When higher education thinks about better and best practices in supporting student completion, the academy knows what moves the needle. High impact practices, such as learning communities and writing-intensive courses, always help. Strong academic and student services supports always make a difference. For students of lesser means, enhanced financial support and wrap-around can aid retention and help the path to completion. There’s a well-studied relationship, too, between resources available and student success. It’s no surprise: more resources focused on student completion usually means more student completers.
Activities and services on their own, though, do not necessarily find an audience. Institutional intentionality is important. That realization is one of the key takeaways from Supporting Men of Color in the Community College: A Guidebook, by J. Luke Wood and Frank Harris III. Wood is a professor of Community College Leadership at San Diego State University. Harris is a professor of Postsecondary Education at SDSU. Together they co-lead the Minority Male Community College Collaborative, a research and practice center.
Supporting Men of Color is a short, easy-to-read summary of things that work when it comes to improving student success rates for this population. The recommendations are based on research done by Wood and Harris, in addition to other educators. The findings are right down the center of best practices. What works for men of color tends to have a positive impact on other populations, too. Students need help, they need support, they need to identify with their institution and feel safe and heard. Intrusive advising helps and it helps more when it is part of a larger, integrated system of support. The authors also recommend a student survey to gain better understanding of the population’s needs. This is good practice – regardless of the population.
They key contribution the book makes is about institutional intentionality. If educators want to have an impact on success for men of color, then we need to think about them as a particular group and be intentional about helping them succeed. Books like Supporting Men of Color can help to focus institutional efforts, bringing faculty and staff together and getting on the same page.
Improving student success does not always have to be complicated. Pay attention, direct resources, listen and care.
David Potash