03/24/2014 latino outcomes at california's community colleges

MARCH 24, 2014 www.HispanicOu tlook.com VOLUME 24 • NUMBER 12

CCSSE Report Entrepreneurship Education

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Thelate politicalscientist, Dr.Samuel P. Hun-

tington in his last book in2004, “Who Are We: TheChallenges to American’sNational Identity,” positedthat the huge and growingHispanic population, pre-dominately Mexicans, waspoised to become the domi-nant ethnic group andchange the country’s originalcharacter.

It created some controver-sy among social scientistsand trepidation among manyothers, since then dispelled,that the Latinos were takingover and in due time woulddominate the socioeconomiclandscape once the domainof white Americans and anadvancing black America.

In Huntington’s words:“The persistent inflow of

Hispanic immigrants threat-ens to divide the UnitedStates into two peoples.Unlike past immigrantgroups, Mexicans and otherLatinos have not assimilatedinto mainstream U.S. cul-ture, forming instead theirown political and linguisticenclaves – from Los Angelesto Miami – and rejecting the

Anglo-Protestant values thatbuilt the American dream.The United States ignoresthis challenge at its peril.”

Certainly, Latinos are agrowing population in the U.Swith now 50 million, or 16percent of the U.S popula-tion, but it will be a whilebefore they overtake thewhites although they havealready surpassed blacks, thesecond largest minoritywhom they trail in racialacculturation and in thesocioeconomic advantages itprovides.

That Latinos are a pres-ence is nondebatable andthat they have a social identityall their own is also true butwhere this will take them isthe interesting conversationbecause Latinos from wherev-er have always behaved morepluralistic than homogenous.

Cubans and Mexicans, forexample, are linked by eth-nicity but otherwise don’thave that much in commonother than the same language.Cubans created the mamboand Mexicans claim mariachimusic. Peruvians live forceviche and Venezuelans pre-fer arepas.

In the end, however, weare all Latinos.

Meanwhile, I am interest-ed in another aspect of theLatino persona which ispurely subjective and drivenmore by observation thanhard facts because theredoesn’t seem to be much dataon the matter except forempirical evidence

It’s a topic long festeringin me and maybe other

Latinos which goes beyondconclusions reached byHuntington. It alludes toanother societal situation thathardly ever comes up formuch discussion among pro-fessional groups or is treatedin dissertations.

Image-wise and perhapseven professionally, theLatino constituency has beenovertaken by the black com-munity in many aspects ofAmerican life and none ismore evident than in imageryand the opportunities itbrings.

Think national politics.Perhaps it’s because many

Latinos by choice or by cir-cumstances prefer to live in abifurcated society, asHuntington suggested, whichhas its appeal but comes withsome drawbacks.

We love our language, ourtraditions and our sense ofpersonal history that many ofus, particularly the geriatrics,still cling to but which makesus clannish and is complicat-ed by the fact that we love tostay within our own groupsand traditions.

On the public affairs side,particularly in the nationalmedia, we don’t have person-alities in the major networkslike the black communitydoes. They don’t just have afew; they have dozens inevery category from prime-time network news to sportsbroadcasting to talk showsand special events.

It’s part of being politicallyor socially correct but it’s alsopocketbook advantageous forthe dominant society.

I can’t think of any promi-nent Latino or Latina journal-ist on the national networkbeat except for Jorge Ramosbut he’s an ethnic star onSpanish language Univisionthat caters exclusively to aSpanish-language audience.

The black community isnow ubiquitous in mediaaffairs. A recent issue ofVanity Fair magazine fea-tured an A list of media per-sonalities, all blacks andwhites but no Latinos.

The networks have sepa-rate news outlets for theLatino audience like NBCLatino, Fox News Latino, CNNEn Español and ESPNDeportes.

The projected growth ofthe U.S. Latino market is gar-gantuan, going from $212 bil-lion in 1990 and expected toreach $1.5 trillion in 2015.

We indeed are a presencein the U.S. and the expectationsare onward and upward but asfar as imagery is concerned,“El Chapo’s” capture aside,we’re still second bananas tothe black community.

Who Are We? Who Cares?

PoliticalBeat

Carlos D. Conde, award-winning journalist and com-mentator, former Washingtonand foreign news correspon-dent, was an aide in theNixon White House andworked on the political cam-paigns of George Bush Sr. Toreply to this column, [email protected].

by Carlos D. Conde


Page 8

Page 10

Page 19

MAGAZINE®

CONTENTS

MARCH 24, 2014

Report Examines Inequities in CaliforniaLatinos’ Choice of College by Michelle Adam

8

Business and Community CollegePartnerships Help Grow Skilled Workforce by Mary Ann Cooper

CCSSE Report Shares High-Impact Practicesfor Student Success by Angela Provitera McGlynn

Creating a “Single Stop” to Fast-TrackAssistance by Jeff Simmons

Entrepreneurship Education HelpsCommunity College Students Create TheirOwn Jobs by Frank DiMaria

You can download the HO app

10

16

19

22

DEPARTMENTSPolitical Beat by Carlos D. Conde

Who Are We? Who Cares?3

Book Review by Mary Ann Cooper

Chicano Manifesto

7

Targeting Higher EducationCommunity Colleges: A Stepchild – Forever? by Gustavo A. Mellander

Interesting Reads 7

Priming the Pump... by Miquela Rivera

How Humor Helps

Back Cover

Executive Editor – Marilyn GilroyManaging Editor – Suzanne López-IsaNews & Special Project Editor –Mary Ann CooperAdministrative Assistant & SubscriptionCoordinator – Barbara Churchill

Washington DC Bureau Chief –Peggy Sands Orchowski

Contributing Editors –Carlos D. Conde, Michelle Adam

Contributing Writers –Gustavo A. Mellander

Art & Production Director –Avedis Derbalian

Graphic Designer –Joanne Aluotto

Sr. Advertising Sales Associate –Angel M. Rodríguez

Article ContributorsFrank DiMaria,

Angela Provitera McGlynn, Miquela Rivera, Jeff Simmons

Editorial Office220 Kinderkamack Rd, Ste E, Westwood, N.J. 07675TEL (201) 587-8800 or (800) 549-8280

FAX (201) 587-9105

Letters to the EditorThe Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine ®

email: [email protected]

Published by “The Hispanic Outlook inHigher Education Publishing Company, Inc.”

Editorial PolicyThe Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is a national

magazine. Dedicated to exploring issues related to Hispanics in highereducation, The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is

published for the members of the higher education community. Editorialdecisions are based on the editors’ judgment of the quality of the

writing, the timeliness of the article, and the potential interest to thereaders of The Hispanic Outlook Magazine®. From time to time, TheHispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® will publish articlesdealing with controversial issues. The views expressed herein are thoseof the authors and/or those interviewed and might not reflect the offi-cial policy of the magazine. The Hispanic Outlook in Higher EducationMagazine® neither agrees nor disagrees with those ideas expressed, andno endorsement of those views should be inferred unless specificallyidentified as officially endorsed by The Hispanic Outlook in Higher

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24


hen politicians talk about the need to fund infrastructure, they’re not just talking about roads andbridges. Just as important to the well-being of American society is the investment we make in education infrastructure – andnot just brick and mortar infrastructure. The real infrastructure that’s needed is a program-rich environment where degreeand certificate earners are fast-tracked into the workforce. Community colleges provide a ready-made breeding ground forskilled labor because they can tailor their offerings and instruction to the needs of the 21st century. In this issue we celebratethe community college, the backbone of job growth in tough economic times. Community colleges not only train studentsfor existing jobs, but also have promoted entrepreneurship – especially among Hispanics and other minority students. Aswe report in this issue, entrepreneurship education is front and center at many community colleges across the nation, withhundreds of schools providing visionary leadership in this increasingly popular educational field. With the extra burdenplaced on community colleges, there has been an explosion of programs to assist students as they navigate the communitycollege experience. Initiatives such as Single Stop USA, which we spotlight in this issue, is one of many programs croppingup on community college campuses across the country, establishing a hub of resources to help students. If communitycolleges continue to be the strong foundation of our education infrastructure, they will need more innovative programs andmethods to attract students and keep them on track.

Esquina Editorial

¡Adelante!Suzanne López-IsaManaging Editor

W

you can follow us onwww.HispanicOutlook.com

Visit us online or download our free app for youriPad, iPhone or Android devices.

The Hispanic Outlook, with an elite targeted audience of academics on college campuses across America,has been serving the higher education community for 24 years. Focusing like a laser beam on Hispanics inhigher ed online and digitally, our exposure is now global.

FIND THEIR NEXT JOB AD-HALF PAGE



C hicano Manifesto was first pub-lished in 1971, and was a ground-breaking book for that era. It was the

first time a Chicano had put into wordshow the Chicano culture was taking holdin the United States. It sought to giveexpression to the spirit of a cultural revo-lution. The author makes it clear that thebook was intentional in its timing. Hepoints to violence that erupted in East LosAngeles in 1970 as something that cata-pulted Chicanos into the national limelight. He said this inci-dent demonstrated “in no uncertain terms that the Chicanowas neither docile nor subservient.” And more importantly,this was a growing demographic that would not be ignored.Chicano Manifesto is composed of several snapshots in timeof the turbulent era of the 70s through the eyes of the author,who was a personal observer of history. Many persons andevents depicted in this book were captured only because theauthor was there as the movement evolved.

The question is why Chicano Manifesto has now beenreintroduced as a digital publication. A clue to the answer tothis question is contained in the book’s subtitle. The originaltitle of the book is Cuban Manifesto: The History andAspirations of the Second Largest Minority in America. Ifthe size of the Cuban and Hispanic population was relevant tosocial dialogue then, imagine how relevant it is now in an agewhen there is a burgeoning Hispanic population. Indeed, thisyear there will be more Hispanics living in California thannon-Hispanics. And in many colleges and universitiesHispanics are the majority-minority of the student population.

The first thing that strikes the reader is the glaring observa-tion that so little has changed since the early urban marches,farmworker assemblies, as well as student confrontations withpolice and bureaucrats. In fact, Manifesto is getting a secondlook at a time when immigration is a highly polarizing issuefor America. In the heat of passionate rhetoric, hate speechdistorts legitimate debate on this issue. At the end of the day,racism, poverty, school dropout rates, and joblessness, are allstill part of the Chicano reality. The rationale behind reintro-ducing this book now is that if we understand what has hap-pened in the past – specifically the late 60s and early 70s –the more we can understand why we are where we are nowand how to improve our realities.

As the information on the book’s digital launch explains,“Manifesto still serves as a rallying cry for action, perhaps theonly true clarion call from that era, because it is still unre-lenting in its quest for the true Chicano and for therealization of the Chicano as clearly the mostimportant person to the evolution of thepeoples on the American continents.”

Reviewed by Mary Ann Cooper

Chicano Manifestoby Armando B. Rendónreprint 2014, 329 pp. ASIN: B00D04V5B6 $5.95 Kindle. AmazonDigital Services, Inc., www.amazon.com

Interesting Reads

Cuban Revelationsby Marc Frank

Examining the effects of U.S. policy towardCuba, Frank analyzes why Cuba has entered aperiod of change and considers what the island'sfuture holds. In addition, Frank offers a chronicleof his travels across the island's many and variedprovinces, sharing candid interviews with people

from all walks of life. The book reveals how ordinary Cubanslive and what they are thinking and feeling as 50-year-oldsocial and economic taboos are broken.

2013. 336 pp. ISBN: 978-0813044651 $29.95 cloth.University Press of Florida. (800) 226-3822. www.upf.com.

Immigration and the Next America: Renewing theSoul of Our Nation

by Archbishop José H. Gómez

Archbishop José Gómez adds to the nationaldebate about immigration pointing the waytoward a recovery of America's highest ideals withthis book. He calls immigration a human rightstest for this generation and a defining historicalmoment for America. The premise of his argu-

ment is that immigration is about more than immigration.It's about renewing the soul of America. Archbishop José H.Gómez is the chairman of the United States Catholic BishopsCommittee on Migration.

2013.128 pp. ISBN: 978-1612787183 $11.95 paper. OurSunday Visitor, (800) 348-2440 www.osv.com.

FirstSchoolby Sharon Ritchie and Laura Gutmann

FirstSchool is a framework for teaching minor-ity and low-income children. This work discussesthe research and practice to date that definesFirstSchool as a critical approach to closing theachievement and opportunity gaps. Changing theconversation from improving test scores to

improving school experiences, it features lessons learnedfrom eight elementary schools whose leadership and staffimplemented changes in their classrooms and schools.

2013. 240 pp. ISBN: 978-0807754818. $39.95 paper.Teachers College Press, (212) 678-3929, www.tcpress.org.

http://www.upf.com

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.osv.com

http://www.tcpress.org

Report

Examines

Inequities

in

California Latinos’ Choice of Collegeby Michelle Adam

Late last year, the Tomás Rivera PolicyInstitute published a report thatrevealed what many have known to

be true for some time – that large num-bers of Latinos in California choosecommunity colleges. Yet surprisingly,this news also holds true for thoseLatinos graduating from top performinghigh schools. In addition, Latinos whoattend Hispanic-serving community col-leges are more likely to experienceinequities when transferring toCalifornia state universities, and are lesslikely to enroll in STEM (science, tech-nology, engineering and math) bache-lor’s degrees than other groups.

According to the report, “AddressingLatino Outcomes at California’sHispanic-Serving Institutions,” 33.7 per-cent of Latinos attend community col-leges in California, compared to 25.9percent of Asian-Americans, 23.1 per-cent of whites, and 24.5 percent ofAfrican-Americans, who represent 43percent of the full-time enrollment atHispanic-serving community colleges inCalifornia. Also, Hispanics who graduatefrom the state’s high performing highschools are significantly more likely toattend community colleges than other

groups. Other news revealed in this report

states that almost 10 percent of Latinohigh school graduates enroll in one ofthe California State Universities (CSU),which is a higher number than whiteand African-Americans. More signifi-cantly, less than 4 percent of Hispanicsattend a University of California (UC)campus after high school, compared to25 percent of Asian-Americans and 5.2percent of whites (African-Americansattend in lower numbers than Latinos).

In an effort to understand the realityfor Latinos behind the numbers andmore fully see what’s happening for themajority of Latinos attending college inCalifornia, the Hispanic Outlook inter-viewed Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux, theauthor of this report.

HO: Based on “Addressing LatinoOutcomes at California’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions,” Latinos attendcommunity colleges more than othergroups, and this holds true for thoseLatinos who graduate from top highschools in California. What are the rea-sons behind this?

Malcom-Piquex: For quite sometime, we’ve known that Latinos attend

community colleges more commonlythan other groups. The surprising find-ing from our report was that evenLatinos who graduate from California’stop high schools attend community col-lege at much higher rates than white andAsian-Americans graduates from thosesame schools. As for the reasons this ishappening, there are likely many factorsat play, and these factors might be differ-ent for different students.

A primary reason is related to thelarge differences in cost betweenCalifornia’s community colleges andfour-year institutions. Community col-leges offer a more affordable route to apostsecondary degree, if a student isable to successfully complete transfer-level coursework in a timely fashion.This, however, is not always guaranteed.Another reason might be the relativeaccessibility and convenience ofCalifornia’s community colleges.Community colleges are more accom-modating to students who work full timeor part time, who are caregivers, andwho commute. The schedules are moreflexible, more classes are offered in theevenings and on weekends. Communitycolleges might be attractive to students

COMMUNITY COLLEGES/REPORTS


for those reasons.There are also larger, systemic rea-

sons that might be contributing as well.For our analysis we did not have accessto information about the individual stu-dents in California’s high performinghigh schools. So while the studentsattended high schools that scored highon the Academic Performance Index(API), we do not know about theirindividual level of achievement(test scores, course taking, GPA).So, it is possible that there wereinequities in these measures thatcould explain the differences inthe attendance rates at the UC,CSU, and community colleges. Wealso know that even in the sameschool there can be differences intypes of opportunities studentshave access to. These mightinclude things like taking collegepreparatory and AP classes, orbeing encouraged by teachers andguidance counselors to apply tomore selective colleges, etc.

HO: Fewer Latinos go to UCschools versus CSU schools thanother groups. Why do you thinkthis is the case? Malcom-Piquex: For the most

part, these differences are likelydue to differences in collegepreparation. But, there are anumber of factors that affect thelikelihood that a student will grad-uate from high school “UC-eligi-ble,” many of which play out longbefore students enter high school andmany of which are beyond the immedi-ate control of these students and theirfamilies.

HO: Latinos earned only 31 per-cent of all STEM bachelor degrees. Howdoes this compare to other groups?

Malcom-Piquex: For our report, weonly calculated this for Latinos todemonstrate the severity of their under-representation among STEM bachelor’sdegree holders. The fact that 45 percentof California’s college-aged population isLatino, but just 31 percent of STEMbachelor’s degrees awarded by thestate’s postsecondary institutions areearned by Latinos really shows large dis-

parity. Though I don’t have the exact fig-ures, whites and Asian-Americans areoverrepresented among STEM bache-lor’s degree holders if we look national-ly, or just at California postsecondaryinstitutions.

HO: Latinos represented a lowershare of transfers from CaliforniaHispanic-serving community colleges

to UCs and CSUs than that of othergroups. How did their share of trans-fers compare to other groups, and whydo you think this difference exists?

Malcom-Piquex: We found thatLatinos are underrepresented amongstudents who transferred to UC and CSUrelative to their share of enrollment atthe HSI community colleges. However,the degree of the underrepresentationwas even more pronounced in the STEMfields. These inequities are likely attrib-utable to a number of factors includingdifferences in preparation, and the high-er rates at which Latino community col-lege students are placed into develop-mental education or basic skills courses

– which often limits their ability to begintaking college-level and transfer-levelwork. This is especially critical for STEMfields because of the importance ofmathematics to succeeding in thesefields. HO: What do you believe should be

done to change the pattern of moreLatinos than other groups going to

community colleges but havinglower transfer rates than othergroups? What has already beendone?Malcom-Piquex : This is

really a complex problem thatrequires a comprehensive solu-tion. Many of these inequitiesstem from unequal educational,social and economic opportuni-ties that individuals experiencelong before entering high schooland college. Until those areaddressed with large-scale policysolutions, the problems will like-ly continue.

However, in the meantime,careful investigations of the prac-tices of those high schools thatare able to successfully enrolllarge numbers of Latinos into UCand CSU, and of those communi-ty colleges that are able to trans-fer larger proportions ofHispanics to four-year institu-tions should be done. Some ofthis work is currently ongoing inresearch centers like USC’sCenter for Urban Education, at

the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, and oth-ers. Structural barriers, like policiesrelated to developmental education andtransfer, budget cuts, and limitedresources at community colleges needto be addressed.

Research has also highlighted the dif-ferences that individual practitionerscan make by acting as institutionalagents for these students. However, inorder for practitioners to be compelledto do so, there needs to be a greaterawareness of the inequities experiencedby Hispanic students and a shift awayfrom deficit-thinking –blaming the stu-dent – toward equity-mindedness.


Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux

Business and CommunityCollege Partnerships HelpGrow Skilled Workforce

Each year, over 1,100 community colleges provide studentsand workers with critical skills to succeed in a 21st centu-ry economy, but they are simply not churning out enough

graduates to meet the needs of America’s workforce for thenext decade. There are many reasons for this deficit. Tuitionand fees continue to soar, while two-thirds of courses arebeing taught by part-time faculty limiting the choices andnumbers of courses offered.

The Obama administration has recognized the growingneed for educated workers and is working in partnership withstates and communities in promoting community colleges asthe place to help achieve the administration’s stated goals ofadding 5 million graduates from community colleges by 2020.They maintain that community colleges are well suited to pro-mote the dual goal of academic and on-the-job preparednessfor the next generation of American workers.

However, driving up enrollment is no guarantee that com-munity colleges will produce those 5 million more graduates.

Budget cutbacks have had an adverse effect on the hiringpractices at community colleges all across the country. Shortstaffing often means that students are left without access tofaculty advisors and have to plan their course schedules andacademic goals on their own. Is it any wonder that accordingto the Massachusetts Teachers Association just 17 percent ofthe full-time students who enrolled in one of the 15 communi-ty colleges in Massachusetts in 2003 were able to completethe requirement for a degree or certificate by 2010?

One of the ways community colleges are trying to play“catch-up” is to reach out to the community and make a con-nection demonstrating to prospective students that there is atangible and practical reality to the pursuit of higher educa-tion. These schools are partnering with businesses to developprograms and classes, ranging from degree-granting curriculato certified courses for retraining, which will inspire andmotivate students who might otherwise fall through thecracks.

Still, motivation can only take these students so far. Unlessstudents have the skill sets to acquire the training necessaryfor the new jobs of the 21st century, the skilled workforcepopulation will never increase in sufficient numbers to meetdemand or the president’s goal of 5 million community col-lege graduates by the year 2020. In that regard, Washington isdoing its part to fund training programs.

The Obama administration first launched the AmericanGraduation Initiative as a program to support a new researchcenter with a mission to develop and implement new mea-sures of community colleges’ success so prospective studentsand businesses could get a clear sense of how effectiveschools are in helping students – including the most disadvan-taged – learn, graduate, and secure good jobs. The TradeAdjustment Assistance Community College and Career Trainingprogram takes the American Graduation Initiative a step fur-ther by providing investment in community college and indus-try partnerships to make sure more Americans can acquirethe skills they need to enter and succeed in the workforce.The Obama administration committed $500 million to developprograms that provide pathways for individuals to securequality jobs in high-wage, high-skilled fields including

COMMUNITY COLLEGES


by Mary Ann Cooper

advanced manufacturing, transportation, health care, and sci-ence, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) – andanother $500 million in grant awards. The administration willinvest an additional $1 billion in this initiative over the nexttwo years.

Another White House initiative for community colleges isSkills for America’s Future which brings together companiesand community colleges to help workers gain new skills tocompete in the global economy. Born out of the first-everWhite House Summit on Community Colleges hosted byPresident Obama in October 2010, and in collaboration withbusinesses and other partners nationwide, Skills for America’sFuture has provided 500,000 Americans with the training tosucceed while equipping businesses with talented and skilledemployees to help them thrive.

But White House initiatives are not enough to guaranteestudent success. Many students enroll in community college inneed of remedial support services. As reported in NationalEducation Association’s (NEA) magazine, “more than two-thirds of students in Massachusetts’ community colleges enrollin at least one remedial class in their first year. These areclasses for students who can’t do the basic math or readingrequired of college courses. Worse, only 53 percent completethe course; only 30 percent go onto to enroll in credit-bearingcourses; and only 10 percent graduate within three years ofenrolling.” More effort is being made at the community col-lege level to introduce compact and fast-track remedial cours-es to mainstream students as quickly and efficiently as possi-ble as degree or certificate earners.

The Community College to Career Fund

Last July a bill was introduced in Congress to supportPresident Obama’s proposed Community College to CareerFund, an $8 billion investment in community colleges andstates over three years to partner with businesses to trainworkers in a range of high-growth and in-demand areas, suchas health care, logistics, transportation, and advanced manu-facturing. If approved, this fund will:

• Develop community college partnerships to train skilledworkers for unfilled jobs: To support paid internships for low-income community college students that will allow them tosimultaneously earn credit for work-based learning and gainrelevant employment experience in a high-wage, high-skillfield. • Institute “Pay for Performance” in job training: To supportpay-for-performance strategies to provide incentives for train-ing providers, community colleges, and local workforce orga-nizations to ensure trainees find permanent jobs. • Bring jobs back to America: To allow federal agencies topartner with state and local governments to encourage busi-nesses to invest in America. • Train the next generation of entrepreneurs: To supportpathways to entrepreneurship for 5 million small businessowners over three years through the nation’s workforce sys-tem and its partners, including: a six-week online trainingcourse on entrepreneurship that could reach up to 500,000new entrepreneurs and an intensive six-month entrepreneur-ship training program resulting in entrepreneurship certifica-tion for 100,000 small business owners.


El Paso Community College ranks #1 in:

• Community Colleges Hispanic Full-Time Enrollment

• Community Colleges for Hispanics Awarding Associate Degrees

• Community Colleges by Hispanic FacultyFull-Time and Part-Time

Congratulations!

El Paso Community College ranks #1 in:

• Community Colleges Hispanic Full-Time Enrollment

• Community Colleges for Hispanics Awarding Associate Degrees

• Community Colleges by Hispanic FacultyFull-Time and Part-Time

Congratulations!


TOTALRANK INSTITUTION STATE ENROLLMENT TOTAL MEN WOMEN %

1. El Paso Community College TX 32,127 27,434 11,584 15,850 85%2. East Los Angeles College CA 37,055 23,236 10,341 12,895 63%3. Lone Star College System TX 60,428 19,366 7,831 11,535 32%4. Houston Community College TX 58,476 17,901 7,388 10,513 31%5. Mt. San Antonio College CA 28,036 15,729 7,214 8,515 56%6. Santa Ana College CA 32,354 15,189 7,952 7,237 47%7. Rio Hondo College CA 17,643 13,176 6,489 6,687 75%8. San Antonio College TX 23,134 12,988 5,236 7,752 56%9. Tarrant County College District TX 50,439 12,930 5,173 7,757 26%10. Cerritos College CA 20,719 12,765 5,605 7,160 62%11. San Jacinto Community College TX 28,721 12,711 5,380 7,331 44%12. Central New Mexico Community College NM 28,323 12,685 5,311 7,374 45%13. Pima Community College AZ 32,988 12,510 5,533 6,977 38%14. Austin Community College District TX 43,315 12,276 5,216 7,060 28%15. Long Beach City College CA 24,839 11,977 5,349 6,628 48%16. Santa Monica College CA 30,254 10,795 4,931 5,864 36%17. El Camino Community College District CA 23,405 10,450 4,891 5,559 45%18. Fresno City College CA 21,630 10,340 4,730 5,610 48%19. CUNY Borough of Manhattan Comm. Coll. NY 24,537 10,312 4,485 5,827 42%20. Southwestern College CA 18,362 9,967 4,552 5,415 54%21. Chaffey College CA 17,804 9,913 4,020 5,893 56%22. Bakersfield College CA 17,344 9,758 4,088 5,670 56%23. Pasadena City College CA 22,859 9,748 4,408 5,340 43%24. Fullerton College CA 19,624 9,511 4,424 5,087 48%25. Los Angeles City College CA 20,385 9,492 4,191 5,301 47%26. Northwest Vista College TX 15,992 9,317 4,086 5,231 58%27. Northern Virginia Community College VA 51,864 9,198 4,140 5,058 18%28. Laredo Community College TX 9,356 8,996 3,952 5,044 96%29. Riverside City College CA 17,218 8,845 3,869 4,976 51%30. Los Angeles Valley College CA 18,640 8,701 3,736 4,965 47%31. Los Angeles Pierce College CA 19,938 8,682 3,897 4,785 44%32. Palomar College CA 24,626 8,602 4,446 4,156 35%33. CUNY LaGuardia Community College NY 19,287 7,902 3,249 4,653 41%34. Los Angeles Trade Technical College CA 13,749 7,541 4,001 3,540 55%35. San Diego City College CA 16,797 7,532 3,366 4,166 45%36. Reedley College CA 13,737 7,382 3,070 4,312 54%37. San Diego Mesa College CA 24,943 7,345 3,352 3,993 29%38. San Bernardino Valley College CA 12,031 7,265 3,143 4,122 60%39. Los Angeles Mission College CA 9,674 7,064 2,749 4,315 73%40. CUNY Bronx Community College NY 11,287 7,030 2,889 4,141 62%41. Ventura College CA 13,030 6,958 3,020 3,938 53%42. Imperial Valley College CA 7,699 6,918 2,939 3,979 90%43. Hillsborough Community College FL 27,754 6,830 2,799 4,031 25%44. Modesto Junior College CA 16,985 6,723 2,930 3,793 40%45. City College of San Francisco CA 30,106 6,709 3,122 3,587 22%46. Citrus College CA 11,750 6,672 3,014 3,658 57%47. City Coll. of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College IL 12,468 6,649 2,666 3,983 53%48. Santa Barbara City College CA 19,265 6,554 2,915 3,639 34%49. San Joaquin Delta College CA 17,002 6,515 2,692 3,823 38%50. City Coll. of Chicago-Richard J Daley College IL 9,410 6,506 2,590 3,916 69%

Community Colleges by Hispanic Full-Time Enrollment(2-Year Schools)

Community Colleges by Hispanic Full-Time Enrollment(2-Year Schools)

Source: NCES IPEDS data list of 2YR 2012 enrollees

HISPANIC ENROLLMENT

HISPANIC ENROLLMENT

RANK INSTITUTION STATE TOTAL TOTAL MEN WOMEN %

1. El Paso Community College TX 3,790 3,244 1,167 2,077 86%2. Central New Mexico Community College NM 2,750 1,199 419 780 44%3. Lone Star College System TX 4,208 1,135 370 765 27%4. East Los Angeles College CA 1,569 1,090 344 746 69%5. CUNY LaGuardia Community College NY 2,982 1,023 379 644 34%6. San Jacinto Community College TX 2,840 1,014 374 640 36%7. Houston Community College TX 3,860 975 311 664 25%8. CUNY Borough Manhattan CommCollege NY 3,017 955 342 613 32%9. San Antonio College TX 1,879 916 286 630 49%10. San Joaquin Delta College CA 2,882 903 283 620 31%11. Pima Community College AZ 2,775 875 349 526 32%12. Santa Ana College CA 1,526 852 327 525 56%13. Hillsborough Community College FL 3,843 833 328 505 22%14. Mt. San Antonio College CA 1,769 829 333 496 47%15. Northern Virginia Community College VA 5,452 749 288 461 14%16. CUNY Bronx Community College NY 1,256 729 246 483 58%17. Laredo Community College TX 749 729 266 463 97%18. Tarrant County College District TX 3,365 704 237 467 21%19. Chaffey College CA 1,498 688 274 414 46%20. Rio Hondo College CA 960 688 264 424 72%21. ASA College NY 1,761 676 161 515 38%22. Riverside City College CA 1,675 662 229 433 40%23. New Mexico State University-Dona Ana NM 973 646 230 416 66%24. Del Mar College TX 1,066 616 215 401 58%25. El Camino Community College District CA 1,656 608 249 359 37%26. Fullerton College CA 1,320 600 236 364 45%27. Citrus College CA 1,210 583 232 351 48%28. Cerritos College CA 1,119 557 201 356 50%29. Southwestern College CA 988 555 214 341 56%30. Palomar College CA 1,854 546 214 332 29%31. Imperial Valley College CA 626 541 202 339 86%32. Palo Alto College TX 768 533 158 375 69%33. Northwest Vista College TX 1,126 529 193 336 47%34. Ventura College CA 1,085 506 181 325 47%35. Central Texas College TX 2,929 495 299 196 17%36. Hudson County Community College NJ 852 480 159 321 56%37. Pasadena City College CA 1,603 477 182 295 30%38. Nassau Community College NY 3,013 473 198 275 16%39. Southwest Texas Junior College TX 527 462 137 325 88%40. Bergen Community College NJ 1,972 461 199 262 23%41. Santa Barbara City College CA 1,738 457 165 292 26%42. Suffolk County Community College NY 3,438 452 177 275 13%43. Austin Community College District TX 1,789 451 204 247 25%44. San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia CA 870 426 96 330 49%45. Bakersfield College CA 843 420 141 279 50%46. Mt. San Jacinto Community College District CA 1,574 419 156 263 27%47. St Philip's College TX 912 411 197 214 45%48. San Joaquin Valley Coll.-Rancho Cucamonga CA 625 408 138 270 65%49. Allan Hancock College CA 908 407 150 257 45%50. CUNY Hostos Community College NY 710 403 98 305 57%


Source: NCES IPEDS Database 2012 2YR Colleges – Associate's degrees

Community Colleges for Hispanics Awarding Associate Degrees (2-Year Schools)

Community Colleges for Hispanics Awarding Associate Degrees (2-Year Schools)

RANK INSTITUTION STATE TOTAL TOTAL MEN WOMEN %

1. El Paso Community College TX 3,790 3,244 1,167 2,077 86%2. Central New Mexico Community College NM 2,750 1,199 419 780 44%3. Lone Star College System TX 4,208 1,135 370 765 27%4. East Los Angeles College CA 1,569 1,090 344 746 69%5. CUNY LaGuardia Community College NY 2,982 1,023 379 644 34%6. San Jacinto Community College TX 2,840 1,014 374 640 36%7. Houston Community College TX 3,860 975 311 664 25%8. CUNY Borough Manhattan CommCollege NY 3,017 955 342 613 32%9. San Antonio College TX 1,879 916 286 630 49%10. San Joaquin Delta College CA 2,882 903 283 620 31%11. Pima Community College AZ 2,775 875 349 526 32%12. Santa Ana College CA 1,526 852 327 525 56%13. Hillsborough Community College FL 3,843 833 328 505 22%14. Mt. San Antonio College CA 1,769 829 333 496 47%15. Northern Virginia Community College VA 5,452 749 288 461 14%16. CUNY Bronx Community College NY 1,256 729 246 483 58%17. Laredo Community College TX 749 729 266 463 97%18. Tarrant County College District TX 3,365 704 237 467 21%19. Chaffey College CA 1,498 688 274 414 46%20. Rio Hondo College CA 960 688 264 424 72%21. ASA College NY 1,761 676 161 515 38%22. Riverside City College CA 1,675 662 229 433 40%23. New Mexico State University-Dona Ana NM 973 646 230 416 66%24. Del Mar College TX 1,066 616 215 401 58%25. El Camino Community College District CA 1,656 608 249 359 37%26. Fullerton College CA 1,320 600 236 364 45%27. Citrus College CA 1,210 583 232 351 48%28. Cerritos College CA 1,119 557 201 356 50%29. Southwestern College CA 988 555 214 341 56%30. Palomar College CA 1,854 546 214 332 29%31. Imperial Valley College CA 626 541 202 339 86%32. Palo Alto College TX 768 533 158 375 69%33. Northwest Vista College TX 1,126 529 193 336 47%34. Ventura College CA 1,085 506 181 325 47%35. Central Texas College TX 2,929 495 299 196 17%36. Hudson County Community College NJ 852 480 159 321 56%37. Pasadena City College CA 1,603 477 182 295 30%38. Nassau Community College NY 3,013 473 198 275 16%39. Southwest Texas Junior College TX 527 462 137 325 88%40. Bergen Community College NJ 1,972 461 199 262 23%41. Santa Barbara City College CA 1,738 457 165 292 26%42. Suffolk County Community College NY 3,438 452 177 275 13%43. Austin Community College District TX 1,789 451 204 247 25%44. San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia CA 870 426 96 330 49%45. Bakersfield College CA 843 420 141 279 50%46. Mt. San Jacinto Community College District CA 1,574 419 156 263 27%47. St Philip's College TX 912 411 197 214 45%48. San Joaquin Valley Coll.-Rancho Cucamonga CA 625 408 138 270 65%49. Allan Hancock College CA 908 407 150 257 45%50. CUNY Hostos Community College NY 710 403 98 305 57%

HISPANICHISPANIC


RANK INSTITUTION STATE TOTAL TOTAL MEN WOMEN %1. El Paso Community College TX 2,767 1,855 777 1,078 67%2. San Antonio College TX 2,185 888 372 516 41%3. Houston Community College TX 5,297 861 339 522 16%4. Laredo Community College TX 962 853 423 430 89%5. Central New Mexico Community College NM 2,039 621 269 352 30%6. St Philip's College TX 1,533 601 334 267 39%7. Austin Community College District TX 3,416 578 268 310 17%8. Del Mar College TX 1,528 547 232 315 36%9. CUNY LaGuardia Community College NY 2,284 502 202 300 22%10. CUNY Hostos Community College NY 1,098 496 242 254 45%11. Northwest Vista College TX 1,236 477 204 273 39%12. CUNY Bronx Community College NY 1,503 459 232 227 31%13. Southwest Texas Junior College TX 606 450 240 210 74%14. Texas State Technical College Harlingen TX 606 448 204 244 74%15. Palo Alto College TX 836 435 184 251 52%16. Mt. San Antonio College CA 1,783 424 183 241 24%17. CUNY Borough of Manhattan Comm. Coll. NY 2,569 415 191 224 16%18. Tarrant County College District TX 3,336 397 186 211 12%19. Southwestern College CA 1,281 351 144 207 27%20. Santa Ana College CA 1,230 345 153 192 28%21. East Los Angeles College CA 1,131 341 162 179 30%22. New Mexico State University-Dona Ana NM 748 314 132 182 42%23. Hudson County Community College NJ 1,303 309 115 194 24%24. Hillsborough Community College FL 2,368 308 132 176 13%

Rio Hondo College CA 825 308 117 191 37%25. Alamo Comm. Coll./ District Central Office TX 516 306 103 203 59%26. Cerritos College CA 1,070 293 119 174 27%27. Pasadena City College CA 1,373 266 131 135 19%28. Fresno City College CA 1,353 256 112 144 19%29. City College of San Francisco CA 2,454 254 120 134 10%30. Palomar College CA 1,551 246 117 129 16%31. CUNY Kingsborough Community College NY 2,358 236 110 126 10%32. Chaffey College CA 1,116 231 70 161 21%33. Santa Monica College CA 1,860 228 100 128 12%34. Passaic County Community College NJ 1,174 222 94 128 19%35. Long Beach City College CA 1,406 221 92 129 16%36. El Camino Community College District CA 1,281 214 91 123 17%37. Santa Fe Community College NM 657 212 86 126 32%38. CUNY Queensborough Community College NY 2,023 210 99 111 10%39. Salt Lake Community College UT 3,191 208 81 127 7%40. Ivy Tech Community College IN 9,139 201 94 107 2%41. Reedley College CA 814 194 73 121 24%42. Glendale Community College AZ 1,389 186 85 101 13%43. El Centro College TX 1,010 181 57 124 18%44. Riverside City College CA 904 174 88 86 19%45. ASA College NY 944 172 54 118 18%46. Essex County College NJ 1,129 170 51 119 15%47. Phoenix College AZ 992 165 61 104 17%48. MiraCosta College CA 994 164 67 97 16%49. Northern Virginia Community College VA 3,967 162 68 94 4%50. Mesa Community College AZ 1,681 160 64 96 10%Source: 2012 full time/part time faculty IPEDS, NCES

HISPANIC FACULTYHISPANIC FACULTY

Community Colleges by Hispanic FacultyFull-Time and Part-TimeCommunity Colleges by Hispanic FacultyFull-Time and Part-Time

RANK INSTITUTION STATE TOTAL TOTAL MEN WOMEN %1. Miami Dade College FL 11,959 7,958 3,140 4,818 67%2. South Texas College TX 2,292 2,138 779 1,359 93%3. Valencia College FL 7,974 2,129 879 1,250 27%4. Broward College FL 6,218 1,914 771 1,143 31%5. Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale FL 4,021 1,019 309 710 25%6. The University of Texas at Brownsville TX 1,073 966 294 672 90%7. Palm Beach State College FL 4,021 870 307 563 22%8. Monroe College-Main Campus NY 1,334 616 184 432 46%9. Seminole State College of Florida FL 2,811 504 183 321 18%10. Edison State College FL 2,399 484 163 321 20%11. Florida National University-Main Campus FL 526 456 155 301 87%12. College of Southern Nevada NV 2,098 420 150 270 20%13. Indian River State College FL 2,691 360 138 222 13%14. Santa Fe College FL 2,912 332 160 172 11%15. Florida State College at Jacksonville FL 5,744 328 141 187 6%16. Daytona State College FL 2,758 275 91 184 10%17. St Petersburg College FL 4,019 272 96 176 7%18. Robert Morris University Illinois IL 909 237 81 156 26%


Source: NCES IPEDS Database 2012 4YR Colleges – Associate's degrees

RANK INSTITUTION STATE TOTAL TOTAL MEN WOMEN %1. Miami Dade College FL 11,959 7,958 3,140 4,818 67%2. South Texas College TX 2,292 2,138 779 1,359 93%3. Valencia College FL 7,974 2,129 879 1,250 27%4. Broward College FL 6,218 1,914 771 1,143 31%5. Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale FL 4,021 1,019 309 710 25%6. The University of Texas at Brownsville TX 1,073 966 294 672 90%7. Palm Beach State College FL 4,021 870 307 563 22%8. Monroe College-Main Campus NY 1,334 616 184 432 46%9. Seminole State College of Florida FL 2,811 504 183 321 18%10. Edison State College FL 2,399 484 163 321 20%11. Florida National University-Main Campus FL 526 456 155 301 87%12. College of Southern Nevada NV 2,098 420 150 270 20%13. Indian River State College FL 2,691 360 138 222 13%14. Santa Fe College FL 2,912 332 160 172 11%15. Florida State College at Jacksonville FL 5,744 328 141 187 6%16. Daytona State College FL 2,758 275 91 184 10%17. St Petersburg College FL 4,019 272 96 176 7%18. Robert Morris University Illinois IL 909 237 81 156 26%

HISPANICHISPANIC

TOP Associate Degree Producers for Hispanics Also Offering 4-Year DegreesTOP Associate Degree Producers for Hispanics Also Offering 4-Year Degrees

Miami Dade ranks #1 in AssociateDegree Producers for Hispanics Also Offering 4-Year Degrees

Miami Dade ranks #1 in AssociateDegree Producers for Hispanics Also Offering 4-Year Degrees

Community Colleges, despite ongoing financial strain, are inthe forefront of tackling higher education’s greatest chal-lenges. Vastly underfunded, community colleges, more

than any other sector of higher education, are faced withincreased student diversity, roller coaster enrollment volatility,and enhanced demands for accountability.

A new Center for Community College Student Engagement(CCSSE) report titled, A Matter of Degrees: EngagingPractices, Engaging Students, offers evidence based data onbest practices for student engagement that community col-leges can use to guide their decisions about how to use theirlimited resources and maximize student success.

“Now, as colleges increasingly understand the impor-tance of intentionally engaging students [based on 10years of CCSSE data], the field must turn to the game-changing challenge: bringing high-impact practices toscale as part of a concerted effort to increase college com-pletion rates…Colleges must make decisions – about everyhour spent, every dollar allocated, every policy set, andevery practice implemented – based on whether those deci-sions will make engagement inescapable for large numbersof their students.”

This report is the second in a series of three reports and ispart of a multi-year CCSSE Initiative aimed at identifying andpromoting high impact educational practices in higher educa-tion. The initiative is funded by the Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation and the Lumina Foundation. In CCSSE’s DirectorKay McClenney’s own words,

The report provides colleges with a framework forexamining their own practices, and particularly for dis-cerning gaps between what students need and what col-leges provide – and the additional gaps between what col-leges provide and what students actually experience. With

that perspective in mind, and with sharpened focus on evi-dence-based design of students’ educational experience,colleges can make better decisions about what practices todiscontinue, redesign, or bring to scale.

The report has identified a dozen or so key educationalpractices and policies that have a high impact on studentengagement in community colleges. “The field has knownfor more than a decade the importance of student engage-ment. Simply stated, engagement matters – and moreengagement matters more,” said McClenney in a newsrelease about the report.

The data shows that students’ participation in multiplestructured high-impact experiences leads to higher levels ofengagement and ultimately to students’ academic success.The study also shows, however, that although increasing num-bers of community colleges offer such experiences, only smallnumbers of colleges require them, and too few students par-ticipate in them.

Community colleges would be wise to pay attention to theCCSSE report findings because of the reliability of the results.The CCSSE research gathers data from entering students,experienced students, faculty, and institutions.

Four data sources were used: Survey of Entering StudentEngagement (SENSE), the Community College Survey ofStudent Engagement (CCSSE), the Community College FacultySurvey of Student Engagement (CCFSSE), and the CommunityCollege Institutional Survey (CCIS).

About 99,500 entering students and more than 458,000experienced students responded in multi-year cohorts to thestudent surveys. Special promising practices items that wereadministered in 2012 elicited responses from 48,000 enteringstudents and about 95,000 experienced students.

Faculty survey results are based on approximately 36,000

COMMUNITY COLLEGES/REPORTS


Report Shares High-Impact

Practices for Student Success by Angela Provitera McGlynn

respondents, and 441 community colleges participated in theinstitutional survey.

For community colleges, the goal is to increase studentsuccess. Student success can be measured by:

• student learning• course completion and retention rates, and• the rate at which students earn credentials, graduate,

and/or transfer to four-year institutions.

The goal of student success should be firmly rooted incommunity college practices that have been identified as cor-related with success and have been called “benchmarks.”

In a nutshell, the data confirm that student participation inany of a dozen high impact practices is consistently associatedwith higher benchmark scores on SENSE and on CCSSE. Themore there is student engagement, the greater the likelihoodof student success.

Practices and policies found to have a high impact on stu-dent engagement were related to the following areas:

• Academic Goal Setting and Planning• Orientation• Accelerated or Fast-track Developmental Education• First-year Experience• Student Success Course• Learning Community• Experiential Learning Beyond the Classroom• Tutoring• Supplemental Instruction• Assessment and Placement• Registration Before Classes Begin• Class Attendance• Alert and Intervention

Although student engagement is increased by college andstudent participation in any of these areas, what has the mostimpact is participating in multiple high-impact practices, whatthe report refers to as “intensity.” A positive correlation isfound between greater intensity and higher engagement. Datashow that/“engagement levels rise as students participate inmore structured group learning experiences and this relation-ship holds for all CCSSE and SENSE benchmarks.”

The problem is that too few students (37 percent of CCSSErespondents and 41 percent of SENSE respondents) participat-ed in more than one structured group learning experience.The report says not only do we need to increase the numbersof students participating in multiple group learning experi-ences, colleges also need to “…intentionally weave thoseexperiences together in ways that increase educational coher-ence and momentum for success.”

A more comprehensive picture of all the high-impact prac-tices and policies is available online at: www.ccsse.org/docs/Matter_of_Degrees_2_EFAHQR.pdf and see www.ccsse.org/hip2 for additional detail about the consistently positive rela-tionship between intensity and engagement.

This summary of findings will concentrate only on thosehigh impact policies and practices that have positive correla-tions with three or more CCSSE and/or SENSE benchmarks forcommunity college academic success.

Alert and Intervention:

Participating in such a system has a strong positive rela-tionship with all five CCSSE benchmarks. In other words,CCSSE respondents who say that someone from the collegecontacted them if they were struggling with their studies havehigher adjusted benchmark scores, on average, than thosewho say no one contacted them.

Having had contact in an alert and intervention system alsohad a notably positive correlation with four SENSE bench-marks, namely, early connections, clear academic plan andpathway, effective track to college readiness, and academicand social support network.


The CCSSE and SENSEBenchmarks

Benchmarks are groups of conceptually related survey items that address key areas of student engagement. TheCCSSE and SENSE benchmarks measure behaviors that educational research has shown to be powerful contributors to e�ective teaching, learning, and student retention.

The CCSSE Benchmarks of E!ectiveEducational Practice• Active and collaborative learning• Student e�ort• Academic challenge• Student-faculty interaction• Support for learners

The SENSE Benchmarks ofE!ective Educational PracticeWith Entering Students

• Early connections• High expectations and aspirations• Clear academic plan and pathway• E�ective track to college readiness• Engaged learning• Academic and social support network

For more information about benchmarks, visit www.cccse.org

Source: A Matter of Degrees: Engaging Practices, Engaging Students, 10/17/13, p.7.

Supplemental Instruction:

CCSSE respondents who say they participated in supple-mental instruction have higher adjusted benchmark scores,on average, with all five CCSSE benchmarks than those whosay they did not experience supplemental instruction. Andparticipation in such a program has a strong positive connec-tion with the SENSE early connections benchmark.

Class Attendance:

When institutions and faculty have clearly explained atten-dance policies and penalties for missing classes, there is apositive connection with three CCSSE benchmarks: studenteffort, academic challenge, and support for learners. A clearpolicy with consequences for missing classes was also posi-tively correlated with four SENSE benchmarks: early connec-tions, high expectations and aspirations, effective track to col-lege readiness, and academic and social support network.

Tutoring:

Participating in a tutoring program was highly correlatedwith four CCSSE benchmarks: active and collaborative learn-ing, student effort, student-faculty interaction, and support forlearners.

Learning Community:

Being part of a learning community was positively associat-ed with three CCSSE benchmarks: active and collaborativelearning, student-faculty interaction, and support for learners.There was also a strong positive relationship with the SENSEbenchmark of engaged learning.

Experiential Learning Beyond the Classroom:

Students who participated in experiential learning outsidethe classroom have higher adjusted benchmarks, on average,than those who say they did not participate, and there was astrong positive relationship between participation and threeCCSSE benchmarks: active and collaborative learning, acade-mic challenge, and student-faculty interaction.

Academic Goal Setting and Planning:

Participation has a strong connection with four SENSEbenchmarks: early connections, effective track to collegereadiness, engaged learning, and academic and social supportnetwork. Participation in academic goal setting and planningwas also correlated with two CCSSE benchmarks, namely, aca-demic challenge and student-faculty interaction.

The report found that despite the advantages of having asystem in place, just 66 percent of colleges report having asystemic process whereby entering students set academicgoals by the end of their first term.

This report provides community colleges with a greatopportunity to assess whether or not their programs are up toscale and to consider how to increase student participation.

Angela Provitera McGlynn, professor emeritus of psy-chology, is an international consultant/presenter on teach-ing, learning, and diversity issues and the author of severalrelated books.


Creating a “Single Stop” toFast-Track Assistanceby Jeff Simmons

You’re probably familiar with one-stop shopping – venues that easeconsumer angst and provide an

array of items to make the retail experi-ence much more digestible and simple.

In the higher education world, a sim-ilar concept is cropping up on commu-nity college campuses across the coun-try, establishing a hub of resources tohelp students. In this situation, however,students are shopping for precious dol-lars rather than spending them.

The venture is called Single Stop USA,and it endeavors to decrease poverty byconnecting low-income individuals andstudents with existing resources and ser-vices to help them become self-sufficientand attain economic mobility. Sincelaunching in 2009 at KingsboroughCommunity College in Brooklyn, N.Y.,Single Stop’s Community College

Initiative has been expanding, first with-in New York and New Jersey, and theninto California, Florida, New Mexico,Louisiana and Massachusetts.

The initiative received a $1.1 milliongrant from the White House SocialInnovation Fund and by 2012 was intro-duced to 17 colleges in seven states,forming system-wide partnerships withseveral of the nation’s largest communitycollege systems, such as the CityUniversity of New York (CUNY), MiamiDade College, and the City College of SanFrancisco.

As the Community College Initiativeexpansion gathered momentum, SingleStop partnered with the Association ofCommunity College Trustees (ACCT), anonprofit organization of governingboards representing more than 6,500elected and appointed trustees at morethan 1,200 community, technical, andjunior colleges.

“Our organization has been commit-ted to a student success and completionagenda,” said J. Noah Brown, presidentand chief executive officer of ACCT.“When you look at low-income and dis-advantaged or underrepresented popu-lations there are special and uniquechallenges, not only getting them to col-lege but keeping them in college.

“Single Stop USA developed a reallyinnovative strategy to essentially consoli-date and centralize all student supportservices, financial aid, career advising,tax preparation, legal services and thelike, within a college, and then use asoftware program that actually helps stu-dents determine whether they are avail-

able for public assistance benefits,” hesaid.

In 2012, the national nonprofit SingleStop USA served more than 32,000 stu-dents across 17 community college sitesin seven states.

In a recent analysis of the program,Clearing the Path to a Brighter Future,researchers examined Single Stop oper-ations and pointed out that many com-munity college students have financialneeds that are not covered by financialaid packages, such as contributing totheir households.

“Single Stop brings money to the

COMMUNITY COLLEGES/INNOVATIONS/PROGRAMS


J. Noah Brown, president and chief executiveofficer of ACCT

Sara Goldrick-Rab, evaluator of Single Stop USA

table,” said Sara Goldrick-Rab, whoevaluated the program. “Students saythat the Single Stop office is a placewhere they really care about me andthey ‘get it’. What impressed me themost is how much the schools and stu-dents talk about how the approach thatSingle Stop is taking is so different thanthe typical community college studentservices approach.”

At its heart, Single Stop imbues a one-stop shopping system, but with a tender

touch. Single Stop targets a growing seg-ment of the community college commu-nity: most are first-generation students,and 40 percent are parents. Their aver-age income is $7,000 and more than halfof them work while attending school.

While a number face informationalbarriers, language barriers or a lack ofsocial connections pose obstacles forothers. So Single Stop brings studentsinto contact with resources supportedby funding streams that can help thembecome more self-sufficient and achieveeconomic mobility, such as health insur-ance, Supplemental Nutrition AssistanceProgram (SNAP), federal and stateunemployment insurance, child care

assistance, Women, Infants andChildren (WIC), and Social Securityfunds.

In 2012, Single Stop USA screenedmore than 18,000 students for benefitsand was able to confirm that fewer than29 percent of those screened receivedextra support, the authors noted. Onaverage, those students received cashand non-cash benefits averaging $5,400annually to help them complete college.

Overall, 41 percent of Single Stop stu-

dents identify as Hispanic or Latino, and35 percent identify as black.

“We serve a good portion of Hispanicstudents at community colleges,” saidBrown. “Because this is such a compre-hensive and centralized approach tohelping students, it really is a benefit tonot only Hispanic students but otherminorities and other underrepresentedstudents.”

“Hispanic students are often timescoming from a family that believes edu-cation is really important but hasn’tbeen able to make college happen for amillion different reasons,” Goldrick-Rabstated. “These students are ambitiousand excited to be there because they are

the first in their families to go to college.But when they go, they don’t go the waymany people imagine college studentsattend.”

The Hispanic students that Goldrick-Rab met with explained that they madeeducational decisions with their familiesas a unit. Often they are attending col-lege as a way to ultimately help theirfamilies. “It’s a much more collectivedecision about paying it back, and pay-ing it forward,” she said.

As a result, often they are strugglingto juggle family, school and workdemands simultaneously.

The experience at Hostos CommunityCollege in the Bronx, N.Y., illustrates theeffectiveness of the program. (Hostoswas the second college within the CUNYsystem to participate in the program.)

“I remember when Single Stop firstapproached us in 2009. We were highlyskeptical, and thought there has to be acatch because they introduced us to somany wonderful services they could pro-vide to our students,” said HostosStudent Development Assistant DeanJohanna Gómez. “We asked ‘what do wehave to give in return?’ because most ofthe time a college has to provide sometype of financial matching, but thiswasn’t the case.”

A key selling point was that SingleStop would help connect students withtax benefits and would help them pre-pare their taxes for free.

Hostos’ Single Stop and financial aidoffices take an integrated approach toserving students. They coordinate out-reach campaigns and the provision ofservices, permitting each office to devel-op expertise in a portion of the collegefinancing process. Single Stop partnerswith local experts to provide free taxpreparation services to students and so,at Hostos, the tax preparers direct stu-dents to special Free Application forFederal Student Aid (FAFSA) completionsessions coordinated by the FinancialAid Office.

“We know that our students needadditional assistance in order to contin-ue with their courses,” Gómez said.“During this time, we had students com-


11%

35%

41%

7%

4%2%

Asian/Paci c islander

Black

Hispanic or Latino

More than one race

Other

White (non-Hispanic)

Ethnicity

Who Does Single Stop Serve?Demographics Breakdown

Community College Students

Average annual income $7,184

Average age 28

Marital status 85% are single

Gender (female/male) 64%/36%

Households with children 45%

Ave. household size 2.7

Work status 50% work at least part-time

ing to our office asking for financialsupport just to buy books to get trans-portation, or indicating they were hun-gry. Those are impediments to a suc-cessful education.”

Students, she said, often were afraidto reach out to ask people for help.Single Stop allocated $120,000 forHostos to hire service providers, butwith the blessing of the new collegepresident, additional resources weredirected to bring on a third full-timeperson. Recruiting staff that had a per-sonal touch was crucial.

In 2009, Hostos helped 400 students.That grew to 700 in 2010, and by 2013,the program’s reach extended to 1,900students. The majority of the studentsseeking assistance have been Hispanicor African- American, a reflection on theoverall student demographics at Hostos.

In the end, Gómez said, “the studentsbecame Single Stop’s biggest ambas-sadors. They told their friends they gotassistance. It was like a buddy system.We don't only help students; we helptheir families, because some of our stu-dents are dependent on their parents.”

Madeline Cruz, coordinator ofHostos’ Single Stop program since 2010,is on the front lines of the program, dayto day. “We are trying our best to edu-cate the students about credit, budgetingand other financial matters,” she said.

She recalled enlisting student volun-teers to distribute information in class-rooms. The students were dispatchedacross campus, and when they returned,it solidified her instinct that Single Stopwas catching on: volunteers reported

that peers responded, “We went there!That’s a great service!”

One such beneficiary was NancyAcosta, a South Bronx resident who ispursuing a nursing degree at Hostos.She remembers spotting the Single Stopposters wallpapering Hostos, identifyingservices she thought she could use.

“I first sought the services when I hada problem with my tuition and felt like Ididn't have anywhere to go,” Acostasaid. “I wasn’t anticipating a lot of help.But if it wasn’t for me going there, Iwouldn’t be in college right now.”

Single Stop helped her explore otherfinancial opportunities, such as a tuitionsupport pipeline, and a grant to assistwith back tuition. She also took advan-tage of the program’s legal services sup-port, and credited the one-to-one assis-tance she received.

”I wasn't so much nervous as I wasreluctant because I had gone to so manyplaces and kept getting the runaround.When I came here, it seemed so simple.They helped me fill out everything, stepby step,” she said.

Goldrick-Rab praised the Hostos pro-gram. “There is also a real connectionwith the staff at Hostos,” she said. “Thestudents treat the woman who works inthe office like family and that’s super-important because family is so oftenimportant to these students becauseoften, when students come to a school itdoesn't feel like family.”

Because the Single Stop USA programis relatively new, information regardingits outcomes if still “preliminary andpromising,” note the authors of the

Clearing the Path analysis. They reportthat Single Stop clients outperform otherstudents on year-to-year retention rates.At CUNY, for example, they report annu-al college retention rates for Single Stopclients are around 73 percent, with justover half enrolled full-time and complet-ing more than 80 percent of theirattempted classes.

“Single Stop does bring a double bot-tom line,” she said. “You are bringingmoney to the students so there is areturn to the student getting a degree,and there’s a return to the college forthe student getting a degree.”

Both she and Brown pointed out thatcolleges and universities should explorethe Single Stop USA model and rethinkhow they can better meet their students’needs. The report’s authors recommendmodernizing student services, reformingfederal financial aid, coordinating socialand education policy, and evaluating evi-dence that shows improved student out-comes.

Said Brown: “As I’ve traveled toSingle Stop locations and talked withstudents I am absolutely convinced thatthis is the way we should be thinkingabout students in the broader context, inparticular to those in our colleges thatneed special support and services inorder to be successful.

“I know that once we can get theminto college and give them services andbenefits they need, we can keep them incollege and vastly improve their eco-nomic circumstances. And, I wouldargue that's in all of our best interests.”


Coming April 7

Our Annual

Graduate School Issue

Entrepreneurship Education Helps CommunityCollege Students Create Their Own Jobsby Frank DiMaria

Entrepreneurship education is front and center at manycommunity colleges across the nation, with hundreds ofschools providing visionary leadership in this increasingly

popular educational field.Heather Van Sickle, executive director of the National

Association of Community College Entrepreneurship, says theGreat Recession has motivated people to pursue entrepreneur-ship. “Long-term unemployment drove people to considerstarting their own businesses, with many realizing that theywould need educational support to do so,” she said.

A decade-long trend has significantly altered the educationand training needs of students, and has forced Americans toshift their otherwise normal career paths. In the past, says VanSickle, individuals could get a degree and reasonably plan tobe employed by one company for decades. Today’s studentmust prepare for frequent job changes, including the possibil-ity of retraining – sometimes several times during the span ofa career. In today’s economic climate, some students wouldrather create a job than accept a job, like Mark Zuckerbergdid with Facebook.

It’s apparent that this generation’s desire to be involved inentrepreneurship or intrapreneurship is significantly higherwhen compared to past generations. A survey conducted bythe Kauffman Foundation in 2012 found that 54 percent ofpeople ages 18 to 34 want to start their own company, accord-ing to Van Sickle.

Hispanics and other minorities have been are playing a big-ger role in this growing segment of the economy. In the last 10years, Hispanics have opened twice as many businesses as thenational average, according to a report in BloombergBusinessweek. In 2012, Hispanics accounted for almost 20percent of new entrepreneurs.

National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship(NACCE) members along with other community collegesacross the nation have recognized and responded to these lat-est trends and are building entrepreneurial cultures that willhelp them meet the growing demand for entrepreneurshipeducation and support services.

Entrepreneurship education takes on many different formsat America’s community colleges. Efforts range from tradition-al classroom courses in both credit and non-credit programsto more exciting offerings, like student business incubators,virtual incubators for community businesses, micro loans andventure capital funds to help would-be entrepreneurs startbusinesses, and mentorship programs that match students and

COMMUNITY COLLEGES/ORGANIZATIONS


“The welcoming atmosphere of a

community college can make all

the difference to students of all

ages and backgrounds who desire

to learn about entrepreneurship.”

Heather Van Sickle, executive director of

the National Association of Community

College Entrepreneurship

community members with local entrepreneurial role models. On a national level many community colleges are serving as

role models within the entrepreneurial community by under-taking substantial startup initiatives. Some ventures includeopening a boutique hotel, building a major regional touristattraction and operating a publishing arm.

There is little doubt that NACCE has been the biggest cham-pion of entrepreneurship education over the years, fosteringand supporting colleges’ efforts by bringing together educa-tors, entrepreneurs and distinguished business developmentprofessionals. NACCE provides programs and services inentrepreneurship education and serves as an advocate forcommunity-based entrepreneurship.

“NACCE is the only organization solely focused on advanc-ing entrepreneurship in the two-year college arena, and servesas the hub for the dissemination and integration of knowledgeand successful practices regarding entrepreneurship educa-tion and student business incubation. Through membership,an annual conference and exhibition, regional summits, aquarterly journal, monthly webinars, a dynamic Listserv andtraining resources, NACCE serves as the hub for the dissemi-nation and integration of knowledge and successful practicesregarding entrepreneurial leadership, entrepreneurship edu-cation and student business incubation,” says Van Sickle.

In the past several years, NACCE has expanded its reach,partnering with other organizations to ensure that communitycolleges are involved in discussions about encouraging andsupporting entrepreneurship at the national level.

NACCE and the Direct Selling Education Foundation, a non-profit public education organization affiliated with the DirectSelling Association, have formed a partnership with the goal ofdeveloping the curriculum for a non-credit program for aDirect Selling Entrepreneur Certificate that will be available tocommunity colleges across the country.

Through a collaboration with Hewlett Packard (HP),NACCE is integrating a program called HP LIFE e-Learning, afree, cloud-based program that offers training for IT and busi-ness entrepreneurs at selected community colleges. “As partof this collaboration, NACCE and Hewlett Packard, one of theworld’s largest technology companies, will further strengthenthe critical conversation on the power of e-learning in com-munity colleges, and how technology can be used to launchstudent startups and grow local small businesses,” said VanSickle.

NACCE and HP are conducting a survey exploring the waysin which community colleges use e-learning to foster entre-preneurship, how faculty perceive e-learning in the classroomand students’ expectations for using e-learning as a teachingtool. They plan to publish the results of the survey when com-pleted.

Now in its second year, NACCE’s partnership with Sam’sClub Giving Program provides grants to community collegesthrough the Shared Vision for Small Business competition. In2013, seven colleges received $110,000 to support trainingand services for microenterprises.

Community colleges are ideally positioned to lead thecharge in furthering entrepreneurship education because theyare accessible, affordable, have strong ties to their local com-munities, and have a diverse student base in terms of age andwork experience, says Van Sickle. Moving beyond their tradi-tional role of workforce development, community colleges areuniquely positioned to support local economic developmentby providing educational opportunities that offer would-beentrepreneurs and owners of existing small businesses theknowledge and skills they need to succeed.

By their very nature community colleges are entrepreneur-ial. They take more risks than four-year schools in their pro-gram offerings and in the wide range of students they admit.They make decisions quicker and are open to applying non-traditional approaches to educating their students. “The wel-coming atmosphere of a community college can make all thedifference to students of all ages and backgrounds who desireto learn about entrepreneurship. From high school students toindividuals in midlife who want to explore entrepreneurshipor are being forced to by economic circumstances, the com-munity college is an asset with unique attributes that make itan appropriate learning center for people of all types,” saysVan Sickle.

Although entrepreneurship education has gained popularityin recent years, it is not new. The field first emerged in theearly 1970s, when select community colleges offered ground-breaking courses. The entrepreneurship education movementgained significant traction in the past decade as lingering highunemployment rate provided strong impetus for more schoolsto prepare people to create a job instead of taking a job, saysVan Sickle.

NACCE was founded in 2002 at Springfield TechnicalCommunity College (STCC) in Springfield, Mass. Local entre-preneur S. Prestley Blake, one of the founders of the FriendlyIce Cream Corporation, which operates franchised restaurantsin the eastern United States, started it all when he offered$100,000 in seed money. The Ewing Marion KauffmanFoundation, one of the nation’s leading supporters of entre-preneurship education and programming, followed with a$50,000 grant soon after that and the Coleman Foundationkicked in with a $20,000 grant. The Coleman Foundation, aprivate charitable foundation based in Chicago, Ill., has madegrants totaling $39 million to the field of entrepreneurshipeducation since 1981.

NACCE held its inaugural conference in 2003 and has helda national conference each year since. In 2006 it became amembership organization and two years later, it was grantednonprofit status.

Today its membership roster includes more than 1,200paid members. Nearly 300 community colleges are represent-ed in the membership. The organization’s annual conferenceand exhibition attracts about 450 attendees.


COMMUNITY COLLEGES/ORGANIZATIONS


Community Colleges:

A Stepchild –

Forever?by Gustavo A. Mellander

Itall began in 1901 when Joliet Junior College was found-ed. It was the first two- year public college in the UnitedStates. The impetus came from an unlikely source – the

president of the University of Chicago: William Rainey Harper. Harper was a brilliant child prodigy who at the age of 8 was

studying college courses. Admitted to college at the age of 10,he graduated at 14. In 1891 John D. Rockefeller selectedHarper to organize the embryonic University of Chicago andwithin months he became the institution’s first president. Hewas a doer and a successful one.

From the helm of the university, Harper lamented for yearsthat his faculty was “wasting” its time teaching freshmen andsophomores. He wanted them to concentrate on senior andgraduate level courses. Harper launched a campaign to bringthat about and since he was a gifted speaker, he ultimatelywon the day.

His persistent griping led to the creation of a whollyAmerican higher education innovation: colleges that wouldoffer the first two years of college courses. Graduates fromthose institutions, it was hoped, would be a bit more matureafter two years and would then transfer to universities pre-pared to undertake the rigors of higher education.

The first college founded was Joliet College in 1901 inJoliet, Ill. (Decades later William Rainey Harper College, atwo-year college, was established in Palatine, Ill., to honorHarper.) The unlikely founder of America’s community collegesystem unfortunately died at the early age of 49 in 1906. Onewonders how he would view the dramatic growth and evolu-tion of his rather self-serving idea. We can only imagine.

Harper’s idea caught on quickly and “junior colleges”spread to various other states. Most were very effective astransfer-oriented institutions. But even as late as the 1980ssome four- year colleges and universities refused to accept cer-tain credits as mundane as freshman English from a communi-ty college. It placed many a student in a bind because they hadto repeat courses all over again. New Jersey led the way in thelate 1960s by mandating a full faith and credit agreementbetween all community colleges and all four-year institutions.Other states, but not all, have followed suit since then.

Soon after their emergence junior colleges began offering asecond track of terminal professional studies for students whodid not want to transfer to a four-year college and instead

wanted training for a particular professional career. In somestates technical institutes were created to meet local employ-ment needs. Flexibility has always been part and parcel ofcommunity colleges.

All in all their track record has been enviable. They haveenjoyed a high level of success and have helped millions.

StepchildrenUnfortunately, from the very beginning they were the

stepchildren of higher education. Scorned and ridiculed bymany if not most, they trudged on offering college educationat very low tuition rates. Families also saved money since stu-dents lived at home. At first colleges struggled with variousdegrees of local support, but nonetheless they helped a gener-ation of students who could not afford to attend a university.

The good times of the 1920s morphed into the devastatingGreat Depression. In its depths the federal government estab-lished a number of junior colleges in several states and evenas far as the Panama Canal Zone. But getting a job was para-mount for most high school graduates during those years.Enrollments suffered.

The enormous growth period for community colleges cameafter World War II. President Harry S. Truman, who neverattended college a single day, energetically supported the G. I.Bill of Rights and also advocated the establishment of commu-nity colleges nationwide.

The G.I. Bill was popular but had more opposition amongacademia than many suspect. It did because similar legislationwas passed after World War I – and failed. Many colleges hadwhat they characterized as bad experiences with returning vet-erans. For a variety of reasons the experiment did not work.

TARGETING HIGHER EDUCATION


Many veterans were not prepared for college-level studies orits hostile environment. Colleges did not provide either a warmwelcome or the special attention veterans needed. Some col-leges had little patience or interest in them. Many veteranswere expelled and some colleges refused to accept them.

Faculty members rigidly refused to accept this new class ofstudent or meet their particular needs. They were accustomedto teaching the nation’s prep-schooled elite in the 1920s asthey had for over a century. Curricula and student serviceswere geared to “young gentlemen” from the financially secureclass. They studied, but not too hard, for they knew they weredestined to succeed given their family connections. They werecontent to earn a “Gentleman’s C” and graduate. There were,of course, exceptions, but they were just that, exceptions. Inshort, World War I veterans were not welcomed at collegecampuses and few graduated.

A different breed The wave of World War II veterans was a different story.

They were a different breed. Determined to succeed. A collegedegree, they were sure, would be their gateway to professionalpositions that would insure them the prestige and financestheir parents never had. Their parents had only dreamed ofgoing to college, now their veteran sons and daughters wereoffered that golden opportunity. They took full advantage of it.

Community colleges began to sprout up everywhere. Moststates joined the parade. California committed to having acommunity college within driving distance for every residentin the state. (Today they have 119.)

Those were heady times. A new college was launched everymonth, in some states every week.

Local community support was essential. It was invariablythere. Taxes were raised, bonds floated, land granted andother support was gladly given. The pioneering spirit surgedonce again.

The good news is that with few exceptions community col-leges succeeded as indeed did their students. Some learnednew skills and moved on. Others came for academic degreesand transferred on to achieve greater successes as juniorsthan those who had entered as freshmen at the receiving col-leges or universities.

But something else happened; community colleges weretransformed into vibrant, service-oriented community institu-tions. They were primarily academic, education-providingcenters but unlike many private and public colleges, theyadopted their neighboring region. They partnered with themto become cultural centers, adult education centers, andcooperative partners with the local high schools.

They also opened their doors to the unemployed, theunder-employed, the recently divorced, those seeking a newcareer and all others who could benefit from either taking asingle course or pursuing a full-fledged academic program.

Comprehensive community collegesBefore the 1970s, community colleges were called junior

colleges. Today, junior college normally describes private two-year institutions, whereas the term community college describespublicly funded two-year institutions. Many have added the term“comprehensive” to describe their complex institutions. Theytypically offer six areas of post-secondary education:

1. Transfer education – The traditional two-year AA stu-dent who transfers to a four-year institution to pursue a BA/BSdegree.

2. Career education – The traditional two-year AS stu-dent who enters the workforce upon graduation.

3. Developmental – Remedial education for those notacademically prepared to enroll in college-level courses.

4. Continuing Ed – Non-credit courses offered to thecommunity for personal development and interest.

5. Industry training – Contracted training education forlocal companies to provide specific training or courses fortheir employees.

6. eLearning – Distance learning occurs online usingone's computer and proctored exams.

In the last decade as more and more community collegealumni achieved positions of high visibility in business andgovernment circles, the attitude toward community collegesmellowed. Buttressed by millions of others who entered high-er education through their local community college and suc-ceeded as well, these institutions are finally being respected inmany circles.

I thus looked forward to reading a Bankrate, Inc. articleentitled “Top 10 Community Colleges” by Christina Couch.

What a disappointment!! Let me begin, the article under-took to rank “two-year community colleges and technical cen-ters around the country to see where students can get the best,affordable start in their college careers.”

The author accurately pointed out that community collegesserve nearly half of all U.S. undergraduate students. I add thatfar more than half of Hispanics begin their higher education attheir local community college.

The article sought to select “the best and brightest schoolsas to six criteria: graduation rate; student retention rate; thestudent-faculty ratio; the school's in-state tuition and fees; thepercentage of full-time, first-time undergraduates receivingfinancial aid; and the average amount of grant aid theyreceived from federal, state and private sources combined.”

The article identified “the top 10 community colleges in thecountry based on Bankrate's criteria.” Readers, particularlythose familiar with community colleges, will be stunned bytheir selection. I am sure these ten institutions are worthy andrespectable institutions. I am familiar with a few of them butto say they are the best community colleges in the nation ismind numbing.

I list them as the author did in descending order.

10. Colby Community College, Kansas9. Mayland Community College, North Carolina8. Charlotte Technical Center, Florida7. North Central Kansas Technical College, Kansas6. Linn State Technical College in Linn, Missouri 5. White Mountains Community College, New Hampshire4. Flint Hills Technical College, Kansas3. Altamaha Technical College, Georgia2. Erwin Technical Center, Florida1. East San Gabriel Regional Occupational Program, California

I am stunned by the selection. Let me point out, I thinkChristina Couch is a good writer, her style is lively and interest-ing. Clearly a number of key administrators and faculty wereinterviewed at each of the 10 institutions and they provideduseful information.

The quotes are revealing and highlight a spirit of service. Iam sure the students are well served. But to identify these asamong the top 10 community colleges in America is astonish-ing. And I fear inaccurate and misleading.

I have studied and visited numerous community collegesnationwide from New York to California. I have severed onover 50 regional accreditation or state licensure teams.

I have written some 25 articles about community collegesand co-authored a book with the highly respected communitycollege authority Dr. George Vaughan titled, The CommunityCollege Presidency: Current Status and Future Outlook.

After leaving my last presidency, I directed a doctoral levelprogram at George Mason University specifically created forcommunity college faculty. I also designed a national commu-nity college system at the invitation of the Hungarian govern-ment, etc. Enough. Suffice to note that I have some firsthandcreditable experiences with community colleges.

I repeat I am sure these 10 institutions are worthy and arehelping students. But, to be painfully honest I don’t see any ofthem on a top 10 list of community colleges.

Secondly, I fear the list is counterproductive for it will givethe impression that community colleges are basically technicalinstitutes. I respect good technical institutes but communitycolleges are a lot more than that. Some very good ones don’teven offer technical education.

Maybe the results are so skewed because of the criteriathey selected. Unfortunately, I fear the casual observer or onealready pre-disposed to denigrate community colleges willfind support for their prejudiced opinions.

Question: Will community colleges ever be respected fortheir accomplishments?

Yes, of course, and that day is near, as more and moregraduates succeed, acknowledgement will follow.

But 113 years seems like a long time to wait.

Dr. Mellander was a university dean for 15 years and acollege president for 20.


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Santa Monica College has launched a national searchfor a Vice-President, Academic Affairs. Under thegeneral direction of the Superintendent/President, theVice-President serves as the District’s ChiefInstructional Officer and will provide leadership andoversight or the college’s instructional program andservices. The Vice President has primary administrativeresponsibility for academic policy, curriculum andprogram development, course offerings planning andrelated enrollment management strategies, programreview, assessment of learning outcomes as a vehicle tosupport program improvement, accreditation self-evaluation, and excellence in teaching and learning.The Vice President serves as a member of theSuperintendent/President’s senior staff and providesguidance and direction in developing policy thatconforms to applicable laws and regulations.

Qualifications – MinimumMaster’s degree and five years of academic leadershipexperience at the level of dean or equivalent at anaccredited institution of higher education. Evidence of andsensitivity to understanding of the socio-economic,academic, cultural and ethnic diversity within thecommunity college student population, including studentswith physical and/or learning disabilities is required, asthese factors relate to differences in learning styles.

Qualifications – Preferred• An earned doctorate degree from an accredited

institution plus educational administrative experience directly related to described duties andresponsibilities within a community college setting;

• Faculty experience at an accredited institution of higher education;

• Demonstrated success in improving student learning and engagement; in planning and implementing course schedules that meet student needs;

• Demonstrated success in developing and implementing annual enrollment plans that are aligned with the institution’s fiscal goals and realities;

• Demonstrated success in local and statewide curriculum approval processes for courses, programs, and degrees;

• Documented participation in data-driven programreview and institutional planning processes;

• Documented successful experience with participatory governance and collaborative institutional planning.

All applications must be complete and submittedonline by 11:59 pm PT on April 18, 2014 athttps://jobs.smc.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/Welcome_css.jsp.

Application documents must include:• A completed District application;• Cover letter to include why you are interested in

the position of Vice President, Academic Affairs;• A detailed resume of professional experience;• Copies of transcripts (need not be official);• One (1) letter of recommendation.

EOE

University of South Florida System is a high-impact, global research system dedicated tostudent success. The USF System includes three institutions: USF; USF St. Petersburg; andUSF Sarasota-Manatee. The institutions are separately accredited by the Commission on

Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. All institutions have distinct missionsand their own detailed strategic plans. Serving more than 47,000 students, the USF System has anannual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $4.4 billion. USF is a member ofthe American Athletic Conference.

Administrative and Executive Positions:University Communication & Marketing (3) Academic Affairs (1)Digital Marketing Director Director of Institutional Research

(St. Petersburg Campus)Creative Director Regional Admissions AdvisorSenior Marketing Director Director of DevelopmentDirector of Events Member Service DirectorAssistant Vice President (Career Services) Regional Assoc. Vice Chancellor

(St. Petersburg)Director (Institutional Research-St. Petersburg Campus)Director (Business Services-St. Petersburg Campus)

Faculty Positions: College of Medicine (10) College of Public HealthFull, Associate, Assistant Professor (Pharmacy) Postdoctoral Scholar Research (2)Assistant Professor (Physical Therapy & Rehab. Sciences) Family Nurse Practitioner College of the Arts-School of Music (2)Assistant Professor (Gastroenterology/Esophagology) Assistant Professor (Composition) Assistant Professor (General OB/GYN) Assistant Professor (Piano)Assistant Professor (Cardiology)Assistant Professor (Dermatology) College of Arts and Sciences (7)Associate/Full Professor (Senior Faculty Biostatistician) Visiting Instructor (English)Postdoctoral Scholar (Pharmacy) Assistant Professor (4)Postdoctoral (Research) Instructor (2)

Visiting Instructor (School of Public Affairs)Patel Center for Global Sustainability (3)Assistant Professor

College of Engineering (1) Faculty Coordinator (E-Learning/Instructor-Sarasota Campus)

Instructor (Mechanical Engineering) Assistant Professor (Information Technology-Sarasota Campus)

Assistant/Associate Professor, Accounting (St. Petersburg Campus)

For a job description on the above listed positions including department, disciple and deadline dates: (1) visit our Careers@USF Web site at

https://employment.usf.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/Welcome_css.jsp; or (2) contact The Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, (813) 974-4373;

or (3) call USF job line at 813.974.2879.

USF is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution, committed to excellence through diversity in education and employment.

www.usf.edu • 4202 E. Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33620

https://employment.usf.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/welcome_css.jsp

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UNIVERSITYSALISBURY

To learn more about Salisbury University visitwww.salisbury.edu

As Distinctive

AsYou

A Maryland University of National Distinction

I knew I made the right decision to cometo SU when one day I was walking toclass and one of my teachers called me bymy name and asked how I was doing. AtSU you really get to know each of yourteachers and they get to know you as well.

I love the friendly atmospherePROFILE: ISADORA

A GREAT VALUEU.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review and Kiplinger’sPersonal Finance rank SU among thenation’s best at providing a notablyhigh quality, yet affordable education.

SETTING FOR SUCCESSSU offers 43 undergraduate majors and 15 graduateprograms. Innovative facilities, including the state-of-the-art Teacher Education and Technology Center anda new home for the Franklin P. Perdue School ofBusiness, place the University at the forefront ofnational education.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCEOutstanding faculty are mentors for undergraduateresearch. Students gain real-world knowledge through internships and global experiences.

VISIT SUSU offers a small-town feel within an easy ride to cities likeBaltimore, Washington, D.C.,and Philadelphia.

Standing Outfrom the Crowd

As a proud Hispanic-Serving Institution, Del Mar College is ranked among the nation’s top fifty community colleges granting associate degrees to Hispanic students.

Now o�ering a Mexican-American Studies associate degree designed to help our students stand out from the crowd.

www.delmar.edu

D E L M A R C O L L E G E

http://www.delmar.edu

http://www.salisbury.edu

http://www.epcc.edu


The newly created position of Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education will report to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and have broad responsibility for the development and implementation of policies and procedures that assure the University’s delivery of high quality undergraduate education and students’ successful and timely completion of degrees. The Associate Provost will work closely and collaboratively with college and school deans, academic department chairs, the Division of Student Development and Campus Life, and other University colleagues.

Candidates for the position should have extensive and successful experience in higher education, including experience in a large and complex university with a highly diverse student population. Candidates should have professional accomplishments that enable them to demonstrate their commitment to the importance of rigor and coherence in the undergraduate experience, the provision of policies and services to enhance student success, and the effective management of scarce resources to achieve maximum accomplishment.

Preferred qualifications include a PhD in an academic discipline offered by the University, faculty and administrative experience, excellent managerial and communication skills, and a personality that can secure collaboration of faculty and professionals throughout the University and fulfill with energy and commitment the role of chief academic advocate for undergraduate students.

For further details regarding this opportunity and to submit an application, please visit the MSU website at: https://app1.montclair.edu/xf/hr_jobpostings/

Building on a distinguished 105-year history, Montclair State University is proud to be a leading institution of higher education in New Jersey. The university’s six colleges and schools serve more than 19,000 undergraduate and graduate students in 300 majors, minors, concentrations and certificate programs. Situated on a beautiful, 250-acre suburban campus just 14 miles from New York City, Montclair State combines the instructional and research resources of a large public university in a dynamic, sophisticated, and diverse academic environment.

Additional information can be found on the MSU website at:

www.montclair.eduMontclair State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution with a strong commitment to diversity.

Associate Provost

for Undergraduate Education

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Baltimore City Community CollegeThe next president of Baltimore City Community College will lead a vital and vibrantinstitution of higher learning in a major American city. Baltimore City CommunityCollege (BCCC) is an urban, comprehensive, public community college with multiplelearning sites throughout the city. Baltimore is rich in history, culturally vibrant and acritical part of the Maryland economy. It is a center for finance, insurance and bankingand operates one of the largest ports and transportation hubs on the east coast. Baltimore,

situated at the tip of the Chesapeake Bay, provides convenient access to three international airports, extensive public transit,and a major metropolitan community of over 9 million. This diverse population allows BCCC to provide outstanding culturaland social experiences to its students.Baltimore City Community College strives to be the leader in providing quality education that exceeds the needs of a diversepopulation of learners, adding value to lives and the community. With its substantial range of degree and certificate programs,affordable tuition, and extensive outreach, BCCC offers educational opportunities to students at all levels. The collegerecently completed a strategic plan, which outlined the major goals of the institution, including student success, communityrelationship building, and college sustainability. Through the inclusion of corporate partnerships BCCC is able to providecutting edge programs in state of the art facilities.As a dynamic higher education institution, Baltimore City Community College is responsive to the changing needs of itsstakeholders: individuals, businesses, government, and educational institutions of the community at large. The Board ofTrustees is appointed by the governor from the Maryland constituency, and the president will report to this board. For 67years, BCCC has served as a gateway to higher education centering on the core principles of integrity, honesty, respect,quality, diversity, learning, and leadership.A full presidential profile will be forthcoming shortly and may be viewed at http://www.bccc.edu/Page/1383 and www.acctsearches.org.Confidential inquiries regarding the application process or nominations should be directed to:Dr. Narcisa Polonio, Executive Vice President for Education, Research and Board Leadership Services, [email protected] or 202-276-1983 (mobile).OrDr. Laurie Savona, Operations Officer for Search Services, [email protected] or 202-595-4300 (mobile) or 202-775-4474 (office)OrMr. John Steinecke, Search Services Specialist, [email protected], or 202-384-6539 (mobile)

PRESIDENT

Executive Searcheshttp://www.acctsearches.org

California State University, Long Beach

The College of the Arts at CSULB is California's largest and most comprehensive publicly funded school for the arts, with more than 4,000 graduate and undergraduate majors. It includes the Departments of Dance, Design, Film and Electronic Arts, and Theatre Arts, as well as the School of Art, the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, the University Art Museum (UAM), and the Carpenter Performing Arts Center (CPAC).

For more information, visit www.csulb.edu/aa/personnel/jobs

California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is one of the largest and most comprehensive public universities in the nation, enrolling approximately 35,000 students. CSULB is located in Long Beach, the seventh largest city in California, on a beautifully landscaped 320-acre campus near the ocean and in close proximity to the thriving downtown Long Beach area. CSULB is a diverse and ambitious institution that is proud to be among the nation’s premier comprehensive universities. The faculty and staff of CSULB are engaged in a broad array of high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs, significant research and creative activities, and a wide range of community and professional service activities. CSULB seeks outstanding, publicly engaged leaders to join a dedicated leadership team that is committed to advancing the University's broad and forward-seeking mission. Read more at www.csulb.edu. Associate Dean

College of the Arts www.csulb.edu/college/cota

CSULB is committed to creating a community in which a diverse population can learn, live, and work in an atmosphere of tolerance, civility and respect for the rights and sensibilities of each individual, without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, gender identification, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, medical condition, age, political affiliation, Vietnam era veteran status, or any other veteran's status. CSULB is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Join a vibrant campus community whose excellenceis reflected in its diversity and student success. WestChester University of Pennsylvania is seekingapplicants for various temporary Instructor positionsfor fall, 2014. Positions are based on departmentalneeds. These assignments may include opportunitiesfor teaching at off-campus sites or through distancelearning. To view position openings and apply online,visit our website at http://agency.governmentjobs.com/wcupa/default.cfm.

Application materials should include a letter ofinterest, curriculum vitae, three letters ofrecommendation, and graduate transcripts. Reviewof applications will begin immediately and continueuntil the positions have been filled. Applicants mustsuccessfully complete the interview process to beconsidered as a finalist.

Developing and sustaining a diverse faculty and staffadvances WCU’s educational mission and strategicPlan for Excellence. West Chester University is anAffirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.Women, persons of color, veterans, and persons withdisabilities are encouraged to apply.

All offers of employment are subject to andcontingent upon satisfactory completion of all pre-employment criminal background checks.

Temporary Instructors Fall 2014

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Director, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Institute of Agriculture andNatural Resources (IANR) is seeking candidates for the position ofDirector, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences(SVMBS) and Associate Dean, Professional Program in VeterinaryMedicine (PPVM).

The Director of the SVMBS is directly responsible for oversight of theresearch, teaching and extension/outreach programs, includingmanagement of the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center, theProfessional Program in Veterinary Medicine (PPVM) - a joint DVMprogram with Iowa State University - and clinical education programsemanating from the Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center(GPVEC). The SVMBS has a tradition of excellence in graduateeducation and research with an emphasis on infectious diseases,immunology, and neurosciences; the Director will provide leadership andinsight for these programs as well. The Director reports to the Deans ofthe ARD, CASNR, and Extension at UNL. As the Associate Dean of thePPVM the successful candidate also reports to the Dean of the Iowa StateUniversity College of Veterinary Medicine. The Associate Dean isresponsible for on-going coordination of the professional program withstudents located at the Iowa State University College of VeterinaryMedicine and the UNL SVMBS. Visit the SVMBS web page foradditional information at http://vbms.unl.edu/

Candidates must possess (1) Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M) orequivalent and advanced degree or Board Certification in a recognizedveterinary specialty; (2) a record of scholarly achievements andqualifications for appointment as a tenured, full professor in the School ofVeterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; and (3) a documentedrecord of collaborative leadership experience in higher education,business, or non-profit organizations. Earned Doctor of Philosophy(Ph.D.) or Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) degree in veterinary science orclosely related field, excellent communication skills and excellentinterpersonal skills are preferred.

Nebraska ranks #4 in the US in total livestock receipts and livestockproducts account for about 2/3 of Nebraska’s farm income. Historically,Nebraska has ranked #1 in commercial red meat production, #1 incommercial cattle slaughter, and #2 in cattle and calves. In February2014, Nebraska became the #1 cattle feeding state in the nation.

To view the details and make application, go tohttp://employment.unl.edu Search for position #F_140012. Click on“Apply to this job.” Complete the application and attach a letter ofinterest, curriculum vitae, contact information for three professionalreferences, and a one-page statement of administrative philosophy(Other). Review of Applications will begin on April 15, 2014, andcontinue until the position is filled or the search is closed.The University of Nebraska has an active National Science FoundationADVANCE gender equity program and is committed to a pluralisticcampus community through Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity,

work-life balance, and dual careers.

The City UniversityofNew York

PRESIDENTTHE GRADUATE CENTER

The Board of Trustees of The City University of New York (CUNY) and the Graduate CenterPresidential Search Committee invite nominations and applications for the position of presidentof the Graduate Center.

Established in 1961 as the Ph.D.-granting institution of CUNY, the Graduate Center’s mission is to prepare students to become scholars, experts, and leaders in the academy and the private, nonprofit, and governmental sectors; to enhance access to doctoral education fortraditionally underrepresented groups; to undertake cutting-edge research in all its doctoral fields; and to advance the educational, economic, and cultural interests of the complex urbancommunity it serves.

The Graduate Center offers over 30 doctoral programs in the humanities, social sciences, andsciences, and seven disciplinary and interdisciplinary master’s programs to approximately 4,300graduate students (90 percent of them doctoral students) drawn from across the U.S. and 78 foreign countries. The school fosters advanced research through its academic offerings andits more than thirty research centers and institutes.

A nationally unique consortium, the Graduate Center is home to a core faculty of approximately150 teachers and mentors, virtually all senior scholars and leaders in their disciplines, with morethan a third holding the rank of Distinguished Professor-the University’s highest academic honor.This faculty is enhanced by more than 1,600 faculty from across the CUNY colleges, as well asfrom cultural, academic, and scientific institutions throughout New York City and beyond.

Located in the heart of Manhattan in a landmark campus on Fifth Avenue-the former B. AltmanDepartment store, which was redesigned to meet the specific needs of a 21st-century institutionof advanced learning-the Graduate Center also serves as the administrative home for four University programs: the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies; the CUNY School of Professional Studies (including the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for WorkerEducation and Labor Studies); the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism; and Macaulay HonorsCollege. The Graduate Center presents a wide range of continuing education courses and publicprograms contributing to the intellectual and cultural life of New York City.

The Graduate Center’s 2013-2014 budget is $114 million funded through New York State andstudent tuition, and $11 million in philanthropy and auxiliary revenues. Capital construction andrenovation projects exceeding $10 million are currently underway.

The successful candidate will be a scholar who is a dynamic, visionary, influential leader, a personof the highest personal and professional integrity, who will guide the institution to higher levelsof accomplishment and repute, work well with the faculty, foster and encourage student achievementand fully engage the school’s distinguished alumni and the Graduate Center Foundation.

The president serves as the chief academic and administrative officer of the institution, reportingto the chancellor, according to policy set by the CUNY Board of Trustees.

Preferred qualifications for the position include:• An earned doctorate, a record of scholarly achievement, and significant experience with

doctoral education;• Demonstrated leadership in developing quality academic programs, engaging with students,

and recruiting and supporting a distinguished faculty; • A demonstrated record of senior management success in an institution of higher education or

an institution of comparable scope, with proven strengths in strategic planning, budgeting and management;

• A strong record of success in attracting financial support from foundations, corporations,governmental sources and private donors;

• A commitment to enhancing the Graduate Center as an inclusive and diverse community fullyengaged with the rich cultural, ethnic, religious and economic pluralism of New York City;

• A record of leadership in technological innovation; and• The capacity to persuasively communicate the Graduate Center’s mission and programs to

multiple local and national constituencies.

The position is available on or before September 1, 2014. Salary and benefits are competitive.The review of applications will begin on April 7, 2014; therefore, applications and nominationsare especially encouraged prior to that date.

Applications and nominations should be sent electronically to: Graduate Center PresidentialSearch at [email protected].

Applicants should send (1) a letter expressing their interest in the position indicating how they meet the Search Committee’s preferred qualifications, (2) a curriculum vitae, and (3) thenames of eight references (two from individuals who report to you, two from individuals to whom you report, two from faculty members and community/business leaders). References willnot be contacted without the applicant’s prior permission.

Nominators should send a letter of nomination and, if possible, the nominee’s curriculum vitae.

For additional information: Professor Jonathan Cole, currently the John Mitchell Mason Professorof the University at Columbia University and its provost and dean of faculties from 1989 to 2003,is advising CUNY in this search. Inquiries and confidential requests can be directed to him [email protected] or (212) 854-8213. You can also contact Ms. Mahlet Tsegaye, Office ofExecutive Search/ CUNY at [email protected]; (646) 664-9404; 205 East 42nd Street,11th Floor, NY, NY 10017.

All inquiries, nominations and applications will be held in the strictest confidence.Please visit The Graduate Center on its website at www.gc.cuny.edu for additional information.

We are committed to enhancing our diverse academic community by actively encouraging peoplewith disabilities, minorities, veterans, and women to apply. We take pride in our pluralisticcommunity and continue to seek excellence through diversity and inclusion. EO/AA Employer.

5

http://vbms.unl.edu

http://www.gc.cuny.edu


http://www.uakjobs.com/applicants/Central?quickFind=83875


The Center for Child Advocacy is a unique multidisciplinary instructional, research and service Center that provides both a broad range of academic program opportunities to Montclair State University students and to child welfare professionals in the state of New Jersey. The Center has pioneered an integrated training and intervention model which incorporates legal, clinical and developmental psychology, family and child studies, social work and counseling disciplines to address the experiences of children and adolescents in need. The Center offers free-standing interdisciplinary degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate programs. These include an undergraduate major and program concentration in Child Advocacy and Policy, a Master’s of Arts in Child Advocacy offered in both classroom and on-line formats and post-baccalaureate certificates in Child Advocacy and Policy and Adolescent Advocacy. Currently, the Center manages three large grants from the state of New Jersey to provide training for child welfare professionals and additional funding to support young adults leaving the foster care system.

The Center for Child Advocacy is seeking a director who will provide dynamic and visionary leadership for a Center rapidly achieving national recognition. The Director is expected to exercise intellectual and managerial leadership within the Center and to contribute to a strategic vision for its growth and development within the framework of the University’s strategic plan. The Director will give special attention to the further development of the academic programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels, the recruitment and mentoring of the highest qualified faculty, the evaluation of the Center faculty and staff, and the implementation of an educational program that provides a rich and effective academic experience for the Center’s students. The Director will be responsible for maintaining and increasing grant development and assuring the sustainability of its programs. The Director will be an advocate and representative of the Center to the campus, the alumni, the professional community and service agencies in and beyond New Jersey, and to other external communities. The Director, together with the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, will be responsible for seeking opportunities to enhance the reputation of the Center and its resources. The Director reports to the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and is responsible for the overall direction and management of the Center.

Building on a distinguished 105-year history, Montclair State University is proud to be a leading institution of higher education in New Jersey. The university’s six colleges and schools serve more than 19,000 undergraduate and graduate students in 300 majors, minors, concentrations and certificate programs. Situated on a beautiful, 250-acre suburban campus just 14 miles from New York City, Montclair State combines the instructional and research resources of a large public university in a dynamic, sophisticated, and diverse academic environment.

Additional information can be found on the MSU website at:

www.montclair.eduMontclair State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution

with a strong commitment to diversity.

Director, Center for Child Advocacy

http://www.montclair.edu


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“It is more fitting for a man to laugh at life than tolament over it.” – Seneca

Knock knock.Who’s there?Orange.Orange who?Orange you going to study for that quiz now?

Education is a serious undertaking, but that does notmean it must be humorless. Actually, humor is important tohelp Hispanic students prepare for and cope with the chal-lenges college presents. And it is an indicator of a student’scognitive skill set. You cannot make or “get” something thatis funny unless you understand the twist on the concept, thewords or a situation. Funny children are typically brightchildren, so adults should appreciate – not squelch – theirnatural tendency to yuck it up while learning (all within rea-sonable social limits, of course).

Children with a sense of humor benefit socially, too. Theyare often well-liked by peers and can get along with mostteachers (except the old grouch who has no appreciation ofa good laugh anyway). They can manage frustration andcope with difficulty, too, if they return to the lighter side forsome air and a new perspective. For teens and youngerchildren, too, humor is essential to staving off depression.

Humor also helps a child be productive. It is an indica-tor of imagination, intelligence, problem-solving and cre-ativity. What better way to develop a scientist, actor, authoror humanitarian than to help them stretch their learningthrough humor, irony and creativity?

Can humor be taught? Or are people simply born funny?Both. Many people are born with a lively good nature – a

temperament that seems naturally suited to humor. But humorcan also be cultivated. First experienced by infants and tod-dlers as glee when caregivers play peek-a-boo, sing silly songsor bring out the hand puppets for conversation, humor takesroot. The child sees the adult model humor and slowly beginsto understand that there is a funny twist to something out of the

norm. A funny, happy parent orteacher helps guide and devel-op humor in children.University of Maryland psychol-ogist Robert R. Provine notes that perhaps the most valuablepart of parent-child humor is the bonding that occurs. Whentwo people are caught in the moment of laughter, they arerelaxed and fully engaged with one another, unfettered by con-cerns over being “right” or proper. They become one sharinga brief human moment and the joy of being alive.

For those who love and are guiding children, humor canstart with simple games with infants, absurdity with toddlers(yes, a shoe on the head can be funny) and twists on wordsonce they hit school-age. And while a teacher does not alwaysappreciate a class clown, a wise teacher can engage the studententertainer in roles of leadership to use humor productively.

Adults who manage a home or classroom with humor aremore apt to gain respect and reduce conflict with children(regardless of the child’s age) if they appropriately use a laughor two to get things done. A moment taken to lighten up canshift perspective, induce a sense of calm and help people solveproblems jointly rather than fight with one another. Perhaps itis better to let students get some space from the intensity anddifficulties at school through humor than to have them findtheir break away from school altogether – as dropouts.

But what is funny about poverty, broken homes, crime,failing schools, illness and other realities too many Hispanicyouth live with? Nothing. For those who are able, however,humor can help someone cope with and get out of tough sit-uations. It can foster a different perspective. Promote thepower of observation and express those observations inwords. Encourage problem-solving and resourcefulness.Allow people to channel disappointment, hurt and frustra-tion into more productive options. Give rise to a new hope.And give someone a break right when a break is needed.

Humor does some good for the adult, too. Relaxation, arenewed outlook and a bit of time away from intensity areusually welcome and helpful to even the crankiest, mostserious of “grown-ups.” Time to really grow up: lighten up.

HOW HUMOR HELPSPriming the Pump...

Miquela Rivera, PhD, is a licensed psychologist withyears of clinical, early childhood and consultativeexperience. She lives in Albuquerque, N.M.

03/24/2014 latino outcomes at california's community colleges

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