Supporting Community College Completion with a Culture of Caring: &quot;A Case Study of Amarillo College&quot;
Author: Goldrick-Rab, Sara
Date: 2018-06-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Community Colleges,Hispanic American Students,Low Income Students,First Generation College Students,Poverty,Student Needs,School Community Relationship,Academic Persistence,School Holding Power,Minority Serving Institutions,Institutional Characteristics,Student Characteristics,Housing,Food,Homeless People,Hunger,Paying for College,Advocacy,Student Financial Aid,Student Personnel Services

This report is an in-depth case study of the No Excuses Poverty Initiative at Amarillo College (AC), a midsize community college in the Texas Panhandle. Nearly a decade ago, AC's leadership initiated a reflective and intentional series of steps to help alleviate the conditions of poverty affecting their students and promote the chances those students complete their degrees. The college has received widespread press and recognition for its work. This case study is the first intensive, evidence-based examination of that initiative, its key components, and its impact on student success. Students at Amarillo College are predominately Latinx and come from low-income homes. More than 70% are the first in their family to attend college. As part of both a community initiative aimed at economic growth and a campus initiative designed to boost retention and completion rates, college leadership engaged in intentional reflection, professional development, and data collection as it developed a focus on poverty alleviation. This work occurred against the backdrop of community revitalization efforts emphasizing education as a key component of future economic growth. In an effort to promote college attainment on the road to financial success, the No Excuses Poverty Initiative pinpoints poverty as the most dangerous threat to degree completion and focuses on mitigating its effects. The initiative began by educating college staff, from administrators on down, about poverty's myriad dimensions and how they can impact and disrupt students' lives. Drawing on those lessons, leaders at all levels took action, creating an oncampus social services office called the Advocacy and Resource Center (ARC), instituting an emergency fund to cover student economic crises, and establishing a network of organizations, businesses, and individuals committed to supporting students. Critically, the efforts of Amarillo College go well beyond the increasingly commonplace steps taken at community colleges around the country, such as the creation of a food pantry or stand-alone emergency grant, by supplementing those actions with case management, academic support, curriculum development, and college-wide hiring and evaluation practices. In other words, the No Excuses Poverty Initiative represents a comprehensive &quot;culture of caring&quot; that is woven into the fabric of the entire campus. While quantitative analyses have yet to turn up empirical evidence of resultant changes in student outcomes, this case study reveals several implementation lessons useful for other institutions. In particular, Amarillo College stands out for undertaking an intentional cultural shift to focus on students' basic needs, committing to ongoing staff education on the challenges facing impoverished students, and striving to fully incorporate lessons learned into institutional programs and policies.