Black community college students who are typically categorized high-risk are more engaged than students from other racial groups, a national survey released today by the Community College Survey of Student Engagement reports.
“High-risk students, including African-Americans, are more engaged than their low-risk counterparts” says Dr. Kay McClenney, who directed the survey. “It seems a bit counterintuitive, but the reality reflected in the data is that it is only the highly engaged, high-risk students who persist to the spring semester.”
Female and international students, students seeking credentials, nontraditional age students (over 24), students who work fewer than 30 hours per week and students who have participated in orientation are the most engaged students, meaning that they are more likely to graduate or complete their respective program of interest, the study shows.
The annual report entitled, “High Expectations and High Support,” offers data about the quality of community college students’ educational experiences and describes how a number of colleges across the country are responding to the challenges. To improve the quality of education and increase the level of engagement for its students, community colleges must establish expectations, surveyors found.
Indeed, community colleges serve an atypical type of student. According to data collected by the community college survey, almost two-thirds of community college students attend college part-time, 56 percent work more than 20 hours per week, 30 percent have children living them, more than a third are first-generation college students and roughly 30 percent come from families with incomes under $20,000 annually.
Still, the report states, “These characteristics are not excuses for low performance on the part of colleges or their students. They simply reflect a reality of community colleges.”
Students do best when expectations are high and they receive support that helps them achieve at high levels, says Dr. Vince Tinto, a distinguished professor of Higher Education at Syracuse University. Lower the standards, and the quality suffers.
