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<p><em>Note: Because I had a margin of error of +/-3%, the survey results can be generalized to the larger population of students and former students who were sent the survey.&nbsp;&nbsp; </em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>Most Student-Parents are female, Pell-eligible, and students of color, so they should be formally recognized as a student equity group.&nbsp; This has been suggested elsewhere (e.g., Lawson, 2018; Achieving the Dream, 2021) because &ldquo;lack of access and opportunity for would-be students who happen to have children is a social justice problem.&rdquo;</li>
</ul>

<p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>The pandemic has negatively affected MCC students.&nbsp; They have experienced an increase in health concerns and feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression.&nbsp; They have also experienced a decrease in: access to safe, affordable housing; the ability to pay utilities and eat three meals a day; access to health care; employment; and support from family and friends.&nbsp; The hardest hit students were Students of Color, Pell-eligible students, Student-Parents, and students age 25+. Not surprisingly, these groups overlap with each other to a great extent.&nbsp; In fact more than one in 10 survey respondents was a Pell-eligible Student of Color, age 25+ with children.&nbsp; This underscores the importance of keeping resources like DWIGHT, Dreamkeepers, the Wegmans grant, Counseling Services, Health Services, and the Guon Child Care Center funded and operational.&nbsp; It may also be worth amplifying the visibility of these resources to not only current students but prospective students. For example, posting these resources to a single page on the MCC website would make them more visible as well as easier to access.&nbsp; This especially holds true for students whose needs overlap.</li>
</ul>

<p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; College-wide but most importantly: Student Services; Marketing and Web; Enrollment Management</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>The College should continue to focus on the &ldquo;whole student&rdquo; and possible barriers to success such as: food insecurity, job insecurity, the inability to pay utilities consistently, fragile social support systems, lack of a quiet place to do schoolwork off-campus, physical and emotional barriers to being able to participate in class, and lack of a long-term college plan (including a financial plan).&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Academic Services; Student Services</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>Students&rsquo; top needs in spring 2021 involved accessing financial assistance (including financial counseling), tutoring, and other academic support (including registering for classes).</li>
</ul>

<p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Academic Services; Student Services</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>Student-Parents and students age 25+ plan to take the same number, more, or all online courses in the future, while Non-Parents and students age 24 and younger plan to take fewer or no online courses in the future.&nbsp; Given that one in three MCC students is age 25+ and one in five MCC students is a Student-Parent, it is advisable that MCC continues to offer a robust menu of online courses.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Course Delivery</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>Three-quarters of all survey respondents reported that they had been employed prior to COVID.&nbsp; As the pandemic nears its end and businesses reopen, MCC should be aware that our students&rsquo; daily schedules straddle school, work, and &ndash; for Student-Parents &ndash; family.&nbsp; It may be worth continuing to offer remote courses because of the flexibility they offer, particularly for Student-Parents.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Course Delivery; Marketing; Enrollment Management</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>Non-Parents and students age 24 and younger prefer to receive student services such as advising in-person, while Student-Parents and students age 25 and older prefer to receive them via Zoom.&nbsp; As MCC re-opens, we should consider keeping remote options in place to allow students to continue accessing college services (e.g., advising appointments) remotely.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Student Services; Marketing; Enrollment Management</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>Online courses and access to Student Services (e.g., advising appointments) benefit Student-Parents in particular because not having to drive to campus and find parking allows them to better balance school and family (and often work) responsibilities.</li>
</ul>

<p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Course Delivery; Student Services; Marketing; Enrollment Management</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>Consider expanding electronic communications with students because they prefer text messages, phone calls, and emails to surface mail.&nbsp; They consider emails to their MCC account by far the best way to reach them.</li>
</ul>

<p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; College-wide</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>Satisfaction with MCC goes beyond contentment with academics and services.&nbsp; The degree to which students feel respected at MCC and have a sense of pride as an MCC student contribute to satisfaction with the College.</li>
</ul>

<p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; College-wide</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>More than 15% of currently enrolled students who completed the survey did not know how, where, or when to purchase books, course materials, and school supplies including a laptop and/or printer.&nbsp; This information should be communicated to students en masse regardless of how long they have been attending MCC.</li>
</ul>

<p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; College-wide</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>From a marketing and recruitment perspective, the College could focus on the top reasons why current students enrolled at MCC: affordability, proximity to home, variety of courses and programs, getting a degree or certificate, securing a better job / starting a career, quality of education, transferring to a 4-year school, faculty, staff, and general MCC community are supportive.&nbsp; To recruit Student-Parents, marketing efforts could focus on how MCC benefits the whole family.&nbsp; (I have direct quotes from current Student-Parents as well as national data that quantifies how a parent&rsquo;s college education benefits kids.)</li>
</ul>

<p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Marketing; Enrollment Management</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
<li>The COVID pandemic disproportionally affected the employment of certain groups of students.&nbsp; The highest rates of job loss occurred among Pell-eligible students and females (in particular, Single Mom Learners).&nbsp; Among the students who are still employed, many earn less now than before the pandemic.&nbsp; This is especially true for Students of Color, females, and Student-Parents.&nbsp; At the intersection of sex and parental status, Single Mom Learners are among the top groups who now earn less than before.&nbsp; Although unemployed students are among the most satisfied with MCC, possibly because they have more discretionary time, it may be worth considering using government funds to create on-campus jobs for students.&nbsp; This would allow them to earn money while it helps MCC backfill (to some extent) the loss of personnel over the past year.</li>
</ul>

<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <em>Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Financial Aid</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>References</strong></p>

<p>Lawson, Jesse (2018, February 5). <em>The Student Equity Problem of Parent-Students</em>.</p>

<p><a href="https://medium.com/highered-insider/the-student-equity-problem-of-parent-students-df5b138154a0">https://medium.com/highered-insider/the-student-equity-problem-of-parent-students-df5b138154a0</a></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Achieving the Dream (2021, March 9).&nbsp; <em>Student parent success is a gender equity issue</em>.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.achievingthedream.org/news/18429/student-parent-success-is-a-gender-equity-issue">https://www.achievingthedream.org/news/18429/student-parent-success-is-a-gender-equity-issue</a></p>

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MCC Daily Tribune

IR's COVID-Era College-Wide Survey Results Section XI: Implications and Recommendations

As I mentioned in my Trib post on July 7, I would be sharing the results of IR's COVID-Era College-Wide Survey throughout July and August.  The following is Section XI of XI.  The offices and entities each implication/recommendation is geared toward are shown in italics.

Note: Because I had a margin of error of +/-3%, the survey results can be generalized to the larger population of students and former students who were sent the survey.  

 

  • Most Student-Parents are female, Pell-eligible, and students of color, so they should be formally recognized as a student equity group.  This has been suggested elsewhere (e.g., Lawson, 2018; Achieving the Dream, 2021) because “lack of access and opportunity for would-be students who happen to have children is a social justice problem.”

           Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

 

  • The pandemic has negatively affected MCC students.  They have experienced an increase in health concerns and feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression.  They have also experienced a decrease in: access to safe, affordable housing; the ability to pay utilities and eat three meals a day; access to health care; employment; and support from family and friends.  The hardest hit students were Students of Color, Pell-eligible students, Student-Parents, and students age 25+. Not surprisingly, these groups overlap with each other to a great extent.  In fact more than one in 10 survey respondents was a Pell-eligible Student of Color, age 25+ with children.  This underscores the importance of keeping resources like DWIGHT, Dreamkeepers, the Wegmans grant, Counseling Services, Health Services, and the Guon Child Care Center funded and operational.  It may also be worth amplifying the visibility of these resources to not only current students but prospective students. For example, posting these resources to a single page on the MCC website would make them more visible as well as easier to access.  This especially holds true for students whose needs overlap.

           College-wide but most importantly: Student Services; Marketing and Web; Enrollment Management

 

  • The College should continue to focus on the “whole student” and possible barriers to success such as: food insecurity, job insecurity, the inability to pay utilities consistently, fragile social support systems, lack of a quiet place to do schoolwork off-campus, physical and emotional barriers to being able to participate in class, and lack of a long-term college plan (including a financial plan). 

           Academic Services; Student Services

 

  • Students’ top needs in spring 2021 involved accessing financial assistance (including financial counseling), tutoring, and other academic support (including registering for classes).

           Academic Services; Student Services

 

  • Student-Parents and students age 25+ plan to take the same number, more, or all online courses in the future, while Non-Parents and students age 24 and younger plan to take fewer or no online courses in the future.  Given that one in three MCC students is age 25+ and one in five MCC students is a Student-Parent, it is advisable that MCC continues to offer a robust menu of online courses. 

           Course Delivery

 

  • Three-quarters of all survey respondents reported that they had been employed prior to COVID.  As the pandemic nears its end and businesses reopen, MCC should be aware that our students’ daily schedules straddle school, work, and – for Student-Parents – family.  It may be worth continuing to offer remote courses because of the flexibility they offer, particularly for Student-Parents. 

           Course Delivery; Marketing; Enrollment Management

 

  • Non-Parents and students age 24 and younger prefer to receive student services such as advising in-person, while Student-Parents and students age 25 and older prefer to receive them via Zoom.  As MCC re-opens, we should consider keeping remote options in place to allow students to continue accessing college services (e.g., advising appointments) remotely. 

           Student Services; Marketing; Enrollment Management

 

  • Online courses and access to Student Services (e.g., advising appointments) benefit Student-Parents in particular because not having to drive to campus and find parking allows them to better balance school and family (and often work) responsibilities.

           Course Delivery; Student Services; Marketing; Enrollment Management

 

  • Consider expanding electronic communications with students because they prefer text messages, phone calls, and emails to surface mail.  They consider emails to their MCC account by far the best way to reach them.

           College-wide

 

  • Satisfaction with MCC goes beyond contentment with academics and services.  The degree to which students feel respected at MCC and have a sense of pride as an MCC student contribute to satisfaction with the College.

          College-wide

 

  • More than 15% of currently enrolled students who completed the survey did not know how, where, or when to purchase books, course materials, and school supplies including a laptop and/or printer.  This information should be communicated to students en masse regardless of how long they have been attending MCC.

           College-wide

 

  • From a marketing and recruitment perspective, the College could focus on the top reasons why current students enrolled at MCC: affordability, proximity to home, variety of courses and programs, getting a degree or certificate, securing a better job / starting a career, quality of education, transferring to a 4-year school, faculty, staff, and general MCC community are supportive.  To recruit Student-Parents, marketing efforts could focus on how MCC benefits the whole family.  (I have direct quotes from current Student-Parents as well as national data that quantifies how a parent’s college education benefits kids.)

          Marketing; Enrollment Management

 

  • The COVID pandemic disproportionally affected the employment of certain groups of students.  The highest rates of job loss occurred among Pell-eligible students and females (in particular, Single Mom Learners).  Among the students who are still employed, many earn less now than before the pandemic.  This is especially true for Students of Color, females, and Student-Parents.  At the intersection of sex and parental status, Single Mom Learners are among the top groups who now earn less than before.  Although unemployed students are among the most satisfied with MCC, possibly because they have more discretionary time, it may be worth considering using government funds to create on-campus jobs for students.  This would allow them to earn money while it helps MCC backfill (to some extent) the loss of personnel over the past year.

           Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Financial Aid

 

References

Lawson, Jesse (2018, February 5). The Student Equity Problem of Parent-Students.

https://medium.com/highered-insider/the-student-equity-problem-of-parent-students-df5b138154a0

 

Achieving the Dream (2021, March 9).  Student parent success is a gender equity issue.

https://www.achievingthedream.org/news/18429/student-parent-success-is-a-gender-equity-issue

Mary Ann DeMario
Research
08/16/2021