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Educational Effectiveness Review Appendix B1 THE FRESNO STATE STUDENT – CHARACTERISTICS, ASPIRATIONS, AND NEEDSThe university’s strong commitment to academic excellence, to teaching, and to learning is also accompanied by a deep-seated commitment to diversity and educational equity. To understand the challenges faced by university retention programs, it important to note that a majority of students who attend Fresno State reside in the Central San Joaquin Valley. The eight Central Valley counties—Madera, Merced, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Fresno, Tulare, Kings, and Kern—rate high on poverty and low on socioeconomic and educational indicators such as high school graduation, SAT test- taking rate, and college attendance. A recent report, Assessing the Region via Indicators: Education and Youth Preparedness, prepared by the Great Valley Center, a think tank in Modesto, California, highlights critical indicators that affect students in the Central Valley. They include the following: Poverty– In the Central Valley, 23% of children live below the poverty line, compared with the state average of 18%. Research consistently shows that children in poverty live in stressful environments and go without necessities, affecting cognitive growth and development. Head of household – Single parents are raising 28% of children, compared with 25% statewide. Mother’s education level – All eight counties in the San Joaquin Valley have a lower percentage of mothers with a high school education than the state overall. Education: Fewer high school students graduate or are ready for college than in other parts of the state. The statewide average of high school students who meet the University of California and/or California State University admission requirements is 35%; yet the rate for high school students in the eight-county valley region ranges from 20% to 31%. The FresnoState StudentIt is not surprising, therefore, that an examination of Fresno State student characteristics encompasses a wide range of cognitive and affective variables. High school (e.g., admissions variables) and college (e.g., grades, major, and progress to degree) achievement reflect the unique social and family background, aspirations, and priorities of each individual student. For the past 10 years, Fresno State has conducted an active program of survey research, which in part has shown just how unique our students are relative to their counterparts at peer institutions. Characteristics of Fresno State students considered include proportion of first generation college attendees, income, ESL status, self-reported need for remediation, and concurrent employment while attending college. These characteristics have been extracted from the following surveys, which have been conducted in recent years utilizing for the most part a stratified random sample of class sections defined by instructional level and college or school affiliation:
Income and financial aid status: Fresno State students report an average lower family income than freshmen at peer institutions. Consequently, a substantial percentage of students (60%) who attend the university receive some form of financial assistance. Over 69% of our students are employed to support their families and their education. The percentage of SSI respondents reporting fulltime employment grew from 19.6% in fall 1998 to 23.5% in spring 2002. The proportion reporting part-time employment remained essentially the same (50.2% to 50.8%). First-generation college student: Many Fresno State students report that their generation is the first to attend college. This is not surprising given the low education levels of county residents and high poverty rates. Both the HERI Freshman Survey (2001) and SNAPS (1989) offer interesting insights as to how this factor rather uniquely defines our student body (see appendices). For entering freshmen, the 2001 survey indicates the following educational attainment of their parents. Peer institutions using HERI typology include 361 four-year universities offering instruction through the master’s degree. Educational attainment of parents at the high school graduate level is comparable to peer institutions; however, the percentage of parents whose educational attainment was reported as “grammar school or less” is surprising and somewhat sobering. Table 1. Educational Attainment of Parents of Incoming Freshmen
Need for remediation: First-time freshmen who enter Fresno State have a higher need for remediation in English and mathematics than the CSU system average, yet this campus has a higher success rate with these students by the end of the first year. The rate needing remediation at all CSU campuses for the fall 2001 cohort is 62% and the rate for Fresno State is 71% (Table 2). Yet, while these rates are higher at entry, Fresno State has a higher rate of success in remediating students by the end of their first year of enrollment. Of the 71% of new students who needed remediation at Fresno State, 99% of those students had successfully completed a remediation course by the end of their first year. In contrast, the remediation rate for all CSU campuses by the end of the first year was 96%. Table 2. Fall 2001 regularly admitted first-time freshmen remediation rates
Other student characteristics: Because of the university’s commitment to educational equity, the success of university outreach programs, and cooperative educational programs with regional schools and colleges, the student body comprises special populations. These include students with disabilities, reentry and adult learners, low income and migrant students, transfer students, first generation college students, and students who represent the ethnically and culturally diverse population of the state and the region. Each of these populations enriches the academic experience and is the target of specialized programs and services designed to help them succeed and progress toward the degree. |
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