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We are thrilled to welcome and introduce our newest team member, Jordan Reed, whose research and action primarily addresses the systematic role of education in status reproduction for historically underrepresented, subaltern, low-income, and first-generation college students. Grounded in community psychology, Jordan uses critical and postcolonial frameworks to work alongside students and their communities, fostering systemic changes that reflect collective aspirations and support student self-empowerment. In addition to research, Jordan has over 10 years of experience in program design, evaluation, capacity building, and in mutual aid efforts. Learn more about Jordan and other CCRI staff here.

Mentoring is a powerful tool for enhancing student persistence and success, especially for students who face greater entrenched systematic injustice in higher education. This is particularly important for rural students, who combined with the challenges faced by community college students, represent a group often underserved by traditional mentorship programs. In our second data note of the Mapping Effective Mentorship for Rural Community College Students project, we highlight mentorship programs and practices at rural-serving community colleges (RSCCs) that can support student success and address the systemic inequities they face in achieving their goals. We invite you to reflect on these findings and how your institution can apply these insights to create more impactful mentorship experiences for your students. Read Data Note 2 and join the conversation on how we can strengthen mentorship for rural community college students.

Why this Data Note Matters

Rural-community colleges are a key points of entry to paths toward greater economic security and choice for minoritized populations, yet high-impact mentoring programs informed by and specific to this unique role and their distinct rural contexts are sparse. This data note provides actionable strategies and considerations for practitioners to strengthen mentorship programs for rural community college students at their colleges. 

Key Insights

• Building Empowering and Inclusive Mentorship Spaces: Learn how mentorship programs at RSCCs strive to create a safe and inclusive environment that can foster student reflection, agency, and advocacy to challenge the power structures they encounter in higher education and beyond.
• Cultural Identity and Community Engagement in Mentorship: Explore how mentorship programs are embracing students’ cultural identities. These protective practices can amplify students’ community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005), which can buffer students from the exclusive power structures encountered in higher education and enhance persistence and overall goal attainment. 

Additionally, we invite you to share our survey below with students who receive mentorship to help us further understand how we can enhance mentorship strategies and better support rural students. Please click here to learn more about our student survey. 

Click here to read the full data note.

This is the third phase of a three-phase study. A description of the prior phases and what we learned can be found in our Data Note 2 for this project. We are gathering a nationwide sample, surveying students who are or have experienced mentoring at rural-serving institutions to learn about potential differences and commonalities in the needs, barriers, and mentoring best-practices they identify. Each respondent will receive $10 in the form of a gift card of their choice, and will be entered to win an Apple iPad. Respondents can also be someone who has left their community college but experienced mentoring there in the recent past.

Our three-phase study, Mapping Effective Mentorship for Rural Community College Students, seeks to provide a comprehensive assessment of the descriptions of mentoring programs at rural-serving community colleges in the United States, to understand these programs from the mentor and mentee perspective, to find practices that are especially responsive to students at these institutions, and to highlight and begin a dialogue with practitioners regarding how these practices can be applied and expanded in other mentoring programs.

Students at rural-serving community colleges often face greater systemic inequities, but extant mentoring models were not devised with this population in mind. Thus, we were particularly interested in programs that took these systematic factors into account, and that supported students to navigate and advocate for themselves within these contexts.

The 15-minute survey asks about these and other mentoring supports, what could be improved, and what impact the students felt their mentoring experiences had on their academic and career plans. Respondents who have recently departed community college are invited to share their retrospective experiences. Each respondent will receive $10 in the form of a gift card which they will choose from 100+ options via the Tango card system. Respondents who opt in will also be entered in a drawing to win an Apple iPad.

One reason mentoring for students at rural-serving community colleges is under-examined and underdeveloped is the inherent difficulty in directly collecting representative nationwide data with these students. Outreach through practitioners and institutional stakeholders is especially critical for this research. Thus, if you work with or are connected to someone who mentors these students, please pass the information about this survey along. 

The leaderboard tracking the states from which the survey has thus far received the most responses, as well as a brief explanation of the survey, including a flyer for dissemination, can be found on our website here. Thank you for your help in uncovering the best ways to support rural community college students!

In November, our team had the privilege of presenting at the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) conference in Minneapolis, MN. The event offered a great opportunity to share our work, connect with fellow grantees from the Rural Learner Success (RLS) Initiative supported by Ascendium Education Group, and reflect on how to better communicate our research through storytelling.

Presenting Our Work and Connecting with Fellow Grantees

A key highlight of the conference was sharing the progress of our Mapping Effective Mentorship for Rural Community College Students project. We found that mentorship programs that incorporated at least one critical mentoring element in their website description varied in the degree to which their approaches reflected critical mentorship practices such as empowerment, cultural connection, and critical awareness of systemic barriers. Presenting our insights and receiving feedback from scholars helped refine our approach, leading to the development of our second RLS data note which focused on critical mentorship practices supporting student success in rural community colleges. The conference also provided a valuable opportunity for collaboration, where we learned from other grantees tackling similar challenges in different contexts. It was energizing to see the diverse approaches to disseminating research, which sparked new ideas for how we can share our own findings more effectively.

Incorporating Storytelling Insights into Our Work

The storytelling workshop, put together by Ascendium and the American Institutes for Research (AIR), equipped us with valuable strategic and pragmatic approaches for sharing our research. The workshop walked us through applying key techniques for effective storytelling that move research communications from simply presenting data to making them more actionable and meaningful for practitioners in the field. The following are key insights from the session and how we have incorporated them into our most recent data note: 

1. Shifting our audience: We further shifted from an academic lens for the purpose of this data note by centering: “Why does this matter to practitioners?” This helped us more closely focus on how mentorship can directly address the challenges faced by those working with rural community college students using a critical lens. 
2. Providing mentoring strategies for practice: We provided clear and actionable mentoring strategies that practitioners can implement right away.
3. Streamlining for impact: We streamlined our content, focusing on key takeaways for easier application by practitioners using bullet points.
4. Focusing on core themes: We narrowed our focus to two central themes, emphasizing the “so what” and “now what” of our research with the goal of driving change.
5. Creating space for reflection: We included reflective questions to encourage readers to connect our findings with their own experiences.

Looking Ahead to DREAM 2025

We are excited to continue applying these insights at DREAM 2025, where we’ll be presenting our session titled “Exploring Critical Mentorship in Rural Community Colleges: A National Overview” in Philadelphia, PA. Our session will explore the current landscape of critical mentorship in rural community colleges, systemic influences on its implementation, and ongoing insights shared by mentors and mentees through our interviews. Our goal is not only to share our findings but also to foster a collaborative space where participants can reflect on their own mentoring experiences and learn from one another.

As we continue to refine and expand our work, we remain committed to grappling with the following questions:

• Who are the storytellers, and are there situations when we, as researchers, might not be the best ones to tell these stories?
• How can we create meaningful space and opportunities for students and practitioners to share their own stories, positioning them as co-creators of the narrative?
• In what ways are we making sure that the communities we serve are actively involved in shaping our research and its outcomes?

We look forward to continuing this work and deepening its impact on rural community college students.

Imagine a future where talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students from low-income backgrounds have a clear and supported pathway from their community college to a 4-year university to complete their bachelor’s degree in their chosen major. This vision is becoming a reality thanks to innovative partnerships between 2-year and 4-year institutions.

The STEM Transfer Partnership began with nine teams composed of 2-year and 4-year institutional partners. These teams have been working collaboratively to increase access to and bachelor’s degree completion for STEM transfer students from low-income backgrounds. These partnerships were formed towards the end of the COVID pandemic, as institutions were readjusting to a new normal and returning to campus with fewer students and, thus, fewer resources. During this challenging time, faculty, staff and administrators faced many demands on their time and attention. We are grateful these teams chose to focus on improving their transfer students’ experiences by growing their partnerships, building relationships, and creating solutions.

Data Note 5 from the STEM Transfer Partnerships (STP) initiative unveils the power of collaboration by sharing case studies of nine dedicated teams. The teams who collectively comprise the STP community of practice are composed of faculty, staff, and administrators working together to break down the barriers that often hinder the transfer and completion rates of STEM students from low-income backgrounds.

Discover how these partnerships are:

• Improving advising: Streamlining guidance, fostering personalized support, and creating clear pathways to success.
• Enhancing recruitment and enrollment: Inspiring student interest, increasing access to opportunities, and simplifying the transfer process.
• Strengthening faculty and curriculum: Improving gateway course outcomes, promoting research experiences, and providing courses to be major ready to transfer.

This Data Note showcases examples from this community of practice’s partnerships. Some of the exciting things you will see in these case studies are the myriad ways teams changed practices and processes to improve transfer student experiences. All teams utilized student input in their change process. 

Key takeaways from across these case studies highlight the importance to:

• • Build relationships
  • Center transfer student input in the process
  • Use data to monitor and improve outcomes
  • Tie efforts to other institutional resources with similar goals
  • Get leadership involved 

This publication, co-created with our team leads, provides valuable insights for educators, administrators, and policymakers seeking to improve STEM transfer rates and empower the next generation of scientists and innovators.

Read the full brief to learn more about the strategies and successes of these impactful partnerships.

 

The University of Washington’s Community College Research Initiatives (CCRI) has been awarded a $1.7 million grant from Ascendium Education Group to continue its STEM Transfer Partnerships (STP) program, which aims to increase equity in STEM education for low-income learners across Washington state. This funding extension builds on an earlier $1.17 million grant, continuing the work to improve outcomes for underserved students in STEM fields.

CCRI conducts research to promote equity in higher education, with a focus on the experiences of underserved student populations. Ascendium supports initiatives aimed at helping students from low-income backgrounds achieve postsecondary degree completion. With aligned goals of enhancing access and success for low-income learners, Ascendium is a natural and valuable partner in advancing CCRI’s efforts.

Building on success and expanding opportunities

CCRI will build on the successes of the original initiative, adding key enhancements to further support low-income STEM transfer students in Washington state.

“We are deeply grateful to Ascendium Education Group for continuing to support the STEM Transfer Partnership project. This second grant provides an incredible opportunity to build on our successes and deepen our impact,” says Lia Wetzstein, director of CCRI and principal investigator on the grant.

“Thanks to our teams advancing their work to lower barriers to STEM transfer, together we are creating pathways for more low-income students to achieve living-wage careers and thrive in a rapidly changing economy. With this support, we will further cultivate a community of practice that strengthens transfer partnerships, drives innovation and creates equitable opportunities across institutions.”

The new grant will enable the STEM Transfer Partnerships (STP) project to build on the successes of the original initiative while introducing key enhancements to further support low-income STEM transfer students in Washington state. In the first phase, the project focused on establishing partnerships between 2-year and 4-year institutions, providing $25,000 to each institutional partner. STP 2.0 will continue this funding model, offering $25,000 to each partner, while formalizing critical drivers of success. The new phase will emphasize a more inclusive, student-centered approach, incorporating paid student team members and expanding teams to include additional STEM disciplines. Faculty and staff are also being leveraged as mentors for returning team members. Other key enhancements include the introduction of standardized data reporting to track student-level outcomes and a focus on ensuring leadership buy-in at participating institutions.

Like in the STP 1.0, a critical component of STP 2.0 is the provision of financial and human resources to ensure the sustainability of partnerships. By continuing to address systemic barriers and strengthen transfer pathways, STP 2.0 will expand opportunities for low-income STEM students to achieve their academic and career goals while fostering innovations to improve transfer success and equity for all students across the state.

“CCRI’s impact on the transfer experience begins with deep research and continues with implementation and dissemination of best practices. This latest investment will allow partner institutions to extend and deepen their student success work. At the same time, CCRI and their partners will continue to tackle system barriers, making the transfer pathway smoother for many more students, particularly those who have been historically underserved in higher education,” says Michaelann Jundt, senior associate dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs and the UW’s representative to the state’s Joint Transfer Council. 

“We are excited to continue leading this work, which holds immense potential to benefit students, institutions, and our state by fostering a culture of collaboration around transfer to elevate transfer student success—starting with STEM and expanding to all programs, “ says Wetzstein. “This work can also serve to empower students, staff and faculty to work together to lead transformative change across institutions while advancing our understanding of partnership strategies that drive measurable improvements in student outcomes.”

About the University of Washington’s Community College Research Initiatives

The University of Washington’s CCRI conducts research to generate actionable knowledge aimed at advancing equity in higher education. A program of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, CCRI focuses on studying the experiences of underserved student groups who enter higher education through community colleges and the role institutions play in supporting equitable educational and employment outcomes. By leveraging research findings, CCRI drives meaningful change in postsecondary education. To learn more, visit the CCRI website.

About Ascendium Education Group

Ascendium Education Group is a nonprofit organization committed to helping individuals achieve their education and career goals. Ascendium focuses on increasing the number of students from low-income backgrounds who complete postsecondary degrees, certificates, and workforce training programs. With a focus on first-generation students, incarcerated adults, rural community members, students of color, and veterans, Ascendium works to identify and scale best practices that drive large-scale change in education systems and promote opportunity for all. For more information, visit the Ascendium website.

For more information or to get involved, contact Lia Wetzstein at ccri@uw.edu.

CCRI awarded UW’s Resilience Lab seed grant to support transfer students in 2020-2021

Our team is honored to be a recipient of one of the University of Washington’s Resilience Lab seed grants. Our applied research project will lift up the incoming transfer student experience to discover ways to support the growth of their resilience and transfer capital.  Continue reading “CCRI awarded UW’s Resilience Lab seed grant”