New Initiative to Improve Student Attainment at Minority-Serving Institutions; Lumina Foundation for Education Funds AAHE and NSSE Project
WASHINGTON, DC, September 25, 2002 - The American Association for Higher Education (AAHE), in partnership with the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE), announces the Building Engagement and Attainment of Minority Students (BEAMS) Project, a 5-year initiative to improve retention, achievement, and institutional effectiveness at Historically Black, Hispanic-serving, and Tribal colleges.
The BEAMS Project -supported by a grant from Lumina Foundation for Education- serves 150 four-year colleges and universities from the Alliance for Equity in Higher Education. All participating institutions will work with AAHE, NSSE, and each other to analyze the scope and character of their students' engagement in their learning and to implement well-designed action plans to improve engagement, learning, persistence, and success.
"Despite the progress made in expanding college access for people of color, a significant gap in college graduation rates still exists," said Martha D. Lamkin, Lumina Foundation president and CEO. "This project has the opportunity to build on what's already working at minority-serving institutions and inform all postsecondary institutions on how to better support and graduate more students of color."
The program will assist campuses move toward their institutional goals in multiple ways, beginning with data from students about their engagement and learning. In spring of 2003, 50 campuses will administer NSSE, a national survey in which students respond to questions about their learning and campus experiences. Additional campuses will administer NSSE in 2004 and 2005. The survey will be administered twice during each campus' participation in the project.
"Institutional change cannot happen effectively when the student voice is excluded or minimized," said Yolanda T. Moses, president of AAHE. "The survey allows students to tell us how their campus experience - in and out of the classroom - has contributed to their learning. Institutions that use data from students can then choose strategies that support student learning and success."
Using the NSSE results, participating campuses will create action plans to enhance student engagement and learning that lead to the attainment of student and institutional goals. BEAMS campuses will convene at the 2004, 2005, and 2006 AAHE Summer Academies to develop concepts and strategies in the company of AAHE and NSSE staff, and a consortium of teams working on similar initiatives. The Academy offers five days of concentrated time for a campus team to develop an action plan that will be implemented in the following academic year(s).
BEAMS participants will continue to interact with other campuses, AAHE, and NSSE throughout implementation of their plan. Campus representatives will meet mid-year during the academic year following Academy participation to report on progress and for additional mutual support. Furthermore, the AAHE WebCenter will provide web-based support, offering sites for posting of progress reports, discussions, additional resources, and links to BEAMS campus websites and to additional resources.
Finally, participating campuses will have the opportunity at AAHE national conferences to report on initiatives and progress that emerge from their use of NSSE information and the campus' related activities.
These reports will highlight the significant work at minority-serving institutions toward fostering student engagement, learning and success, and knowledge for the entire higher education community. "The success of BEAMS is not limited to the participating campuses," said Barbara Cambridge, AAHE's vice president of programs and BEAMS' project director. "We're hoping to shed light on the importance of increasing the use of evidence for decision-making processes, of listening to students' voices, and of working with consortia in collaborative projects."
Additional information about BEAMS is available online at www.aahe.org/BEAMS.
About the American Association
for Higher Education:
The American Association for Higher Education (AAHE)
is a national leader in examining and disseminating
pedagogical strategies that stimulate deep learning
and institutional practices that provide rich educational
environments. AAHE also has a long, successful track
record in stimulating usable research and assessment
that prompts institutional change toward enhanced student-learning
outcomes.
About the NSSE Institute:
The NSSE Institute is based at the Center for Postsecondary
Research in the School of Education at Indiana University
in Bloomington. Its mission is to help improve undergraduate
education by documenting and disseminating the best
practices of higher education institutions that most
fully engage students in learning. The NSSE Institute
also assists colleges and universities in enhancing
student learning and increasing institutional effectiveness.
About the Lumina
Foundation for Education:
Lumina Foundation for Education, a private, independent
foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential
by expanding access and success in education beyond
high school. Through research, grants for innovative
programs and communication initiatives, Lumina Foundation
addresses issues surrounding financial access and educational
retention and degree or certificate attainment – particularly
among underserved student groups, including adult learners.
The Foundation bases its mission on the belief that
postsecondary education remains one of the most beneficial
investments that individuals can make in themselves
and that society can make in its people.