Getting to PSE Biggest Challenge for First Gen Students

"Parental education does not appear to be a particularly good marker for determining which students are inclined to leave post-secondary education without graduating" was the most significant finding from a recently published report from the Measuring Effectiveness of Student Aid (MESA) Project.
The MESA Project was exploring how family income, the timing of funding for students and regional factors impact a teenager's decision to pursue and persist in post-secondary education (PSE).Here are the MESA Project Report's major findings:

1. First generation students are much less likely than non-first generation students to say that they always knew they would attend PSE and are more likely than others to make their decision to attend PSE during their final years of high school.
2. First generation students are less likely than non-first generation students to have family members who saved for their PSE.
3. First generation students are not very different from non-first generation students when it comes to their opinions of whether they receive support and inspiration from their parents.
4. First generation students spend somewhat fewer hours studying than non-first generation students and have moderately lower grade averages.
5. First generation students are, perhaps surprisingly, not more likely than non-first generation students to leave PSE in first or second year without graduating.

The findings support the general belief that the biggest challenge for First-Generation Students (FGS) has been gaining access and that once in PSE retention and success is on par with non-FGS.  Two unexpected points for me in the report are that females are more likely to be FGS and "students from rural communities are considerably more likely to be first generation students compared to students from larger communities."

(Inside Higher Ed highlights the MESA Project in this November 11 article: Canadian Study Finds Lower Dropout Rates for Immigrants and Minority Students)

Higher Education's Uncertain Financial Future

Could student services withstand a 40% cut to higher education funding? Watching what happens in Britain in the coming years could provide answers to that question. Massive cuts in British higher education are coming.

Inside Higher Ed reports that "The Comprehensive Spending Review unveiled [in the middle of October] includes a reduction in the higher education budget of £2.9 billion – from £7.1 billion to £4.2 billion – by 2014-5."  The government has indicated that future funding priorities will centre around science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The article does not provide any details on how student services will be impacted, but the full Browne Report, or the Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance, can be found here.

Aside from understanding the Browne Report's recommendations, an area I am interested in exploring more, and will do so in the coming weeks, is to understand how the British higher education funding model compares to other countries around the world. That being said, it is widely known that many governments, including the Canadian federal and nearly every provincial government, are struggling to manage large debts so its quite conceivable that cuts on a similar scale could be made elsewhere. If that is the case then I cannot help but wonder how student services will fair. 

Setting Student Services up for Success

Student services at Mohawk College is well positioned for success. The recently posted Vice-President Student Services (VPSS) position at Mohawk College has one of the broadest sets of responsibility I've seen for an executive level position that includes student affairs, but I believe this will benefit the successful candidate, the college and ultimately the students. 

The areas the VPSS oversees include:

• Recruitment, 
• Admissions, 
• Registration, 
• Financial Aid and Awards, 
• Enrolment Plan Management and Reporting, 
• Student Life, 
• Counselling and Disability Services, 
• Student Success Services, 
• Health Services, 
• Athletics, 
• Campus Recreation, 
• Career Advising, 
• Student and Graduate Employment, 
• Marketing, 
• Immigrant and International Services, 
• Aboriginal Education and Student Services, 
• Convocation, and 
• the Foundation, Fundraising and Alumni services

Most, if not all, schools would have the areas listed above reporting to two or more executive level positions. Mohawk's approach of grouping together the departments that take a student from application to alumni and everything in between is not done as frequently as it should be in higher education, and it demonstrates Mohawk's visionary leadership.

Numerous opportunities exist in this structure to enhance a student's experience by connecting students with alumni to improve learning and by strengthening the bonds between people in the Mohawk community. Furthermore, the structure streamlines responsibilities and by grouping services under one leader Mohawk can focus on being a life-long "learning advisor" to students, which is what a college or university should be in a knowledge based society.

What Goes Up, Must Come Down?

University Affairs stated the following about university enrollment in an article this week, "The trend continues to be up, up and up for university enrolment in Canada. According to numbers compiled by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, there are 32,000 more full-time students enrolled at Canadian universities this fall compared with the fall of 2009, an increase of 3.7 percent. Enrolment is up in every province."

One of Ryerson University's student newspaper's, The Eyeopener, published an article that paints a different picture about the future of post-secondary education (PSE) enrollment in Canada. The article quotes David Foot, author of Boom, Bust & Echo, who predicts that in three to four years enrollment across the PSE system will decline.

Foot would argue that demographics will play the biggest role in how the enrollment projections actually play out, but other factors will influence the numbers. Immigration rates, adults upgrading or taking additional courses and international student recruitment are some of the other factors that will impact enrollment in the years to come. For a more comprehensive look at enrollment projections you should check out this research paper from Statistics Canada: Postsecondary Enrolment Trends to 2031: Three Scenarios.

International Generation

If Michael Ignatieff, leader of the federal Liberal party, has his way he will "'internationalize' an entire generation of young people." This idea adds another layer to the emerging discussion of international activities that can benefit students and the post-secondary education community in Canada.  The Ontario government announced in the spring it wishes to see the number of international students increase by 50% in the next five year.

Hearing stories from friends that took advantage of the opportunity to study abroad I now look back on my own student experience and wish I had given traveling abroad to study more thought. Perhaps the increased attention of these international activities will entice current and future students to consider the opportunities of connecting with an international student on their campus or going abroad to enhance their own student experience.  

Student Housing's Next Evolution?

Over the last half century Canadian student housing has evolved many times. Some of the milestones have included: a major residence building boom beginning in the 1960's, the introduction of the RA position and the eventual adoption of professional staff to supervise student staff , a suite style building wave began in the 1980's, the first Living Learning Communities were seen around 1990 and about 20 years ago private developers began constructing and operating residence buildings. 

The next evolution in Canadian student housing seems to be upon us. A struggling economy combined with rising government debt means schools must seek out new solutions when new construction is considered. Last week, an article in the Globe & Mail highlighted that several schools, including University of Toronto, Trent University and Simon Fraser University, are exploring the P3 model (public-private-partnerships) as a way to add student housing without taking on debt. My school can also be added into the mix.

With university and college executive along with developers not being intimately aware of the factors involved in operating a residence an opportunity exists, at this early stage, for student housing professionals to point out a set of values important to creating successful residence communities where student success is maximized.  OACUHO and RLPA are in a great position to take a lead on communicating this set of values and they have the advantage of looking south to use the US as a guide since the P3 model is further along the evolutionary path.  

"In order to ‘engage’ we must ‘be engaged’"

Want to engage students? The University of Waterloo believes that students can be engaged more effectively if staff and faculty are engaged first. Be Engaged has been set up by UW to help promote staff and faculty engagement. To kick start the initiative staff organized a student panel for a recent staff conference. A book club has also been set up. Student Affairs staff on any campus can benefit greatly by starting projects, like Be Engaged, that promote dialogue as it will lead to a deeper understanding of student engagement and promote collaboration between different stakeholders.