-hour, weeklymeetings during which the Big Questions in life were tackled by a mixed group of

students, faculty, and staff. The program was run by ht Big Questions Committee, whichwas headed by the Assoc. Dean of Students, Amy Badal.

3. The Minority Student Panel, Admissions Office Presentation for Baltimore Inner CityStudents: I participated in this program as one of the panelists. The three other panelistswere also non-traditional students, all of whom had been recruited to Bucknell throughpathway programs.


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It is worth noting here that students recruited through pathway programs were part of each ofthe above-mentioned programs. While the participation of these students in a Minority StudentPanel should come as no surprise, the fact that they were well-represented in both of the majorprograms this semester aimed at fostering greater understanding and acceptance of difference is

an indication of the engagement level that is typical of this population at Bucknell.

Findings

A review of the responses received from the three interviewees reveals that there are severalissues and ideas that were discussed by each of the respondents. While the context within whicha particular idea was discussed by a respondent varied, there were seven core ideas that wereexpressed by each of the respondents in some form.

The first of these ideas is the balancing act. Each of the respondents thought that the most crucialprocess for the enrollment management staff at Bucknell was the selection of a formula usingwhich the financial aid and enrollment pies were to be shared among various specific interestgroups. This balancing act refers to the distribution of scarce resources among competingprograms, each of which has its own set of advocates.

While we focus on increasing diversity and accommodating more non-traditionalstudents to enrich the learning experience offered by Bucknell, there has to be a

core group of student who can pay the tuition. This group has been shrinking over

time, and without this group we cannot continue to run the University the way we

are right now.

- Mark DaviesThe second major idea that was discussed by the respondents was the creation of partnershipsand network support for initiatives like the Jack Kent Cooke Foundations community collegetransfer program. Bucknell currently has some informal partnerships through which it recruitsstudents; however, these partnerships can be strengthened further to yield greater benefits.

There are two ways to recruit the mix of students that would create the changes

on campus that we would like to see. One way is to cast a larger net for recruiting

students, and hope that more students would come to Bucknell who are willing to

talk about pressing issues that remain untouched normally. The other way is to

create strategic alliances to jump-start our efforts to create pipelines for such

students to come to Bucknell.

- Kurt ThiedeThe third area highlighted by the interviewees was the creation of new outreach programs, aswell as streamlining and augmentation of existing ones. The purpose of these programs wouldnot only be to provide information to students in the target population about their potential futurecareer paths, but also to provide the guidance and resources regarding college admissions andfinancial aid that they need badly. Another aim of such outreach programs will be to highlightthe achievements of existing non-traditional students at Bucknell so that donors interest forfunding these programs can be garnered.


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Telling students' stories creates opportunities that the University can then

capitalize on and get donors to pledge money to such programs. Without these

stories, it is difficult to get people to give. It is easier to get money from a donor to

build a facility that will bear their name then to get money to fund a named

scholarship. It is with the help of real people, and their stories that donors'interest is captures.

- Mark DaviesMore needs to be done on the Alumni Relations front as well. The University is

currently not reaching out in the way that it should. We should be looking at

establishing international campuses and connections. The current international

outreach programs rely on scattered and spread-out efforts. London is home to

the only functioning club of alumni, for example.

- Paula MyersThe fourth strategy that was emphasized by the student affairs personnel interviewed was thecreation of bridge programs to ease the social and academic transition of non-traditional studentswho are entering Bucknell either as first-year or transfer students.

Academic and social transition for students coming in from pipeline programslike JKC is difficult; however, a summer bridge program like the one that

Bucknell has implemented for the JKC students helps smooth the transition

significantly. Such programs should be expanded to include more of the non-

traditional student groups.

- Paula MyersThe program referred by Paula here is the summer program for the Bucknell Community CollegeScholars (transfer) Program. This program offers residential living experience to prospectivetransfers, and also allows them to enroll in two summer courses to get acquainted with theenvironment that they are planning on entering.

The fifth important point that was brought up by the respondents was the creation of seedpopulations or the attainment of critical levels of non-traditional students so that they will feelempowered and can create the diverse education environment that Bucknell is trying to foster byincreasing the diversity in its student body.

We need students who are willing to stand up for themselves and challenge the

stereotypical ways of thinking about issues, and to challenge the voices oforganizations like the BUCC. It is not just about getting greater numbers of

minority students; it is about encouraging certain attitudes, skill sets, and making

our recruitment efforts talent-oriented.

- Kurt Thiede


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Sixth in the list of important highlights from the interviews conducted as part of the research isthe idea of changing the prevalent culture on Bucknells campus, by interrupting the cycle of

enrollment through the dominant class structure is re-established time and again.

Alumni from the '50s and '60s who now serve as members of the board of trustees

for the University are conservative-leaning folks; this has meant that there areelements within the decision-making bodies that govern the University which

preserve the prevalent, full-pay culture. However, it is still our goal to improve

and enrich the college educational experience so that students can walk away

from college and negotiate the world out there.

- Kurt ThiedeThe seventh and the last major point of emphasis in the interviews was a discussion of the idealscenario wherein the context within which student services currently exist will be transformed.The idea here is that in the ideal scenario, the focus of the institution should remain largelyacademic, and the awareness of diversity issues and accommodation of students from diverse

backgrounds will become the responsibility of faculty and other academic support staff.

In the new context the diversity offices will provide programming for the university staff andfaculty who will be interacting directly with the students.

In addition to the seven salient points discussed above, it was found that the staff interviewedhad plans and ideas in mind that were closely aligned with the suggestions provided in theliterature. Bucknell is currently in the process of implementing some of the solutions proposed inthe previous section. However, there seems to be an apparent lack of coordination between thevarious offices on Bucknells campus that support diversity-related issues, and the enrollmentmanagement staff.

The importance of increasing non-traditional student enrollment at Bucknell is not lost on any ofthe staff members interviewed for this research project. At the same time concerned individualshave a very good understanding of the challenges that lie ahead.

The complete transcripts of all interviews are presented in Appendix I.

Analysis

The importance of availability of financial aid resources and dissemination of information aboutthe availability of the same is well understood by scholars in the field. Most scholars agree thateasy access to elite higher education institutions is crucial for upward social mobility.

The staff at Bucknell is also very well aware of the importance of pathway programs. Theyunderstand that availability of ample financial resources is crucial to the smooth operation of anypathway program over the long-run.

In addition to recognizing the needs of low-income students who are the target population ofpathway programs, college officials are well aware of the advantages that having these students


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on campus bring to the quality of education offered by the institution and the reputation of theinstitution among employers and donors alike.

It is important to recognize the various barriers that exist at each stage in the pathway toattainment of a four-year bachelors degree at a selective institution. Any comprehensive

approach to provide support for low-income, non-traditional, and first-generation students has togo beyond the boundaries of any one institution. A pathway program must be designed to reducebarriers at all stages. Failure to do so will mean that the pathway will continue to have a degreeof uncertainty, or a bottle-neck that will make it less attractive to students from the targetpopulation.

Solution to the Problem

Proposed Solution

The solution proposed here is a two-pronged approach to enhancing Bucknells ability to createand cater to a more diverse student body, while providing the necessary support to non-traditional students that are recruited to attend the institution, either as first-year students enteringdirectly from high school or as transfer students entering from two-year or four-year publicinstitutions.

The first part of the solution is the development of new partnerships with community colleges inthe state of Pennsylvania. The model for these partnerships will be based on the model that iscurrently in use for community colleges that partner with Bucknell to make the BucknellCommunity College Scholars Program a possibility. The second layer of the new program willconsist of partnerships between the partner community colleges and high schools in theirsurroundings that serve low- and moderate-income groups.

Training, education, and financial resources will be channeled down this pipeline to enablestudents who may still be in high school to envision a future that carries promise. The funding inthe initial years will have to be re-appropriated from existing resources that Bucknell has. Theseresources can be channeled from the current need-based scholarships that are currently awardedto low-income and low-ability students.

As part of the long-term strategy, this program will be designed to serve as the umbrella-brandfor other pathway programs that Bucknell is currently a part of. This new program will have tobe given significant media coverage throughout the state, especially in the colleges and highschools that Bucknell will be partnering with.

The second part of this solution will consist of an aggressive effort to recruit high-income, high-ability students from elite high schools across the nation. An effort will be made to attract thesestudents from geographical areas where the local population is not homogenous, and the level ofinequality between races is lower than the national average. By using Bucknells image as ahigh-ranking, elite institution, students from these high schools will be recruited to attendBucknell. The aggressive recruitment of high-income, high-ability students will reduce the strain


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on Bucknells limited financial aid budget, especially in the initial years of the program whendedicated funds for the new pathway program will not be significant.

The solution proposed here is in agreement with the partnership possibilities suggested inliterature, and is modeled in part after Bucknells current partnership programs. This approach

will allow the institution to reduce the risks involved in this bold undertaking.

It should be noted that the program will have to be phased in very slowly to absorb the shocksfrom its initial implementation and make necessary accommodations from continual assessmentand evaluation. The initial focus will be on the media campaign that builds the reputation of theprogram and highlights its aims, achievements, and documents major milestones.

The goal of this program will not only be to enhance the diversity and quality of Bucknells

student body, but also to create a well-researched, and well-documented model that other eliteinstitutions in the nation may be able to adapt for their own use.

Challenges and Limitations

There are significant challenges and limitations that will have to be accounted for and overcomefor the successful implementation of the proposed solution. The first and foremost challenge isthe creation of a fund to set up the foundation of the program. This would require carefulallocation and re-allocation of scarce financial resources, and will also need approval of theBoard of Trustees which must be convinced that this is a viable option, and will yield significantreturns in the long-run.

The second challenge will be the modification of enrollment management strategies toaccommodate an increased number of students from the target population, both in the first-yearclass as well as in the junior class. These modifications will require the complete set ofenrollment management strategies to be revisited to ensure that all efforts are well-coordinated.This process will also allow the university to consolidate the recruitment of various minoritygroups into the new program.

The implementation of the new program will require revisions in the academic curriculum, theexpansion of bridge programs, and the re-definition of the roles of many of the offices that caterto student needs on campus.

The preparation of an adequate support structure for the solution will be a significant financialundertaking, the costs of which may not be recovered for quite some time.

Conclusion

In this paper we have studied the problems created by a lack of financial aid availability to low-

income students, especially those who use the community colleges as a low-cost entry-point to


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higher education, hoping to complete their bachelors degrees at selective four-year institutions.

This lack of resources or lack of awareness of these resources creates a barrier to the upward

mobility of the low-income population.

The research work completed in this paper has been used to suggest a solution that can be

adopted by Bucknell, and with necessary modifications, by other selective/elite four-yearinstitutions to help accomplish the goals of creating a democratic higher education system that is

an affordable vehicle for social mobility and not a means for the recreation of prevalent class

structures.

It is hoped that this paper will have created awareness about the problem, its primary causes, and

about the various approaches that scholars have suggested to address this problem.


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Appendix I Interview Transcripts

Interview 1 - Summary: Paula Myers

Interview Date: October 27, 2009

The interview was conducted with Paula Myers. Paula is the Director of Bucknell's

International Student Services. Her job includes international student recruitment,

orientation, and support.

Question 1:

Is Bucknell doing a good job recruiting non-traditional students, especially students that

come through pipeline programs like the BCCSP? Are there enough resources available to

support these students?

Answer:

Some states are doing better than others, e.g. California. Larger state institutions do it better than

Bucknell. Small colleges pride on retention rate. Bucknell has built itself as a four-year college.

Transfer students are not part of the mission or focus of the University.

I agree that the transfer students should be supported. But the support system is just not there.

There is very little support for students coming in the middle of the year.

There are many social problems faced by transfer students, cohorts have already been established

by the Junior year. The transition is very challenging as a result.

(Non-traditional) students do not necessarily need to go here. There are places for them to

continue education, but not at Bucknell.

There is a tough balancing act involved in recruitment of students. There is the 'enrollment pie',

based on which the breakdown of the student population is determined. With increased specific

group advocacy it is becoming difficult to fit all the different groups of students within the class

to be recruited, which has a limited size. Then there is the 'financial aid pie'. This second 'pie'

determines how Bucknell's Financial Aid budget is used. Which students will receive aid, and

how much. This question is deeply connected to the first.

The only way that the enrollment strategies can become somewhat independent of the financial

aid restrictions is for the financial aid budget to increase significantly. While the budget has been

increasing, it is not increasing at a rate fast enough to keep pace with the changes in the

enrollment breakdown. More students need aid, specially non-traditional students - but the

amount of aid has not increased enough.


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Question 2:

What does the future look like? If education keeps becoming more expensive, then

something needs to change.

Answer:

Some real opportunities do exist for Bucknell to join hands with other institutions, to create more

pipelines like the Jack-Kent Cooke program and to create network support for them.

Academic and social transition for students coming in from pipeline programs like JKC is

difficult, however, a summer bridge program like the one that Bucknell has implemented for the

JKC students helps smooth the transition significantly. Such programs should be expanded to

include more of the non-traditional student groups.

The students who are recruited through these programs, and their work, should be highlighted by

the University. By doing so the University is giving them the support and recognition that willhelp their transition. This will also mean that as these students graduate, they will give to

Bucknell.

Bucknell has come to be known as a place that gives financial aid. But a balance is needed.

Bucknell needs to move to a position where the student population breakdown is comparable to

the breakdown of the general population.

Since financial aid does change the game, Bucknell needs to tap other markets where students

can pay so that the financial money can be used for other (non-traditional) students.

Question 3:

Should Bucknell scale back on specific interest enrollment programs?

Answer:

The answer to this question depends on what do we (Bucknell) want to be. Do we want to be

everything? Places like Bucknell need seed populations to address diversity issues on campus.

These seed populations are provided through programs like the United World Colleges, the Posse

Foundation, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation partnership programs.

However, in order to recruit and support these seed populations at Bucknell we need to give upsome things. One-third of Bucknell's newly admitted class each year consists of athletes. A large

number of those who attend Bucknell are legacy students. Such trends mean that the culture of

the alumni is preserved, and this makes it difficult to change the persisting culture and

environment that is associated with Bucknell.


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More needs to be done on the Alumni Relations front as well. The University is currently not

reaching out in the way that it should. We should be looking at establishing international

campuses and connections. The current international outreach programs rely on scattered and

spread-out efforts. London is home to the only functioning club of alumni, for example.

The University needs to put its money where its mouth is. The goal in the end would be for manyof the current offices that accommodate diverse and non-traditional populations to cease to exist

in the current context. Instead of providing services directly to all students, they would be put to

better put to use in providing services to the faculty and staff that support students' academic

success. This way all students are supported, and the mission of the institution remains

academic.


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Interview 2 Summary: Mark Davies

Interview Date: November 4, 2009

The interview was conducted with Mark Davies, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment

Management at Bucknell University. Mark heads many of Bucknell's pipeline programs'

recruitment processes and is also the man in charge of Bucknell Community College

Scholars Program - a transfer program co-funded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

Question 1:

How do you think the availability of financial affects Bucknell's ability to recruit non-

traditional students?

Answer:

There is a big challenge facing colleges, and the challenge is the lack of understanding at the

high school level of how the college admissions process works. Because the high school and

college counselors are not on the same page, it is difficult for college counselors to tell who they

are talking to, which students will use financial aid and the opportunities provided by a college

education in the best way. Many students also have assumptions about the cost of attending

college that are incorrect.

When colleges attend recruitment fairs, the two most frequently asked questions are:

1. What are the SAT scores that an applicant must have to be offered admission?

2. What is the cost of attendance?

Some families will keep on moving when the cost of attendance is revealed. It is difficult for

college representatives to get families to talk about cost considerations and to not define and/or

dismiss schools based on the associated cost of attendance.

For many families asking for aid means divulging a lot of information - a lot of personal

information.

The applicant pool is pinched as families do not try to find out more about financial aid

opportunities. The main sources of information that have been seen to encourage families toconsider financial aid options are:

1. Good high school guidance

2. Older siblings who have attended college

3. Parents who attended college


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[Mark recommended that I talk to Kurt Thiede about the role that Community Based

Organization play in helping Bucknell find the right students, and in helping the right students

find Bucknell]

Question 3:

Do you think that Bucknell should reduce the resources dedicated to recruit increasingly

larger pools of non-traditional student and use these to strengthen the support programs

that are available at Bucknell to ensure the academic success of a smaller non-traditional

student population?

Answer:

There is a definite need for increased support. For example, we have no ESL programs at

Bucknell. However, diversity needs to be focused on. These efforts are required in order forBucknell to be an institution that prepares students for success outside of college.

The Posse program is continuing to expand - new colleges and new cities are being added all the

time. Next year Bucknell will be admitting students from the Los Angeles Posse.

In terms of recruiting from community colleges, Bucknell is ahead of the curve. The Bucknell

Community College Scholars Program adds diversity of experience to the student population that

would otherwise not be possible. There is not a local adult population that is willing to come to

Bucknell, but thanks to the BCCSP, there are twenty two student currently enrolled in the

undergraduate programs at Bucknel who are above the age of twenty-five. These students in

some instances have families to support; they have a different work ethic, and face different

pressures.

Faculty members really appreciate the presence of such students in their classes. Even though

many of these students have to overcome biases, specially stigma against community college

students, they recognize the opportunities that are afforded to them because of these pipeline

programs.

Young students look to such programs to get free or cheap education at well-known four-yearcolleges, while older students take advantage of these programs to break free of the glass ceiling

that they often hit in their careers because of the lack of a college degree. When a blend of these

students is recruited and provided the resources they need, they thrive.

This past year five of the first eleven students who came in through the BCCSP graduated. Two

of these students maintained perfect GPAs during their time at Bucknell.


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What came as a surprise was the number of international students who came to Bucknell through

the BCCSP. This factor can be used to blend the efforts in recruiting different groups of students,

e.g. international students who are already in the US. The summer program that is part of the

BCCSP helps students' transition process a lot.

However, next year is the last that Bucknell is going to receive the grant to conduct the programfrom the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. However, there are efforts being made to ensure

continuation of the program as it is one of the best things we are doing at Bucknell.

Question 4:

Community colleges are seeing record numbers of applicants, do you think this reflects an

increased interest in education among the non-traditional student population? Does this

mean that there will be a greater need for pipeline programs going forward?

Answer:

Californian four-year institutions have reached capacity, and two-year colleges are also

struggling to accommodate students. There is an open enrollment policy at most community

colleges, and as a result they cannot say no to students.

Some of this may be related to the economic troubles that the country is currently facing.

However, there are demographic trends at play here as well. We are currently at the peak of the

high school graduation trends. However, the increased number of minority students may be a

trend that would continue to hold, since it is related to overall demographic changes in the

nation.

While we focus on increasing diversity and accommodating more non-traditional students to

enrich the learning experience offered by Bucknell, there has to be a core group of student who

can pay the tuition. This group has been shrinking over time, and without this group we cannot

continue to run the University the way we are right now.

At the same time, the presence of non-traditional students at Bucknell provides a host of

opportunities, which if taken advantage of can pay back immensely. For example, recruiting

efforts in the DC area were not successful until the first DC Posse was admitted to Bucknell. As

one Posse student commented after six months at Bucknell, "I have never seen so many white

people in one place before!". These programs are helping break stigmas and stereotypes of

Bucknell.

The programs also create funding interest from contributors. Employers are also interested in

supporting such programs; they realize that they are looking at the future entrepreneurs and

engineers. Corporations as well as individuals recognize the importance of people, and the

programs through which a good mix of people can be recruited.


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Telling students' stories creates opportunities that the University can then capitalize on and get

donors to pledge money to such programs. Without these stories, it is difficult to get people to

give. It is easier to get money from a donor to build a facility that will bear their name then to get

money to fund a named scholarship. It is with the help of real people, and their stories that

donors' interest is captures.

So far we have been re-allocating funds to support these programs. No new money has been

raised so far. That has to change if such programs are to continue.


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Interview 3Summary: Kurt Thiede

Interview Date: November 5, 2009

This interview was conducted with Kurth Thiede. Kurt is the Vice President for

Enrollment Management at Bucknell.

Question 1:

I am exploring the effects of financial aid ability on colleges' ability to recruit and maintain

'rich' applicant pools. I have some questions about the issue in general and some about

Bucknell's policies in particular in relevance to the Jack Kent Cooke program, Posse, and

international student recruitment. Among other questions, I am trying to find out whether

or not colleges should stress a little less on pushing for higher numbers in all different

kinds of diverse categories and try to focus on a better integration scheme and an

environment that promotes understanding - maximizing the involvement of all students inthe student body.

Answer:

I will share with you an article titled 'Threading the needle of the American Dream' after our

conversation. The limited access to elite higher education institutions for the non-traditional

students is a matter of concern.

While the culture at Bucknell is not anti-change, its is not pro-change either. We need to be

asking ourselves: What should we be doing to provide the best education?

There are two ways to recruit the mix of students that would create the changes on campus that

we would like to see. One way is to cast a larger net for recruiting students, and hope that more

students would come to Bucknell who are willing to talk about pressing issues that remain

untouched normally. The other way is to create strategic alliances to jump-start our efforts to

create pipelines for such students to come to Bucknell.

While the raw numbers of non-traditional applicants have increased, the percentages have not

increased proportionally.

When we think about the state of diversity at this institution and how easy it is for students fromdiverse backgrounds to adjust to life here, we are made to think of group like the Bucknell

University Conservatives Club (BUCC). This organization, while seemingly notorious, has

forced a rethink of the strategies. From a policy of protectionism, Bucknell is moving toward a

policy of empowerment.

We need students who are willing to stand up for themselves and challenge the stereotypical

ways of thinking about issues, and to challenge the voices of organizations like the BUCC.


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It is not just about getting greater numbers of minority students, it is about encouraging certain

attitudes, skill sets, and making our recruitment efforts talent-oriented.

Question 2:

What does Bucknell's mission statement say about the University's attitude toward non-traditional recruitment, specially transfer students?

Answer:

Bucknell is generally an elite, four-year school with low attrition. Transfer students are largely

fillers in the few gaps that are left open by students leaving Bucknell. Every college has a choice

to make, how many students to admit in the first year and how many to transfer in. This means

that with the total number of spots held constant, when opportunities for transfer students are

increased, opportunities for first-year students will have to be decreased.

Such a change cannot be made without introducing appropriate changes in the curriculum tosupport the incoming transfer students.

However, if such a change is introduced gradually but intentionally, then the transition is not as

difficult. This is the approach that Bucknell is heading in.

Another question when considering non-traditional students' recruitment is whether to expand or

to reinforce. At the moment, Bucknell has gone as far as it could have with the financial

resources that are available.

Targeted scholarships replace high-need and low-qualification students with better qualified

students. The Posse scholarship, for example, does so at an additional cost of $7,000 per student(on average).

Now, is this a better investment than trying to get better student through regular recruitment? In

my view it is an investment in the future as national demographics are changing, especially the

population of Latinos in the United States which is increasing most noticeably. As an institution

we have to accommodate such groups at Bucknell. As far as these students are concerned right

now, Bucknell may be the last place they would want to be.

Preparation of graduates for the real world is the ultimate goal of the University. How do we

want to do that, is the question.

There is a need for the University to maintain a core group of full-freight students. The number

of such students who can foot the full cost of attending Bucknell affects the enrollment efforts

significantly.

This is just one of many balancing acts that need to be pulled off on the enrollment front. For

example, if SATs were the measure of merit, then 60% of admitted students would be


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engineering students, however, the University cannot accommodate that many engineering

students and at the same time needs students to fill in the spots in all of the other majors and

departments. There is a complex system that is in place to ensure that the best mix of students is

enrolled each year.

During the last two years, Bucknell has been lucky in that all of its domestic admission decisionshave been need-blind, and only 2-5% of the decisions were need-aware.

It is the task of the University to generate alumni interest in raising scholarship dollars for

college enrichment. There are some obstacles in achieving this goal.

Alumni from the '50s and '60s who now serve as members of the board of trustees for the

University are conservative-leaning folks; this has meant that there are elements within the

decision-making bodies that govern the University which preserve the prevalent, full-pay

culture.

However, it is still our goal to improve and enrich the college educational experience so that

students can walk away from college and negotiate the world out there.

The BUCC is a diverse group - but they do not sit on the table to talk. This makes us think about

what it is that we seek from the diverse student population. Ideally, we would have many

'typically white' students who would be willing to support the different students. We need

students to talk about the differences that exist.

Bucknell is seen as a 'safe place' - it is a blessing and a curse. It is a curse because it attracts

students less willing and able to question dominant and prevalent ideas. It is a curse because it

leaves us with not enough students to rock the boat.

This is where strategic alliances with Community Based Organizations are helpful. These

organizations help colleges recruit students to follow visionary leaders.


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Dowd, A. C., & Gabbard, G. (2009). Transfer Access to Elite Colleges and Universities in the UnitedStates: Threading the Needle of the American Dream.

Dowd, A. C., Cheslock, J. J., & Melguizo, T. (2008). Transfer access from community colleges and thedistribution of elite higher education.Journal of Higher Education , 442-473.

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Kane, T. J. (1999). The Price of Admission. Washington, DC: Brooking Institution Press.

King, J. E. (1999).Money Matters. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

McPherson, M. S., & Schapiro, M. O. (2006). Watch What We Do (and Not What We Say): How StudentAid Awards Vary with Financial Need and Academic Merit. In CollegeBoard, College Access:Opportunity or Privilege? (pp. 49-74). New York, NY: The College Board.

Nettles, M. T., & Millett, C. M. (2006). Maximizing Opportunity: Steering Underrepresented StudentsThrough the Selective College Persistence Tracks. In CollegeBoard, College Access: Opportunity orPrivilege? (pp. 133-142). New York, NY: The College Board.

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