Academic Preparation
Programs
Proving that they work
BY CYNTHIA LEE
UCLA Today Staff
Before the battle over funding of UC’s academic preparation
programs flares anew in the Legislature, UC is working to strengthen
its case for continuing these programs by showing how California
benefits from its investment.
Over the last few years, the Legislature and the governor have
been divided over funding for these programs, which have suffered
substantial cuts. Last year, state lawmakers agreed in a last-minute
budget deal to $17 million in one-time funding. But the governor
has threatened to withdraw those funds for next year. UC President
Robert C. Dynes has said he will work with the Legislature and the
governor “to demonstrate the value and performance of these
programs” and to ensure that funding is restored. UC has pledged
$12 million in internal funds to keep core programs going, regardless
of what the state does.
“There is no unanimity in the Legislature on what to do about
UC educational outreach,” said Jack Sutton, UCLA’s executive
coordinator of Academic Preparation and Educational Partnerships,
a unit headed by Vice Chancellor Janina Montero of Student Affairs
and Aimee Dorr, dean of the Graduate School of Education & Information
Studies. “There are many Democrats who feel we should be doing
this and more, and there are some Republicans who are concerned
because they say there are already enough applicants trying to get
into UC.” What this logic fails to address is that California’s
diverse population isn’t well-represented in the applicant
pool, he explained.
These are not UC recruitment programs, UC officials emphasized.
The programs focus on students in underserved K-12 schools and improve
academic achievement and college preparation for students, wherever
they go on to college.
A number of studies have already demonstrated the programs’
success. When Jeannie Oakes, UCLA Presidential Professor and director
of UC Accord, testified a year ago before an Assembly budget subcommittee
on education finance, she highlighted research done at the Center
for the Study of Evaluation at UCLA that showed that students in
one program, the Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP), were twice
as likely to complete the a-g college preparatory coursework (one
of the requirements to be UC- and CSU-eligible) than non-participants.
Studies have also shown these programs increase the chances that
prepared students will be admitted to college. Overall, 50.7% of
the program participants in one study enrolled at UC, CSU or a community
college, compared to only 25.9% of their peers. In looking at whether
program participants stay in college, researchers found that after
three years, 80.3% were still enrolled at UC, the same rate as for
other UC students.
“The problem is not that we haven’t any data on these
programs,” said Margaret Heisel, UC’s executive director
of student academic preparation and educational partnerships. “The
problem is that we have provided boxes and boxes of data. But we
still get questions, like ‘I still don’t understand
if these programs work.’ ”
As a result, UC has assembled a committee with representatives
from the Governor’s Office, Department of Finance, legislative
committees, the campuses and other constituencies to help forge
a common approach to understanding and evaluating the performance
and accountability of these programs.
Winston C. Doby, UC vice president for academic preparation and
educational partnerships, said UC wants to work with all interested
parties to understand their issues and answer their questions in
a constructive way.
“We believe these programs are vital not only to the futures
of the participating students, but to the economic and social future
of the state as a whole,” said Doby, formerly vice chancellor
of student affairs at UCLA. “We hope this collaborative evaluation
process helps forge consensus on that point.”
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