Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads (2011) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
6 Academic and Social Support
6 Academic and Social Support
Pages 129-140
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 129... ...
NCES observed that underrepresented minorities face more barriers to persistence and completion and that postsecondary institutions impact the entire process, from entry to graduation.1 Educational attainment is a function of access, information, motivation, affordability, academic preparation and support, social support and integration, and professional development. In their recent book, Crossing the Finish Line, Bowen et al.
|
From page 130... ...
But as Bowen and his colleagues note, we must be concerned not just with overall attainment rates, but with increasing attainment rates across demographic and SES categories: "These outcomes and the forces that drive them are enormously important not only to prospective students and their parents, institutional decision makers, and policy makers but to all who care about both the economic prospects for this country and its social fabric."3 If we believe in a strong and increasingly important role for science and engineering in developing a strong STEM workforce, educational attainment in these fields, both in general and for underrepresented minorities, is even more important to our future. ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION In Coming to Our Senses, the College Board asserts that "colleges and universities have an obligation to improve student retention, minimize dropouts and raise degree completion rates." The report recommends that "what is needed is the development of a culture on campus that includes the expectation that every admitted student will, in fact, graduate, and a determination to understand what is going on when students do not" and argues that "only the higher education community can address these issues" (emphasis in original)
|
From page 131... ...
Mandatory course attendance is a good idea, as is mandatory lab attendance. At one institution, the faculty, reluctant to require lab participation, found success rates dropped every time the mandatory requirement was waived.
|
From page 132... ...
Over the past several decades, programs have been developed to attract students to STEM majors and provide the necessary support that will enable the students to complete undergraduate STEM degrees and pursue advanced study. Many of these programs have been supported by major federal and private funding agencies, while others have been implemented and supported by individual institutions or departments.
|
From page 133... ...
The culture of science on most of our campuses makes this more difficult by constructing a social structure that "weeds out" students in introductory classes and encourages a highly competitive academic atmosphere among undergraduates. Evidence suggests that URM students, under these conditions, experience disproportionate attrition, especially among those who may have been underprepared in high school.6 For aspiring minority scientists, academic culture adds several more psychological challenges.
|
From page 134... ...
The Tinto Model of Student Retention Institutions and programs can help to minimize all of these psychological pitfalls to minority participation through initiatives and programs aimed at stimulating student interest and retaining and advancing students in STEM. For example, The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
|
From page 135... ...
The function of these structures should be to smooth the transition of the student into his or her new environment, encourage the building of learning communities with peers, foster interaction between students and faculty and staff, identify student needs and provide adequate support, and foster academic involvement and learning, among other activities. In outlining his model, Tinto saw the need for retention programs specifically tailored to the needs of different groups of students, such as older students, honor students, students of color, transfer students, and academically at-risk students.8 Researchers have modified the Tinto model of student integration and proposed new models to address underrepresented groups and STEM students in particular.
|
From page 136... ...
, for example, has argued that deeply embedded features of social environments influence critical risk and protective processes, nullify person-focused programs, make it difficult to sustain and disseminate promising approaches, and prevent the large-scale mobilization of resources necessary for making a substantial difference. Williams, Berger, and McClendon (2005)
|
From page 137... ...
"Guided by research, experiences at peer institutions, and results from the systematic assessment of the campus climate for diversity, develop a plan for implementing constructive change that includes specific goals, timetables, and pragmatic activities." Such activities could include the development, implementation, and enforcement of admissions policies that reinforce diversity within the legal parameters of the Michigan decisions in order to ensure a significant and sufficient overall level of minority participation on campus, and rewarding faculty in the promotion and tenure process for developing student talent, both in general, and for underrepresented groups, including minorities; and providing support and retention measures for underrepresented minority students. 11 Hurtado et al.
|
From page 138... ...
Efforts to promote inclusivity, however, are not enough unless they are carried out through proactive efforts to encourage the social interaction that is needed to realize inclusivity and the benefits to students of peer-to-peer and faculty-student interactions. Peer-to-peer interaction can help increase cross-racial understanding, reduce barriers to integration in educational and extracurricular activities, and improve retention and success.
|
From page 139... ...
As shown in greater detail in Box 6-2, the Council of Graduate Schools has provided additional recommendations for increasing diversity in graduate programs. Evidence of the cultural transformation that results from these efforts can be seen most readily in observable statistics regarding minority enrollment, graduation rates, faculty hiring, and the like.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.