Greater Role for Faculty in Support of the New Majority Student

Spring
1987
Topic
Students

The purpose of the Student Needs Survey was to identify the needs of ethnic and language minority students to assist faculty in the development of methods and measures to prepare for the changing demographics of the 1990's, wherein ethnic and language minority students will compose a "new majority" in their classrooms. The purpose of the Faculty Development Programs Survey was to determine faculty opinion as to the current status and direction of faculty development programs in addressing the issue.

Recommendations

New Majority Student Recommendations

  1. Strategies for teaching new majority students:
    1. Collaborative/Cooperative learning activities in the classroom
    2. Multi-Modality methods of teaching (variety of techniques).
    3. Teaching techniques to improve student self-image such as:
      1. Empower
      2. Affirmations
      3. Positive reinforcement
    4. Personal contact beyond classroom:
      1. Office hours
      2. Telephoning
      3. "Accidental" meetings
    5. Publication by the Academic Senate of successful strategies for teaching "new. majority" students.
    6. Building bridges between "old majority" and "new majority" students in between classes.
      1. Interviews
      2. Joint projects
    7. Effective use of all campus resources affecting "new majority" students
    8. Frequent assessment and feedback and positive reinforcement
      1. letters of recommendation
      2. Awards within the classroom
  2. Student Self Image:
    In order to improve the self-image of the "new majority" student the following actions are recommended:
    1. Establish student mentor programs:
      1. Student mentors involving N.M. students from community college connecting with N.M. students in K-12
      2. Student mentors involving 2nd yr. N.M. students with incoming N.M. students
      3. Faculty mentors assigned several N.M. students
      4. Community mentors of successful businesses to connect with community college N.M. students. Could include scholarship funding.
    2. Develop relevant curriculum including:
      1. Survival class
        1] self-image
        2] self-esteem (“Psychology or Winning”)
      2. Integrating ethnic studies across the curriculum such as:
        1] Psychology or Prejudices
        2] Oppression and the oppressed
        3] Intracultural economics, etc.
        4] Provide a historical prospective (including historical role model)
        5] Provide a global perspective
    3. Provide N.M. role models including visiting lecturers and N.M. faculty role models
    4. Provide support groups
      1. Family support groups
      2. Peer support groups
      3. Clubs
      4. Student government
    5. Provide campus activities
      1. campus activities highlighting cultural diversity
      2. multi-cultural activities and interaction including “old majority”
    6. Re-emphasize to the faculty their responsibility in building self-image of the N.M. student.
      1. culturally relevant counseling should be provided to N.M. students
      2. faculty should expect success from the N.M. student as an adjustment to self-image
      3. faculty should use their N.M. students as resources for valuable perspectives in curriculum
    7. Participate in educating the "old majority"
  3. Educating the "Old Majority" Faculty:
    We recommend
    1. A clearinghouse of information for N.M. materials to be established in the state and on each campus
    2. The use of tele?communications concerning the N.M. be emphasized
    3. Appealing for professionalism concerning the N.M. by encouraging continuing education and the use of sabbaticals.
    4. The use of flex days for faculty development
    5. The use of videotapes of California colleges to show obstacles to learning
    6. N.M. students surveys be taken and the results be made available to all faculty
    7. Faculty leaders be responsible for the distribution of all N.M. material
    8. Required time for faculty on committees concerning the N.M.
    9. ISW, mini-Great Teacher Seminars and Mastery Teaching techniques as on-going activities.
    10. Awarding credit for participation in N.M. activities
    11. Involvement on the N.M. in evaluation methods.
    12. Survey of faculty opinions concerning behavior of N.M. students that may interfere with learning.
  4. Curriculum For Cultural Diversity:
    1. Large Goal: Develop integrated curriculum, which includes ethnic studies across the curriculum.
      Implementation:
      • Hire minority faculty and administrators and faculty and administrators from underrepresented groups (women and handicapped) to build awareness.
      • Provide new money for hiring faculty and consultants, as well as for faculty development.
      • Encourage team teaching involving minority faculty members so that they serve as role models and so that there is cross-fertilization of ideas among faculty.
      • Build strong administrative support to make the goal attainable.
    2. Second Goal: Strengthen ethnic studies courses and programs.
      Implementation:
      • Require an ethnic studies course for the A.A. Degree
      • Offer an A.A. Degree in ethnic studies
      • Remove ethno-centric course titles from the catalog and examine course title and content to ensure that world literature or world history truly encompass the world, including Asia.
      • Work toward global ethnic studies
      • Offer reading and writing adjunct classes for students in ethnic studies courses
      • Hire minority faculty and administrators to build awareness and offer expertise
      • Build administrative support for a strengthened ethnic studies curriculum
      • Investigate ethnic studies programs at other campuses and adopt/adapt their best features
    3. Third Goal: Recognize ethnic concerns in all classes
      Implementation:
      • Use ethnic diversity in class as a resource
      • Provide new money for faculty and consultants, as well as for faculty development
      • Develop ethnic studies as a component of all courses:
        • Request an explanation in faculty evaluations of what the faculty member has done to incorporate an ethnic component
        • Put a short-answer item on course proposal forms concerning the integration of an ethnic component and methods of evaluation
      • Create greater faculty receptively to giving attention to cultural diversity in all classes:
        • Offer professional growth credit
        • Incorporate concern for cultural diversity into the evaluation process.
          • Build strong administrative support for incorporating an ethnic component in all classes
  5. Retention
    In order to improve Retention...
    1. Collect data on retention of students by ethnic make-up and on each faculty member (divided if should be sent to total faculty/or keep individually).
    2. Faculty mentor programs be established where faculty members are assigned several N.M. students
    3. Develop a program to assign peer mentors to N.M. students (e.g., 2nd year students for entering students)
    4. Establish a retention clinic on each campuses where N.M. students can find support and resources and can be referred to other resources
    5. Encourage faculty members to incorporate the following retention techniques:
      • follow-up calls after absence
      • pairing or teaming students to create partners in class to call each other for information exchange. (have students exchange phone numbers)
      • Help students with goal settings
      • Help students with time management
      • develop a class syllabus giving details of daily or weekly or unit plans
      • announce reading level
    6. Certificated professional support be encouragement for club and campus life activities (part of load)
    7. Success courses be offered N.M. students on a regular basis
      • study skills
      • self-esteem
      • test anxiety and taking
    8. Each campus develop a written policy regarding its commitment to the retention of the "new majority" student
    9. Support be sought on a district and statewide level to develop a written policy regarding commitment to the retention of the N.M. student that would be implemented on each campus.
    10. Each campus develop a skill center funded by the college that would provide tutors, peer advisors and faculty resources
    11. Develop a community mentor program.
      • Successful role models from the community mentoring community college students could include scholarships
    12. Aggressively pursue grants in the area of N.M. students
    13. Encourage appropriate staff to give this following message:
      “Before you drop-out, see me. I care. Don’t drop-out before you see me.”
    14. Faculty announce appropriate skill level of classes.
    15. Academic Senate create a task force to develop a packet regarding survival skills that
      each faculty member should incorporate into his or her classes.
      • Study booklet for that class
      • Test taking for that class, etc.
    16. Each campus publish and provide a list of resource for N.M. students. Maybe published in different languages.
    17. Students be assessed in order to assign them to appropriate classes.
    18. District should be encouraged to hire more full-time, tenure track faculty and continue their affirmative action to hire “new majority” role models
    19. We also agree that the following should be incorporated into a retention program:
      Family support and involvement
      Media for morale building
      Personal Counseling
      Review of current courses
      Early warning system
  6. Recruiting New Majority Students:
    In order to improve the recruitment of New Majority students, we recommend:
    1. Immediately
      1. Give college leadership the materials from this conference
    2. Starting your Recruiting Plan
      1. Develop college-wide recruiting as institutional policy
      2. Obtain written and budgetary administrative support for these goals
      3. Involve EOPS counseling and other current “experts” in planning
      4. Devote financial resources to recruitment
      5. Seek new funding
        a. VEA
        b. Community
        6. Hire college wide recruiters to coordinate programs
    3. What to do
      (Each of the following suggestions has worked effectively at one or more of our community colleges.)
      1. Continue current successful outreach efforts
        1. High schools
        2. Junior high schools
        3. Churches
        4. Employment development department
        5. S.A.T. lists
        6. C.T.A. and correctional institutions
        7. Drug rehabilitation
        8. Child care centers
        9. Markets and malls
        10. Community service centers/Agencies
        11. Alternative Education centers
        12. Libraries
        13. County Fair booths
        14. Probation departments
      2. Develop new outreach recruiting efforts
        • Faculty outreach efforts
        • "Marketing plan” and resources and person (s)
        • Improve brochures and other recruitment media
        • Radio talk shows
        • Radio/T.V. ads (bilingual)
        • Get “drop-out” lists/high risk lists from high schools and junior highs
      3. Canvas neighborhoods “door-to-door”
      4. Offer campus social/cultural events and invite community
      5. Have open-house for N.M. community
      6. Increase Financial Aids resources and information about them
      7. Inform faculty/staff about resources/services
      8. Increase interaction between faculty and student services
      9. A.V. presentations providing college information
      10. Improve liaison with high school counselors and faculty
      11. Encourage key administrators and faculty to participate in community affairs
      12. Coordinate recruiting with other community colleges—send teams to schools
      13. Use cable T.V., P.S.A’s
    4. How to make the recruiting work
      1. Use the language(s) of the “new majority” students in recruiting materials
        a. Spanish, Vietnamese, etc.
      2. Have up-to-date college information in a Recruitment Kit
      3. Have a college Recruitment/Marketing Advisory Board including the
        community
      4. Recruit through community agencies
      5. Bus students/parents in for College Day
      6. Use positive N.M. role models who have “made it”
    5. Follow-up
      1. Gather data from students to evaluate recruiting efforts
Publication file