4th national conference for accelerated programs chicago. illinois november, 2005

Serving Underserved

Adult Learners

4th National Conference for Accelerated Programs Chicago. IllinoisNovember, 2005

Dr. Carmen L. LamboyProf. Luis ZayasDr. Luis Burgos

ObjectivesObjectives

• Discuss seven essential steps in the development and implementation of a successful program to serve underserved adults


• Present the development of the Accelerated Dual Language model as a case study-– to illustrate the development of

such a program– to demonstrate the possibility of

serving the fastest growing underserved segment: Latinos


• Provoke internal and external discussion of the need to develop programs to adequately serve the underserved

Who we areWho we are

Sistema Universitario Ana G. Méndez (SUAGM)

School for Professional Studies

Accelerated Learning Program

Dual Language Accelerated Learning

FIRST: DEFINE WHY YOU WANT TO DO IT!

• Establishes parameters for development

• Becomes a benchmark to assess how far you can go and how far you have traveled

• Financial: additional enrollments and income for the institution– Powerful incentive that opens

doors and gains allies– Usually puts a cap on how far

you can go

Reasons to serve the underserved


• Image and public relations– Powerful initial motivator– Usually provides for short-term

attention and limited scope

• Mission–Provides ample room for

comprehensive development and expansion

–Establishes connection to institutional and external reality


SUAGM: A combination of reasons provides the greater motivation

• SUAGM vision is to achieve projection beyond Puerto Rico

• Opening a center in a Latino community in the US that is mostly Puerto Rican was financially possible and sustainable

• Providing access to underserved populations has been the driving force behind SUAGM’s foundation and development

What do I do if this combination does not exist at my institution?

– Fast growth of underserved population segments creates powerful financial and public relations incentives for action

– Future growth of institutions depends on ability to attract and serve population segments that are growing

– If not in the mission…negotiate space for your own mission

•CREATE IT!

SECOND: DEFINE WHO YOU WANT TO SERVE

• Important to research the numbers, growth, composition and characteristics of the targeted population

• Gives clear focus to your efforts• Diverse population have diverse

needs– Resist the temptation to be all

things to all

• 58% increase in the Latino population in the United States (1990-2000)– Largest and fastest growing

minority group: over 40 million in 2004

– Latino population has increased over 6% in 42 states; over 21% in 26 states

– 20% of the US population will be Latino by 2020

• 40% of Latinos are first generation

SUAGM: The definition of our target population

US Bureau of the Census, 2000; Passel, 2004

• Educated bilingual professionals have more and better employment opportunities– Florida study indicates that

they make an average of $7,000 more annually

Creating Florida's Multilingual, Global Workforce, 2000UF, UM & FLDOE


• Latinos represent 15% of the US population-–Only 10% of university

students

US Bureau of the Census, 2000


• Latinos have lower success rates in the educational system:– 3 times the HS dropout rate of Anglos– 35% go on to college vs. 46%– 18% receive a bachelors vs. 37%

• Differences with first generation Latinos is significantly greater

US Bureau of the Census, 2000; Pew Hispanic Center, 2005; Fry, 2002


• Latino adults have significantly lower university level attainment.

46.4

60.3

10.6

28.1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

High School,Some College

Bachelors orHigher

Latinos

Non- Latino



• Latino mastery of the English language affects access to higher education– 18% of US population speak a language

other than English at home• 60% of them speak Spanish

– 85% of Latinos speak Spanish at home– 14 million Latinos report that they do not

speak English “very well” (49%)



• Financing higher education becomes an access issue for Latino adults– Lower income forces adults to work

full time– Those who study must do so part

time• 51% of Latinos are part time university

students compared to 45% of non-Latinos*

*Institute for Higher Education Policy, 2005


• Conclusion– Latinos represent the fastest

growing and more underserved population segment in the US

– In order to increase access of Latino adults to higher education we need alternative programs that will allow for:

• Enhancing English skills• Flexible scheduling to combine work,

study and personal responsibilities


THIRD: LEARN ABOUT AND FROM YOUR TARGET

POPULATION

• Research projects and best and failed practices

• Listen and consider their needs and expectations

Research

• Search for information, visit or contact other institutions and projects serving your population

• Search the literature for research on current practices

• Prepare targeted feasibility, market and other studies

Learn about needs and expectations

• Meet with community, government and private sector representatives and groups

• Conduct focus groups of potential students

SUAGM: Search for best and failed practices

Bilingual education

Bilingualism

Additive Bilingualism

Subtractive Bilingualism

Dual LanguageImmersion

Transitional

1st Model 2nd Model

Bilingual Alternatives

• Dual language characteristics complements Adult Learning Principles – curriculum is content based – effective language learning is tied to

real-life goals– includes experiential or hands-on

activities– spirit of collaboration and peer

interaction

Why Dual Language and not Transitional?

SUAGM: Search for best and failed practices

• Accelerated education: successful experience as alternative to meet the need for flexibility and convenience

SUAGM: Targeted research

• Conducted feasibility study to determine overall demographic trends in the area, market need, workforce demands, and geographic distribution of target population

• Conducted market share and enrollment projection study

SUAGM: Learning from those we want to serve

• Conducted focus groups of target population– Considered differences within the

population in determining group composition: national origin, language usage, place of residence/work

SUAGM: Learning from those we want to serve

• Meetings with:– Community leaders– City, county, state and economic

development government officials– Human resource area or other

corporate representatives

SUAGM: What we learned from those we wanted to serve

• Students from our target group were most concerned about issues traditional students are concerned: accreditation, faculty, financial aid

• Learning English is high priority but they recognize the need for a facilitating environment where they can use their language

• Location is essential

FOURTH: UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS PREVENTED THE INSTITUTION FROM SERVING THIS GROUP

• Critically analyze why they are currently not being served

• Define what needs to change

Reasons for being underserved

• The politically incorrect but widely held reason…– “They can’t cut it.”– “They are not well prepared.”

• The more likely but hard to accept reason…– The institution does not offer the

programs and services they need– The institution is not well-prepared to

attract, retain and serve the needs of the group

The need for change

• Most involved in developing programs for adults have lived this need– Similar process must occur for

each group you want to serve well

The need for change

• Institutions need to examine how current programs, services, attitudes and image impacts their ability to serve new populations

• If it is not reasonable to expect the institution to change-– Create an institutional space where

change is allowed and possible

SUAGM: What we changed…

• Neither our programs in Spanish nor our programs in English served the needs of our target population

• The way things are done and work well in Puerto Rico are not necessarily the same in central Florida– Always ask: Do we need to adapt?

What?

• The priorities of the community we serve are different

SUAGM: What we changed…

• We had to learn to understand, respect and serve diversity-– within our Latino community: national

origin, language usage– within racially and ethnically diverse

community

• Our centers needed greater academic and administrative autonomy to identify and respond to these changes: Branch Campus

FIFTH: DESIGN A PROGRAM THAT MEETS THE NEED AND OPENS THE

DOORS TO THE UNDERSERVED

• Key Components

• SUAGM’s model

Key components of the design

• Academic program and support services that meet the needs of the target population

• A business plan that realistically & strategically estimates program income and costs as well as benefits to the rest of the academic community

Our Model

Dual Language Discipline Based Immersion Program

Our Mission - Our Model

Fluency•Social•Personal

Professional

Proficiency

Use of both languages and both cultures for professional proficiency.

L2L1

Definition

• A Dual Language Professional is one who demonstrates professional competencies, confidently, in their field of study in Spanish and English.

Confidently

Conceptual Interpersonal Communication

Professional Competencies

SKILLS

Language

Conceptual Skills #1 Generate ideas

A DLP will generate

ideas in order to

solve problems

effectively

After analyzing two classroom situations- one in

English and one in Spanish- the students will

develop strategies and action plans in the corresponding language

MA ESOL – Generate Ideas

Five Basic Elements

I. Development of both I. Development of both languages through courseworklanguages through courseworkI. Development of both I. Development of both languages through courseworklanguages through coursework

• Undergraduate requirements of 12 credits both

languages

• Four-level language development sequence:

– Immersion (Non-credit): little or no language skills

– Developmental (Credit, not required): language

skills not at college level

– First year (Credit, required): first year college

requirement

– Second year (Credit, required): reading and

writing skills needed by the dual language

professional

English:Accuplacer (College Board): selection of

items targeted to model’s language curriculum

II. Placement testing - Computerized testing for immediate grading and data collection

II. Spanish: SUAGM Placement test for native speakers

S-CAPE for Spanish as a Second Language Speakers

III. Use of both languages in all content coursesIII. Use of both languages in all content courses

• Strictly follow 50/50 formula

• Modules

– Specify language to be used in each

workshop, assignments and

evaluations

– General information in both

languages

– Workshops in the language that will

be used in that workshop

III. Use of both languages in all content coursesIII. Use of both languages in all content courses• Faculty MUST use Monolingual

Delivery

• “Sheltered environment” for students

– May ask questions in language of

choice but will get answers in

workshop language

– Assignments and evaluations MUST

be in the language specified

IV. Computerized language lab for skill developmentIV. Computerized language lab for skill development

• Open lab for language and basic

skills development

• Faculty may arrange to bring their

classes

• Exercises developed in-house

complemented by other software

V. Bilingual faculty and staffV. Bilingual faculty and staff

• Staff speaks, reads and writes both

languages

• All faculty is bilingual, including those

teaching language courses

• Faculty and staff model a dual language

professional and provide “sheltered

environment”

• Continuous Professional Development

SIXTH: IMPLEMENT YOUR DESIGN WITH COMMITMENT, HARD WORK

AND OPEN MINDS AND EARS

• The start-up of a new and different program always entails going the extra mile

• Commitment becomes the real motivator

• Essential to include mechanisms for assessment and feedback from the beginning

Activities, Accomplishments and Lessons Learned

The Orlando Experience

Metro Orlando University Center (MOUC)

• Accelerated Dual Language studies for adults– Associate Degrees (2)– Bachelor Degrees (12)– Masters Degrees(5)

• Enrollment growth – 152 - Academic year 2003– 641 – Academic year 2005

Student Profile• Female (78%)• Age: 25-29 yrs. (26%) 40 > (23%) Average: 33 yrs. old• Family Size: 2-3 members (52%)• Single (57%)• Family Income: $25,000> (68%) Average: $47,629

Metro Orlando University Center (MOUC)

• Faculty– 121 Certified bilingual facilitators– 80 certified as Module Preparation

Specialists– Professional Development 2003-

2005:• 52 sessions• 1167 attendees

• 301 bilingual modules

Assessment Components

• Student Representative Meetings• End of Course Evaluations• External Peer Reviews• Language Placement Testing and Post-

testing • Student Achievement of Program

Objectives (Midpoint and Capstone Courses)

• Continuous Assessment of Program Activities (Evaluation of Staff and Faculty Development)

• Evaluation of Student Portfolios

End-Of Course Evaluations

• Student Satisfaction Survey• Completed every 5 weeks • Scale:

– A Totally Agree– B Agree– C Partially Agree– D Disagree– F Totally Disagree

• Reported in percentages

5561

2526

128

4 3 4 20

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

A B C D F

MODULES

RESOURCES

Instructional Resources

8795 94

93

32 1 1 1 0 0

1 1 2

0102030405060708090

100

A B C D F

ClassManagement

GroupInteractions

StudentEvaluation

Faculty and Classroom

11

59

84

A

B

C

D

F

Facilities

111

7

90

A

B

C

D

F

Self-Evaluation Language Confidence

32 Graduates – June 200532 Graduates – June 2005

SEVENTH: DO NOT REINVENT THE WHEEL OR GO AT IT

ALONE: PARTNER!• With other institutions and

community• Pool resources and experiences• Learn from others who have been

successful

What is AGMUS Ventures?

WHO ARE WE?WHAT DO WE DO?



• Joint venture of Ana G. Méndez University System (Puerto Rico) and Regis University (Colorado)

• AGMUS Ventures created to develop educational services and products with four key characteristics:– Accelerated

– Bilingual

– Adult focused

– Targeted to Latino markets: Latino-US and Latin America

Services and productsServices and products

• Develop new sites for implementation of dual language education model

• Provide administrative services for institutions wanting to develop this model at their sites

• Offer licensing and consulting agreements for model implementation: feasibility studies, marketing, staff and faculty development, others

• Develop materials needed for implementation of the model

Contact InfoContact Info

Carmen Lamboy, [email protected] Luis Zayas, [email protected] Burgos, [email protected]

4th national conference for accelerated programs chicago. illinois november, 2005

Documents

latino population

us population

effortsdiverse population

targeted population

comprehensive development

underserved populations

target populationlatinos

latino community