Hispanics in Developmental Education

• In Event: 69.035 - Where Are the Minority Students in Higher Education? Focusing on Race Within Developmental Education

Abstract

ation in institutions of higher education has been increasingly debated since the beginnings of postsecondary education in the United States and continues to the present day. What responsibility, if any, should higher education have in preparing those deemed underprepared for postsecondary coursework? While the debate continues across campuses, this paper documents the experiences of four Minority-Serving Institutions who endeavored to meet the demands of their student populations that too often come to their campuses requiring additional instructional and social supports to reach completion. These colleges, among which are two- and four-year public and private open access institutions, have developed, implemented, and sustained innovative practices in the delivery of remedial and developmental education. Over the span of three years, focus group data were collected and analyzed to gather an in-depth understanding of the innovations implemented to critically assess the dynamic interplay of factors – political, financial, social – surrounding the innovation and the extent to which the innovation successfully achieved its intended outcomes.
While the degree of success varied across campuses, common to all was a deliberate and intentional commitment to the effective design and delivery of services for students not yet ready for a postsecondary environment. Our preliminary findings suggest this intentionality is found in the (a) selection of faculty who have a history of working with students underprepared for postsecondary work; (b) the use of instructional methods and a pedagogy unique to the developmental education classroom that looks beyond the academic and considers the personal experiences of the student; and (c) the inclusion of academic tutors many of whom traveled the same journey, were considered underprepared themselves upon college entry and successfully passed through the developmental education experience. Above all, our findings point to a commitment from the institution as a whole, which views developmental education, not as a barrier to, but a pathway to success. In doing so, multiple actors across the college community come together to support the needs of this vulnerable student population, offering a comprehensive array of services, from financial aid and scheduling to advising and mentoring that ensure a significant proportion of their student body will attain success in and beyond the developmental education experience.

Authors

• Leticia Tomas Bustillos, The Campaign for College Opportunity

• Stephen R. Porter, North Carolina State University

• Paul D. Umbach, North Carolina State University