Focus groups find out what works in the classroom, on campus.
She was in her second year at a community college in Washington state when we met. She’s the first in her family to go to college. Her parents are farm workers. She describes in English, her second language, the first time she stepped on the campus in this small northwestern community that is now her home.
“I’m from Texas,” she says. “I’m used to being around all Hispanic people. I wasn’t used to being around a lot of White people. That was intimidating.”
She describes opening the door to the college, stepping inside, and seeing a young woman sitting at a table by the door. “It felt nice,” she tells us, “to get greeted by another Hispanic. I walk in and I see her. Then it’s like ‘oh, nice, you know there’s more people here [like me].’”
Like many community colleges throughout the country, Skagit Valley College (Wash.) reaches out to its increasingly diverse student population and wants all students who come through its doors to feel at home. Skagit is one of the 16 colleges that have been recognized for improving student retention since the 2002-2003 academic year through the MetLife Foundation Initiative on Student Success. The foundation is a partner to the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) in the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin.
Student Voices Bring the Data to Life
