Advancing College Diversity and Access Through Partnership

Introduction

College degree attainment is a critical variable in creating opportunities for social mobility including higher employment rates and income (US Department of Education, 2016). According to the US Department of Education (2016), there have been intergenerational disparities in college access for students of color which have diminished their social mobility. Access to college education for students of color can support social mobility and financial well-being and can reverse or counteract against the negative impacts of reduced educational attainment such as the school to prison pipeline.

Despite the potential benefits of a college education for students of color, enrollment and retention rates are lower for Black and Hispanic students than for White students (deBrey et al., 2019); there is a similar discrepancy between first-generation college students and students whose parents attended college (Engle & Tinto, 2008). Engle and Tinto (2008) observed that low-income, first generation students were more likely to drop out of college after the first year of college than their counterparts and that after six years, over 40 percent of low-income, first-generation college students had left college without obtaining a college degree. They found that low-income, first-generation college students were more likely to be minorities, to be part-time students, and to delay entry into college after high school graduation. Moreover, Libassi (2018) found inequities even among college graduates of color in regard to their college experience; specifically, Libassi noted that students of color were more likely to attend for-profit institutions and they continued to be underrepresented in particular academic disciplines.

Moreover, the population of the United States of America is becoming increasingly diverse, with a reduction in the percent of persons who identify as White exclusively and a dramatic increase in the percent of individuals who identify as multiracial (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). Thus, it is critical that higher education institutions identify effective strategies to attract and retain racially diverse students. In recent years, several policies and practices have been instituted to facilitate the college-readiness and enrollment of underrepresented students (Goodwin et al., 2016). Practices include academic tutoring, financial aid information, visits to college campuses, academic advising, and college counseling (Engle & Tinto, 2008; Goodwin et al., 2016). Rigorous high school coursework can ease students’ transition to college as well (Morgan, Zakhem, & Cooper, 2018). The literature also highlights the critical role that school counselors can play in this process (Gilfillan, 2018).

Community partnerships can play an important role in advancing diversity and inclusion in higher education. While there is a rich and abundant literature on the value of college-community partnerships, little attention is given to advancing higher education access and inclusion through partnerships. This chapter begins to address the gap in the literature. It reports on the evolution of a college-community partnership focused on high school youth with the goal of supporting students’ high school completion and college access. A previous publication (Falk & Carey, 2017) reported on the early years of this partnership. This chapter provides an update on the evolution and activities of the partnership with a focus on how community partnerships can advance diversity and inclusion initiatives in the higher education context.

Lawrence2College began as an initiative with Lawrence High School that focused on tutoring and mentoring of high school students in Lawrence, a city in Massachusetts in close proximity to Merrimack College. In recent years, the Lawrence2College initiative has evolved into a robust and deep partnership with SquashBusters, a youth-serving organization in Lawrence. Students in the Merrimack College Master’s Program in Community Engagement serve as mentors to high school seniors living in Lawrence, a city with one of the highest rates of poverty in the state. Mentoring is focused on the college application process, with a focus on higher education access and opportunities.