Supporting Hispanic Student Success: An Ecology of Virtual Support Framework at HSIs
General description of the project
A qualitative phenomenological study focused on understanding the administrative and teaching practices that support Hispanic student success in virtual contexts at one Hispanic Serving Institution. Grounded upon Tinto’s social integration theory, I found that virtual structure, social presence, access to support, and consistent communication in virtual contexts are behaviors that nurture supportive online learning and engagement experiences. Higher education institutions intentionally cultivate a sense of belonging and community among their student populations because it has been associated with student retention, however in the context of Covid-19, it is essential to re-assess behaviors that support this college student population. This presentation will describe how colleges can use virtual structure, social presence, access to support, and communication in concrete meaningful ways that engage and support Hispanic students.
Technologies
Developed social structures on learning management systems to act as one stop shop for existing and new students, virtual office hours for tutoring and student success coaches, aligned course design structures to rigorous frameworks, designed digital faculty collaboration tools to identify at risk students – all using applications such as Blackboard, Smartsheet, videoconferencing, and MS office applications (sharepoint).
Explain project results
Increased undergraduate Hispanic student retention, satisfaction in services, enhanced student learning, engagement in academic and scholarly work among Hispanic graduate students.
Why it should be considered best practice?
This project has yielded excellent results for our campus. We have met our retention goals, our students are experiencing a sense of trust and belonging with support staff, are engaged and active in virtual contexts, are publishing academic works and presenting at conferences. Best of all, they are consistently working on completing degree requirements.
Highlights of your proposed presentation
A model: Ecology of Virtual Support Framework will be presented and the best practices for each of the 4 areas of the framework will be shared – practical applications to enhance Hispanic Student Success.
The Evaluation Committee will evaluate submitted proposals based on the following criteria. Each area will be rated on a scale from 1 to 7 (1= non-satisfactory; 7 =outstanding), for a maximum of 63 points.