Twenty-first Century Scholars Demonstrate Hardiness to Succeed
The Indiana Student Access and Success Conference, sponsored by the Lumina Foundation for Education, will be held April 4, 2008 at IUPUI's new Campus Center, 420 University Blvd., Indianapolis.
Cliff Adelman, Keynote Speaker, is a senior associate at the Institute for Higher Education Policy. He's taught at Roosevelt University, CCNY and Yale and served as an associate dean at William Paterson College of New Jersey before coming to the about-to-be born U.S. Department of Education in the fall of 1979 on a one-year fellowship. He has turned out 20 research monographs on higher education and secondary/postsecondary transitions, three national longitudinal studies databases, dozens of articles in the trade and general press. He wrote the background study on which A Nation at Risk commission based its high school curriculum recommendations and designed and served as staff director.
The Lumina Foundation provides grants to raise the educational attainment of all students with a focus on underserved student groups. At the conference, three research teams (Purdue, IUPUI, and the University of Michigan) will present their findings from a year-long research project funded by the Lumina Foundation. The research project will report on the Twenty-first Century Scholars preparation and success in college.
Key Findings from Research Teams
As part of the day-long conference, the three research teams and presenters in a dozen concurrent sessions will address the level of support given to low-income and first generation students in preparing them to succeed in college.
Some of the key findings that will be presented are listed below:
• Twenty-first Century Scholars Site Coordinators from the 14 regional sites in Indiana responded to an online survey. The Site Coordinators were asked to comment about the services provided by their site, which services they believed to be most beneficial to the Scholars, and views on topics such as parents' participation.
• Focus groups were held at 10 of the regional sites, which were chosen because of their varying demographics. Separate groups of Twenty-first Scholars and their parents/guardians were held at each site, with 123 Scholars 13-18 years old and 112 parents/guardians participating. Topics of discussion in the focus groups ranged from ways the Scholars program benefited them, thoughts about going to college, and suggestions for programmatic alteration or improvement.
• Twenty-first Century Scholars report that the support services provided by the program raises their aspirations and desire to achieve—as evidenced by assertions that they are more inclined to pursue more rigorous, college-preparatory coursework (e.g., harder math, advanced English classes) as a result of being in the program.
• The students in the study demonstrated a "hardiness" that may account for why they succeed in the manner they report. In short, they have the will, and the Scholars program provides the way.
• Both Scholars and their families state that the relationships that they build with the Scholars staff and with each other will help them realize their college-going aspirations.
• The site staff surveyed for the study report that relationship building is highly labor intensive—even if it gives the greatest return on investment—and there is not enough of them (the site staff) to serve all students who could benefit from the program.
• Family members reported that working with the Scholars program staff has helped them enhance parenting skills and eased concerns about how college will be affordable for their children.
• Administrators and students value the Scholar's Program and point to its existence as a significant factor in students' decision to attend and their ability to afford college or university.
• The findings coalesced around the areas of communication/identification, challenges to academic success, and student support services.
• Improvements in communication are needed to ensure that Scholars have accurate and timely information about programs and opportunities to support their academic success.
• Scholars participated in an array of college transition and support services that are provided for all students.
• Resources and programs for Scholars varied by campus and ranged from extra money for books, informing Scholars about the university-wide services, and mentoring programs.
• Scholars were working a lot of hours off campus and report difficulties balancing college, work, and family responsibilities.
• Both administrators and Scholars expressed the need for additional academic, social, and financial support beyond what is currently provided.
Twenty-first Century Scholars Program
Unique to Indiana is the Twenty-first Century Scholars Program that strives to increase high school and college graduation rates among low-income students living in the state of Indiana. Students who enroll in the program and fulfill a pledge of good citizenship are guaranteed the cost of eight semesters of college tuition at any participating Indiana public college or comparable tuition scholarships to private and approved proprietary institutions. In addition to the financial benefits, this program offers:
• Academic counseling
• Financial aid workshops
• Career mentoring
• Parent training
• College visits
• Financial aid workshops
• Parent training
• Study skills workshop
In addition, Scholar families are connected to educational and social resources available in their immediate communities.
Over 200 presidents, chancellors, vice chancellors, and deans from Indiana's universities and colleges are expected to attend.
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