According to a webinar on “Fast Facts of Latinos in Higher Education” (April 2024), jointly presented by Excelencia in Education and the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, in the 2019-2020 academic year, 31% of students were first-generation, with Latinos, at 51%, being more likely to be first-generation than any other racial group, and African Americans having the next highest percentage. This is very important data and a root cause! This illustrates the scope of the challenge.
The fact is that these first-generation students are in the dark with regards to the learning culture – unless leaders are intentional in turning on the lights, and Latinos and African Americans are more likely to be in the dark than other racial groups. The learning culture is the hidden curriculum in higher education, yet students are expected to know and apply it when they begin their college studies. With all due respect, when students are left to be traumatized in the dark, what is the significance of excellence awards and recognitions given to institutions such as the Seal of Excelencia and Aspen Prize, and can the dream be truly achieved?
This doesn’t dismiss any existing high impact practices and strategies for increasing student success in higher education – no, they’re all very important and necessary; however, the learning culture must be the foundation on which student success is built; otherwise, what foundation are the students building on? I call on higher education leaders to first turn on the lights, then continue with the high impact practices and strategies.
This quote epitomizes the student experience:
“In the light of the learning culture, students find hope and true empowerment. While in the dark, they find trauma, including depression, self-doubt and abandoned dreams.
The dark is also a breeding ground for imposter syndrome.
The three videos hyperlinked below illustrate the powerful and dramatic impact of the learning culture:
First, Mr. Ferrari, Francis Rowe (above left), experienced depression and self-doubt in calculus I before finding the learning culture in my MESA Program with only three weeks left in the semester, yet he compared finding the learning culture to when man first discovered fire, and he was right because he immediately earned his first-ever A in math on each of the final two exams and an A for the semester. Francis earned transfer admission to the University of San Diego, and he is now a successful business owner.
Katya (middle) was a straight-A student majoring in electrical engineering when she failed the first exam in physics mechanics. This is when she joined my MESA Program and was trained in the learning culture. She then earned a 100% score on the second exam on her way to transferring to and graduating from UCLA, then becoming a NASA engineer, before she became the 1st Mexican-born and youngest female astronaut! In contrast, her classmate, also a 4.0 student who failed the first physics exam, rejected the learning culture, stayed in the dark, and failed physics and calculus II before dropping out of college. Imagine – no learning culture, no astronaut!
Finally, Mr. Nate (right) had dreams of becoming an electrical engineer when he began his studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). But he left IIT after an unsuccessful attempt in calculus I. This was followed by an unsuccessful attempt in trigonometry at Oakton College, leaving Nate out of school and on the verge of abandoning his dream. Why? Because he was in the dark, and these institutions failed to turn on the lights for him. Fortunately, he had the courage to give higher education another chance, and this is when he found the learning culture in my MESA Program. Nate succeeded in transferring to and graduating from UC Davis as an electrical engineer on his way to becoming a STEM professional.
The chart above illustrates the strong correlation between first-generation status and student completion. Here we are reminded that the key is education, and it is also related to educational equity and social justice. This is why the learning culture revolution matters!
These are 6-year completion rates for students who began their college studies in 2017 from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. On the left are completion rates for university students, and on the right are completion rates for community college students. This would have us believe that – first, on average, community college students complete their studies at a rate 33% lower than the completion rate for university students, and second, on average, Hispanic and Black students, in both community colleges and universities, complete their studies at rates 29% and 28% lower, respectively, than the completion rates for Asian and White students.
However, as demonstrated by my MESA stars, we know that these rates do not reflect the great potential that all students have. Students, especially first-generation college students, are simply in the dark about the culture for learning that exists in every institution of higher education. But the needle is stuck – it is not moving. I want to smash the needle! We know this challenge very well, and we need to turn on the lights to reach the missing millions who lack the education needed for equitable participation in the economic prosperity of our country.