Strategies for preparing low-income,

first-generation college students

for graduate school successTuesday, March 12, 2019 | 3:40 – 4:30 p.m.

Diamond 7 - JW Marriott LA LiveNorth Orange County Allied and other Health Careers Opportunity Program (NOCA HCOP)

Dr. Sora Tanjasiri – Founding Principal Investigator

Erin Manalo-Pedro – Project Director

Center for Research on Educational Access and Leadership (CREAL)

Dr. Dawn Person – Director

Nancy Carrada Zuniga & Aylin Gann – Graduate Research Assistants

Agenda

•Activity

•Overview •Center for Research on Educational Access and Leadership (C-REAL)•North Orange County Allied and Other Health Careers Opportunity

Program (NOCA HCOP)

•Methods

•Results

•Conclusions

•Discussion

•Questions

Learning Outcomes1. To identify at least one strategy for increasing equitable

opportunities for graduate education for diverse populations

2. To describe how workforce development grants can be used to improve the pathway to graduate-level professions for low-income, first-generation college students

3. To apply the concept of community cultural wealth to first-generation college students’ preparation for graduate school

4. To understand how connecting inner learning (reflective processes) and outer learning (intellectual activities) can be used to engage students of color in graduate school programs where they are underrepresented

ActivityMe & My Culture:

What object represents your culture, your journey, and your career?

Center for Research on Educational Access and Leadership (C-REAL)

•Solution-focused, data-driven research to solve educational inequities.

•Asset based perspective

•Student driven research center

Global Issues

DiversityAssessment & Evaluation

LeadershipEducational

AccessSocial Justice

Center for Research on Educational Access and Leadership (C-REAL)

Vision & Mission

C-REAL’s Purpose

Program

• Provide feedback for program improvement

• Assessing systematic change for creating a college-going culture in secondary educational settings

• Support student learning, success and access to college

Evaluation & Assessment

• Longitudinal mixed methods study of students’ college and career aspirations

NOCA HCOP

•North Orange County Allied and Other Health Careers Opportunity Program •U.S. HHS grant branded locally as the Allied Health Academy

•Aims to increase retention and graduation of this population through four key objectives: •1) academic preparation•2) personal development•3) formation cultural identity•4) career development

North Orange County Education & Race Demographics

54%19%

26%

1%

Anaheim Race/Ethnicity

Hispanic/ Latino

AAPI

Non-Hispanic White

Other

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

High school graduates Bachelor's degree or higher

Anaheim Orange County US

Purpose of NOCA HCOP Increase retention and graduation of

diverse underserved students

Return to their communities

Ensure positive outcomes for the healthcare field

Ensure long-term outcomes for underserved communities

Goals of NOCA HCOP

students interested in the allied and other health professions

predominantly Latino/a, Pacific Islanders, and Southeast Asian

students

from low socioeconomic backgrounds

the regional area of Southern California

Create an educational pipeline from high school

through graduate school for:

Strategies of NOCA HCOP

System

Institution

Community

Individual

• Coordinate across levels, early career exposure and admissions discussions

• Institutionalize through courses and student organizations

• Build community via mentorship and shared space

• Center marginalized narratives of students and guest speakers

CSUF Activities of NOCA HCOP

Undergraduate Academy

(academic year program)

• Career exposure

• Graduate student panels, mixers, taste of Graduate School mock class

• Navigation

• GRE test prep, letter of recommendation, study skills, grad application workshops

Pre-Matriculation Program

(4-week summer program for incoming graduate students)

• Academic boot camp

• Writing, reading, quantitative, and critical thinking

• Basic needs

• Meals, parking/transportation, afternoon/evening hours, resources

Community Cultural Wealth: Aspirational, Linguistic, Familial, Social, Navigational, Resistant

Holistic support:Wellness, social support, identity development, socialization, stipend, app fee reimbursement

Methods

• NOCA HCOP• Application• Likert-type items• Open-ended items• AH interest• MEIM-R: Ethnic Identity• Recommendations

• Pre-Matriculation (PMP)• Likert-type items• Open-ended items• Graduate Research prep• Recommendations

PMP Pre- and Post-surveys

PMP Focus Groups

General Pre –and Post-

survey

General Focus Groups

Cross-Sectional Hypotheses

Undergraduate

• When students are exposed to careers in allied health and receive assistance with graduate applications, they will experience more successful graduate acceptance rates.

PMP

• Students who receive academic, professional, and social support from the Pre-Matriculation Program will be more prepared to enter graduate school and apply their degree to their community.

Findings

Undergraduates Ethnicity Year 1-3 (N = 140)

Hispanic/Latino/a Asian Black White Not Reported

Year 1 (n = 49) 28 15 3 3 0

Year 2 (n = 50) 35 11 3 0 1

Year 3 (n = 41) 19 17 3 1 1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Nu

mb

er o

f St

ud

ents

PMP Ethnicity Year 2 & 3 (N = 30)

Hispanic/Latino/a Asian Black White

Year 2 (n = 10) 5 1 2 2

Year 3 (n = 20) 14 4 1 1

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Nu

mb

er o

f St

ud

ents

Undergraduate outcomes

•Graduate school acceptance rates: 29/29 (100%)

“Grad school was never something that I thought; it wasn’t in the picture. I went to see an advisor and she was like ‘Why don’t you just go to grad school?’”

“Through this program, it makes me realize…oh there’s various aspects but they all contribute to one thing, to get into grad school”

Undergraduate implications

Creating a learning community of AH students may facilitate motivation for graduate school

Faculty mentors and peer mentors may allow for better interactions and foster a sense of agency

PMP outcomesYear 2: Paired Samples t-test, n = 9 Year 3: Paired Samples t-test, n = 17

Graduate School

Preparedness

Mean

differencet

Significant

(2-tailed)Mean difference t

Significant

(2-tailed)

Overall, I feel prepared for

graduate school.

1.00 3.46 .009** 1.00 6.73 <.001***

I am familiar with graduate-

level academic assignments.

1.67 7.07 <.001*** 1.47 7.58 <.001***

I have the skills necessary to

be successful in graduate

school.

.889 4.44 .002** 1.05 7.85 <.001***

Community

I see myself as an advocate

in my community.

.556 3.16 .013* .58 3.40 .004**

Note: *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p <.001

PMP outcomesAttitudinal differences toward the Pre-Matriculation Program between Year 2 and Year 3: Independent Samples t-test, n =26

Mean Difference t Significant (2-tailed)

I feel the Pre-Matriculation program improved my research skills

.235 2.21 .041*

I feel confident in my professional communication skills (e.g., email etiquette, personal & professional social media)

.235 2.21 .041*

How likely are you to use the following resources during your graduate career? - Participating in research

.477 2.55 .017*

I am aware of the various sources of funding for graduate school

.294 2.58 .020*

Note: *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p <.001

PMP outcomes

• “Going through this program, I realized that I do have a lot of cultural value myself which I got from my parents who are also Korean, being aware of it [and] using it in the field.”

New Students

• “We ran our own data, and we learned to run tests like one-way ANOVA and the t-test.”

Returning Students

PMP implications

Students who feel prepared for graduate school also feel prepared to serve their community

When students are connected to their ethnic identity, they understand how valuable they are in their community

Overall Findings

Undergraduate Students PMP Students

• Exposed students to AH careers and graduate programs

• Provided students with the tools to navigate graduate school process

• Students gained confidence

• Students grasped the importance of serving in their community

Recommendations

Culturally relevant graduate school preparation (undergraduate & incoming graduate students)

Preparedness for first-generation graduate students should encompass research, resources, and funding

Discussion & Questions

• What challenges have your students faced in their pursuit of graduate school?Barriers

• How do you emphasize the community cultural wealth of your students?Strengths

• How can you connect psychosocial learning (reflective processes) with cognitive learning (intellectual/practical applications)?

Pedagogy

• What strategies could you incorporate on your campus?Application

Contact us

•Program•Erin Manalo-Pedro – emanalo@fullerton.edu•http://alliedhealth.fullerton.edu

•Evaluation•Dawn Person – dperson@fullerton.edu•http://ed.fullerton.edu/c-real/