Supporting Immigrant Students in Higher Education: Advocacy, Programs, and Policies

1. Higher Education and Immigration: The State of Play, Advocacy & Support for Immigrant Students Nationally, Locally & On Campus

2. Dr. Pam Eddinger • President, Bunker Hill Community College • Chair of the Board, Achieving the Dream • Member, Blue Ribbon Panel, CCCIE

3. Our Program • Opening remarks: President Pam Eddinger • Context setting • State of play & national advocacy • Impact of state-level & institutional policies • Importance of immigration for community colleges • Advocacy and best practices for supporting immigrant students on campus • Q&A

4. Our Speakers President Pam Eddinger, Bunker Hill Community College Miriam Feldblum, Presidents’ Alliance Gaby Pacheco, TheDream.US John Burkhardt, National Forum Joselin Cisneros, National Forum Ronnie Rios, National Forum & Presidents’ Alliance Ruben Barato, Community College Consortium for Immigrant Education (CCCIE) and Westchester Community College Rachel, UndocuScholars Project, UCLA Andrea, Santa Monica College Robert Teranishi, UndocuScholars Project

5. Logistics Packets for participants: • Resources, reports, contact information • “Big Takeaway” Card: for you • “Big Idea” Card: to share with us

6. Federal Law & Actions Context Setting: Acting Collectively, Nationally, & Locally Advocacy: Legislation, Policies, Legal Challenges Education: Narratives, Data, Impact Best Practices: Identify, Share State Policies:Change, Engage Institutional Policies & Practices State Laws & Actions

9. National/State/Local Contexts John Burkhardt, Ph.D., Faculty Director | National Forum Ronnie Rios, Doctoral Student | Center for the Study of Higher and Post-Secondary Education Joselin Cisneros, Master’s Degree Student |Center for the Study of Higher and Post-Secondary Education

10. 1 National Forum’s Mission to Support Access for Undocumented Students John

11. CONTEXT Federal Policy 1 Policy debate involving numerous federal offices 50 States 4800 Institutions Inclusive States Unstipulated States Exclusionary States Public Institutions Private Institutions

12. Institutional Policies Institutional Practices 4800 institutions each with multiple functional areas Varying levels of clarity and transparency Thousands of different circumstances, levels of understanding, and specific concerns Admissions Financial Aid Registrar’s Offices Formal Communication Informal Communication Communities, Schools, Families and Students Limited Transparency

13. 2 National Policy Overview Ronnie

14. uLEAD Network

15. 3 Building Institutional Support for Undocumented Students in Michigan Joselin

16. Michigan’s Listing of Undoc-Accessible Public Campuses • 46 Public institutions • Developed rubric to analyze data • Gathered data on • Admissions • Tuition & Residency • Financial aid policies • General Support

18. How clear are the admissions and tuition policies for Michigan’s Public Institutions?

19. Michigan Institutional Support Overview

20. Translation to School/Community and Other Required Research • Making meaning of this information • Teachers, counselors, students, families • Community & advocacy • Next Steps • We need a similar analysis from each state • In MI facing translational problem of this information • Extending beyond public institutions

21. Who we are: • A national network of community colleges & other organizations committed to supporting immigrant education • Led by Westchester Community College, NY • Guided by a Blue Ribbon Panel of community college leaders and other experts What we do: • Build community college capacity to accelerate immigrant & refugee success • Raise awareness of the essential role these colleges play in advancing immigrant integration in our communities (www.cccie.org) How we do it: • Action-based research • Thought leadership • Technical assistance • Strategic partnerships

22. Key Takeaways About CCCIE’s Work: Community college practitioners must: • Recognize immigrants & refugees as assets to our colleges, communities & the nation. • Deliver holistic and targeted support to immigrants • Leverage community colleges’ unique role as a convener of diverse stakeholders. • Meet students where they are in their journey by setting clear pathways to further education, careers and credentials, and intentional structures to support them.

23. Westchester Community College Immigrant Student Access Center: • Serves as a clear referral point & resource for prospective and current immigrant students on campus & in the community • Builds on college-wide Welcome Center activities: • Orientation sessions for ESL students transitioning to college study • Free citizenship preparation workshops, legal clinics, DACA information sessions in partnership with community organizations • Resources for recognition of foreign higher education credentials Curriculum Initiatives: • Humanities Institute embeds immigrant experience into curriculum • Recognition of faculty as a key resource & classroom as central venue for exchange of ideas

24. Bringing Advocacy and Best Practices for Supporting Immigrant Students to the Campus Level Rachel and Andrea

25. Highlighting Best Practices at Community Colleges • College Presidents with Undocumented Students Film Series • Research Brief: Undocumented Student Resource Centers

26. How to Work with Student Advocates Student organization: “Ideas at SMC” Focusing efforts on: • Amplifying immigrant voice & narratives • Addressing needs & campus accountability

27. How to Work with Student Advocates • Role of staff in working with students • Faculty/Staff who assist in uplifting & advancing immigrant experiences & movement. • Allies in action consist of professors, counselors,departments (History, Student Equity, STEM etc) & peers.

28. How to Work with Student Advocates 2) Building institutional support • Institutional task force: coalition with IDEAS • Resource center 3) Call to Action • Institutional Challenge Day • Be an ally in action!

29. QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? IDEAS? Thank you for joining us today