Collaborating with Renaissance Scholars to serve overlooked - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Collaborating with Renaissance Scholars to serve overlooked undergraduate student populations

SSERC Symposium May 31, 2019 Renaissance Scholars Program (RSP) and Student Success Equity Research Center (SSERC)

• Dr. Ruby Hernandez; Angel Mora; Elizabeth Moya, MSW; Sara Radoff, MA

Renaissance Scholars Program

Students in the Renaissance scholars

program include undergraduate students who belong to the communities of:

• Former foster youth
• Former wards of the court
• Experienced homelessness prior to

UCSC

• Neglect in their homes
• Guardians with severe mental illness
• r substance abuse

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• Pushout from their homes due to

their LGBTQ identity

• Formerly incarcerated
• Children of parent/guardians who

have been incarcerated

• Forcible separation:

deportation/refugee

Show Resiliency Against Educational Barriers

• Disrupted Education
• School Enrollment Issues
• Mental Health Concerns

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(Amili 2016; Arroyo 2015; Brabeck, K. M., Lykes, M. B., & Hunter, C., 2014; Clayton 2017; Conners, et.al, 2003; Enhow 2018; Gupton, 2017; Salazar, 2012; Hirano, 2014; Huang, Fernandez, Rhoden & Rigaud, 2018; Lenette, 2016; Miller,, Hess, Bybee, & Goodkind, 2018; Phan,2018;Reupert, A., & Maybery, D., 2007; Rojas-Flores, L., Clements, M. L., Hwang Koo, J., & London, J. (2017); Salazar, Haggerty,& Roe,

• 2016. Skobba, Meyers, &i Tiller, 2018; Tabak, et.al., 2016.; Tierney,2017)
• Home Instability
• Difficult to Reach

Purpose of Study

Deepen the program’s understanding of:

• Who they serve
• Effects of the program on particular student outcomes
• Kinds of services different groups of students value and need

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Participatory Action Research Team

• Angel Mora, RSP Intern/SSERC RA
• Elizabeth Moya, RSP Program Advisor

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• Sara Radoff, STARS Director
• Ruby Hernandez, Postdoctoral Scholar

& Research Coordinator at SSERC

• SSERC Undergraduate Research Assistants:

Aaron Roldan Alex Piper Alexis Calleros Christy Kobayu Leanne Grace Novo

Design Multimethod: Interviews Only

• Conducted by a SSERC RA/RSP

student

• Recruited by RSP staff & snowball
• No demographics/Pseudonym
• Topics:

○ Experiences in RSP ○ Improvements for RSP

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• Compensation: $25 Amazon gift card
• Recorded & Transcribed
• Preliminary stages of being

analyzed using grounded theory ○ Collected 9 thus far (Goal: 10)

What opportunities does RSP provide for Renaissance Scholars?

“Sanctuary”

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Involvement/ Engagement with RS Community

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Student needs within RSP?

Outreach/Recruitment

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Housing

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Targeted Programming

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Stafg

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Summary Findings/Implications

• RSP provides purpose and a place to engage on campus, potentially improving

retention

• RSP provides acceptance and stability to invisible populations (place & similar

communities)

• Student outreach/recruitment is complicated by their status
• Housing and staff are in high demand for students
• Students unique difficulties require specialized staff & programming

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Campus Recommendations

• Broadly, steady funding each year as likely more students enter into RSP

○ More staff at RSP, especially representative of communities

• Further efforts towards stability

○ Continuity of housing (replicating instability), funding (especially summer housing)

• Broader understanding of RSP among campus staff

○ Staff have program information & aware of community indicators

• Partnering with others on campus to create a coordinated effort to reach

communities

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Acknowledgements

• Renaissance Scholars Program (RSP)
• Student Transfer and Re-Entry Services (STARS)
• Student Success Equity Research Center (SSERC)
• Dr. Sam Foster, Dr. Rebecca Covarrubias, Dr. Margarita Azmitia
• SSERC Research Assistants: Angel Mora, Aaron Roldan, Alex Piper, Alexis

Calleros, Christy Kobayu, Leanne Grace Novo, Matt Betts, & Jeremy Del Carpio

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Question

How can you or other programs on campus become involved to help serve RSP community students? What recommendations do you have?

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