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Diversity Matters Issue 2 | May 10, 2013

Student Spotlight: Grace Usiel

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Grace Usiel, an alumna of the UA Upward Bound Math and Science program and freshman at the University of Arkansas, sums up the most important lesson she’s learned as a new college student in two simple words: “reach out.”

Usiel quickly realized during her first semester that she was going to need help balancing her busy new life. Fortunately, Grace was able to call upon the advice she heard repeatedly as an Upward Bound student: “if you want to succeed, put yourself out there, ask questions, and make yourself open to change.”

So she did just that, meeting with faculty and building a support network of helpful peers and staff on campus. Usiel says she noticed that her instructors were more approachable and wanted to help her when she visited them during office hours. She also relied on the staff of the Multicultural Center to help her create a plan for balancing her work and study time and to better understand her scholarship requirements.

Now in her second semester, Usiel has a new appreciation for planning ahead and calling on her support network for help, lessons she attributes to her time

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as an Upward Bound student. “I had practice creating a weekly schedule during the summer program and asking for help if I got overwhelmed.”

She is particularly grateful for her participation in Upward Bound’s summer “bridge program” between high school and college. As a bridge student, Usiel lived on the UA campus, took classes, and held a job with the Freshman Engineering Program in the College of Engineering. “The bridge program helped me learn my way around campus and meet engineering faculty that I now have as instructors.”

Usiel’s experience transitioning to the demands of college life highlights one of the primary aims of the Upward Bound program, to equip students with the tools and practices they will need not only to enroll in college, but also to remain in college once they’ve arrived. When asked what she thinks is the most important advice she can give to

Grace Usiel, an engineering major, shares her experience as a freshman student and how Upward Bound has prepared her for college.

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increase retention among her peers, Usiel urges, “get to know your professors by meeting with them during office hours. It might make the difference between an ‘A’ and a ‘B,’ and they are there to help you.”

As she nears the end of her first year as a UA student, Usiel looks forward to staying active on campus and seeking out new academic challenges. In addition to her work as a Student Ambassador at the Multicultural Center, Usiel is also a student leader in FELT, the Freshman

Engineering Leadership Team. And while she busily prepares for a presentation covering her research of heparin-binding proteins for the annual Engineering Honors Research Symposium, she’s also beginning to make plans for a study abroad experience next summer.

Now, Usiel is on the other side of that simple suggestion she received as an Upward Bound student, reaching out

to prospective UA students, her peers, and her colleagues through service, scholarship, and research. “Facing college alone is overwhelming, so reach out,” says Usiel. “People at the university want to help you!”

Diversity Matters Issue 2 | May 10, 2013

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TRiO Talent Search: A National Effort to Evaluate Program Impact Beyond College Entry

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Talent Search, funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the umbrella of “TRiO,” promotes college access and readiness for students in grades 6-12 who are low-income and would be in the first generation of their family to attend college. TRiO programs resulted from the Higher Education Act of 1965, the Civil Rights Movement, and President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” The University of Arkansas has three Talent Search grants, which comprise the Talent Search Programs office. Participants attend one of 40 participating target schools in Northwest Arkansas, Arkansas River Valley, Ozark Mountain Region, McDonald County (MO), and Colcord (OK).

In previous grants, Talent Search’s effectiveness had been demonstrated by the high school graduation and college going rates of participants. With a standardized objective and mandated reporting to the U.S. Department of Education, programs quantified success. Last reporting period, the University of Arkansas Talent Search programs reported a high school graduation rate of 99%, and a college going rate of 89%. Overall, 70% were both low-income and first-generation-to-college, 20% were either low-income or first-generation-to-college, and 40% were ethnic minority students.

To further evaluate program

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impact, TS programs under new grant cycles have a new objective to determine 6-year graduation rates for participants who enter college after high school graduation. The first cohorts were uploaded in Annual Performance Reports submitted this past November 2012. This tracking/reporting effort will be nationwide for all Talent Search programs. Though outcomes will not be reported until 2018, interim tracking of retention will provide staff the opportunity to identify issues preventing students from graduating and address with preventative program interventions. It will also provide a small window of time for staff to offer “stop-outs” assistance in returning to college.

To forecast outcomes, Talent Search programs recently completed an assessment to determine the retention of program participants from the class of 2009 who entered the University of Arkansas. Findings revealed that 80% had not only retained, but at a rate 9.7% higher than the institution’s 70.3%. Freshman retention was also evaluated for the most recent class of 2012 to determine continued enrollment from first semester to second semester. Of the freshman

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participants, 94.2% remained enrolled at the U of A, a rate surpassing the institution’s 2011 “first term” retention rate of 92.4% (most current available). Of all 2012 participants enrolling in college (U of A and other postsecondary institutions), the class has retained at an overall rate of 92.9%.

Looking ahead, preliminary evaluations suggests that Talent Search participation has more than a positive impact in the lives low-income students who would be in the first generation of their family to attend college. Validating the correlation of program participation to college graduation will quantify, without

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question, the importance of this investment in the future of our nation, our youth.

Contributing Author: Gina Ervin, Director, Talent Search Programs

Diversity Matters Issue 2 | May 10, 2013

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The Office of Latino Academic Advancement and Community Relations, also known as La Oficina Latina, hosted the 3rd Annual Latino RSO Expo on March 6th, 2013 from 11am to 3pm. The event provided free food, music, performances, and information on all Latino RSOs. The Expo was held in the Union Connections Lounge, with the Latino organizations on campus providing entertainment while answering questions on what students could do to get involved.

The event is held annually to create awareness of all the Latino RSOs and other University programs that are available on campus. The event celebrated the multiculturalism and leadership that continues to expand the campus community and student body.

The following organizations assisted with the Expo:

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• Conexiones-Peer mentorship program

• ALPFA-Association of Latino Professional

• LULAC-League of Latin America Citizens

• SHPE- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers

• Gamma Eta Sorority • Sigma Iota Alpha Sorority • Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity • SED-Students and Educators for

the DREAM Act • UREC- University Recreation • LLAGSA- Latino/a and Latin

American Graduate Student Association

• LAST- Latin American Studies • LAS-Latino Alumni Society • IBO-International Bolivian

Organization • NWA Biliteracy • Study Abroad Office • Sigma Delta Pi-Spanish Honors

Society • University Programs • Hispanic Women’s Organization

of Arkansas • Student Support Services

3rd Annual Latino RSO Expo

La Oficina Latina – On-campus Efforts

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La Oficina Latina is focused on establishing connections, collaboration, and long-lasting partnerships with the community as well as the community at large. On-campus efforts include:

The Latino RSOs Luncheon (Fall 2012): Ten Latino RSOs came together to better understand how to team together and better serve the Latino student population enrolled on campus.

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Campus Day (March 2013): 9th and 10th grade students from area High Schools came to campus to learn more about the process of applying to the University of Arkansas.

Latino Scholars Day (March 2013): 11th grade college bound students from area High Schools learned about admissions, scholarships, and campus life.

NWACC and AmeriCorps (March 2013): Transfer students from the

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Northwest Arkansas Community College and area AmeriCorps Workers visited campus for tours and Latino RSOs Expo as well as to get advised on their transition to the University of Arkansas.

Community Blood Drive (April 2013): Hispanic Scholarship Fund and Conexiones Latinas teamed up to help enlist students to donate blood and save lives.

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• HSF- Hispanic Scholarship Fund

• P.S.O. - Panamanian Student Organization

• Centrosul Capoeira Arkansas

Diversity Matters Issue 2 | May 10, 2013

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Center for Diversity & Multicultural Education Mentoring & Leadership Focus

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Creating change from the inside out At the University of Arkansas, underrepresented students often face challenges that are detrimental to retention, such as lower levels of academic preparation in high school, lower socioeconomic status, and greater alienation in the institutions. Due to these specific challenges, many institutions report higher dropout rates and lower academic achievement results from minority students.

To address these issues, the Center for Multicultural and Diversity Education provides underrepresented students with direct support that will allow for greater growth for individuals, the university and the community. Mentoring programs have become one solution to help with retention issues.

The Center oversees several mentoring programs, under the Pathways to Success program. Mentoring has become a popular way to assist first year students in connecting to campus and providing guidance as they

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matriculate through to graduation. With an increase of focus on mentorship it is imperative that we continue to work on and improve our programs by providing strong training workshops, more intentional support to the programs and a system of tracking the students as they matriculate. Our mentoring programs have played a major role in the growth in retention rate of minority and underrepresented students at the University of Arkansas.

Organization change Our student mentor group, Connections, will become a departmental organization under the Pathways to Success Mentoring Programs maintained by the Center of Multicultural and Diversity Education.

This change will allow for better hands on support of Center staff, stipends or incentives to the student executive leaders from each organization, as well as, financial support for trainings, outings, and general meetings and office supplies and materials.

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The programs will be structured similar to that of an RSO with an executive board of 5 student leaders, who will be expected to have a monthly meeting with a staff member for planning and review, and a monthly general meeting, which will be designed to bring mentor and mentees together.

Training A mentor and leaders training will act as the foundation of educating student leaders to become strong mentors. If mentors are to become more effective leaders they must possess the skills, attitude and communication techniques needed.

The training will be designed as a full day workshop, designed to increase the level of competence and expertise of our student leaders. This training workshop will be an effective way to help students gain a greater sense of ownership and responsibility for the mentorship programs.

Diversity Matters Issue 2 | May 10, 2013

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CAI Updates

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v In 2013, College Access Initiative (CAI) entered its second-year partnership with the ALPFA Institute and its ALPFA Academy, serving Northwest Arkansas high schools with leadership and college readiness training for Latino high school students. CAI will offer after-school ACT courses in Springdale, Rogers, Fayetteville and Bentonville high schools.

v Together with Emerald Hames, Assistant Director for Native American Outreach in

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Admissions, CAI has established a partnership with the Cherokee Nation Foundation. The collaboration, jointly funded by CAI and the foundation, will serve Oklahoma high schools in the Cherokee Nation with ACT outreach. The program, open to all students in participating schools, kicked off this spring in Watts, Stilwell and Westville high schools.

v CAI has released applications for the 2013 ACT Academy. The program will host two five-night, five-day residential programs on

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campus, June 23-28 and July 14-19, and aims to serve 200 students with intensive ACT prep and other college readiness training.

v With CAI support, Pine Bluff High School launched an ACT/college readiness elective course this semester. Pine Bluff became an established CAI partner at the school and community level, with regular visits to Pine Bluff High School and frequent after-school workshops hosted by local community groups.

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The Dead Day Pancake Breakfast, this semester held on May 3, 2013, is a way for the departments of Diversity Affairs to give back to the students and encourage them in their final week of studies on campus. Hosted by the Center for Multicultural and Diversity Education, this year's breakfast was one of the most successful with nearly 300 students attending.

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Students enjoyed ‘homemade’ pancakes along with additional breakfast items catered by Chartwells. The event, which began at 9am, was open to all students. Special thanks to the College of Engineering, Walton College of Business and Chartwells Catering for their generous donations, as well as to all volunteers and servers.

4th Annual Dead Day

Pancake Breakfast

The Center for Multicultural & Diversity Education ended the semester with

the annual Pancake Breakfast event with nearly 300 student attendees

Admin 427 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR 72701

Issue 2 | May 10, 2013

Upcoming Events

2nd Annual Latino Question: Mentoring & Advising June 2013 Professional Development for all Arkansas educators. The event’s goal is to highlight special issues that Latinos in our schools face. This year’s theme is mentorship and advising with campus Latino RSOs serving on panels and sharing their experiences.

iConnect Kick-Off August 24, 2013 9am-1:30pm iConnect, formerly known as Real World, is a yearlong program, which gives underrepresented students a comprehensive introduction to the University of Arkansas. The program familiarizes students with campus resources that exist to ensure their success, and provides a series of academic workshops designed to address specific challenges students may encounter in their first year on campus.

ACT Academy Session I - June 23-28 Session II - July 14-19 ACT Academy is a residential college readiness program serving more than 200 high school students.

iBridge August 11-24, 2013 iBridge is a transitional program for incoming freshmen who will be introduced to college coursework, research, and resources through an intensive two-week curriculum.