Enrolling and Supporting Undocumented Latino/a Students

in Higher Education

Donna Lee Sullins

Jesús Hernández

Texas A&M University 0

Learning Outcomes

As a result of attending this presentation, participants will be able to:

• State why enrollment and retention of undocumented Latino/a students is an area that cannot be ignored

• Identify barriers for enrollment of undocumented Latino/a students

• Illustrate examples for meeting the needs of undocumented Latino/a students through the OTR lens

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Overview of Latino/a as an identity

• “Latino/a” vs. “Hispanic”

• “Hispanic” – “a word created by the United States that does not recognize ethnic differences as well as countries of national origin” (Castania, 2003, p. 3)

– Spanish as a common language

• Commitment to the family unit

• Stereotypes of Latino/as

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Definition of Undocumented and how to know them

• “Undocumented” - term used to describe people who do not fall into any of the legal categories of U.S. residents

• “Undocumented” vs. “illegal alien”

• Motivation to provide for their families who afforded new chances to them

• Childhood arrivals

3

Statistics and Enrollment

patterns • Undocumented Latino/a students enroll in

college in much lower numbers

• 66% of all high school graduates enroll in college

• Estimated 5% to 10% of the undocumented high school graduate population enroll in college

4

College Choice

• Steps of the college choice process:

predisposition, search, and choice

• “Good fit” vs. viable option

5

Barriers to Undocumented Latino/a enrollment

• Discontinuous education

– Moving to where there is work

• Lack of cultural capital, such as direct knowledge of college processes

• Geographical location

• Ability to finance education

– Lack of access to employment

– Lack of access to financial aid

6

Work Life

• “Some immigrant children, and undocumented children in particular, are expected to generate income for their families by working at different points of the year” (Gildersleeve & Ranero, 2010, p. 24).

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Family Life

• Responsibility to the family unit

• Strong familial support system

• Taking the college experience into the home of the student

8

Parental language barrier

• College materials sent to parents are in

English

• Orientation and other campus programs is often only offered in English

9

First Generation Status

• First in their families to be reared in the United States

• Parents face the unknown both culturally and with their children’s academics

• “First-generation students do not view going to college as a solely individual pursuit, but rather as the culmination of generations of effort and progress in their families and communities” (Engle, Bermeo, & O’Brien, 2006, p. 22)

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What’s your state’s status?

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Reference

Financial Assistance

• Access to in-state tuition could be limited

• Unable to receive some forms of financial aid

– FASFA is sometimes a prerequisite

• MALDEF

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Barriers to Undocumented Latino/a retention

• Non-college life-events

• “Invisible population” – difficult to track

• Ability to finance education

• Extensive work experience often not considered

• Change from homogenous school environment to heterogeneous

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Undocumented Students & OTR

• UC-Berkley

• UC-Davis

• Texas A&M University

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Institution Highlights: University of California - Berkeley • Undocumented Student Program

– Services: academic counseling, Haas Dreamers Resource Center, emergency grants, immigration legal support, housing resources, holistic health and wellness, lending library

– Resources: provide financial aid and scholarship information, facilitate student connections, empower students to tell their stories

– Commitment to research and education

• UndocuAlly Training Program

• Centralized information

• Not a Hispanic Serving Institution

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Institution Highlights: University of California - Davis

• AB540 and Undocumented Student Center

– Resources: confidential legal counsel, academic advising, access to counseling support, scholarship information, financial advising

• AB540 education

– California Education Code § 68130.5; exempt from paying non-resident tuition for certain non-resident students who attended high school in California and received high school diploma or equivalent

• Campus collaboration that involves Student Recruitment and Retention Center, Chicana/o Studies, King Hall Law School (law clinics)

• Not a Hispanic Serving Institution

• AB 540 Infographic

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Institution Highlights: Texas A&M University

• New Student Conferences en Español

• Services provided by Student Counseling Service – Individual personal counseling

• Adjusting to the university environment, uncertainty about major or future, excessive worry or inability to concentrate

– Career counseling (considering DACA)

– Support for first generation college students

– International student discussion group

• Council for Minority Student Affairs student organization

• Information/services not centralized

• Not a Hispanic Serving Institution – 17.4% Hispanic student population (as of 2013), 25% of 2014 freshmen class

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Summary of Services

• Many institutions provide information for undocumented students via admissions or financial aid web sites

• Many institutions provide resource guides

• Retention of undocumented students is not usually a formal process for keeping students on campus, but rather keeping them in the country

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Discussion Questions

• What support systems are currently in place on

your campus for undocumented students?

• What services that you already offer could be slightly altered or marketed differently to serve this student population?

• We wonder, why are non-HSIs doing well in providing services to undocumented students?

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References

• Baum, S., Kurose, C., & McPherson, M. (2013). An overview of American higher education. Postsecondary Education in the United States, 23(1), 17-39.

• Broido, E. M. (2004). Understanding diversity in millennial students. In M. D. Coomes & R. DeBard (Eds.), Serving the millennial generation. New Directions for Student Services, no. 106 (pp. 73-85). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Castania, K. (2003). Diversity: The evolving language of diversity. Ithaca, NY: Communication and Marketing Services at Cornell University.

• Chang, M. J., Milem, J. F., & antonio, a. l. (2011). Campus climate and diversity. In J.H. Schuh, S.R. Jones, S.R. Harper, & Associates (Eds.), Student services: A handbook for the profession (pp. 43-60). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Cox, B. E., & Reason, R. D. (2011, April). Life happens (outside of college): Race-specific effects of non-college life-events on students’ likelihood of on-time graduation. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.

• Engle, J., Bermeo, A., & O’Brien, C. (2006). Straight from the source: What works for first-generation college students. Washington, DC: Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education.

• Gildersleeve, R. E. (2010). Access between and beyond borders. Journal of College Admission, (206), 3-10.

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References (continued)

• Griffin, K. A., & Hurtado, S. (2011). Institutional variety in American higher education. In J.H. Schuh, S.R. Jones, S.R. Harper, & Associates (Eds.), Student services: A handbook for the profession (pp. 24-42). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Immerwahr, J. (2002). Public Concern about the price of college. In Losing ground: A national status report on

• the affordability of American higher education, (p. 14). San Jose, CA: National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

• Jones, S. R., & McEwen, M. K. (2000). A conceptual model of multiple dimensions of identity. Journal of College Student Development, 41, 405-414.

• Levine, A. & Dean, D. R. (2012). Generation on a tightrope: A portrait of today’s college

• student. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• MALDEF (2009) Scholarship resources. Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Retrieved from: http://www.maldef.org/leadership/scholarships/index.html

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References (continued)

• Museus, S. D. (2008). The model minority and the inferior minority myths. About Campus, 13(3), 2-8.

• National Orientation Directors Association. (n.d.). Parent & Family. Retrieved from http://www.nodaweb.org/?page=network_parent

• Paulsen, M. B., & St. John, E. P. (2002). Social class and college costs: Examining the financial nexus between college choice and persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 73(2), 189-236.

• Phinney, J. S., & Haas, K. (2003). The process of coping among ethnic minority first-generation college freshmen: A narrative approach. The Journal of Social Psychology, 143(6), 707-726.

• Renn, K. A. & Reason, R. D. (2013). College Students in the United States: Characteristics,

• experiences, and outcomes. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Taylor , P. & Keeter, S. (Eds.) (2010). Millennials: A portrait of generation next, confident, connected, open to change. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.

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Questions?

Please feel free to contact us!

Donna Lee Sullins

DonnaLee@tamu.edu

Jesús Hernández

JesseH@stuact.tamu.edu

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