Invisibility in Inclusion

Yuana Ates, Valerie Baez, Christine Hoang, Gabrielle James, & Briselda Molina Ortega
 Case Study Summary
● We are the collective Director of Student Access at a primarily white private four-year college looking to increase
diversity in our student population
● Our team proposes we start a one-week crash course on how-to-college, inviting high school students to come and
stay on campus
● The proposal aims are
○ For participants to familiarize themselves with campus life
○ For participants to navigate the process of applying and enrolling in college
○ To demystify what college is, and make it more attainable
● The team hopes to recruit
○ Juniors and seniors in high school from immigrant and refugee families
○ Have at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA
● We tasked a smaller team (none of whom have worked with the target population) with developing the program’s
curriculum, and they propose the following workshops
○ Finances of college, Finding part-time work, How to get involved in campus, How to get along with
roommates,How to immerse yourself in college, and Academic skills and success
 Concerns
● Proposal was rushed in development, student needs were not ● Families of recruited students are not included, which
taken in to consideration, nor were all of the stakeholders
further distances students from their strong familial
engaged in the process.
● A 3.5 GPA is a barrier that will deter many students from applying connections, again requiring a commitment to abiding by
to participate, and creates a sense that this is an elite program traditional higher education expectations that college is an
and college which only cares for high-achieving (often privileged)
independent endeavor (Salis Reyes & Tauala, 2019).
students.
● The curriculum was developed by folks who have not had ● Students may feel outed to be part of an
experience working with underserved populations, and have “immigrant/refugee how-to-college program” framing their
missed the mark.
deficit in being unprepared for higher education based on
○ We have not asked students what they would like to
learn about. their identity.
○ We have not engaged with folks that do this work and ● The very strong possibility that these students would
have expertise in this area. experience dissonance (Taylor & Reynolds, 2019) being part
○ Not inclusive of our students’ needs, but more on a
traditional - focusing on pieces that ….. of this program.
○ “Full integration” session particularly plays up the need
to “teach” these prospective undergraduates on how to
fully immerse and abandon their previous lifestyles.
 Impact on Stakeholders
● Students
○ Prospective immigrant and refugee students
■ Creates a sense of community and belonging for them
■ Improved access to higher education and other resources and services
○ Current immigrant and refugee students at the university
■ Greater exposure working alongside historically underrepresented and marginalized students
● Families
○ Those who have immigrant and refugee family members attending the university
■ Less stress and more support for first-generation college students and their families
● Student Affairs practitioners (Director of Student Access, College Advisors, Admissions Counselors, etc.)
■ Builds a working understanding of students’ needs and how to work with and support them
● Faculty
○ Reframes the design of courses to align with the university mission for recruiting and retaining immigrant and
refugee students
● University and High Schools
○ Greater access, retention, inclusivity, and diversity of students, skills, knowledge, and experience
○ Fosters a working relationship between university, high schools, and other stakeholders
 Desired Change & Outcomes
● Students feel a sense of belonging on campus
● Access to resources are visible and accessible
● Partnerships are strengthened with marginalized student populations
● Families are integrated into the program and the overall college experience
● Student needs are acknowledged and addressed
● University’s mission exercises equity with recruitment, retention, and graduation
● Faculty classroom curriculum and practices aligns with new university mission
● Developing and maintaining relationships with regional stakeholders that seek to support immigrant
and refugee students
 How to Implement the change

“We might not be able to change the world, but we have spheres of influence that we can influence” S. R.
Jones (Duran & Jones, 2019, p. 183)

By bringing together numerous groups and collectively advocating for equitable representation and
resources, faculty, staff and students positively affect the institutional context, as well as policy arena.
Individuals with privileged identities must also participate in this coalitions in order to mobilize change (Duran
& Jones, 2019).
 Kotter’s Change Management Model (Kotter, 2012):

Engaging and enabling whole Implementing and sustaining

Creating a climate for change
organization change

● Recognize the problem ● Present to stakeholders ● Monitor improvement

● Collect - sort - select data and research ● Encourage partners ● Evaluate impact
practices (e.g. the Columbia Scholarship ● Eliminate obstacles
for Displaced Students at Columbia
● Recognize
University, various research and papers on
accomplishments
migrants and refugees education, adopting
the vital role of the community colleges in
the education and training of immigrants)
● Find campus partners (e.g. The Office of
Institutional Diversity or similar)
● Set and prioritize goals
● Craft action plan
 Barriers to Change/Outcome
1. The Role of Racism and Systemic White Supremacy (Harris & Poon, 2019, p. 19) & TribalCrit (Kupo &
Oxendine, 2019, pp. 128-130) Complexities of Authenticity
○ Western ways of being/knowing on values and culture embedded in program curriculum (budget,
individualistic learning, assimilation of culture)
○ White saviors approach (western interpretation of immigrants, lack of immigrant input in program curriculum,
white dominance hard to implement change on campus)
2. Scholarship whiteness & systematic oppression of people of color
○ White scholarship & systematic oppression of people of color (3.5 GPA, navigating and relating to the world,
individual self-growth and financial aid eligibility, length of program)
3. Whiteness as property (Harris & Poon, 2019, p. 20) Critical Race theory
○ Legacy of whiteness (students might see immigrant students as threat to white privilege and act to maintain
status and power)
4. Dissonance (Taylor & Reynolds, 2019, p. 94)
○ Internal feeling vs. outside messages can create inconsistency of experience
 Program Prioritization
We can not recruit students by offering systems of support that are not truly there.

● Meet with and learn from immigrant and refugee students on campus
● Send out student survey to learn how immigrant and refugee students experience Regional
TAKE A STEP
01 BACK, RESEARCH ●
University (RU)
Discover what is drawing immigrant and refugee families to the region
● Refining program goals and outcomes

● Gathering student data from university

PARTNER WITH
● Access how high school support these students and families
02 REGIONAL
STAKEHOLDERS
● Connect with the resources and services immigrant and refugee families are utilizing
● Discuss possibilities around placing a college advisor within regional high schools

● Bring in students, community members, faculty, and staff with experience working with
marginalized students
ADVISORY
03 COMMITTEE
● Create cultural competency training for student affairs professionals and faculty that
highlights changes to improve relations with immigrant and refugee students
● Add workshop about the Hidden Curriculum of Higher Education

● Develop 5 Column Assessment Report: Examining the programs objectives, means of

assessment, threshold of achievement, data, and use of research
04 ASSESSMENT ● Send out surveys to those who attended future program
● Compare enrollment rates after program launch
 References
Duran, A., & Jones, R. J. (2019). Context and contextualizing student development using critical theory. In Abes, E. S., Jones, S. R., & Stewart, D.
L. (Eds.). Rethinking college student development theory using critical frameworks. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.
Harris, J. C., & Poon, O. A. (2019). Critical race theory: Interrogating race and racism in college students’ development. In Abes, E. S., Jones, S. R.,
& Stewart, D. L. (Eds.). Rethinking college student development theory using critical frameworks. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.
Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading change. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press.
Kupo, V. L., & Oxendine, S. (2019). Complexities of authenticity. In Abes, E. S., Jones, S. R., & Stewart, D. L. (Eds.). Rethinking college student
development theory using critical frameworks. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.
NACADA. (2017). Academic advising and social justice: An advocacy approach [Pocket Guide]. NACADA The Global Community for Academic
Advising.
Salis Reyes, N. A. & Tauala, M. (2019). Indigenous paradigms: Decolonizing college student development theory through centering relationality. In
Abes, E. S., Jones, S. R., & Stewart, D. (Eds.). Rethinking college student development theory using critical frameworks. Sterling, VA:
Stylus Publishing, LLC.
Taylor, K. B. & Reynolds, D. J. (2019). Dissonance. In Abes, E. S., Jones, S. R., & Stewart, D. L. (Eds.). Rethinking college student development
theory using critical frameworks. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC