The Transfer Landscape:

A Policy Perspective

National Institute for the Study of Transfer StudentsCreating Pathways for STEM Transfer Student Success 2011

PRESENTED BYThe Institute for Higher Education Policy

Lorelle L. Espinosa, Ph.D.Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives

For Today

I. Policy Context for Community Colleges as a Gateway to Four-year STEM Degrees

II. Select LegislationIII. Support for States and InstitutionsIV. Select IHEP Initiatives

About IHEP• Independent non-partisan non-profit whose

mission is to connect research, policy and practice to guide policymakers and education leaders in the development of innovative education policy

• Committed to equal opportunity for all, with a special emphasis on historically under-represented populations

• Primary audiences: policymakers, senior institutional leaders, researchers, funders, private sector leaders, and the media

• Key activities: policy research reports and studies, cross-sector convenings, network-building efforts, work with minority serving institutions, and presentations

The Washington Lens: Higher Education

• Renewed commitment to higher education, namely postsecondary completion

• ‘College and career ready’ paradigm shift • Cross-sector collaboration• Emphasis on ‘innovation’ and evidence-based

practices • Incredible investments by the national

philanthropic community • New focus on community colleges

– Under Secretary Martha Kanter – Dr. Jill Biden – White House Summit on Community College

Students– Infrastructure funding in America’s Jobs Act

Increasing Enrollment at CCs

1/2 have transfer aspirations; 1/3 are URM

The “New Traditional” Undergraduate

• 36%... Adults Age 25 or Older• 46%... Classified as “independent”• 40%... Enrolled in a public two-year

college• 46%... Enrolled part-time• 36%... Racial/ethnic minority • 40%... Low-income• 43%... Employed part-time• 32%... Employed full-time• 23%... Parents• 20%... Single Parents

Source: Center for Law and Social Policy, Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success

The Washington Lens: STEM Education

• Rising Above the Gathering Storm Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5

• Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads

• Strong language on commitment to STEM and STEM education by the administration– Even given economic downturn and debt debate– Scientific innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, use of

technology

• Aspen Institute/White House Skills for America’s Future – Focus on community college connections with the

business community and labor

• Academic Competitiveness Council • Increased attention to the role of NSF

The Washington Lens: STEM Education

• An issue of economic and workforce development: Recommitment to our investment in STEM K-20 education is the key to securing our nation’s best economic future

• By 2018, a full 60% of jobs, including the fastest-growing occupations, will require some form of postsecondary credential

• The fastest-growing occupations are in STEM and health professions

• By 2050, racial/ethnic minorities will comprise 55% of the working-age population, with Latinos at 30%, African-Americans at 12% and Asian-Americans at 8%

America COMPETES Act• Legislative response to Rising Above the

Gathering Storm and Innovation America • Originally enacted in 2007;

reauthorization signed by President Obama in January

• Three major areas of importance:1. Increase research investment2. Strengthen the STEM education pipeline

from elementary through graduate school3. Develop an innovation infrastructure

• Eddie Bernice Johnson’s (D-TX) amendment: “solicit recommendations and feedback from a wide range of stakeholders”

– Response to proposed changes in NSF’s diversity funding stream

TAA Grants for Community Colleges• Department of Labor Trade

Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program

– No less than $2.5B per state

• Part of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act

– Which also allocated funds to Minority Serving Institutions

• TAA assists workers displaced by fluctuation in trade industries

• Emphasizes student outcomes data• May be safe due to an interest in

trade by the Republican congress

All combined, the strict focus on postsecondary education pathways for

underrepresented students, coupled with a national focus on STEM education

=Incredible opportunity for community colleges despite shrinking budgets and

other harsh realities at the state level

In Support of States• Achieving the Dream: Community

Colleges Count– About 10% of community colleges across 22

states

• National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices (STEM initiative in a handful of states, Phase II is forthcoming)

• Complete College America– Creation of data systems that can track

students through the educational and career pipeline

• Cross-sector collaboration – Indiana STEM Network – Ohio’s STEM Learning Network– STEM Education Coalition

Support for Institutions

• The Smart Grid for Institutions of Higher Education and the Students They Serve: Developing and Using Collaborative Agreements to Bring More Students into STEM– Produced as part of the NSF-Funded AAAS Initiative on

Access and Diversity-Related Law and Policy in Higher Education

• Aspen Institute Community College Prize for Exellence– Data driven – 10 finalists announced this summer, all of which will

receive site visits– $1 million prize, winner announed in December

http://www.aspeninstitute.org/news/2011/09/13/aspen-institute-names-america-s-ten-finalist-community-colleges-first-ever-1-million

Support for Institutions

• IHEP’s Project Win-Win– Degree completion project with nine states– Seeks to grant associates to eligible

students who are no longer enrolled/stopped out

– Addresses policies that impede degree completion

– Institutions learn strategies to effectively navigate the administrative process of moving students to completion

– Support from Lumina Foundation for Education

Broadening Participation in STEM• Led by the American Institutes for Research

in partnership with IHEP• Charge: To invigorate thinking on NSF

investments that stimulate undergraduate STEM degree production

• Quantitative work: STEM degree completion over the past 20 years

• Qualitative work: Stakeholder convenings that focus on the role of two- and four-year institutions

• Synthesis work (of empirical research)• Outreach/dissemination

www.broadeningstem.org

IHEP’s National Coalition for College Completion

• Public and political will-building campaign

• Initially conceived by the Gates, Lumina, and Ford Foundations

• Made up of organizations that represent the business, civil rights, youth advocacy, and social services communities, as well as CBOs

• National campaign focused on the advancement of underrepresented groups

• Many partners have a community college focus

• Affordability and workforce readiness• We are activating!

www.FinishHigherEd.org

Thank you!

Lorelle Espinosa, Ph.D.Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives

Institute for Higher Education Policylespinosa@ihep.org

www.ihep.orgwww.ihep.org/stemwatch.cfm