Closing the educational gap in this country has been rightly called "the civil rights issue of the 21st century." The drop out rate for Latinos and African Americans in many American cities is nearly twice that of whites. Fewer Latinos and African Americans attend college. Fewer still graduate from college. For example, for 100 Latino students who begin 9th grade only 53 will graduate from high school (compared to 75 whites) and only 10 of those will graduate from college in six years (compared to 23 whites). This achievement gap endangers our economy and our future.
According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, by 2020, the net loss to the U.S., if we don't close the achievement gap, is estimated to be $850 billion in lost income, revenues, and GDP. That number will grow to over $1 trillion by 2030, unless we eliminate the achievement gap.
President Obama's Race to the Top, seeks to simultaneously encourage schools to improve and raise the number of Americans completing some college education. Critical to success in this effort is the transformation of schools in the 50 biggest cities in America.
Houston, like any of the biggest cities in the country, needs to dramatically reduce high school dropout rates. Houston Independent School District and other districts also need to increase the number and percentage of students who graduate from high school ready for college.
We in higher education have an interest in ensuring that public schools are successful. After all, we receive the vast majority of our students from the public schools. And, in our case, the majority of them need remediation. Also, higher education institutions can do something about it, with high quality teacher education programs, K-12 partnerships, and community partnerships. At the University of Houston-Downtown, we take this responsibility seriously.
Urban schools have very distinct problems: crowded schools, little money or resources, and dangerous and deteriorating neighborhoods. Urban schools often lack basic resources that are common in suburban schools. Teachers need special skills to survive and succeed in urban schools.
A week ago, I visited with the faculty of the Urban Education Department at University of Houston-Downtown. The UHD Urban Education Department specializes in the problems of urban schools. UHD faculty research the specific problems and address the needs of schools in Houston.
The department focuses on creating teachers ready for the challenges they will confront in Houston schools. Our student teachers work in classrooms throughout Houston. Faculty help them develop curricula, they also provide on-going professional development for teachers in Houston schools. The department also produces excellent bilingual teachers, a must for Houston. Recently, the Urban Education department re-established the undergraduate high school teacher preparation program to focus on the special needs of urban high school teachers.
UHD Urban Education take a holistic approach. They not only focus on teachers and schools, but also engage the entire family to increase student success. For example, Urban Education faculty and students provide literacy nights and math nights in several schools. In partnership with the Fifth Ward Enrichment Center at Weatley High School, for example, they offer a special literacy program with teen fathers and their families to help them develop self-expression and clear educational goals.
UHD students apply what they learn in the classroom to real life. At Houston's House of Tiny Treasures, UHD faculty and early education students work in service learning projects and literacy programs with homeless toddlers, pre-schoolers, and their families.
UHD seems to be doing a pretty good job. According to HISD staff, teachers trained by UHD are more likely to stay in the profession than those of other several other nearby teacher education programs. They enjoy their profession and are more likely to pursue further education.
Also, UHD students and faculty are involved in service learning and community engagement efforts to improve K-12 performance. UHD partners with Project Grad Houston in five Houston schools. During the summer, middle school and high school students from the Project Grad schools attend special classes at UHD. The summer sessions help prepare students for college. The students attend classes, meet and study under regular UHD faculty, and they begin to realize they can and will succeed in college. UHD students mentor middle school and high school students in the five Project Grad schools.
Once the Project Grad students graduate from high school (having taken college preparatory courses and having achieved at least a 2.5 GPA) they get a scholarship from UHD along with a $4,000 from Project Grad. The result: more students from Project Grad Houston’s partner schools graduate ready for college and more students go on to college. Project Grad schools have reduced dropout rates by 26% and one of them, Jeff Davis High School, had the third lowest dropout rate in Houston this past year.
A large portion of those Project Grad students enter UHD because they’ve already been to our campus, studied with our faculty, and met our students. They know the quality of UHD programs and the close interaction UHD faculty have with their students.
UHD faculty and staff also partner with GEAR UP/Project Grad in offering an annual symposium for approximately 135 teachers from HISD teachers in the GEAR UP schools. This year, on December 5th, the symposium will bring high school teachers to UHD for professional development associated with College Readiness and assessment.
I have been very impressed by how UHD faculty, staff, and students are working to improve Houston's schools and student achievement through a variety of strategies: preparing better teachers with curricula and pedagogy designed for urban schools; encouraging undergraduate students to tutor and mentor high school and middle school through service learning courses and civic engagement projects; and partnering with community-based programs like Project Grad, GEAR UP, and Communities in the Schools.
And, from what I've seen, they are making a real difference. Keep up the great work!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Setting Admissions Standards
Friday, we held a forum on Automatic Admission Standards at UHD. This is a somewhat controversial issue because UHD has historically been an Open Admission institution. The forum provided the campus community with an opportunity to hear various speakers and proposals on the subject. It offered a broader context to the issues taking place in the state and throughout the nation.
It is important to point out that whatever automatic admissions standards are established, the majority of applicants will still be admitted to UHD, but through a process of review of other factors in their file. The small portion of students who are not admitted would be referred to nearby community colleges under a dual enrollment program, so that they could return to UHD as soon as they soon as they complete any deficiencies or requisites, or after completing an AA degree.
Dr. Steve Murdoch, a demographer, demonstrated convincingly that the Harris County population and Texas population is rapidly becoming majority Hispanic. Hispanics and African Americans are less likely to graduate from high school, and when they do, they are more likely to need remediation. They are also less likely to graduate from college within six years of graduation from high school.
High school graduates and college graduate earn significantly more money than those who do not finish high school or college. They buy homes, raise their families, pay more taxes, and make significant contributions to our society. Dr. Murdoch noted that over their life-times college graduates earn roughly a million dollars more than those who do not graduate from college.
Dr. Murdoch then made the point that without dramatic efforts to close the educational achievement gap, in twenty years or so Texas could face a $300 billion loss in earnings, tax revenue, and GDP. So, it is in everyone's interest to improve Hispanic and African American graduation rates.
Later, Coordinating Board Commissioner Raymund Paredes stated that "access without preparation is not opportunity." He argued that admissions standards are essential to communicate to middle school and high school students that they need to adequately prepare for college by taking the right courses and getting good grades.
Dr. Paredes said that the legislature will likely adopt policies to link higher education funding to graduation rates. In addition, Texas Guarantee scholarships are likely to become Need plus Merit, with requirements for GPA and class rank to qualify. He is also recommending that the incentives for increasing students who graduate, particularly in high need areas like STEM, be built into base. This would help UHD, which graduates a high proportion of STEM students through the Scholars Academy and has been recognized as a Star Performer by the Coordinating Board.
In the afternoon presentations were made by Ed Apodaca, VP for Student Services and Enrollment Management, and William Waller, chair of the Developmental Education Coordinating Council. Both recommended admissions standards. While there were some variation in their recommendations, most participants felt setting standards are essential for several reasons:
First, almost every public four-year university in Texas now has admission standards for entering freshmen. The exceptions are UHD and the University of Texas, Brownsville.
It may have made sense for UHD to be open admissions years ago, because many institutions in Texas were open admission. But, UHD's six-year graduation rate for FTIC (full-time, first-time freshmen)is 15%--or about 21% when you include students who start at UHD, who transfer and graduate from another public university. Most of our peers have graduation rates of twice that of UHD. So, it makes sense to keep pace with our peers.
And, adopting admission standards does have an impact on graduation rates. UTEP which was once open admissions, now has a combined six-year graduation rate of 32%. Prairie View A & M has raised its rates to 41%!
Second, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the federal government, and most reporting systems monitor six-year graduation rates. This hurts UHD, as it gives the impression that UHD does a poor job of graduating students. The fact is that only 25% of all new entering students each year are first-time, full-time freshmen. Most of our students are transfers from community colleges and other four-year institutions.
Third, federal guidelines now tie financial aid to "ability to benefit" and require that institutions pay-back federal financial aid dollars of students who do not make adequate progress, accumulate too many "F's" drops and withdrawals, or dropout of college without graduating.
Fourth, our students tell us that they are embarrassed that UHD has no admission standards. It gives the impression that UHD will admit anyone and doesn't portray UHD as the high-quality institution it has become.
Finally, and most importantly, students that are inadequately prepared have to take too many remedial courses and are likely to dropout. Currently, UHD loses two-thirds of its FTIC students by the end of the second year. Many of the students leave having accumulated students loans on average of about $11,000. They would have been better served at a community college, where they would have paid lower tuition and incurred fewer debts.
As Student Government president, Laura Sanchez explained, "Setting admissions standards is important. Students want to have pride in the institution where they graduate. Sadly, many don't right now--even though it's a great school."
Michelle Moosally, chair of the Faculty Senate, made the point at the close of the forum that setting admissions standards is only a small part of the bigger solution. I underscored that point, stating, "We can't just set admissions standards and think we have solved the problem. We have to implement campus-wide efforts to help retain and graduate students."
Over the next few months the discussions will continue as faculty, staff, and students review the proposals and, particularly, as faculty committees make recommendations as to the final standards to be proposed to the Regents and the Coordinating Board.
The discussion has begun. There is a long road ahead. But, everyone feels confident that UHD will be a stronger institution as we make these changes.
It is important to point out that whatever automatic admissions standards are established, the majority of applicants will still be admitted to UHD, but through a process of review of other factors in their file. The small portion of students who are not admitted would be referred to nearby community colleges under a dual enrollment program, so that they could return to UHD as soon as they soon as they complete any deficiencies or requisites, or after completing an AA degree.
Dr. Steve Murdoch, a demographer, demonstrated convincingly that the Harris County population and Texas population is rapidly becoming majority Hispanic. Hispanics and African Americans are less likely to graduate from high school, and when they do, they are more likely to need remediation. They are also less likely to graduate from college within six years of graduation from high school.
High school graduates and college graduate earn significantly more money than those who do not finish high school or college. They buy homes, raise their families, pay more taxes, and make significant contributions to our society. Dr. Murdoch noted that over their life-times college graduates earn roughly a million dollars more than those who do not graduate from college.
Dr. Murdoch then made the point that without dramatic efforts to close the educational achievement gap, in twenty years or so Texas could face a $300 billion loss in earnings, tax revenue, and GDP. So, it is in everyone's interest to improve Hispanic and African American graduation rates.
Later, Coordinating Board Commissioner Raymund Paredes stated that "access without preparation is not opportunity." He argued that admissions standards are essential to communicate to middle school and high school students that they need to adequately prepare for college by taking the right courses and getting good grades.
Dr. Paredes said that the legislature will likely adopt policies to link higher education funding to graduation rates. In addition, Texas Guarantee scholarships are likely to become Need plus Merit, with requirements for GPA and class rank to qualify. He is also recommending that the incentives for increasing students who graduate, particularly in high need areas like STEM, be built into base. This would help UHD, which graduates a high proportion of STEM students through the Scholars Academy and has been recognized as a Star Performer by the Coordinating Board.
In the afternoon presentations were made by Ed Apodaca, VP for Student Services and Enrollment Management, and William Waller, chair of the Developmental Education Coordinating Council. Both recommended admissions standards. While there were some variation in their recommendations, most participants felt setting standards are essential for several reasons:
First, almost every public four-year university in Texas now has admission standards for entering freshmen. The exceptions are UHD and the University of Texas, Brownsville.
It may have made sense for UHD to be open admissions years ago, because many institutions in Texas were open admission. But, UHD's six-year graduation rate for FTIC (full-time, first-time freshmen)is 15%--or about 21% when you include students who start at UHD, who transfer and graduate from another public university. Most of our peers have graduation rates of twice that of UHD. So, it makes sense to keep pace with our peers.
And, adopting admission standards does have an impact on graduation rates. UTEP which was once open admissions, now has a combined six-year graduation rate of 32%. Prairie View A & M has raised its rates to 41%!
Second, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the federal government, and most reporting systems monitor six-year graduation rates. This hurts UHD, as it gives the impression that UHD does a poor job of graduating students. The fact is that only 25% of all new entering students each year are first-time, full-time freshmen. Most of our students are transfers from community colleges and other four-year institutions.
Third, federal guidelines now tie financial aid to "ability to benefit" and require that institutions pay-back federal financial aid dollars of students who do not make adequate progress, accumulate too many "F's" drops and withdrawals, or dropout of college without graduating.
Fourth, our students tell us that they are embarrassed that UHD has no admission standards. It gives the impression that UHD will admit anyone and doesn't portray UHD as the high-quality institution it has become.
Finally, and most importantly, students that are inadequately prepared have to take too many remedial courses and are likely to dropout. Currently, UHD loses two-thirds of its FTIC students by the end of the second year. Many of the students leave having accumulated students loans on average of about $11,000. They would have been better served at a community college, where they would have paid lower tuition and incurred fewer debts.
As Student Government president, Laura Sanchez explained, "Setting admissions standards is important. Students want to have pride in the institution where they graduate. Sadly, many don't right now--even though it's a great school."
Michelle Moosally, chair of the Faculty Senate, made the point at the close of the forum that setting admissions standards is only a small part of the bigger solution. I underscored that point, stating, "We can't just set admissions standards and think we have solved the problem. We have to implement campus-wide efforts to help retain and graduate students."
Over the next few months the discussions will continue as faculty, staff, and students review the proposals and, particularly, as faculty committees make recommendations as to the final standards to be proposed to the Regents and the Coordinating Board.
The discussion has begun. There is a long road ahead. But, everyone feels confident that UHD will be a stronger institution as we make these changes.
Monday, November 2, 2009
At the HACU Conference--Serving Hispanic Students
This week I attended the 23rd Annual Conference of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). I've been going to HACU conferences off and on for two decades.
At the Business meeting Sunday afternoon, I was elected to the Governing Board of HACU. This is a great honor, as I was nominated and elected to the position by fellow presidents.
HACU was formed to represent the interests of Hispanic Serving Institutions. At Monday's lunch, HACU recognized Dr. Max Castillo, former president of UHD, for his many years of service to HACU. He was also one of its founding members. HACU has grown to be one of the major higher education organizations in the nation. It now has 225 member universities (to be a member requires that at least 25% of student enrollment is Hispanic), over 100 associate members (colleges and universities with less than 25% Hispanic student enrollment), 49 international member universities, 57 corporate and agency partners, and 23 Hispanic Serving School Districts.
The U.S. Dept. of Education (USDE) provides special federal funding to eligible HSIs, and most federal agencies (such as USDA, DOI, DOE, and DOD) provide paid internship opportunities, co-ops, and specially-designated grants for HSIs. HACU has the largest internship program in the country. This year 680 interns will be placed with government agencies and corporate partners. HACU helped obtain funding for special programs, such as, Title V funding to support HSIs, including a new program which helps HSIs fund start-up costs for new graduate degree programs, especially in health care and STEM fields.
UHD is the only HSI in the UHD system. This is important because the University of Houston-Downtown is eligible for designated HSI grants or can be the lead organization in multi-university grants because of its HSI status. We are currently working with the UH System and the Vice Chancellor for Research to develop several multi-institutional grants with UHD as the lead partner.
The HACU annual meeting provides an important opportunity for colleges and universities to learn best practices, share experiences, network, and partner with corporate sponsors. During my trip I quickly reconnected with many old friends from New Mexico, California, New York, and Texas, as well as presidents, provosts, and deans from other institutions. I attended several workshops on recruitment, K-12 partnerships, work with first generation students, and STEM students. I also made contacts with several corporate sponsors that will be helpful to UHD.
In Spring 2010, UHD will host "HACU on the Road," where HACU representatives will come to Houston to showcase its work and programs. UHD will partner with local school districts, community colleges, four-year institutions, and CBOs like Houston Prep and Project Grad Houston, among others to host HACU.
HACU is a great organization and it's wonderful to be a member.
At the Business meeting Sunday afternoon, I was elected to the Governing Board of HACU. This is a great honor, as I was nominated and elected to the position by fellow presidents.
HACU was formed to represent the interests of Hispanic Serving Institutions. At Monday's lunch, HACU recognized Dr. Max Castillo, former president of UHD, for his many years of service to HACU. He was also one of its founding members. HACU has grown to be one of the major higher education organizations in the nation. It now has 225 member universities (to be a member requires that at least 25% of student enrollment is Hispanic), over 100 associate members (colleges and universities with less than 25% Hispanic student enrollment), 49 international member universities, 57 corporate and agency partners, and 23 Hispanic Serving School Districts.
The U.S. Dept. of Education (USDE) provides special federal funding to eligible HSIs, and most federal agencies (such as USDA, DOI, DOE, and DOD) provide paid internship opportunities, co-ops, and specially-designated grants for HSIs. HACU has the largest internship program in the country. This year 680 interns will be placed with government agencies and corporate partners. HACU helped obtain funding for special programs, such as, Title V funding to support HSIs, including a new program which helps HSIs fund start-up costs for new graduate degree programs, especially in health care and STEM fields.
UHD is the only HSI in the UHD system. This is important because the University of Houston-Downtown is eligible for designated HSI grants or can be the lead organization in multi-university grants because of its HSI status. We are currently working with the UH System and the Vice Chancellor for Research to develop several multi-institutional grants with UHD as the lead partner.
The HACU annual meeting provides an important opportunity for colleges and universities to learn best practices, share experiences, network, and partner with corporate sponsors. During my trip I quickly reconnected with many old friends from New Mexico, California, New York, and Texas, as well as presidents, provosts, and deans from other institutions. I attended several workshops on recruitment, K-12 partnerships, work with first generation students, and STEM students. I also made contacts with several corporate sponsors that will be helpful to UHD.
In Spring 2010, UHD will host "HACU on the Road," where HACU representatives will come to Houston to showcase its work and programs. UHD will partner with local school districts, community colleges, four-year institutions, and CBOs like Houston Prep and Project Grad Houston, among others to host HACU.
HACU is a great organization and it's wonderful to be a member.
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