A program at Fresno State that does a bit of everything was recognized byExcelencia in Educationas one of the top programs in the United States for increasing academic opportunities and achievement for Latino students.
Excelencia in Education is a national initiative that systematically identifies and promotes evidence-based programs that improve Latino success in college.
“We are proud to be recognized nationally for our efforts to improve Latino student achievement,” said Adrian Ramirez, Title V Commitment to Latina/o Academic Success & Excellence (also known as CLASE) project director at Fresno State. “I am proud of our diligent staff who collaborate with faculty and staff to implement proven academic initiatives and student support services. It’s their efforts that have directly impacted Latino students at Fresno State.”
Fresno State is part of theHispanic-Serving Institutions Program, a designation by the U.S. Department of Education awarded to colleges and universities with a student population that is at least 25 percent Hispanic.
The CLASE programmay sound specific, but Ramirez said it’s a “jack-of-all trades” operation geared to help all students with academic and support initiatives.
“A lot of things we were doing targeted Hispanic students, but that has been expanded to other students as well,” Ramirez said.
He said the program works to enhance and increase all student engagement in classrooms, but it focuses mostly on Hispanic students.
“They are disproportionately not retained or graduating from college,” Ramirez said.
To help solve that problem, Ramirez and his staff worked to get a grant in 2010 worth $3.18 million over five years to create a number of student-support initiatives.
Although the grant and recognition was for Hispanic students, Ramirez said it’s a university grant and not necessarily limited to Hispanic students.
“We looked at curriculum and adapting it to appeal to today’s learners,” Ramirez said. “We are trying to get faculty away from lecture to project-based””projects that help all students become more engaged. Research shows that under-represented minority groups tend to work better when they are allowed to work in groups and learn from each other as well as the professor.”
He said the transition away from lecture-based education also includes incorporating technology, like iPads and tablets, into the classroom.
Ramirez said there are specific majors that institutional research shows draw a large population of Hispanic students. He said the majors are education, business, criminology and pre-nursing.
The CLASE program is in its fourth year of the grant, and Ramirez said, “We are seeing a lot of great results.”
He said the redesigned classes have shown improvement in student learning. Courses that have had a lot of students fail are passing more students.
A report written by Ramirez that was sent to Excelencia in Education outlined the progress the program has made. In 2011, six redesigned courses affected 4,644 students (1,886 Hispanic), and pass rates for all students increased 18 percent.
The pass rates for Hispanic students increased from 66.3 percent to 81 percent.
Hispanic students’ average grade in these courses increased from 1.93 to 2.43.
The report said that in 2012 more than 17 courses and 31 professors took part in course redesign efforts.
Ramirez said the program also works to provide students with financial literacy.
The program created a procedure to teach healthy fiscal behaviors to 100 Hispanic students, the report said. Students are taught financial tools, budgeting and financial products to help students adopt new behaviors.
Ramirez said that the departments across the campus have adopted the program’s initiatives.
“We are changing systemic processes,” Ramirez said. “Students come and go, but the faculty can be here for 20 years or more.”
