Arizona Uncertainty: Arbitrary Barriers in Accessing Institutional Need-Based Financial Aid

Established in 2008, the Arizona Assurance Scholars Program (AASP) channeled institutional need-based aid to in-state, low-income students. Rapidly growing costs prompted three changes to the AASP eligibility requirements in 2011. We examined how these new requirements—a 3.0 or higher high school grade point average and the submission of the Free Application of Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and admission paperwork by March 1—would affect the gender, racial, and socioeconomic composition of the program’s first three cohorts if they were in effect. Results revealed disproportionate impacts on racial and ethnic minorities and widened gender gaps. Male, Latina/o, and Native American students would be at statistically greater risk for ineligibility relative to female, Asian, and White students. These findings signal the need to model the consequences of policy change, particularly when it reduces college access and undermines the equity of institutional need-based financial aid programs

Increasing Diversity Benefits: How Campus Climate and Teaching Methods Affect Student Outcomes

This study explored the relationship between student diversity, campus climate, faculty composition, and research and teaching content. Data came from three primary sources: a 1992-93 survey of college and university faculty, which provided information on full-time faculty from 344 institutions; the Higher Education Governance Institutional Survey database, which provided data on student body racial composition at 244 institutions; and the Carnegie Foundation, which provided data from their classification system for colleges and universities. Four outcomes related to maximizing the benefits of racial diversity in teaching and learning were considered: (1) teaching practices associated with active learning; (2) curricular inclusion of readings on diverse racial and ethnic groups; (3) faculty participation in research on race, ethnicity, or gender; and (4) faculty attendance at workshops on racial awareness or curriculum inclusion. Minority faculty were dramatically under-represented at all levels of higher education. Research and doctoral institutions were the most diverse. However, their faculty were the least likely to use active learning techniques or curriculum inclusion or to have attended racial awareness workshops. Simply admitting more minority students did not produce substantial changes in teaching approaches or content. Women and minority faculty were most likely to participate in teaching and learning activities supporting diversity

Exploring the Impact of Historically Black Colleges in Promoting the Development of Undergraduates\u27 Self-Concept

The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of how institutional context affected the development of self-concept in a sample of 273 African American college students, 67% of whom were female. The findings from this study suggest that students attending church affiliated historically Black colleges develop significantly higher self-ratings in three domains of self-concept--psychosocial wellness, academic, and achievement orientation--than do students attending similar predominantly White institutions

A Modified Model of College Student Persistence: Exploring the Relationship Between Astin\u27s Theory of Involvement and Tinto\u27s Theory of Student Departure

This study provides insight into 1st-year undergraduate persistence by using behavioral measures, based on Astin\u27s theory of involvement, to further our understanding of Tinto\u27s theory of student departure. The findings from this study support using an integrated model in which student behaviors and perceptions interact to influence the development of academic and social integration