Community Colleges in the Evolving STEM Education Landscape Summary of a Summit (2012) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix D: Developing Supportive STEM Community College to Four-Year College and University Transfer Ecosystems--Alicia C. Dowd
Appendix D: Developing Supportive STEM Community College to Four-Year College and University Transfer Ecosystems--Alicia C. Dowd
Pages 107-134
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From page 107... ...
fields are too narrow and must be expanded to meet the social and economic demand in the United States for a greater number and a more diverse membership of scientists, engineers, and technicians. Faculty members have a critical role to play in expanding STEM transfer pathways.
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From page 108... ...
Transfer admissions in general and in STEM in particular are particularly hampered by poor signaling of student talents and accomplishments because the quality of the community college curriculum is viewed with suspicion by university and liberal arts faculty. To address this problem, the National Science Board's recommendation to foster a supportive ecosystem is paramount.
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From page 109... ...
and several of its policy actions deserve particular attention when examining the evolving rela tionships between community colleges and four-year colleges and universities for the purpose of broadening STEM transfer pathways. These are (1)
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From page 110... ...
In the very broadest terms, these nearly 10 million students represent the total potential pool of transfer students. In Fall 2008, the count of students enrolled in community colleges for credit numbered 7.4 million (Mullin, 2011)
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From page 111... ...
The number of associate's degrees awarded by community colleges rep resents an overall increase of 86 percent from two decades earlier, but growth rates were much higher for Hispanics (383%) , blacks (204%)
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From page 112... ...
A broadbased national estimate of the proportion of community college students who transfer to a four-year institution is 25 percent (Melguizo and Dowd, 2009)
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From page 113... ...
An Initial Profile: Latina and Latino STEM Bachelor's Degree Holders Who Transferred None of the studies and reports above provides estimates of the numbers of community college transfer students in STEM fields, revealing that further research is needed to produce such estimates. In this subsection, I present a brief profile of Latina and Latino STEM transfers based on a study conducted by the Center for Urban Education at USC with funding from the National Science Foundation to begin to fill this research gap.
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From page 114... ...
present a portrait of the fields of study of Latina and Latino STEM1 bachelor's degree holders who transferred from community colleges with associate's degrees, based on a sample of students who earned bachelor's degree in 2003. The analyses examine the fields of study in which Latino STEM bachelor's degree holders earned their degrees, comparing degrees awarded at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)
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From page 115... ...
However, given that HSIs are typically nonselective four-year institutions and that Latino students are the fastest growing demographic group, this portrait of Latino transfer in STEM provides a good starting point for gaining an understanding that STEM transfer pathways are not nearly as robust as they need to be. Latino community college transfers who first earn associate's degrees have lower access to STEM bachelor's degrees at academically selective and private universities than their counterparts who do not earn an associate's degree prior to the bachelor's.
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From page 116... ...
II. STRUCTURAL BARRIERS TO STEM TRANSFER AND PROMINENT SOLUTION STRATEGIES Before moving into a discussion of cultural barriers to STEM transfer, it is important to acknowledge structural barriers to transfer and take stock of the most prominent contemporary strategies to broaden transfer pathways.
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From page 117... ...
Challenges students encounter in financial aid and advising include "sticker shock" when contemplating four-year college and university prices, lack of information about the multiple sources of financial aid, poor access to counselors, and the lack of participation of faculty members in transfer advising. Transfer and Articulation Policies Are Insufficient to Improve STEM Transfer Access The goal of establishing curriculum "articulation" and alignment between the community college and four-year college and university curricula has been a policy focus for several decades.
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From page 118... ...
. By some national estimates, approximately half of black and Hispanic community college students earn remedial credits in mathematics (Bahr, 2010)
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, analyzed transcripts of more than 5,000 students enrolled in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) and examined basic skills mathematics course placements and completion.
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From page 120... ...
The goal of improving transfer access to STEM degrees, therefore, is intertwined with the need to improve basic skills mathematics education. Curricular and Programmatic Barriers and Potential Reforms Educational researchers have conducted numerous case studies of transfer involving particular groups of students or institutions (Bensimon and Dowd, 2009; Bensimon et al., 2007; Cejda, 1998, 2000; Gabbard et al., 2006; Laanan, 1996; Lester, 2010; Ornelas and Solorzano, 2004; Townsend and Wilson, 2006)
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From page 121... ...
. Bensimon, Dowd, and colleagues exam ined STEM transfer pathways from community colleges to public universities with the formal designation of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs)
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From page 122... ...
The body of literature focusing specifically on transfer in STEM is not robust enough to substantiate conclusions about the unique programmatic features that are necessary to design effective STEM transfer pathways. However, the intersections in the literature on "choosing and leav ing" STEM (Strenta et al., 1994)
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From page 123... ...
Focusing on Hispanic students, they also found that STEM transfer students were more likely to use "selfsupport" financing strategies, where they used a mix of grants, loans, and earnings, and employer support. This financing profile is consistent with the funding strategies of older, first-generation, and lower-income students who cannot take advantage of parental contributions or loans 2Includes life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, computer and information sciences, and engineering and engineering technologies.
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From page 124... ...
. The available evidence suggests that affordability is a concern for potential STEM transfers, that working off campus may detract from a focus on coursework (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine, 2011)
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From page 125... ...
Without introducing an expectation of adopting reduced academic standards, the Keystone Recommendations of the Next Generation report emphasize that the standards of instruction, assessment, and selection into STEM have become too narrow. "Grading on the curve" and the use of "weed out" and "gatekeeper" courses have failed to ensure "opportu nities for excellence" or high-quality learning environments for all students across the educational spectrum.
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From page 126... ...
Third, students of color are found in community colleges in numbers disproportionately larger than their enrollment in postsecondary educa tion as a whole, which means that efforts to broaden transfer pathways in STEM will have positive equity implications. The status differences between the two-year and four-year sectors introduce distrust of the quality of the community college curriculum among faculty and administrators who serve on the admissions and curriculum committees of four-year institutions.
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From page 127... ...
, adapted from Dowd and Tong (2007) , with a focus on creating effective STEM transfer pathways through the use of inquiry, professional development, and networks.
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From page 128... ...
and privately funded STEM transfer scholarships and allocate these to STEM transfer stu dents enrolled in learning communities at the community col lege and the four-year institution.
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From page 129... ...
Paper presented at the Community Colleges in the Evolving STEM Education Landscape, Washington, DC. Brown, R.S., and Niemi, D.N.
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From page 130... ...
. Improving transfer access for low-income community college students.
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From page 131... ...
. Practices supporting transfer of low-income community college transfer students to selective institutions: Case study findings.
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From page 132... ...
. The road ahead: A look at trends in the educational attainment of community college students.
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From page 133... ...
Paper presented at the Community Colleges in the Evolving STEM Education Landscape, Washington, DC. Packard, B.W.-L., Gagnon, J.L., LaBelle, O., Jeffers, K., and Lynn, E
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From page 134... ...
. "A hand hold for a little bit": Factors facilitating the success of community college transfer students to a large research university.
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