"Our Hands Are Tied": Perceptions of Faculty and Staff Institutional Support for Undocumented Students

• In Event: 41.035 - Complicating Undocufriendly: Institutional Responses to Undocumented Student Services in Higher Education

Abstract

Over the last ten years, there has been a limited but increasingly body of scholarship devoted to undocumented college access (Gildersleeve, 2010; Perez, 2010), student persistence and resiliency, (Gonzales, 2011; Muñoz & Maldonado, 2011; Muñoz, 2013; Perez, 2011; Perez Huber, 2010) and social activism and identity development (Muñoz, 2015; Seif, 2004) in higher education. The research acknowledges that most undocumented students experience college with very limited financial aid resources and institutional support, high resiliency for academic persistence, and a heightened amount of stress levels due to navigating and negotiating their legal status and future outlook. How the interpretation of state and institutional policies by institutional agents (faculty and staff members) translates into practice has yet to be interrogated. One national study on undocumented and DACAmented undergraduate students provides a framework for “undocufriendly” campuses and calls for colleges and universities to act (Suarez-Orozco, et. al, 2015). Yet, little qualitative research has specifically addressed how institutional agents act and lead (or not) in order to improve campus climate and culture. These findings will be used to improve policy and practice in higher education in order to improve the educational pipeline for students without legal status. This study also aims to provide insight for scholars and practitioners regarding how change occurs when leaders attempt to serve undocumented students.

Using case study methodology, we draw on interview data to examine the ways in which student outcomes are impacted by campus climate and campus culture in regards to their legal status in the state of Colorado.The overarching purpose of the study is to unveil in what ways student outcomes (academic success, campus engagement, sense of belonging) are impacted by campus climate (how individuals feel or perceive the campus community) and campus culture (institutional practices, policies, and behaviors) in regards to their legal status in the state of Colorado. The larger study includes the voices of undocumented students, faculty and staff. This paper illuminates the perceptions of faculty and staff on the institutional support of undocumented students. Preliminary data suggests the lack of leadership or directives around issues related to undocumented students pose as barriers to structural and institutional support of these students. Staff in particular felt they needed to seek resources on their own in order to understand and support undocumented students. Participants dote their institutions’ commitment to equity, but state that undocumented students are not explicitly mentioned in these efforts.

Authors

• Susana Maria Munoz, Colorado State University - Fort Collins

• Darsella Vigil, Unversity of Denver