“Our data indicates we are not successful at getting Latino students to go to college and graduate, yet they are the fastest growing demographic in the state,” said Dr. Jane Nichols, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE).
Nichols said NSHE officials know some institutional behaviors prevent students of diverse backgrounds from persisting, and the agency will look at remedial courses and STEM pedagogy with CUE to design specific targets and improve graduation rates.
“When we look at cohort data in a critical field like nursing, an area many first generation students choose, we realize we don’t have great success graduating them,” Nichols said. “We have our own assumptions about the way we teach and support students that may need to be rethought or reshaped.”
Serving students of color better also has economic importance.
“Without pulling this data, we are going to have a less educated workforce in the west. This is really something important that has accelerated in the last decade, and CUE has found the way to use data in (taking) action,” Longanecker said.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the collaboration between the Center for Urban Education and the Western Interstate Commission of Higher Education was the first time CUE tools had been used at the state level. In fact, CUE has previously worked with Wisconsin at the state system level before WICHE.
