Data Diving: What Do You Know About Your Students
It’s hard to reach out to your foreign-educated immigrant students if you aren’t able to identify them or track their progress at your college. While community colleges have traditionally gathered very little data on the background of their immigrant students or on the outcomes they have achieved, some are now collecting data on these students’ educational background, retention rates, and career success. They are using that data to improve and expand immigrant education programs and community outreach services. And these efforts are paying off as these colleges are able to show quantitative improvements in enrollment, class performance, and certificate and/or degree completion.
QuizHow well does your college collect and utilize data on foreign-educated immigrants?
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A key partner in these data-gathering and analytic efforts is your college’s Institutional Research (IR) department. You can also partner with your non-credit ESL programs to identify students with international higher education. Miami Dade College (MDC) is incorporating both of these approaches is two innovative ways:
Best PracticeMiami Dade College (MDC) attracts foreign-educated students to its Project A.C.E. (Accelerated Content-Based English) program, a fast-track “bridge to college” program by recruiting from their ESL classes. MDC sends congratulatory emails to its high-achieving foreign-educated ESL students, inviting them to apply to join their accelerated college-bridge program. The emails describe the college courses they are eligible to take alongside their ESL classes, and explain how Project A.C.E. will save them time. Videos on the Project A.C.E. website in English, Spanish and French are specifically aimed at attracting foreign-educated students looking to prepare for a second B.A., a master’s degree, or professional licensure in the U.S.
Best PracticeIn a parallel effort, Miami Dade College’s Institutional Research department tracks the college’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program, monitoring key performance indicators, such as retention rates for students at each curriculum level, placement results after completion of the EAP program, and success in subsequent courses.
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