Group #2 Roundtable Discussion: Parity and Discounted Dreams

Facilitator: Lynn Schaaf
Recorder: Diane Brisbon

1. From the film “Discounted Dreams” the group identified a number of factors that hinders parity as it pertains to student access and improved academic outcomes.

• Each student presented different levels of college preparedness. No special educational supports to address individual needs were mentioned
• External factors (family, employment prior education) placed student at a disadvantage
• No process of assisting the student evaluate realistic academic and career related goals
• No intervention process available for student in academic distress
• Quality of teaching seem to have a direct impact on student success
• Student isolation equals failure verses student involvement equals success

2. There are “pockets of excellence” that addresses the needs of particular students. Some successful programs and resources mentioned were Gateway to College, ACE Program, Center on Disability, Advance at College, Women’s Center and the African American Male Book Club. The Collaborative Learning Community Program (CLC) was mentioned due to the comparatively smaller student enrollment where students are able to take advantage of a variety of services, smaller class sizes, and ongoing support from counseling and advising.

However, college-wide, parity achievement does not appear to be at an acceptable level of effectiveness at Community. Although distant education courses enable the College to compete with other area schools, they fail to address the needs of the majority of underperforming students who would benefit best from the classroom experience. Current advising policies and on-line registration seems to be more of a hindrance that a support to students who need direct and ongoing academic guidance and support.

3. As mentioned, certain services and resources are effective in their efforts to connect and involve select students. Creating a Retention Division that will integrate, coordinate and extend support to a larger number of students is possible strategy to enhance student parity throughout The College.

When special programs are created to address the needs of select students, more successful out comes are evident. Students feel connected and involved which increases retention rates. Also, there is a higher level of commitment and personal satisfaction from faculty who choose to be a part of special programs.

4. Listed are some suggestions of what The College can do to achieve student parity

• Revise the current six hours of mandatory advising. Provide more training for faculty who wish to advise: as well as compensation.
• Implement an Early Warning System for all Educational Supportive Services
  Tenured faculty with an established teaching history should be rated on their teaching ability. Those with poor teaching track records should not be considered for special programs
• Freshman Orientation Seminar (FOS) 101 should be a mandatory three credit course.
• Provide additional training for instructors of remedial classes
• Revise the current one day orientation to extend throughout the entire15 week semester.
• As part of the semester long orientation process, each major or program will conduct an orientation for interested students during the semester.
• Provide opportunities for team-teaching in the classroom where faculty can work together to engage, involve and motivate their students.
• More outreach and involvement is needed to inform the community of opportunities, resources available at The College.

5. There is the desire for more open and honest dialogue and positive action between faculty and administration. Group members identified the business aspect of the institution as the primary agenda of the administration which seems to be in direct conflict with the faculty’s agenda: the welfare and concern of the students at Community.

Group #1 Roundtable Discussion: Parity and Discounted Dreams

Fall 2007 Professional Development Day
Monday, October 8, 2007

Facilitator: Heidi Braunschweig
Recorded by: Wayne W. Williams

What is Parity?

• Parity is actually “disparity” amongst students and their success at the institution.

What can be done for students who have not met the minimum GPA to receive a degree?

• Example of a student in Early Childhood who completed all of her required credits, paid and participated in graduation but could not receive a degree because she maintained a 2.3 GPA which is below the required 2.5 GPA.
• Departmental advising should occur.
• Student may have transfer issues due to non-degree and low grade performance.
• The ability to transfer to a Liberal Arts degree was eliminated at CCP.
• Testing should assist in identifying students who are “college-ready”.
  

Are students at CCP, college-ready?

• Do students who have remedial needs really increasing those skills after attending the college. If so, how would we know? Post-testing.
• Does the early alert system (3rd week attendance) help to identify students having problems and need extra attention?
• There is a need to increase peer to peer classroom interaction.
• Faculty should incorporate Banner (MyCourses) as a teaching tool to help students interact with one another.
• The film actually perpetuated the problem! The only failure as a teacher was the Black Male and the only failure as a student was a Black female.

Is there parity amongst classrooms/faculty? How can we develop uniformity amongst faculty?

• The faculty members who are not skilled teachers don’t know that they may need help. Pass/fail ratios are not indicative of teaching ability.
• The success of the students is directly tied to the effectiveness of the teaching faculty.
• More effective Professional Development for faculty is required.
• What is the responsibility of the instructors to motivate disinterested students?
• Teachers in the first few weeks must establish a Code of Conduct for the classroom.
• Classroom work, versus lecturing may be helpful when there is an operational course such as mathematics and students have limited outside classroom time due to personal limitations (working, children, etc.)

What about hiring of diverse faculty such as African-American and Hispanic males and females?

• There is a real difficulty in finding qualified, interested candidates.

How do we handle Parity Currently?

• The Women’s Center
• The African-American Men’s Book Club
• Learning Lab Workshops – (offer assistance)
• Athletics Programs – (attracts candidates)
• Advising students properly is a big issue

What have we learned from our past efforts?

• The course catalog is difficult to read and interpret
• The website is not user-friendly
• No one can give a simple answer about the school colors
• The marketing efforts of the school is not coordinated with the English and Art Departments which could offer some insight/assistance – (i.e. the italicized “of” in Community College of Philadelphia; no explanation of why this was done)
  

How do we engage our students?

• Students must be engaged in the classroom.
• We don’t have a mechanism in place to assess student outcomes.
• The parity issue is not just happening at CCP; it is a national syndrome at all levels of education.
• The issue is sociological problem
• The college and its members must focus on the successes and not on the the failures.
• Online courses are not helpful to the students although the online course is a revenue stream for the school. For many students, the technology and lack of face-to-face interaction represents additional barriers to student learning. How are students evaluated before taking online courses?
• There is a disparity in the college itself. The West Regional Center which serves a predominantly African-American population, which is the target demographic of this study receives the least financial support and is constantly neglected. Alternatively, the NERC, which serves mostly White students, receives the greatest amount of resources and attention from the school. The lack of parity in the facilities themselves and the faculty trickles down to the student population.

Can we make the necessary changes?

• We should examine advising to make certain that students are receiving consistent and important information.
• A direct dialogue between faculty, administration and the students should occur to help bridge the disconnect. Students must be involved.
• The divisiveness between the faculty and the administration trickles down to the student population.
• Core classes that are needed aren’t available.

Task Force Recommendations

On August 29, 2007, Linda Powell and Heidi Braunschweig presented the Academic Affairs Master Plan Task Force on Parity year one report to the College community. Recommendations, with a focus on the male student, were reviewed and comments welcomed.

Issues and Challenges Facing the College Male Student

On August 27, 2007, Waverly Duck presented two years of data and findings from the African American Men’s Book Club as well as findings from additional “Black Male Initiatives” at other colleges, including their successes and challenges. In addition to presenting the findings, an argument was made for increasing the amount of public space for retention vulnerable populations, with a focus on measurable outcomes that include “satisfaction with all college services” as an additional indicator of success. Click to view Duck's powerpoint presentation, which may take a moment to load.