College Access Program Research Articles

Increasing Access to a Four–Year College: Impacts of a California State University Guaranteed Admission Program on College Enrollment Rates

Guaranteed admission programs are a type of college access program that provide students who meet certain criteria (e.g., a minimum GPA) with guaranteed admission to one or more colleges. This paper studies guaranteed admission agreements between California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) and its local school district to evaluate if smaller scale, local guaranteed admission programs have comparable impacts on college enrollment rates to previously studied state-wide programs. Employing a regression discontinuity (RD) design around the program’s GPA cutoff conditional on students satisfying other program requirements, this paper finds that the program significantly increased enrollment at CSUSM and at any California State University (CSU) and increased (not significantly) the likelihood of students enrolling at four-year institutions compared to two-year alternatives. In addition, the program disproportionally affected students from underrepresented backgrounds (e.g., first-generation, nonwhite, and low-income backgrounds), suggesting that local guaranteed admission programs also have the potential to increase representation at four-year public institutions and encourage underrepresented students to enroll at higher-quality postsecondary institutions. KEYWORDS: Guaranteed Admission; College Enrollment; College Admissions; College Access; Higher Education; California State University; Education Policy; Local Policy

Referrals, Collaborative Actions, and Norm-Setting Practices: How College Access Programs Partner with High Schools

Referrals, Collaborative Actions, and Norm-Setting Practices: How College Access Programs Partner with High Schools

Complicating College Access: Understanding Compliance and Resistance for Latinx Youth in Suburbia

This qualitative study examines the experiences of Latinx youth and mainly white staff of the Academic Scholars Program, a college access program that operated in an affluent suburban high school. Guided by Critical Race Theory and Critical Whiteness Studies, the findings highlight the constraints Latinx youth and staff faced and how they resisted assimilative practices.

Does Virtual Advising Increase College Enrollment? Evidence from a Random-Assignment College Access Field Experiment

Although in-person college access programs can be effective, less is known about whether low-cost and scalable virtual interventions can achieve the same benefits. We evaluate two variants of a virtual college counseling program. Students randomly assigned to the program felt more supported applying to college and applied more broadly to four-year colleges, but were not more likely to be accepted or enroll. We analyze rich and extensive survey data to explore mechanisms and why the program did not improve college enrollment. We conclude that low-intensity programs may work for some students, but many probably need in-person and intensive help. (JEL C93, I23, I24, I28, L31)

Variation in Linguistic Stance: A Person-Centered Analysis of Student Writing

The present study offers an alternative methodological approach to the growing body of literature on stance—the linguistic arrangements that construe a writer’s perspective on knowledge. A number of recent studies have concluded that control over linguistic stance tends to develop through college and that preferred markers of stance differ by discipline. We know relatively little, however, about how those patterns differ within and between individuals. This study uses a person-centered method, multilevel latent profile analysis, to determine how secondary students in the United States use typical markers of stance in their writing, and to what extent that use varies across texts. The analysis focuses on 338 informal responses produced by 27 rising high school seniors during a college access program. Findings point to wide variation in how students at this level use linguistic markers in their writing, and to the role of the larger instructional context in shaping stance in the informal response genre.

“Why so Many Words?” Students’ Perspectives on College Access and Success Terminology

This study explores the perspectives of Black men on terminology often used in college access and success recruitment and programmatic materials. The authors suggest that deficit models often result in student enculturation and arise from linguistic complexity and misunderstandings. The findings provide avenues for student affairs professionals to avoid deficit terminology usage and outline methods to include student voices in college access and success program recruitment and program materials.

The Benefits of Infusing the Arts in a College Preparatory Program

An extensive body of work has demonstrated the benefits of participating in the arts, including when it is integrated into other disciplines, for young adults. In addition, this work highlights the likely advantages of engagement with the arts for students from low-income backgrounds as they transition into elite postsecondary institutions. Such findings have shaped the organization of the Princeton University Preparatory Program (PUPP), a rigorous academic and cultural enrichment program which supports high-achieving, low-income public high school students, from the communities surrounding campus, prepare for admission to and success at selective colleges and universities. More specifically, PUPP provides its scholars with a studio art course during each of their three summers in the program and school-year trips to performances and museums. During their time in PUPP, scholars attend approximately 21 live performances and visit at least six different art museums.In this paper, we add to the literature on art integration by examining whether, and how, the views of PUPP scholars on the arts programming they receive change over their time in the program. We also assess the PUPP alumni’s perceptions of the extent to which PUPP’s art and cultural activities influenced them. Taken together, these analyses of survey data help us understand whether there are differences in student views by the amount of art programming they receive (“dosage”) and if there are sustained benefits of the arts integration and programming PUPP students receive (“fade-out”). We supplement this quantitative data with information from focus groups with a variety of stakeholders.Although our quantitative analyses of survey data revealed no dosage or fade-out effects, our interview data highlighted the cumulative development of art skills and knowledge over time and confirmed that the program’s arts and cultural activities provided contextual information and experiences useful for PUPP alumni in college. Along with prior work that shows PUPP scholars’ overwhelmingly positive views of the arts programing, these  findings point to the benefits of university-led college access programs that provide arts and cultural exposure for students’ social and cultural capital and college preparation.

Stepping in and up to meet community needs: How community-based college access and success programs responded to COVID-19.

The current study uplifts the efforts of community‐based college access and success programs (CAS) to support the college preparation, matriculation, and persistence of underserved students during COVID‐19. Fifty‐eight CAS across the United States completed an online survey that gathered information about organizational demographics, COVID‐19 challenges, responses to challenges, and communication with constituents and funding needs during COVID‐19. Results suggested CAS faced multiple challenges due to COVID‐19 that affected the organization, staff, and constituents. Results also revealed organizations of varying sizes, locations, and demographics responded to challenges by revising existing programming for students, creating new programming for students and caretakers, and updating staff policies to meet ongoing and emergent needs despite limited resources. CAS are essential service providers for students who are under‐ and mis‐served in formal education systems. Recommendations are provided for how such organizations can be invested in and better prepared for future disruptions.

Becoming first-generation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand how I – and many other students – became first-generation college students (FGCSs) by exploring the rise and retraction of TRIO. Originally, TRIO was a set of three college access and retention programs created in the 1960s to address the needs of a population designated as academically and economically disadvantaged. The author uses the term “becoming” as a process of how a person is constructed socially, in this case, as a FGCS and faculty member. The author uses. social construction of targeted populations theory to explore my testimonio as a beneficiary of opportunity programs.Design/methodology/approachTo explore how FGCS experience policy changes affecting TRIO, I use my testimonio to build on the historical literature that covers 1968–2001. I begin my testimonio by first reviewing my background as a second generation Ecuadorian American. I then review how I encountered opportunity programs and why I continued to be a participant in these programs, specifically, TRIO. I end my testimonio by countering criticism of TRIO programs using research on and lived experiences with TRIO.FindingsDuring an era when TRIO budgets remain under constant attack, testimonios shed light on participants’ experiences with policy changes. Specifically, I reveal how economic budget cuts create policy changes to terms such as “academically and economically disadvantaged” and shapes perceptions and knowledge about who are FGCS.Research limitations/implicationsResearch limitations include application of social construction of targeted group theory to one testimonio. Implications include more studies on how policy changes, specifically budget allocations could affect characterizations and images of targeted populations such as FGCS.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the role of policy changes to TRIO program funding benefits students from misperceptions by educational administrators and other stakeholders.Originality/valueMy testimonio also builds on work regarding the impacts of CARPS on FGCS like me. Most importantly, my testimonio contributes to the efforts necessary to ensure these programs continue to exist and succeed. I use my testimonio side by side with research literature on TRIO to become both the subject of inquiry and the inquirer, simultaneously a beneficiary and an informant of how these programs have influenced my persistence through the postsecondary education system and shaped my understanding of FGCS.

Orientation, Parent Engagement, Tutoring, Summer Programs, and College Support: How a City is Helping Immigrant Students

One in four children in U.S. schools are part of an immigrant family, and we need to ensure that there are enough, and culturally sensitive services available to meet their needs and help them succeed educationally. Using a qualitative document analysis framework, the authors deductively coded more than 110 websites to assess the services available to immigrant students in a city in a Mid-Atlantic state of the United States. The results indicate that services included English as a second language services (n=33), tutoring (n=23), parent engagement activities (n=11), summer programs (n=11), college access programs (n=10), and orientation programs (n=9). Together the agencies and schools offer many programs that are reminiscent of collective impact models. We provide recommendations for future research and practice.

Participatory Action Research Addressing Social Mobility

Low wealth and first-generation high school graduates face many information barriers in accessing college information. Most of these students attend public high school without sufficient high school counselor staff and information resources to support college going. Further, limiting information about college to one location such as the high school excludes supports from the community. The purpose of this participatory action research (PAR) study was to investigate an alternative to the high school centric model of college access service delivery with a goal to reduce barriers to college information to improve social mobility. This paper first presents background on the challenge of college access and the theoretical framework guiding the study. Next the paper documents the participatory action research study examining how a community came together to create an action plan to increase college going and attainment. The PAR process engaged ten students and four adults in a rural high poverty Mississippi Delta community through photovoice and Q methodology. The community identified locations for outreach and noted the importance of trust in the institution and persons delivering the college access services. The resultant action plan created a roadmap and guide for community action. The study has implications for social mobility and the design of college access outreach and programs. Implications for communities considering college access outreach programs are provided. Policy implications are outlined including the need to fund sufficient planning time to enable low wealth and minority communities to design and plan social mobility programs.

Reconceptualizing College Knowledge: Class, Race, and Black Students in a College-Counseling Field

Past work and college–access programs often treat college knowledge as discrete pieces of information and focus on the amount of available college information. I use ethnographic and multiwave interview data to compare college–aspiring working- and middle–class black 9th and 11th graders across almost two years in high school along with their post–high school updates. Respondents were exposed to college–going messages but faced racial constraints and unclear expectations for college preparation and help seeking. Working-class respondents drew on hopeful uncertainty—a repertoire of hope for college admissions but uncertainty in the specifics—and they waited for assistance. Twelfth-grade working–class respondents experienced the effects of counseling problems and frustrations near application time. Middle-class and some working–class respondents used a repertoire of competitive groundwork to improve their competitiveness for four–year admissions, targeting their help seeking to navigate impending deadlines and late–stage counseling problems. My findings point to the timing and process of activating repertoires of college knowledge within a high school counseling field, suggesting the need to reconceptualize college knowledge in research on racial and class inequality in college access.

Examining the Role of Social Support for Adolescents from Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds in a College Access Program

Prior research has shown that college access programs help to increase college-going for youth from lower-income backgrounds. In addition to increasing college access, these programs also provide social support to youth and impact their academic and non-academic outcomes. Guided by risk and resilience frameworks, the present study examined social support from the college access program as a promotive factor for adolescents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The results indicated that social support was positively associated with personal resources, future college-going, and confidence in academic abilities. Overall, the current findings affirm the importance of investigating social support for adolescents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. These findings also have implications for future research related to social support from college access programs.

P-TECH SCHOOL IN TRANSPORTATION AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM: A CASE OF BALTIMORE CITY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Four years high school students took the opportunity of early college access and dual enrolment program by taking college courses while they are at a high school. In recent years several states including Maryland supported the development of a new model of early college access program for high school students called Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-TECH) 9-14 schools. With the P-TECH 9-14 school model in six years or less students graduate with a high school diploma and a no cost two-year associate degree in STEM fields. This paper discusses the recently developed new P-TECH transportation program at Baltimore City Community College. The program focuses on the supply chain management career pathway to meet the present and future needs of the region. P-TECH schools work with industry partners and a local community college to ensure an up-to-date curriculum that is academically rigorous and economically relevant. P-TECH programs also include mentoring, workplace visits and instruction on the skills needed for the industry and paid internships and job consideration with the partnering companies.

Narrowing the College Readiness Gap: Assessing GEAR UP Iowa's Intermediate Impact on Underserved Students

Earning a postsecondary degree or credential is increasingly important for individuals to succeed in the rapidly changing, global economy. College access programs like Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) serve to increase high school graduation and college readiness for underserved youth. This quasi-experimental study examined intermediate GEAR UP outcomes for GEAR UP Iowa 2.0 students (N = 4,845) and non-GEAR UP comparison students (N = 25,926). Among students who had participated in the program from 7th through 10th grade, GEAR UP students demonstrated higher attendance rates and increased standardized test scores with more impact shown among individuals from lower socioeconomic families. The implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

Letter from the Incoming Editor

To be clear, my work as editor will be to engage our journal with all education research that positions itself as critical, whatever that may mean;my invitation to you all as readers and writers and colleagues is to continue to be in conversation with us, with our journal, as we come to new, shared, expansive understandings of what education practice and theory can mean for our world. The articles you will read in this issue exemplify this urgent work, focusing on Black girls' reflections on their experiences with school counselors, and the college-going cultural capital of students engaged in a college access program. In a recent conversation with a colleague as I prepared to take this role on, we noted how disembodied and formal the publication process has been for us as students and aspiring authors-that is to say, it has mostly consisted of anonymous (sometimes deeply discouraging) reviews, rote emails, and ever-looming anxiety.

Just or Unjust? How Ideological Beliefs Shape Street‐Level Bureaucrats’ Perceptions of Administrative Burden

AbstractExisting research finds that increases in administrative burden reduce client access, political efficacy, and equity. However, extant literature has yet to investigate how administrative burden policies are interpreted by street‐level bureaucrats (SLB), whose values and beliefs structure uses of discretion and client experiences of programs. In this article, we utilize quantitative and qualitative data to examine SLB policy preferences regarding administrative burden in Oklahoma's Promise—a means‐tested college access program. Our findings demonstrate that SLB in our sample interpret administrative burden policies through the lens of political ideology. Conservative SLB express significantly more support for administrative burden policies, arguing that these policies prevent fraud and demonstrate client deservingness. In contrast, predominantly liberal SLB justify opposition to administrative burden by arguing that the requirements undermine social equity. Together, our findings reveal that SLB political ideology shapes interpretations of administrative burden and perceptions of client deservingness in Oklahoma's Promise.

Latinx Youth’s Funds of Knowledge: Empowering Activist Identities in a Nuevo South College Access Program

This paper highlights Latinx youth’s community engagement and activist identities during their participation in CHANCE ( Campamento Hispano Abriendo Nuestro Camino a la Educación), a college access program at UNC Greensboro. We examined Latinx youth’s activist identities using critical qualitative inquiry. Findings reveal collective consciousness and responsibility to the Latinx community. Implications and significance for higher education demonstrate how college access pathway programs, such as CHANCE, reinforce Latinx students’ scholar-activist identities.

Building Bridges with Latina/o Parents: Lessons from a College Access Program

ABSTRACT This research is based on a collaborative project with the University Scholars Program (USP), a college access program that serves middle and high school students who will be the first in their families to attend college. In this paper, we draw upon in-depth and focus group interviews with Latina/o parents whose children are enrolled in a college access program. Findings demonstrate participants’ challenges to engagement, a disconnect between the understanding of roles, desires for leadership cultivation and positive and negative aspects of information dissemination. Recommendations are provided to strengthen college access programs’ partnerships with Latina/o parents.

Discovering My Agency: Exploring how Youth Participatory Action Research Facilitates the Development of Capital by Underserved Youth in a College Access Program

Background/Context College access programs aim to enhance students’ college-going capital, which includes the “knowledge, skills, or dispositions” that support students’ pathways to and through higher education. While some college access programs aim to remedy students’ “deficiencies” in capital, strengths-based approaches recognize and amplify the cultural assets and capital that marginalized individuals and their communities possess. One such approach is community-based youth participatory action research (YPAR), which empowers young people as co-researchers to investigate topics of importance in their lives. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This study explored how participation in a community-based YPAR project facilitated the college aspirations and perceived development of college-going capital among underserved (low-income, first-generation, and racially and ethnically minoritized) youth in a college access program. Setting: The setting for this research was a university-based college access and success program, Achievement Program (pseudonym). Population/Participants/Subjects Ten high school tenth-graders in Achievement Program participated in the YPAR project. All are low-income and first-generation students and eight identify as Students of Color. Intervention/Program/Practice YPAR project participants assisted in designing and executing a qualitative research study on the barriers and opportunities that first-generation and/or low-income college students face. Participants also engaged in related activities such as reflective journaling, a trip to meet with national higher education policy organizations, and community engagement. Research Design: This research utilized an interpretive case study approach. Data Collection and Analysis: Data were drawn from three one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with each participant, photo elicitation, and one focus group with all ten participants. For analysis, the authors collaboratively developed a codebook focused on the impact of YPAR participation on development of college-going capital. Findings/Results Participants showed evidence of beginning to understand that although the college-going barriers they have faced are systemic, they hold power to challenge those barriers and effect positive change. YPAR participation also enabled participants to recognize their connections with and responsibility toward their communities and helped them connect educational pursuits such as research with working to improve college access and success for other low-income and first-generation students. Conclusions/Recommendations This study provides evidence for how incorporating community-based YPAR into college access programs can empower youth from underserved populations as agents of their college-going journeys by connecting them with college-going capital located within their communities. Therefore, we recommend that college access program professionals incorporate YPAR projects into their curricula to better support underserved students’ college-going journeys.