A Profile of Latina/o and African American Students in their First Year of College: Implications for Persistence & S

1. A Profile of Latina/o and African American Students in their First Year of College: Implications for Persistence & Success Victor Sáenz, Ph.D. (Co-author: Leticia Oseguera, Ph.D.) Tuesday, October 10th, 2006 National Symposium on Student Retention Albuquerque, NM

2. Presentation Goals • Overview of HERI; History of CIRP Freshman Survey • Introduce the YFCY survey as a longitudinal follow-up to the CIRP Freshman Survey • Review results of study using Freshman Survey and YFCY survey data • Discuss how institutions can utilize HERI longitudinal data to assess retention outcomes

3. Higher Education Research Institute CIRP Cooperative Institutional Research Program Funded Research Freshman Survey College Senior Survey YFCY • Atlantic Philanthropies • Templeton • National Institutes of Health Faculty Survey

4. CIRP Freshman Survey • Largest and longest-running national study of American college students • Initiated in 1966 at the American Council on Education; Housed at HERI (UCLA) since 1973 • Administered annually to over 400,000 incoming freshmen at more than 600-700 colleges and universities nationwide • Since 1966: 12 million students; 1,800 institutions

5. CIRP Freshman Survey Items • Demographic Characteristics • Expectations for College • High School Experiences • Degree Aspirations & Career Plans • College Finances • Attitudes, Values, & Life Goals • Reasons for Attending College • FRESHMAN TRENDS (1966 – present)

6. CIRP Freshman Trends

7. CIRP Freshman Trends

8. Your First College Year (YFCY) Survey • Developed in 2000 in conjunction with the Policy Center on the First Year of College • Designed as a follow-up to the CIRP Freshman Survey; may also be used as a stand-alone instrument • Over 1/3 of the YFCY survey items directly post-test items on the CIRP Freshman Survey • In 2005, surveyed over 40,000 students at 200+ institutions nationwide

9. YFCY Major Themes • Academic and social adjustment • Sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction • Academic, residential, and employment experiences • Plans for the next academic year • Patterns of behavior • Life goals • Self-concept and feelings of personal success

10. YFCY & the I-E-O Model Environments YFCY Inputs CIRP Freshman Survey Outcomes YFCY

11. YFCY & the I-E-O Model Environments YFCY (e.g., place of residence during the first year, interactions with peers and faculty, curricular and co-curricular experiences) Inputs CIRP Freshman Survey (e.g., academic performance in high school, financial concerns prior to college entry, expectations for college, degree aspirations, self-concept in high school) Outcomes YFCY (e.g., satisfaction with college, social/emotional adjustment, sense of belonging)

12. Higher Education Pipeline: Points for Policy and Institutional Intervention • High School Drop-outs • College Enrollment & Transfer (2-yr & 4-yr schools) • First Year of College (transition to 4-yr schools) • Persistence & Graduation Rates • Graduate School Enrollment

13. Higher Education Pipeline:Why focus on Latinas/os & African Americans? • High School Drop-outs • In 2000 Census, 21% of Hispanic 16- to 19-year-olds were high school dropouts (8% of White youth; 12% of African American youth). • College Enrollment & Transfer (2-yr & 4-yr schools) • In 2000, Latinas/os represented 9.5% and African Americans 11.3% of all students in higher education, with over 50% of these students at 2-yr institutions. • First Year of College (transition to 4-yr schools) • ? ? ?

14. The Challenge • While Latina/o and African American enrollment has steadily increased in last decade, they remain disproportionately underrepresented at four-year institutions. • Further, these student groups continue to lag behind other groups in baccalaureate degree completion and educational attainment. • Addressing this gap in educational attainment is a critical policy priority of many policymakers and researchers. • Need to focus efforts on the retention and graduation rates for Latinas/os and African Americans already enrolled in college (e.g., during the first year of college).

15. The First Year of College… • Is about transitioning • Affects college satisfaction, self-confidence, adjustment • Is about establishing a positive relationship with the institution • Influences degree and career objectives • Has critical implications for Persistence & Success

16. The First Year of College:Latinas/os & African Americans • Existing research on the first year of college has not adequately disaggregated student experiences by race or ethnicity. • Students of color at predominantly white institutions can experience feelings of isolation, difficulty in transitioning, etc. • It is important to study these experiences as they may have serious implications for these students’ ability to persist and succeed in college.

17. First Year of College:Purpose of Study Using a national, longitudinal sample: • Profile the pre-college and first-year characteristics of Latina/o and African American students • Investigate key experiences across demographic, college preparatory, academic, environmental, and emotive domains that might differ for Latina/o and African American students. Second Phase (not detailed today) • Satisfaction with college • Social/Academic self-confidence • Social/emotional adjustment

18. First Year of College:Data & Sample • Funded by the Office of Latino Policy Initiatives, University of California Office of the President • Data • 2000/2001 (CIRP) Freshmen Survey • 2001/2002 (YFCY) First College Year Survey • Longitudinal in nature; can track students over time • Sample • Over 140 public and private institutions nationally • Students: • Latinas/os (n=891) • African Americans (n=755) • White/Caucasians (n=1,646) (stratified random sample) • TOTAL N=3,292

19. Descriptive analyses: Analyses were conducted to explore pre-college and first year experiences for Latinas/os and African Americans; data for White/Caucasians were used as a comparison group. Second Phase (not detailed today) Higher-order statistical analyses Shed light on more complex relationships among variables of interest, and Help to pinpoint the unique experiences that matter for these students in their first year of college. First Year of College:Analyses

20. First Year of College:Variables of Interest

21. First Year of CollegeProfile: Parental Education

22. First Year of CollegeProfile: Financing College • Financial considerations loom large…

23. First Year of CollegeProfile: Work Status • Work is a critical area for concern during the first year…

24. First Year of CollegeProfile: Time away from Campus

25. First Year of College:Profile – Key Findings • Latinas/os were less likely to live on campus and to choose a college that is near their home than non-Latinos. • Non-Latinos far outpaced their Latina/o counterparts in reported family income. • Parental education levels for Latinas/os were significantly lower than for their non-Latino peers.

26. First Year of College:Profile – Key Findings (cont.) • Latina/o and African American respondents were more likely to list that an offer of financial aid was “important” or “very important” in helping them choose a college. • Latinas/os and African Americans reported higher financial concerns than their peers. • Latinas/os and African Americans tended to be employed at greater rates and worked for longer periods of time, while enrolled full-time in college during their first year.

27. First Year of College:Profile – Summary • Latinas/os and African Americans are more likely than their peers to spend added time in activities that are at odds with college success during the critical first year, including: • spending more time working, • commuting to campus, and • living off campus.

28. First Year of CollegeProfile: Academic Engagement

29. First Year of CollegeProfile: Academic Engagement

30. First Year of College:Academic Experiences – Findings • No major differences were found in students’ social and intellectual activities and behaviors during their first college year. • Latina/o and African American students reported equally high levels of academic engagement in their first college year as evidenced by: • amount of time spent studying, • developing effective study skills, • managing their time effectively, and • adjusting to the academic demands of college.

31. First Year of College:Academic Experiences – Conclusions • Pre-college background differences may well manifest themselves in ways that create greater challenges or stressors for Latina/o and African American students in competing academically during their first year of college. • For some Latina/o students, the unique combination of socio-economic and family pressures that are evidenced by the need to live at or closer to home and to work for pay, for example, may negatively affect emotional well-being, which in turn may depress academic success. • The nonacademic stressors associated with going to college can negatively affect Latina/o and African American students’ chances for persistence and success.

32. First Year of College:Things to think about… • Our Findings should encourage educators to think more deeply about how for Latinas/os and African Americans, academic success might be linked to unique nonacademic challenges associated with pre-college characteristics that contribute to additional pressures.

33. Contact HERI • Victor Saenz, PhD CIRP Research Manager • Email: vsaenz@ucla.edu • Website: www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri