Advancing access, equity,

& diversity at Edmonds

Community College
Adriana Jackson, Karina Nascimento Saunders, Willa Kurland
Guiding Questions

● How can Edmonds Community College attend to

Military-Connected/Veteran and Dreamer students’ needs to build an
inclusive college experience?
○ Note: not all undocumented students are Dreamers
● How does the move toward/implementation of guided pathways
support/limit access, equity, & diversity?
Campus Profile
● 29 Average student age
● 40% Full-time students
● 53% Female students
● 39% Students of color
● 87% Day students
● 83% of our students live within eight miles
● 29% receiving need-based financial aid
● 32% receiving any financial aid
● 10,754 Average students per quarter
● 5,035 Average online and hybrid students per quarter
● 1,998 Average students per quarter working toward high
school diploma or GED
● 1,006 Average ESL students per quarter
● 1,512 International students from 62 countries
● 737 Continuing education students
“Students and Community: At the heart of all we do”

Core Values

● Collaboration and
Communication
● Responsibility and Accountability
● Innovation and Creativity
● Diversity, Respect, and Inclusion

http://www.edcc.edu/
 A Review of the Literature
Veteran and Military-Connected Students
- 600,000 Veterans live in Washington State
- Forty-three percent of students with military
experience attended public two-year institutions
- Different demographic set of student populations
- Older and First Generation Students
- PTSD
- Responsibilities outside of Higher
Education
(Contreras, 2009), (WCTC, 2015) (Nguyen & Serna, 2014) (O’Herrin, 2013)
Undocumented and DREAMer Students
- DREAM Act (HB-1079) passed in 2003 in WA
state
- Few known resources in WA state as compared
to more active undocumented populations
- More attention given to students who attend
4-year institutions
- Cost of college factor in persistence
Interview Synthesis

● Stakeholders:
○ Assistant Director, Center for Student
Engagement and Leadership
○ Dean, Pre-College Division
● Findings:
○ Stakeholders use of personal identities
and positional power to increase support
for student populations across campus.
○ Students marginalized by their invisibility
on campus.
○ Increase diversity initiative with skill based
learning.
Recommendation #1
1. Use Student Data to inform the decisions made on campus

- “1 in 4 institutions report having a detailed understanding of the root causes of

stop-out of veteran students.”

- A need for continuous and consistent research

- Further, understand how campus-wide initiatives support or hinder success of

student population

- Guided Pathways adapting to account for pre-college students

(NASPA, 2013)
Recommendation #2
2. Increase allies and cross-collaboration between offices for improved
campus structure/climate through designated committees

- Siloed structures impact students ability to successfully navigate campus

- Build trust and demonstrating awareness of cultural competence and ally-ship
- Understand the power of effective campus referrals and visual representation
of safe spaces
- advising, counseling, orientation programs, or help in the job search process

(Contreras, 2009; Teranishi et al., 2015, Valenzuela et al., 2015)

Recommendation #3

Improve resources for student-led, student-focused opportunities which

advance campus equity

- Student-created training for staff on undocumented student

experiences
- Create paid leadership position for undocumented students to fight
economic barrier

( Terriquez, 2015; Cisneros & Lopez, 2016)

Areas of further exploration

● Interview additional key stakeholders

○ Missing the student voice
● Overall gap in literature that discusses undocumented students/veteran
students at a CC
● What are the budget allocations for supporting undocumented
students/veteran students?
● Time constraints/we bring an outside perspective
References
Cisneros,J.,Lopez, A. (2016). DREAMzone: Educating counselors and human service professionals working with undocumented students. Journal for Social

Action in Counseling & Psychology, 8(2), 32-48.

Contreras, F. (2009). Sin papeles y rompiendo barreras: Latino students and the challenges. Harvard Educational Review, 79(4), 610–632.

https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.79.4.02671846902gl33w

Nguyen, D. H. K., & Serna, G. R. (2014). Access or barrier? tuition and fee legislation for undocumented students across the states. The Clearing House, 87,
124–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2014.891895

O’Herring, E., (2011). Enhancing veteran success in higher education. Association of American Colleges & Universities, 13(1). Retrieved from

https://www.aacu.org/publications-research/periodicals/enhancing-veteran-success-higher-education

Teranishi, R. T., Suárez-orozco, C., Suárez-orozco, M. (2017). Immigrants in community colleges, 21(1), 153–169.

Terriquez, V. (2015). Dreams delayed: Barriers to degree completion among undocumented community college students. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies,

41(8), 1302-1323.

Valenzuela, J., Perez, W., Perez, I., Montriel, G., & Chaparro, G. (2008). Undocumented students at the community college: creating institutional capacity. New

Directions for Community Colleges, 142(161), 87–95. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc