Creating a Structured Support System for Postsecondary Success

Abstract

Some of the most vulnerable of all students entering postsecondary education are those who are, or have been, part of the foster care system in each state because they encounter academic, financial, legal, and social challenges within a disaggregated system of supports (Pecora et al., 2012;Sarubbi, Parker, & Sponsler, 2016). The majority of foster youth enter postsecondary education at a community college (Kirk & Day, 2011) placing the colleges front and center in foster youth postsecondary attainment. Community colleges, with strong ties to local communities and (in most contexts) shared linkages to local government services, are ideally situated to provide a structured support system for foster youth to have college success.Foster youth enter postsecondary education as an underrepresented and vulnerable student population. Other authors in this issue have addressed the challenges foster youth face in the transition to, and completion of, postsecondary education. This chapter will review recent foster youth postsecondary state policy enactments and implementation, followed by examples of foster youth programs at the state and institutional level. The chapter will then propose a structured support system to assist community college leaders in establishing or expanding student services in support of foster youth. Foster Youth Postsecondary State-Level Programs and PoliciesSince 2000, twenty-eight states have enacted policy in the form of tuition assistance to increase the likelihood of foster youth entering postsecondary education (Sarubbi et al., 2016

Rethinking Postsecondary Access and Engagement for Low-income Adult Learners Through a Community Hub Partnership Approach

“…Other approaches align with Dempsey's (2010) suggestion that campus-community engagement be defined by partner commitment to "collaborative forms of organizing and typically involve under-resourced and marginalized communities" (p. 360). In essence, collaborative and participatory approaches to engaging low-income learners emphasize the importance of dialogic engagement between learners, educators, and community-based agencies and organizations (Freire, 2005;Scott & Schmitt-Boshnick, 2001;White, 2018;Zhu, 2019). Such approaches reframe the nature of the challenges involved from an individualized deficit model to a focus on the structural and systemic factors that hamper learner motivation and participation (Kastner & Motschilnig, 2021).…”

“…Furthermore, a community hub approach can help facilitate a participatory process of partner engagement premised upon the collaborative inclusion of relevant stakeholders, the use of multiple community structures, and the maintenance of ongoing communication among and between partners. In light of this, the hub model has the potential to boost adult learner motivation and participation by fostering a greater sense of inclusion and connectedness, in addition to strengthening the degree of collaboration with community partners to provide a structured and multifaceted wraparound student support system (Bragg et al, 2006;White, 2018;Wlodkowski & Ginsberg, 2017).…”