Advocates for students: The role of social capital and care in success after a college closure

• In Event: Leveraging social capital to transform outcomes

Abstract

There is quantitative evidence that when colleges and universities close, student educational outcomes significantly suffer, with fewer than half of students reenrolling in college within a year. However, there is insufficient research that documents the experiences of students in these institutions from their perspectives. This paper summarizes students’ accounts of how a closure impacted them and describes how faculty and staff advocates at both the closing and receiving institutions provided instrumental social capital for students as they navigated the stress of their college closing and their subsequent transitions. The findings are consistent with previous research on transfer students, but the role of social capital may be particularly instrumental for students navigating the complex process of transfer post college closure.

Authors

• Jesse Moya, Siena College

• Jenni Suriano, Siena College

• Christina C. Pfister, Siena College