A Tale of Two Students

1. A Tale of Two Students October2012

2. The story of two hypothetical SPC students… In Fall of 2012, William and Karla will be attending St. Petersburg College to pursue an associate’s degree. Both are very excited about attending college for the first time. A Tale of Two Students

3. William, age 18 • Attended Palm Harbor University High School • Chose SPC because his parents can afford the tuition • Lives at home with parents • Parents both attended college • Has friends that will also attending SPC • College-ready on the first day of classes • Works part-time for spending money A Tale of Two Students

4. Karla, age 24 • Attended Boca Ciega High School • Single mother of one child • Works full-time as a waitress • Attended SPC because she qualified for financial aid • Lives at home but parents cannot assist with her tuition, and they need her income to help pay rent and family expenses • Will be required to take several developmental courses for writing and math before she can begin taking college-level courses A Tale of Two Students

5. Discussion: Who is more likely to graduate, William or Karla? A Tale of Two Students

6. Equal opportunity to succeed is a widely held and positive value in our society. • Ensuring that everyone in America has an equal opportunity to succeed is in our national interest. Equal Opportunity

7. Each student should have the same access to teaching curriculum, learning materials, advising resources, and out-of-class support. • Each student should have the same opportunity to succeed Equal Opportunity

8. Discussion: How important is equal opportunity at SPC? A Tale of Two Students

9. What happens to our hypothetical students when life intervenes? Life Challenges

10. Car Breaks Down Life Challenges

11. Karla does not have the money for repairs. She requests overtime to pay for the parts and has a friend install the part. She must take multiple buses to get to class and begins to get behind. William rides to school with friends while his car is in the repair shop. Parents loan him the money for the repair. He does not miss any school during the process. Life Challenges

12. Child Sick Life Challenges

13. Karla’s son comes down with the flu. Her family tries to help out, but she misses class to stay home with her son and gets further behind in her studies. William does not have any children and he is not impacted. Life Challenges

14. Lose Job – Company Downsizing Life Challenges

15. Karla loses her job and must immediately stop everything else to look for a new position. Her family relies on her income to make ends meet. This results in her dropping a few of courses. William loses his job at the mall. He borrows some money from his parents until he can find another part time job. This does not impact his school work. Life Challenges

16. Discussion: • How did similar events and experiences contribute to different outcomes for the students? • Would you say that the students had equal opportunity to succeed? Why or why not? • To what degree do the scenarios in this simulation resonate with your knowledge or perceptions of student experiences at your institution? Life Challenges

17. Equity

18. Practicing equity does not mean treating all students the same. Equity

19. “Meeting students where they are” • Providing each student the encouragement, opportunities, and support that he or she needs to succeed. • Equity is at the heart of student success because different students have different needs for resources and support. Equity

20. Discussion: • What did you learn from simulation? • What is one thing that we can do differently to improve equity? Improving Equity

21. What are we doing institutionally to promote Equity at SPC? Improving Equity

22. College Experience • Beginning Courageous Conversations: Five Probing Questions • Each One, Reach One Improving Equity

23. College Experience

24. 1. Completion of developmental courses  • a)  If your discipline contains developmental courses, what are the barriers that impact student’s completion of those courses? • b) Which specific student groups are having the most difficulty completing these courses (e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, disabilities, age, veterans, etc.?) Why? • 2. Completion of Gateway courses (High enrollment, low success) • a) Identify Gateway courses within your program. • b) Which specific student groups are having the most difficulty completing these courses (e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, disabilities, age, veterans, etc.?) Why? • 3. Completion of all courses with C or better  • a) Which courses within your discipline have the lowest success rates? • b) Which specific student groups are having the most difficulty completing these courses (e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, disabilities, age, veterans, etc.?) Why? • 4. Fall-to-Spring retention rate and Fall-to-Fall progression  • a) What are the barriers that impact students’ semester to semester progression? • b) Which specific student groups are most likely to “stop out”? Why? • 5. Graduation rate  • a) What barriers impact the ability for students to graduate from your program? • b) Which specific student groups are less likely to graduate? Why? Five Probing Questions

25. Each one, Reach One

26. “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin For additional resources relating to equity and Achieving the Dream, visit the Equity Resource Center www.achievingthedream.org/erc at the ATD website. Improving Equity

27. Finish What They Start