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Community building, navigating the campus and validation of identity: Exploring campus affiliation and identity development for low-income, first-generation and underrepresented minority students...

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Community building, navigating the campus and validation of identity: Exploring campus affiliation and identity development for low-income, first-generation and underrepresented minority students...

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Content COM M UNITY BUILDING, N AVIG ATING THE CAMPUS AND VALIDATION Of
IDENTITY: EXPLORING CAMPUS AFFILIATION AND IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT
FOR LOW INCOME, FIRST GENERATION AND UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY
STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
by
Sandra Beth Winslow
A Master’s Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements of the Degree
MASTER OF EDUCATION
(POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND STUDENT AFFAIRS)
December 2005
Copyright 2005 Sandra Beth Winslow
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UMI Number: 1435095
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DEDICATION
For my mom, who illustrates that one does not have to have a college degree to be extremely
articulate, knowledgeable and wise, who loves me unconditionally, and who has sacrificed
money, time and her own goals for 25 years to help realize my dreams.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1 1 1
To the scholars of the Norman Topping Student Aid Fund, for their compassion, intelligence
and positive attitude. They were my inspiration through this project. I wish them continued
success.
To my Master’s thesis committee members: Professors W illiam G. Tierney, Melora Sundt
and Alex Jun, for their willingness to support my work.
To Zoe Corwin, for her diligence in answering my questions about the thesis process.
To Mary Lou Simmermacher and Marvin Patterson, for their unrelenting support and advice.
To Judi, without whom I would not have been able to finish my transcriptions.
To Desiree, for inviting me into the Topping Family.
And finally, to Craig, Lisa, Carolyn and Lindsay for their love, friendship and support
through two very difficult years for me.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii
ABSTRACT vi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1
Identifying the Problem 1
Purpose o f this Study 2
Research Questions 2
Methodological Overview 3
Definition o f Terms 4
Assumptions 5
Limitations and Delimitations 5
Researcher’s Perspective 6
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 7
Introduction to the Literature Review 7
Psychosocial Theories o f Persistence 7
Student Development Theory 8
Integration-Focused Persistence Theory 9
Empirical Tests of Tinto’s Model 10
Challenges to Assumptions o f Tinto’s model 13
Culture-Specific Studies 1 5
Summary o f Review o f the Literature 18
CHAPTER 3: METHOD 19
Nature o f the Study 19
Research Questions 19
Participants and Sampling 20
Data Collection 21
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS 23
Introduction to Results and Analysis 23
Background o f the Norman Topping Student Aid Program 23
Creation o f Campus Communities 24
Navigating the Campus 31
Validation o f Identity 37
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION 42
Overview o f Discussion 42
Understanding Community Building 42
Understanding Navigating the Campus 44
Understanding Validation o f Identity 46
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Implications for Policy and Practice 46
Implications for Future Research 48
Conclusions 48
REFERENCES 51
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ABSTRACT
V I
The purpose o f this investigation was twofold: (1) to define two constructs found in
the literature, campus affiliation and identity development, for nontraditional students and
(2) to assess the influence o f the University o f Southern California Norman Topping Student
Aid Fund (NTSAF) program on campus affiliation and identity development. The sample
was drawn from the NTSAF program, a scholarship program for nontraditional students that
in previous years has seen nearly 100 percent o f its students graduate in two to four years.
Three themes emerged through this research: (1) Community Building, (2) Navigating the
Campus and (3) Validation o f Identity. Investigation o f campus affiliation and identity
development revealed that institutions may indeed impact the way students’ background
characteristics help or hinder their progress on campus.
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Identifying the Problem
While more students are entering institutions o f higher education than in prior
decades, many students do not leave with the degree they sought. Recent studies suggest
that low income, first generation and underrepresented minority students leave college
before degree completion at a higher rate than their traditional peers and further research is
needed to understand why. A six-year longitudinal study suggests a number o f reasons why
students do not graduate (U.S. Department o f Education, 2002). While approximately 50
percent o f all postsecondary entrants initially had a goal o f obtaining a bachelor’s degree, a
mere 29 percent attained it. Nontraditional students were overrepresented in non-degree
completion rates according to the 2002 study. White/non-Hispanic and Asian/Pacific
American Students complete a bachelor’s degree at a rate approximately 20 percent higher
rate than their Black (non-Hispanic) and Hispanic peers. Retention is also associated with
income; fifty-four percent o f students in the lowest income group completed bachelor’s
degrees, compared with 77 percent o f those in the highest income group. For traditional
students without any risk factors, completion rates were at 71 percent. However, when
students have one or more risk factors such as part-time enrollment and full-time work
status, the picture looks very different: Students with one risk factor had a 49 percent
completion rate, but students with two or more had only a 21 percent completion rate.
(U.S. Department o f Education, 2002)
Many theories explain why students leave college, but perhaps the most influential
theory is Vincent Tinto’s (1975) interactionalist theory. According to Tinto’s model,
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students must assimilate into the college culture by, in essence, conforming to the campus
climate. For many nontraditional students, following an integration-based model for success
would be a method o f “ cultural suicide” (Tierney, 1999). In the same vein, Brower (1992)
finds that integration in this context can be defined as conformity: “ The instruments [in
Tinto’s study] measured only the extent to which students agree with a set o f goals, values
and ideals o f the university, a process that might more accurately be called ‘conformity’” (p.
444). Cultures o f institutions o f higher education often are dominated by the majority
culture; thus, assimilation into the academic culture may be asking more sacrifice from low
income, first generation and underrepresented minorities than from White upper class
students. Integration, therefore, may be an inadequate construct to address the causes and
cure o f student attrition.
Purpose o f this Study
The purpose o f this investigation was twofold: (1) to define two constructs found in
the literature, campus affiliation and identity development, for nontraditional students and
(2) to assess the influence o f the University o f Southern California Norman Topping Student
Aid Fund (USC NTSAF) program on campus affiliation and identity development o f its
scholars. By better defining these constructs, practitioners, policy makes and researchers
may find ways to retain nontraditional populations on college campuses. Themes that
emerge from this research may lead to a model that calls for less integration on the part of
students and more flexibility o f institutions to meet the needs o f students.
Research Questions
The following research questions guided the investigation:
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1. How do low income, first generation and underrepresented minority students at the
University o f Southern California (USC) define campus affiliation and identity
development?
2. How does the USC NTSAF program promote campus affiliation and identity
development at USC?
Methodological Overview
This investigation o f campus affiliation and identity development is descriptive in
nature because I attempt to explain these two constructs and how they are promoted by the
NTSAF program from the perspective o f the nontraditional student population. Qualitative
methods were used to address the research questions because they provide for a context in
which the respondents define these terms and reap benefits from the program. To define
campus affiliation in a way that is meaningful for nontraditional students, I asked
respondents how they shaped their college experiences in the affiliation process and not
simply how their environments impact them. This approach to campus affiliation was
heavily influenced by Brower’s (1992) delineation between institutional fit and affiliation:
The process o f integration is not one o f finding a ‘fit’ between a person and an
environment, which implies matching ‘static’ student characteristics to ‘static’
environmental characteristics. Instead, students shape their own environment by
choosing to pursue their own tasks and goals while their environment shapes them
through its norms, expectations and opportunities, (p. 445)
Assuming that students fail because they do not “ fit” renders them powerless to create for
themselves a positive college experience. A multidirectional understanding o f affiliations
among individuals, cultures and environments empowers students to be agents o f change in
their lives.
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For the purposes of this research, identity development was investigated though a
bicultural educational model. In this model, full participation in the mainstream culture does
not necessitate departure from the minority culture, as suggested in Tinto’s (1975) model.
According to Valentine (1971), biculturation “ helps explain how people learn and practice
both mainstream culture and ethnic cultures at the same time” (p. 143). The present study
assesses identity development loosely along two o f de Anda’s (1984) six factors that affect
biculturalism: (1) the degree o f overlap between two cultures and (2) the availability of
cultural translators (p. 102). This examination o f identity development fills a gap in current
literature. Braxton (2000) calls upon scholars to “ study both the influences o f the six
dimensions on the biculturalism o f students who are members o f racial/ethnic minority
groups and the role biculturalism plays in the college student departure process” (p. 262).
In this study, campus affiliation and identity development are explored using a
framework that looks at the interplay between culture, a student and an institution. This
conceptual approach was informed by Tierney’ s (2000) suggestion that researchers should
employ a “ framework that incorporates a cultural view o f the world whereby students hold
on to and affirm their own embedded identities while they function and succeed within the
received culture...” (p. 218). The study o f campus affiliation and identity development
benefits from a cultural perspective because consideration is given to the interactions
between a student’s culture and their experiences as they develop their identity and connect
with the campus.
Definition o f Terms
In this study, the phrase “ nontraditional students” is used interchangeably with “ low
income, first generation and underrepresented minority students.” While some definitions o f
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“ nontraditional student” include characteristics such as older age and off-campus residence
(Bean and Metzner, 1985), for the purposes o f this study, a nontraditional student is any
student who is from a minority background, low income, or first generation. Many
participants in this study are older, have children and commute, but these identifiers are only
addressed indirectly in this paper.
For the purposes o f this research, an “ underrepresented minority” includes all
populations who are underrepresented in the most competitive colleges and universities in
the United States: Black/African American, Latino-a/Chicano-a/Hispanic, Filipino-a, Pacific
Islander and Native American/Indian. Other races and ethnicities are represented in this
study; however, they are most likely first generation or low income status. These groups are
also underrepresented at competitive universities.
Assumptions
The following methodological assumptions are made in this study:
1. The students interviewed in this study were typical o f students in the Norman
Topping Student Aid Fund program at the University o f Southern California.
2. Student and staff behaviors during observations were not significantly different than
behaviors when I was not present and observing.
3. Respondents answered my questions truthfully during interviews.
Limitations and Delimitations
There are several limitations and delimitations o f this study. The results cannot be
generalized to external populations because I focused on a single institution study without a
random sample. The ability to generalize beyond the population is not important to this
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study because, similar to Attinasi’ s (1989) exploratory investigation o f Mexican American
students, “the purpose o f the study was to discover, rather than validate, the patterns in a
process as it naturally occurs and is understood” (p. 252). 1 interviewed each respondent
once, so I could not assess how individual perceptions changed over time. There is also the
possibility o f respondents not answering truthfully. Lastly, students who did not participate
may have had different perspectives than those included in this study because selection for
participation in this study was limited to students who responded to a recruitment e-mail.
Researcher’s Perspective
The importance of developing a better understanding o f student departure is
important to researchers, policy makers and institutions. As Tierney (1992) states, “ The
search for understanding about why students leave college is not merely o f theoretical
interest; if a model may be built that explains student departure, then it may be possible for
colleges to retain students” (p. 604). Students who stay in institutions o f higher education
through degree completion tend to achieve better social and economic situations; graduates
are then able to contribute to social justice for minority groups who have been largely
affected by past and present discrimination. The beneficial effect o f these achievements
persists generations after degree attainment because parental degree attainment improves
offspring’s chances o f completing college. It follows that if competitive institutions can
widen access and promote persistence through graduation, they can contribute to an
equitable distribution o f wealth across racial lines. In order to meet this goal, institutions
may need to take responsibility for low retention rates and not expect students to improve
completion rates by their efforts alone.
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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction to the Literature Review
A review o f the literature documented the need for the present study. In this review
o f the literature, I present and critique several theories of persistence, beginning with two
psychosocial theories - institutional fit and self-efficacy, followed by two theories o f student
development. I then present Tinto’s (1975) Model o f Student Integration, which may be the
most influential theory due to its alleged predictive validity and the several empirical studies
that have affirmed or refined its relationships and constructs. Later, a critique o f the
assumptions in Tinto’s model lays the foundation for the present study. I conclude this
literature review with the contribution o f several studies on the persistence o f racial
minorities and an explanation o f how this study fills a gap in the literature.
Psychosocial Theories o f Persistence
Psychological theories may explain why students leave college. Bean and Eaton
(2000) suggest that a large role in successful degree completion is determined by whether or
not a student feels like he or she fits in. Institutional fit differs from academic and social
integration because students may feel like they belong in the environment o f the institution
even though they may not feel very united with it. According to this theory o f institutional
fit, students cope or adapt to a threatening environment if they successfully reduce stress
with positive outcomes (Bean and Eaton, 2000, p. 51). Brower (1992) rejects the construct
o f institutional fit because “ fit between a person and an environment, which implies
matching ‘static’ student characteristics to ‘static’ environmental characteristics. Instead,
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students shape their own environment by choosing to pursue their own tasks and goals while
their environment shapes them through its norms, expectations and opportunities” (p. 445).
While students can shape their environments, it is also important that institutions create
environments that promote involvement, character development and self-awareness.
Student Development Theory
Several theories address the role o f experiences, involvement and personal growth
during college (Astin, 1984; and Chickering, 1969). Astin’s (1984) model of student
development refers to the quality and quantity o f physical and psychological energy that the
student invests in the college experience, including participation in extracurricular activities
and interaction with faculty and other personnel (Astin, 1984, p. 297). This theory focuses
more on the student and less on the institution. For example, if a student departs, this theory
would suggest that it was due to lack o f energy invested by the student and not necessarily a
failure for the institution.
Chickering’s (1969) research supports Astin’s (1984) student development theory by
outlining seven vectors o f development. Growth along these vectors requires stimulation,
which is often provided by the environment. The three vectors most relevant to this study
include freeing personal relationships, establishing identity and developing integrity.
Freeing personal relationships refer to students’ ability to increase tolerance and acceptance
so that they can understand others without judgment. Students establish their identity by
integrating the many facets o f their experience into one realistic and stable self image.
Integrity is formed when students define a set o f values that guide their actions; this process
requires awareness o f the relative nature o f values. The tasks central to students’
developmental change include interaction with diverse individuals and ideas and
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involvement. While student development theory provides an understanding o f what
enhances or hinders persistence in institutions o f higher education, these theories are
descriptive, rather than predictive, in nature.
Integration-Focused Persistence Theory
In an effort to create a predictive model o f student attrition from college, Tinto
(1975) developed the Student Integration Model, or interactionalist theory. Tinto suggests
that student departure is a “ longitudinal process o f interactions between the individual and
institution” (p. 103). Students come in with a variety of background characteristics (race,
age, family background, income and parental expectations), which influence goal and
institutional commitment. These goal and institutional commitments impact academic and
social integration, which directly affect persistence.
Tinto’s (1975) work suggests that because integration is the prevailing factor in
persistence, predicting degree completion is possible by investigating a student’ s level of
social and academic integration at a college or university. Drawing on Durkheim’s (1951)
studies o f egotistical suicide, Tinto posits that students do not persist in higher education
when they are not integrated. Academic integration is comprised o f two components:
structural and normative integration. Structural integration describes a student’s ability to
meet the requirements o f an institution, such as satisfactory unit completion and grades.
Normative integration refers to student participation in the learning environment, resulting in
proscription to the values o f the institution and development o f academic skills. Students’
structural, normative and social integration contributes to their institutional commitment and
persistence.
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Empirical Tests of Tinto’s Model
Many studies have affirmed, refined or rejected relationships and constructs in
Tinto’s (1975) interactionalist theory. Pascarella and Terenzini (1980) found validity o f the
model in accurately identifying freshmen who persist or depart. Stage (1989) built on the
Student Integration Model and used measures o f motivation to “ operationalize key concepts
within the Tinto model” (p. 385). Findings suggested that students involved in three
Motivational Orientation subgroups - certification, cognition and community service -
differed in patterns o f persistence; however, findings affirmed Tinto’s assertions that initial
levels o f institutional and goal commitments affected later levels o f these variables. Mallette
and Cabrera (1991) tested Tinto’s assertion that differences among students who persist,
withdraw or transfer correlate with differing levels o f institutional commitment, academic
performance, finance aptitudes and other indicators. The authors’ results largely confirmed
Tinto’s findings. Persisters were also found to be “ more satisfied with their ability to
finance their college expenditures and more likely to perceive that faculty were concerned
with teaching and student development” (Mallette and Cabrera, 1991, p. 188). The authors
did not consider gender and ethnicity in the study, so it is possible that these outcomes could
be different among racial, ethnic, and economic lines.
A number o f studies assessed the impact o f academic integration on persistence.
Pascarella and Terenzini (1977) found that the frequency o f informal contact with faculty
significantly contributed to persistence. Students who persisted had a significantly higher
frequency o f interactions with faculty than did the students who left voluntarily. Along the
same vein, Terenzini and Pascarella (1983) found that high levels o f academic integration
compensate for low levels o f social integration and vice versa. Terenzini, Pascarella,
Theophilides and Lorang (1985) replicated Terenzini and Pascrella’s (1983) study and while
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the study supported Tinto’ s (1975) major constructs, it rejected the link between academic
integration and persistence. Instead, the authors found a path to academic integration
through goal commitment (supported by both studies). Braxton and Lien (2000) performed
a review o f the literature to find that academic integration strongly supports commitment and
persistence in multi-institutional studies, but only moderately so in single-institutional
studies (Braxton and Lien, 2000, p. 22). These findings suggest that academic integration
may not be equally prevalent in different institutional settings, and also may not be as
influential in persistence as it is described in Tinto’ s model.
Terenzini and Pascarella (1978) empirically tested the effects o f pre college
characteristics on persistence. In a longitudinal study at a single institution, they studied the
interplay among students’ pre college characteristics, freshman year experiences, sex, major
and racial or ethnic origin. The authors found that pre college traits are not significantly
related to departure. They also found that academic integration is more important than social
integration and that certain interactions are more important than others (Terenzini and
Pascarella, 1978, p. 347). The findings suggested that “ the stronger the impact o f the
academic program on students affective or emotional lives, the lower the probability that
they w ill drop out, but that the influence o f these perceptions is likely to be stronger among
minority students rather than among non minority students” (p. 359). This result indicates
that what happens in college may be more influential than the risk factors students bring with
them to college. Minority students may respond particularly well to presence o f a
connection between their lives and academic material, which suggests that risk factors may
be diffused by means other than remediation programs.
Several studies also assessed the predictive validity o f Tinto’s (1975) model for
students across different institutional types. Chapman and Pascarella (1983) built on Tinto’s
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model o f student departure from college by applying it to different types o f institutions.
Their findings confirmed Tinto’s assertion that high levels o f social integration were paired
with greater institutional commitment; however, the authors suggested that different college
types were characterized by different patterns o f student participation. For example,
students in residential institutions tended to measure higher in both academic and social
integration (Chapman and Pascarella, 1983, p. 316). Along the same vein, Nora, Attinasi
and Matonak (1990) tested the predictive capacity o f Tinto’s model for students at a two-
year community college. In this single-university sample, the authors found that family
background and encouragement by others were statistically significant. According to this
study, the direct, positive effect o f academic integration on retention was consistent with
results o f previous studies on commuter students; however, initial commitments contributed
to academic and social integration but had a negative effect on persistence (p. 353). Results
o f these studies indicate that Tinto’s (1975) model may not be equally predictive across
institutional types and student populations.
Tinto’s (1975) theory incited debate over whether or not the model and its constructs
could be applied to nontraditional students. Bean and Metzner (1985) studied literature to
find that social integration is not as important for older, part-time student persistence. Along
the same vein, Nora (1987) studied Tinto’s student interactionalist model on Latino-
a/Chicano-a student respondents at three community colleges and found that academic and
social integration did not have an effect on retention. Nora concluded that “ Chicano student
populations may have different response patterns to programs or support services, than does
the majority student population” (p. 53) and that “ if students perceive that counselors and
faculty members are genuinely interested in their academic and career goals, they w ill be
more committed to their institutions” (p. 54). Nora and Cabrera (1996) performed a
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quantitative study at a single institution in order to assess the impact o f discrimination on
indicators o f persistence o f minority students; findings indicated that Tinto’s model is valid
in explaining the importance o f social and academic adjustments to minorities in college.
Nora and Cabrera also found that parental encouragement had a strong effect on (I) the
integration o f students into college, (2) academic and intellectual development and (3)
performance and commitments. These findings suggest that that severing ties with friends
and family may not be beneficial for integration (p. 140). The authors maintain that
“ performance in college, encouragement from parents, positive experiences with the
academic and social realms o f the institution and other factors in the model are much more
influential among minorities” (p. 141). It is suggested here that integration itself may be an
inappropriate construct for nontraditional populations.
Challenges to Assumptions o f Tinto’s model
The most controversial component o f Tinto’s (1975) model - especially for students
from cultures where family relationships are very important - is the expectation that odds o f
persistence increase as students lim it their connections to past ties. As Rendon, Alamo and
Nora (2000) state,
In particular, the assumption that minority students must separate from their cultural
realities and take the responsibility to become integrated into colleges’ academic and
social fabric in order to succeed (with little or no concern to address systematic
problems within institutions or to the notion that minority students are often able to
operate in multiple contexts) becomes central to the critique o f Tinto’s departure
model, (p. 129)
Kuh and Love (2000) also suggest that according to Tinto’s (1975) model, responsibility for
socialization seems to rest with the students, while “ little or no responsibility on the
institutions or their stakeholders to accommodate and adapt policies and practices to
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respond to newcomers” (p. 206). As a precondition to assimilation, students are also asked
to rid themselves o f ties outside o f the university as a part o f a rite o f passage.
Opponents to such an integration-focused framework accuse Tinto (1975) of
improperly using theories o f rites o f passage. Rendon, Alamo and Nora (2000) and Tierney
(1992) maintain that rites of passage are specific to social groups within the same culture,
not from one culture to another. Students who associate themselves with the minority
culture who attempt to integrate into the mainstream or dominant culture would be
undergoing a cross-cultural transition (movement from membership in one culture into
another culture). Transition between cultures would likely be very different than a transition
between groups within a single culture, yet Tinto (1975) employed rite o f passage
nonetheless. Even if rite o f passage theory were applicable in the minority student affiliation
process, according to this theory, a student must abandon the old world (minority culture) for
membership in the new world (dominant culture). It would be difficult (and possibly
hazardous) to their success for students from some cultures to devoid themselves of contact
with their old world. Family ties are proven to be important to minority student performance
in college. Also, membership in the dominant culture might not be available to minority
students in the way that it is in groups where rites o f passage occur. The concept of an
individual rite o f passage is also problematic. Tierney argues that Tinto uses the
anthropological terms in an individualist way, even though the tenns are used to describe
group experiences. Lastly, Rendon, Alamo and Nora maintain that Tinto's framework
assumes that there is one dominant culture in which all others must be integrated. Perhaps it
is possible to identify with two distinct cultures without disassociating from any culture.
Persistence may not require integration. In contrast to integration models,
biculturation and dual socialization models allow for students to accept more than one
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culture as part o f their identity. Valentine’ s (1971) work suggests that no two cultures are
mutually exclusive; a student may participate in one or more cultures simultaneously. It
follows that students can learn and practice the mainstream culture and ethnic cultures at the
same time. Diane De Anda’s (1984) model o f dual socialization elaborates on Valentine’s
work by identifying six factors that affect biculturism. These include (1) availability of
cultural translators, mediators and models, and (2) the existence o f shared norms and values
in both groups. The present study explores identity development through a bicultural lens
with special attention paid to staff members acting as cultural translators and the existence of
shared values among Topping scholars.
Culture-Specific Studies
M inority students experience college differently from their mon-minority peers and
thus may require a different model for student success. Smedley, Myers and Harrell (1993)
found that “ the more debilitating minority status stressors were those that undermined
students’ academic confidence and ability to bind with the university” (p. 448). Hood
(1992) found that Black men left college largely due to academic dismissal (although the
small number o f departers renders this finding unreliable) (p. 21). The author found the
following reasons for Black student attrition:
Generally, the students interviewed attributed high dismissal rate for Black males to
three factors: (1) allowing situations to “ get to them” (for example, being the only
Black person in a class), (2) not taking college seriously until too late and (3) not
getting help such as counseling and/or tutoring when needed (Hood, 1992, p. 21).
It is important to note that “ lack o f understanding the material” is not listed in the reasons for
dismissal o f Black students in this study, which underlines the importance of looking at non-
academic factors that may influence persistence o f minority populations.
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Kobrak (1992) found that retention may be explained by institutional problems o f
organization such as inability o f minority support services staff to teach faculty strategies on
how to reach “ at risk” students and lack o f shared decision-making processes to handle
faculty-student relations (p. 512). Also, universities often assume minority faculty members
are responsible for institutional retention efforts, even though their tenure reviews and
outside publications do not reward this type o f involvement. Among the problems with
serving high risk students, the author also cites lack o f concern among White faculty for
Black student issues.
Robinson (1990) studied African American students at a Historically Black College
and University (HBCU), to discover the effect o f majority or a minority status on campus
has on learning, motivation and satisfaction. Using available data from the university,
Robinson found that academic difficulty in the first year and lack o f financial aid, especially
after the third year appears to be important for this population (p. 215). It is suggested that
institutions offer developmental courses to ensure that students o f color are given the
information needed to overcome educational deficiencies.
Kraemer (1997) performed a quantitative study o f Latino academic and social
integration to discover whether the conventional definitions o f these indicators are universal,
even with older, largely immigrant Latino students. The study aimed at developing a more
culturally sensitive definition o f integration for this population. Kraemer defines social
integration as “ the extent to which the Hispanic environment and interactions with other
Hispanics at the college gave students a sense o f being an integral part o f the institution and
feeling welcomed” (p. 169). The results also indicated that academic integration may not be
a single construct, but rather a series o f constructs lumped together thematically. The
authors suggest that academic integration may look different for this group than the general
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population because classroom interaction may be the only way for older, Latino and
commuting students to integrate. The present study was informed by this issue.
Respondents were asked questions about both in class and out o f class experiences and how
these experiences contributed to feeling welcomed on campus.
Using the sociological concepts o f interactionalism and ethnomethodology to guide
his inquiry, Attinasi (1989) focused on the experiences o f 18 students and former students in
a single university to study Latino student experiences in college. Attinasi found that getting
ready for college resulted in the students’ expectation that they would go to college or at
least development o f a mental sketch o f what the college experience would be like.
Informants in the study described an overall “ bigness” (Attinasi, 1989, p.262) o f college.
They thought o f college as large in mass, distance and complexity, encompassing physical,
social and academic/cognitive geographies. Another finding was that “ peer knowledge
sharing” (Attinasi, 1989, p. 264) occurred in this population among students who were high
school friends as well as among co-matriculates who respondents may not have known
before coming to the university. The author found that counter to Tinto’s (1975) theory, a
student’s interaction with others is not for any sort o f “ moral consensus” (Attinasi, 1989, p.
267), but rather to develop strategies to help navigate the university geography. Attinasi
recommended that universities help students acclimate to the university setting as early as
possible, either by extended-stay programs or sponsorship o f high school college preparatory
classes.
Summary o f Review o f the Literature
As evidenced by differing impacts o f constructs such as academic integration,
background characteristics and the relationships between integration and institutional and
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goal commitments in Tinto’s (1975) model, there is a need for literature that helps us
understand more about the interplay between students and institutions as opposed to
proposing modifications of one grand theory that works for all students. Specifically, more
literature is needed that defines constructs related to retention in a way that is meaningful for
nontraditional populations. Although I presented a variety o f literature on students o f color,
many of these studies apply culture-neutral constructs to find significance and do not
measure interactions between race, first generation status and income. The present study
explored two constructs, campus affiliation and identity development, to find significance in
experiences o f low income, first generation and underrepresented minority students.
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CHAPTER III
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METHOD
Nature o f the Study
I assessed the roles o f campus affiliation and identity development using semi
structured interviews and observations o f undergraduate and graduate students. The semi
structured interviewing enabled a discourse-oriented approach, where interviews mirrored
more o f a conversation rather than an interrogation. Discourse allows the interview to be
shaped primarily by the respondent, which allows respondents’ natural thought patterns
emerge. Tierney (1992) and Attinasi (1989) favor a discourse oriented approach because it
allows for cultural context o f responses. The loose structure o f the interview benefits this
type o f research because it allows a respondent to “ be free to draw upon his or her own
experience, rather than prestated alternatives, in responding to the author’s questions”
(Attinasi, 1989, p. 252). Free form narrative contributed to one o f the goals o f this research:
to define campus affiliation and identity development in a way that resonates with low
income, first generation and underrepresented minority youth instead o f the way past
researchers have defined it. Survey data are not appropriate for this research because these
methods “ effectively strip away the context surrounding the student’s decision to persist or
not to persist in college and exclude from consideration the student’s own perceptions o f the
process” (Attinasi, 1989, p. 250).
Research Questions
Through qualitative inquiry, this study addressed the following research questions:
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1. How do low income, first generation and underrepresented minority students at the
University o f Southern California (USC) define campus affiliation and identity
development?
2. How does the USC NTSAF program promote campus affiliation and identity
development at USC?
Participants and Sampling
USC NTSAF students, alumni, and staff members who work closely with students in
the program participated in this study. This single institution study allowed for control o f
outside factors that could act as intervening variables. While single institution studies lim it
the ability to generalize beyond the population studied, Nora and Cabrera (1996) maintain
that “ studying students at a single institution controls for several threats to internal validity.
Students are more likely to have been exposed to similar conditions with regard to course
requirements, faculty and academic staff with whom they must interact and with other
institutional elements” (p. 139). The USC NTSAF program is a highly successful
scholarship, advisement and community service program for students with a high risk for
non-degree completion and has achieved a near perfect retention o f students who belong to
one or more high risk groups for student attrition.
The sample for this study included 22 interviews: 19 current students in the NTSAF
program, one NTSAF alumni and two staff members who interact heavily with students in
the NTSAF program. Inclusion o f three different perspectives (student, staff and alumni)
allowed for triangulation, thereby enhancing internal validity o f the data. Gender and racial
composition o f the sample closely resembled the gender distribution o f the NTSAF scholar
program. Ten males and nine female students were interviewed from this research, coming
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from mixed and single racial and ethnic backgrounds including Asian, Armenian,
Black/African American, Mexican/Chicano-a/Latino-a/Hispanic, and Middle Eastern. The
majority o f respondents were Mexican/Chicano-a/Latino-a/Hispanic. The alumna
interviewed described herself as a Latina female, and the two staff members were both
female, one Latina and one from mixed racial background.
Data Collection
The process o f conducting my research began with a recruitment letter to students
via electronic mail (e-mail). Participants responded by a phone call or e-mail to me, which
protected them from staff knowing who responded and who did not respond to the study.
Prom the response pool, I selected a student and alumni sample to be interviewed that
resembled the racial and gender composition o f NTSAP alumni and students. Staff members
were selected based on a diversity o f perspectives.
1 performed one 60 minute semi-structured interview o f each respondent that
consisted of questions such as the following: Is it important to you that you remain a part of
your culture? Do you think it is possible to stay connected with your culture and still be
connected to USC? If you have been able to do this, what has helped you do this?
Questions to alumni and staff were modified to reflect on their experiences as a scholar or in
their interactions with scholars.
The interview data were transcribed; these transcriptions, along with field notes
from observations, were coded and analyzed to find themes. In addition to performing
content analyses, I paid special attention to verbal cues when describing a behavior or
sentiment. The attention paid to verbal cues led me to understand respondent locus o f
control (where blame is placed for an undesirable outcome, for example) and the extent to
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which they perceive their thoughts o f being representative o f a larger group (usage o f “ 1 ”
versus “ we” ). The combination o f methods used allowed for immersion o f three themes on
campus affiliation and identity development: community building, navigating the campus,
and validation o f identity.
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CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
Introduction to Results and Analysis
This chapter provides background on the Norman Topping Student Aid Fund
program in which this study’s respondents participate. Investigation o f respondents’ campus
affiliation and identity development revealed three major contributions o f this program: (1)
creation o f campus communities, (2) help navigating the campus and (3) validation o f their
identity. The NTSAF program clearly influenced development o f respondents’ campus
affiliation and identity formation.
Background o f the Norman Topping Student Aid Program
The NTSAF program is a scholarship and community service program that began at
USC in 1972. Two students established the fund to aid in recruitment o f minority students in
the urban community surrounding USC, located in the downtown Los Angeles, California
area. Funds for the program are derived from endowment income and a $6 tax on all part-
time and full-time undergraduate and graduate fee bills. While the program is not limited to
first generation minority students from the local area, these students have made up the
majority o f the approximately 30 students selected the past few years o f the program.
NTSAF scholars (usually referred to as “ Topping scholars” ) receive a scholarship to
subsidize any remaining tuition balance after university grants and scholarships are applied
to financial aid packages. USC expects these scholars to (1) provide a minimum o f 20 hours
o f community service (preferably to recruit future students from local high schools), (2) to
earn a grade point average over 2.5 and (3) complete at least 16 units each semester. As a
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result o f the NTSAF funding process, the scholars graduate without any tuition debt.
Topping scholars who are current with program requirements receive additional funds for
graduate school entrance exams, test preparation courses, travel for conference attendance,
scholarly journal subscriptions and a meal with a faculty member.
In addition to financial assistance, Topping scholars receive introductions to key
fmancial-aid, academic-support and cultural-support staff; study skill and time management
workshop opportunities; and networks o f students and staff to support them through the
stresses o f college life. The program graduated nearly 100 percent o f its students in two to
four years in the 2003-4 school year. As opposed to many scholarships that provide only
financial benefits to individual students, NTSAF is a community that staff members and
students refer to as the “ Topping Family.”
Creation o f Campus Communities
Many entering college students feel isolated on campus. Campus involvement
presents a unique challenge for nontraditional, returning, commuting and transfer students.
First generation and racial minority status may intensify feelings o f not belonging. One
student explains her feelings o f inadequacy when she first experienced USC at summer
orientation:
I didn’t feel like I belonged here. I felt out o f place; I felt like an outsider. I looked
around and everyone was with their parents, and their parents were graduates from
USC or Stanford with PhDs. I came to the orientation alone. My mom didn’t come
with me; she had to work. I just felt so out o f place. When I left, I was so mad. 1
wondered, ‘What am I doing here? I don’t belong.’
Students with children who commute to school may continue to feel alienated throughout
their college experience. As one student explains,
Unfortunately I do not get to do much at USC except go to class and study. Because
I live o ff campus and have a two year old daughter, my time is restricted. 1 made an
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attempt to be a part o f the university by applying for family housing so I could be
closer to campus, but there is a long waiting list, and I didn’t get in. That was my
attempt to be part of the community.
Transfer students also had difficulty finding a niche. One Topping scholar laments,
It’s been a complete serew-up...because first semester 1 had a hard time finding my
classes let alone trying to find my niche. So, last semester I went through the process
o f trying to find my place. I wasn’t that involved; 1 was transitioning.
While not all nontraditional students have difficulty getting involved on campus, these
experiences o f students who have struggled highlight the importance o f discovering new
venues for involvement that work for nontraditional students.
For many study respondents, involvement enhances the college experience and
makes them feel connected to USC. They cite “ cultural affinity” groups, or groups and
programs that are targeted toward supporting an individual race or ethnicity, as their primary
form o f involvement. One such example are the “ Latino floors,” part o f USC’s special
interest housing option. Raul, a third year graduating senior and former resident in the Latino
floors program, mentions that it “ was a pretty big step in terms o f grounding [him] socially.”
Another student explains that living in the Latino floors made it “ easier to bond with people
because a lot of them come from the same background.” Special interest floors appear to be
a tool for respondents to create a support network o f students with similar experiences.
Cultural affinity groups also provide respondents with a group o f friends to attend
traditional college events such as football games. Raul mentions,
I usually go [to football games] with closer friends like my roommate or people from
the Latino Floors - usually just the same group o f people.. .The football games [are]
a lot about hanging out with the people you go with.
Javier’s experience going to football games with his cultural affinity group, Hermanos
Unidos, mirrors that o f Raul: “ One o f my real good friends - he’s my roommate and a
member o f Hermanos Unidos - we go to football games [together].” A graduate student
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states how minority students in her department tailgate together: “ We as a minority [group]
are coming together and are having our own tailgates.” A ffinity groups can serve as a bridge
function between cultural activities and traditional activities on a college campus for
minority students.
Respondents stated that community service groups provide a significant connection
to the campus and the surrounding community. As one student, Lucinda, a sophomore
Policy, Planning and Development major, boasts, “ It’s kind o f cool because the Hispanics do
kind o f stick together, and we know that we need to promote higher education.” Jose, a third
year economics major, informs me that not only do affinity groups create a community
among college student members, but also the community extends to the local high school
students with whom they work:
The big thing is giving back to the community, so there’s the common bond there....
We can relate to them; we come from where they come from. There’s connection on
all fronts and commonality in all different ways from a cultural perspective.
Jose alludes to a shared experience when he says, “We can relate to them,” suggesting that
he perceives that his peers share his feeling o f a close connection with local community
members. Another male Latino student, Javier, finds individual meaning in working with
the community. His connections with the community surround USC are family-like; he
explains, “ I feel at home because I’m going to connect with people who 1 relate to. 1 was in
their shoes not too long ago.” Campus communities for these students extended beyond the
campus because o f cultural (and in some cases geographical) ties to local high school
students in the area surrounding USC.
Respondents find places o f work create meaningful communities for them,
suggesting that campus involvement for respondents extends beyond extracurricular
activities. Raul describes:
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I started working for [a student affairs department] my freshman year, and being in
this suite I got to meet staff, volunteer staff and everybody. So I got into this mix and
that m ix.... So this was really my big circle o f people.. .who I was closest to.
Another student, Kathleen, mentions that she likes to work on campus with student affairs
staff: “ The directors are all a lot o f fun, and they love USC. They love working with the
students, and you can tell.” Her workplace is a destination spot where students congregate.
Kathleen explains, “ In between classes, [the student staff] is always here, even if they aren’t
working, people are here.” Octavia likens her relationships with staff members at her job
and fellow students to family relationships. She works at a center for outreach and
volunteerism and explains,
I think it made me feel part o f a big family, because they know what you need.... It
is not only about my bosses trying to be there understanding what are my needs and
what I want to do with my life, but also my coworkers. These are people who share
the same values.
Working is not a means to an end for some respondents; work is a community in which they
find friendship and support.
Community building within the Norman Topping program, for some respondents,
begins at the NTSAF retreat during the weekend before school starts. Respondents stated
the retreat offered them a head start as a new student, allowing them contacts with students
and staff before the commencement o f classes. Students o f all years o f study are required to
attend the summer NTSAF retreat. Ramel reports, “ Right when I started here, through
Topping, I already knew at least 100 people here. I still hang out with everyone from
Topping that I know.” Jose’s comments mirror those of Ramel:
Norman Topping was huge because that worked for me. The retreat is where it
started. I came in here not knowing anyone, and by the end o f the retreat 1 knew
100 students. That’s pretty cool. And within there 1 found a lot o f people I’m
really close to.
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The retreat provides a method where students are connected with students and staff before
their first class; it is apparent that knowing 100 students with similar experiences and
backgrounds is something that creates feelings o f comfort among scholars. Katheleen finds
the Topping retreat to be helpful in building relationships with the director and her staff in a
way that stood apart from the all-campus orientation:
You went to orientation as a freshman, but it was sort o f more academic. [They
explained], ‘This is what is expected o f you, housing blah and blah,’ but we went to
the NTSAF retreat before school started, so you got to know [Reia] and the people
around her.
The NTSAF retreat provides a special experience that is unique from the all-campus
orientation. Rita, once a transfer student and now a staff member at USC, reflects on her
experiences at the retreat as a Topping scholar:
Topping took us on a retreat, and even before I started school I already knew
people... .You already felt great; I am a part o f this, even before 1 start school. So 1
think for me, that was just huge because it is challenging being a transfer student. It
is just like being a freshman, except when you are a freshman, you have four years;
as a transfer student you only have two.
Respondents claim that even though they convene as a large group only a few times
during a year, there is a sense o f community when scholars see one another on campus. One
student explains, “ Even when you see another Topping scholar on campus, we have our
sweatshirts, and [when] you see someone wearing a topping sweatshirt, you wave at them...
It is nice.” Gigi, a commuting student, describes how the experience o f seeing NTSAF staff
and students makes her feel less like an outsider:
You walk around campus and you feel like you know people here, you’re not an
outsider. You’re not just going to school and getting a degree; you’re actually
meeting people and getting involved so that makes me feel more connected to the
school.
Ramel says that he came in feeling part o f a cohort because he and his peers faced similar
challenges:
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The foundation o f this cohort is a common struggle — a group o f people that you
come to understand and you think come from the same background as you, first
generation and things like that. And these people genuinely have had to struggle too
to just try to get an education.
Kathleen’s feelings mirror those o f Ramel. She explains the connection among scholars,
stating, “ They’ve suffered, so it makes you feel like there are people out there that are like
you.” The fact that a vast majority o f Topping scholars are low income, first generation and
underrepresented minority backgrounds may provide students with enough commonality to
feel a part o f a tight-knit community at USC.
These sentiments o f scholars illustrated their feelings of community. Their pronoun
usage did as well; respondents transitioned from “ I” to “ we” when they talked about
experiences and values. Ramel explains how Topping scholars strive to make a positive
impact in the community surrounding USC, stating, "We have this drive to make a
difference in our communities, to make a difference here at USC... that common foundation
o f volunteerism and making a difference in your community.” The fact that the majority of
scholars are first generation and from the local community also creates a strong bond. Javier
describes the experience of the common bond o f being both immigrants and first generation
college students: “We immigrated here and struggle, and we ’ re bound to get together and
talk about those experiences.” The sense o f shared experiences among scholars — who may
have never met yet are perceived as community members - illustrates the strength o f the
Topping Family.
The Topping program acts as a family to respondents. Kathleen describes the
NTSAF group as a “ family” and a “ kinship network.” Maria also mentions that the scholars
feel like family members, exclaiming, “ You’re a part o f this network, this system where, it’s
a family. It’s like, ‘Am I going to let my peers down? 1 can’t!’” Reia explains how Topping
creates a family within the USC community, stating, “ The program really aims to bring the
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students who are on the margins o f the university to the center.... It is a fam ily that is within
a family.” Octavia mentions how she is influenced by Reia’s emphasis on the existence o f a
Topping Family:
Reia made [the Topping Family] a really big deal. [She said], ‘You know we’re part
o f a family and if you need anything, just come to us and speak to us.’ And you
know the people I met at 'Norman Topping were the separate family that 1 had.
Rita continues to feel a part o f the family even though she graduated and is now a staff
member at USC:
I call it a family because whether they were fellow students when I was a
student, or now that I hire Topping scholars to work for me, it is kind o f like
me interacting with my cousins, or me interacting with my siblings. It is
very similar.
The Topping Family extends to alumni in the program, and their presence on
campus is felt. One student mentioned that she knew that she could go to Rita, an
NTSAF alumni, if she needed a job on campus.
Staff members filled roles similar to those o f family members for some respondents.
Reia is described as a family member to Gigi:
It definitely does provide me with the support system that I need, and I think
o f it as my second family. 1 always look at Reia as a mom. You know she
has the whole idea o f that motherhood. She’s so nurturing.
Like Gigi, Lucinda admits that she sees Reia as a mother figure, “ I really do have two people
- one on campus and one o ff campus. M y mom being o ff campus, and Desiree being my
mom on campus.” A staff member associated with the NTSAF program explained how the
NTSAF community acts a family for scholars:
Like special interest housing, NTSAF allows them to enter as a member o f a family.
They already know that they belong here; they can branch out from here. It is a
spring board - a sense o f family, belonging, a foundation that leads them to resources
that can help them.
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The use o f term “ family” to describe the bonds o f Topping staff and scholars illustrates the
closeness o f the connections that exist through this program. NTSAF staff members provide
college-related counseling and support that is distinct from the support they receive from
their outside families.
Navigating the Campus
Navigation o f the campus climate can be a challenge for students, particularly if they
not have a support network to guide them through challenges in college such as relationship
problems, time management issues, or anxiety about approaching a professor. Some
respondents found relationships with faculty to be key in helping them understand how to be
successful in college; others found there to be few professors with whom they would feel
comfortable talking about personal issues. Staff members — Topping staff members and
campus partners in particular — often fill the role o f a campus and cultural mediator for the
respondents.
Mark, a returning student who has a wife and two children, had previously sought
the advice o f a professor about how to balance family life and academic life. Approaching a
professor was difficult for Mark. He explains, “ I was intimidated due to my being first
generation college student and having parents who were born in 1930, grew up in the South
in Alabama and never achieved an academic standing beyond the 4th grade.” His first
generation status and family background had made him feel uncomfortable approaching a
professor, even though it was something he knew would be beneficial for him. He recalls
how he proceeded to approach his professor:
I went to hear Dr. Kohl speak once about the history o f his career, how he tried to
balance his career and family. And I was having those struggles.... I hesitated to go
to him. So one day during his office hours, I decided to go and talk to him. He shared
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with me his struggles and how he’s approached things, how he deals with his career
and his family. I really needed that advice. He was straightforward with me. He
didn’t pull any punches. He said, ‘This is how you need to look at it. This is how you
need to try to approach things.’ He suggested counseling, stuff like that.
M ark’s experience highlights how professors can welcome returning students into the
campus community by connecting with them on issues such as work and family balance,
career development and personal issues. Professors may help reduce student intimidation
that may inhibit conversations by opening up the conversation to their personal lives or
simply inviting students to visit them. Knowing that a professor enjoys contact with students
makes Octavia comfortable approaching a professor, as she explains,
You want a professor who is personable. I would be afraid o f going to a professor
who is all grumpy and doesn’t want to deal with the students. But there are
professors that are really down to earth and really want to reach out and help the
student. Those were the professors who made my experience in the class even better.
In addition to faculty relationships, respondents also cite staff relationships to be
important in their connection to the USC campus. Reia, a staff member for NTSAF, states
her own goals for the NTSAF program:
I can only know that what we hope to do is create a community o f scholars, create a
support network, promote their role as service providers, and help them navigate the
research university. Those are our main goals. I think it is really creating that
community o f scholars that is really at the heart o f their connection to the university
— that they feel a part o f something bigger.... They are not alone. People are here
to support and guide them if they need it.
Respondents find staff support to be meaningful to their college experiences. Raul states:
“ [Staff members] really have an interest in me, and I feel comfortable talking to them; it’s
just surprising to see people at such a high level taking an interest because other people just
don’t care.” Lucinda recalls how interacting with a minority staff member helped her
express her feelings o f failure for not following through on her original major:
The minute I walked in, [I saw that the advisor is] African American, and I just
totally opened up. I felt comfortable right away, and I don’t know if that was just
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seeing another minority or whatever. I could talk to her about everything — about
being Hispanic and not succeeding, having that failure.
Staff members provide a unique emotional support to Topping Students. Jessica, a staff
member who often works with Topping scholars to help them with financial aid, indicates
that she enjoys her additional role as an emotional support person for these students:
There is so much more to it, to be a part o f their lives. I embrace it and programs like
this. 1 don’t get to be a part o f activities on campus, so where 1 can, I want to. 1 love
it. If a student asks me to come to one o f their events, there is 100 percent chance
that I w ill go.... Students know that I am here for them.... Students come here to talk
about things other than financial aid; in fact, that’s the last thing they usually talk
about.
Staff members, according to respondents, play a key role in supporting students
though things that students may not feel comfortable sharing with family. Jessica
remembers one specific experience where she served as a support person for a student and
shares it with me:
I had given him my cell phone for something else a while back.... He told me that he
got to the point where he thought he needed counseling. He called on a Saturday
night. He didn’t know what to do. He had no one to talk to. He couldn’t talk to his
parents; he couldn’t talk to his siblings.
Nita, who was raised in a country outside o f the United States, admits that some topics she
chooses not to discuss with her family, stating, “ Whenever there was something that I didn’t
really want to talk to my parents about, I could go and talk to Reia and I knew she wasn’t
going to judge me.” Javier also finds Reia to be a unique support person for him:
I don’t think I would have been able to talk to anyone else, like my engineering
advisor. I don’t think I can talk to them about personal things, but Reia I can
definitely talk to. My first year as a freshman I struggled with my grades.... So I
talked to her about that and she told me she had a similar experience her first year....
I took her advice for talking to teachers more and she gave me more motivation.
Support from staff members may be important supplements to family support on issues that
are culturally unacceptable, or where family members may not completely understand the
issue. One student admits, “ M y mom doesn’t even know what a G.P.A. is.”
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NTSAF provides students with personal and informational resources on how to
navigate the university. It facilitates an information network that may otherwise be difficult
to obtain as a first generation student. Respondents perceive workshops lead by USC staff
members as helpful for a variety o f reasons. Leo, a graduating senior at USC, finds the
retreat to be the prevailing reason o f why he adjusted to college so well:
I think Norman Topping has been the main influence as far as helping me adjust.
The retreat - that helps - because they discuss the different things that we are going
to encounter in classrooms and lectures, everything - how to get involved,
community service and different opportunities for us as Norman Topping scholars.
Information regarding the hidden curriculum, which would rarely be discussed in class but
very helpful to know, is also shared at the retreat. As a transfer student, Jose thought he
knew a lot about expectations in college; however, he still felt that the “ How to Get an A ”
workshop at the retreat was helpful:
You really got a good idea o f what to expect and how to perform w ell.... 1 think it
was Reia that had the ‘How to Get an A ’ workshop. I remember them talking at the
retreat... .The big thing in How to Get an A was connecting with your professor,
standing out from all your other classmates. That was a big thing with me; I always
contacted my professors so that they’d know me. I found myself really making it a
point to do it.
Another student, Rico, who was bom in Central America, mentions that the “ How to Get an
A ” workshop was very helpful:
They taught us about the ‘T Zone’ .... The T Zone is the front row center, so if you
want to get an A — that was the point — if you want your professor to notice you, you
should sit in the T Zone during class. And she said it works. Your professor w ill
notice you. That workshop was really helpful.
It is possible that this insider knowledge may help students feel less like an outsider on
campus. In addition to advice given at workshops, scholars were also required to have lunch
with a professor at least once per year. Ramel explains that this requirement made him
consider engaging a professor outside o f the classroom:
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The first thing that actually made me think about [establishing a relationship with a
professor] is just Topping, as [it is] a requirement to have lunch with one o f your
professors. I got to do this with all o f my professors this semester.... Topping gave
me the idea, and then I just had to push for it. I said, ‘Well, 1 would like to know
more about their field, so why not?’
The requirement that students have lunch with a faculty member sends a message to students
o f what they should do, which then can translate into a requirement for themselves. Another
student explains how the director’s tips helped ease concerns about financial aid and
workload:
We had workshops with Reia and that helped us understand there were many people
in the class here taking loans and financial aid. She also helped us understand it’s
better to ask questions than to stay quiet. So she helped us understand you can study
the professor. If you see a professor who gives this lecture, and he covers everything,
you don’t need to read the book. She gave us some points.
Staff members may serve as cultural mediators for students from varying backgrounds to
help them understand where their values differ on a college campus.
The NTSAF information network is a purposeful element to the scholarship program
that the staff members believe is important to the program goals. Reia explains:
Students with cultural capital know about going to class. They know about talking to
their professors, about doing internships and the positives about studying abroad.
They know about double majoring, minoring, asking for letters o f recommendation.
They know what to talk about when they take their professors out to lunch. They
know how to approach professors to find out about why they didn’t get a good grade.
So it’s there and it is for them to choose.
But first generation students, they start here and it is like, ‘Oh I should have talked to
that professor. 1 should have gone to that study session, and I didn’t know about that.
This is why I should have done that internship, or this is why 1 should have done this,
I didn’t know I was supposed to talk in class. I always thought that you are not
supposed to disrespect professors who are older than you,’ — all o f those things.
The NTSAF program and its staff strive to offer support and information that affords
Topping scholars similar opportunities as those given to students from families with more
information about college.
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One o f the goals o f NTSAF is to connect Topping scholars with key staff members
so that scholars w ill feel more comfortable approaching them later when they need help or
information. Reia outlines how they foster relationships among students and staff members:
A t our retreat, we...bring people from key departments into that Topping family. So
that it is about that personal connection; it is about them feeling a part o f the
university. Instead o f saying, ‘Oh, go down to that office,’ I say, ‘ Remember
Jeanette, she came and had dinner with us at the Topping Retreat. Make sure you go
talk to her.’ So they feel intimately connected to offices and people that maybe
otherwise they would not had they not been a part o f the program. That is really my
goal, in being very proactive about who do we bring to workshops, who do we bring
to be part o f the retreat, who do we bring to our dinners and our banquets, so that the
scholars see that it is about the campus. The campus is you; you are the campus.
The NTSAF program brings staff members or campus partners, many o f which are staff
members o f color, into the Topping Family instead o f directing Topping scholars outwards.
Campus partners participate in the retreat and the various events throughout the year. The
NTSAF network o f staff members proved to be helpful for many respondents. Kathleen
remembers a time when Reia’s connections were helpful for her:
Freshman year, I had a really hard time my first semester just because 1 didn’t like
my major and I was doing really bad in my classes, and stuff like that.... Reia was the
person I went to because I knew nobody else, so basically, she was really, really
helpful. And she does make you feel a part o f the family, not just the Norman
Topping family but the USC fam ily just because she has so many connections. It
was during advising and nobody would see me, and she called someone and they saw
me right away and helped me figure out my schedule for the next semester. It was
just so great to have her to be there for me.
By performing a small task such as a referral, Reia makes students feel a part o f the campus
overall community (or “ Trojan Family” as it is called at USC). Respondents describe the
NTSAF staff network as one o f the reasons that they felt connected to the campus. Gigi
states,
It’s like the number one thing, the connection, the network, the workshops that she
puts on for us at the retreat, having connections at the financial aid office, with work
study, with volunteer work, all those connections. That network has definitely made a
change in the transition. Now I feel like, ‘Yes, I’m prepared, if I need something 1
know where to go.’ Otherwise I would be like, ‘ I need this, where do I go? I need
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financial aid assistance, where do I go?’ Now 1 know 1 can go to Jessica, or if I need
to get a job I can go with Rita. Those connections have definitely helped me a lot.
Ramel feels that the information and network he has gained from Topping is the reason why
he is not isolated on campus:
If it weren’t for Topping, I think I would be by myself, isolated, and just spend more
o f my time in college in the dark. Topping is more o f a candle. I think that is kind of
what it did. I think it made me see other people as if 1 was in a dark room with other
people, and they are all looking for the door out. I feel like Topping is the candle to
help us find the way out o f the door.
Staff interaction may help students with campus-related issues and problems. Programs
such as NTSAF may provide nontraditional students with connections to campus that work
for commuting, transfer, and first generation students - connections that may not happen
without the support o f a program. Staff members may play an important role in information
sharing and validation o f experiences.
Validation o f Identity
NTSAF staff members validate students, often telling them that they are “ scholars,”
“ the one,” that they deserve to be at USC, and that they have rich experiences to bring into
the classroom. One student mentioned that the title o f scholar was an honor and added to the
value o f coming to USC. He explains:
I came into the school with the title o f ‘Norman Topping scholar,’ when everyone
else just comes in as an undergraduate. That helped me fit in more. I was proud of
the fact I was a Norman Topping scholar and that added more value to going to USC
because I have recognition and a title coming in.
Peter adds:
I feel it is an honor to be a Norman Topping scholar, because you have to apply for it,
and you have to be accepted into it. So it is more you have to work for it, and once
you get it, i f s just an honor.
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Elizabeth, a Latina graduating in Communications, explains that while she did not receive
much tuition remission from the Norman Topping Program due to an abundance o f outside
scholarships and grants, she received the “ prestige o f being a Topping scholar.” Reia calls
the NTSAF scholarship an award for their journey:
Through this scholarship program, they are validated - knowing their service, their
extraordinary circumstances that they have overcome and their path in overcoming
all o f the obstacles to the university. The university w ill recognize them and reward
them for what they have gone through.
Reia takes special care to acknowledge the difficult circumstances that the Topping scholars
endure through college. She also promotes the NTSAF scholarship as something o f which to
be proud; selected students earn the award over hundreds o f other applicants. NTSAF staff
focus on how deserving these students are o f the award rather then touting the program as an
aid program for students who demonstrate financial need.
Instead o f sending a message to students that they are at risk, the Topping staff
identify them as scholars and mentors who are expected to forge a path for future
generations. Ramel states, “ It basically made me decide that I wanted to pursue different
things outside o f the classroom. Topping made me think more about going into graduate
school and applying for the McNair scholarship program.” The community service element
o f the program often places Topping scholars in the role as mentors to high school students.
Peter describes how he felt encouraged to do greater things in his life than an average person
because of NTSAF:
I have always had that drive to do something new and to benefit others other than
primarily myself. 1 think Topping made me want to do it more; it made me feel like
other people out there that want to do the same thing... as if I am not alone in my
struggles.
Reia tells Topping scholars that they should not be ashamed that they are first generation
college students. She encourages them to be proud o f themselves because their decision to
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39
attend college w ill improve the future o f their families. Lucinda explains how Reia’s
perspective helped her develop pride in her first generation status:
I am a first generation student. So everyone is completely proud o f me. I had
cousins that went to a little junior college and now they are working, but I am not. I
am stepping out and breaking the cycle. As Reia always tells her story that she is
breaking the cycle, my daughters and sons w ill never know the struggles I went
through. Because I am here, they w ill never see me struggling the way I saw my
mom struggling. And I am making that difference for that change.
Reia helps students turn first generation status into an asset; it is a challenge that they have
already overcome by being at USC and an achievement o f which to be proud. First
generation status then becomes a descriptor that empowers students to “ break the cycle” and
graduate for the benefit o f future generations.
The NTSAF staff members and campus partners do not promote the program as the
reason why its scholars are successful, which instills a high level o f self-determination in
Topping scholars. Reia states, “ They w ill succeed, they w ill get there, but their path is
jagged. Why does it have to be that way? When the resources, the knowledge, the support
are out there? 1 don’t think it has to be that way.” Reia’s statement illuminates a
combination o f faith in their abilities and a deep respect for their struggle through college,
which resonates with Topping scholars. Ramel explains,
Reia always says - I agree with her - ‘You’d be fine if Norman Topping didn’t
exist. And you wouldn’t need me because you’d go on and graduate and do good
things.’ And I truly agree with that. 1 got my acceptance letter before Norman
Topping’s [letter].... But having Topping has made it so much easier for
transitioning. I f there was every any question I would have had about anything, it’s a
place to go. It has made it so much easier.
Topping scholars are sent a message from staff that they would still graduate without the
NTSAF program, yet ensures support when needed.
The Topping program helps some respondents evaluate their identity in different
ways. Lucinda, who defines herself as Latina, had a difficult time fitting in with the Latino/a
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40
groups on campus at first because she had come from a predominately White high school.
She feels that the NTSAF scholarship helped her develop an identity:
I am who 1 am at Topping. I feel I am the best o f the best when I am around Norman
Topping Scholars.... I would have never expected that I would have this much
passion for this scholarship. It is such a life changing event, I can seriously say that
if I was not accepted as a Topping Scholar, I would not be who I am right now. And
that’s huge. And not to say that it made me who I am, it just helped me find who I
am. And it helped me, personally, to do that - soul searching.
Reia encourages scholars to reveal their identity in the classroom because it affords them a
competitive advantage over those who do not have the same lived experiences to contribute.
She explains:
They have lived what they debate. They lived the politics, the policies, the racism,
the institutionalism, the oppression, working class - those are all things you debate.
And that they are getting both the academic knowledge o f reading writing and being
in class and, having that lived experience, they [have] an advantage [over] their
classmates and their peers... [When they] understand and develop that identity as an
academic scholar with experiences is when I really get excited. ... Seeing them so
self-doubting, feeling incompetent and not feeling like they can compete, and then
turning into these academic scholars who use what they have learned as part of their
research and just blow people away, blow them away.
Maria is an example o f a scholar who has allowed her identity to influence her research. She
outlines how Topping opened her eyes to cultural issues in her research:
My research now — I like to focus on minority groups, and how different issues,
whatever it is, vary across ethnic groups because minority groups are not well
represented in psychological research. So, I think that if 1 had not been a part of
Topping, my research would be general. I would have been comfortable just
studying the effects o f whatever, just on Caucasian children even though there is so
much literature on that already. Sometimes I do think, I am Latina, maybe it is my
responsibility to do some type o f research looking at my own ethnic group. It is not
bad; [Topping] has brought that perspective to me.
Gema reveals that she had not considered how her cultural identity could be seen as an
advantage in the classroom until she interviewed Reia for a class project. She explains,
In the beginning o f the school year I thought that my identity — the fact that I’m a
Mexican American - and my background would be a disadvantage, I thought that
because o f who I am, I would immediately be unprepared and wouldn't be at the
same level as other people who are Caucasian or Asian American. But then I
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interviewed Reia for a case study.... And I remember asking her questions o f how
she identifies herself, and she said to use your background, to use your identity not as
a disadvantage but as an advantage because, she said, ‘you’d be surprised how much
the professors would want to know about you, especially what you can contribute to
their discussions.’ And it’s true — and especially in that class it was true — because a
lot o f the talks we had were about the assimilation process, the immigrants when they
come, how they develop their identities and stuff like that, and I remember a lot of
the things the professor talked about I could associate with. So it was definitely true.
And now I look at myself and I think, ‘I’m a first generation student, I’m a Mexican
American, I ’m a female, I’m majoring in math and astronomy — a field that’s usually
dominated by men,’ and I don’t see it as a drawback, I see it as an advantage. And
all those scholarships that are available for minorities, so that has changed my
opinion.... It was a drawback and now I think o f it as an advantage, I think o f it as
something that distinguishes me from others, but in a positive way.
Once weakening characteristics, such as being a female in a male-dominated field and being
first generation and Mexican American, became empowering simply by a staff member
helping the student conceptualize it differently. The NTSAF program provides a cultural
support seamlessly with academic support by illustrating how a cultural perspective can
inform and thus enrich class work.
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CHAPTER 5
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DISCUSSION
Overview o f Discussion
This chapter highlights various themes and sub-themes that were presented in the
previous chapter, including the following: Understanding Community Building,
Understanding Navigating the Campus and Understanding Validation o f Identity. The
discussion w ill illustrate how various retention-related constructs are experienced by
nontraditional students in order to critique existing studies and inform future research.
Implications for theory, practice and administration are presented next. Finally conclusions
are offered that underscore the most important information to be drawn from this study.
Understanding Community Building
In a departure from earlier research that has sought to validate or invalidate pre
existing models o f integration, this work has explored “ how different students interact with
their college environments - how students shape their environment and are shaped by it”
(Brower, 1992, p. 458). Respondents in this study participated in cultural affiliation groups
to scale down the university and create a support network for themselves comprised o f like-
minded students. These connections with peers provided them with a network o f students
with which they may choose to participate in traditional activities such as college football
games. Students who commute, who are returning to school with families and who have
transferred from another university encounter obstacles that make co-curricular involvement
a challenge. Bean and Metzner (1985) assert that while co-curricular involvement and
informal contact with faculty are not unimportant in individual cases, “ for most
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nontraditional students...such student participation is relatively rare and hence less
important when compared to other factors” (p. 493). The thesis presented here argues that
we should not abandon campus involvement for nontraditional students, but rather explore
alternate methods of how a nontraditional student can connect with a university and create a
community on campus. One opportunity for community building for nontraditional students
occurs in workplaces. Respondents in this study found that workplaces served two
functions: a socio-cultural space in which they can interact with peers and staff members
who care about them, as well as a physical environment where students convene and
network with peers. Cultural affiliation floors may serve as cultural enclaves and support
networks that enrich their college experience.
A scholarship program can be a culturally responsive community for its recipients.
The NTSAF program promotes a community o f scholars through community service
projects, the retreat and ongoing rhetoric o f the “ Topping Family” that is repeated again and
again by staff members and Topping scholars. Furthermore the Topping Family extends
beyond its students and staff members. Outside staff members from academic support
services, cultural support services and financial aid are presented as “ campus partners” to the
Topping Program. Personal introductions and bringing o f these offices to the students (as
opposed to pointing students outward to the offices) may reduce intimidation to seek help
outside o f the scholarship program. These introductions may also serve as invitations for
Topping Scholars to seek out mentorship, advice and support from staff members on
campus.
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Understanding Navigating the Campus
Faculty members may have the ability to contribute to student engagement and
community development by reaching out to students and inviting them to a personal
conversation outside o f class. Those individuals who were interviewed appreciate contact
with faculty and staff beyond that normal to classes and administrative meetings, and in fact
felt that these relationships were a key component o f feeling connected on campus. It is
possible that the NTSAF requirement o f lunch with a faculty member spawned this interest.
Terenzini and Pascarella (1978) found that what happens once a student gets on campus may
be more important than attitudes they bring to campus, and also that the frequency o f
contacts with professors contributed the most to prediction o f attrition status (p. 363).
Institutions such as USC, Stanford University, and University o f California, Los Angeles,
have faculty in residence programs to foster personal relationships between professors and
students in the residential halls. While bringing faculty in the residential halls may break
down barriers between residential and academic life, the program is limited to residential
students and faculty. To maximize the effects o f faculty-student relationships, a redefinition
o f the role o f faculty may be in order: all faculty members should serve as both academic
and personal mentors for students. Pascarella (1980) also states that the “ extent and quality
o f student informal contact with faculty may make a unique contribution to college impact"
(p. 564), and that “ informal contacts focusing on intellectual/literary or artistic interests,
value issues, or future career concerns have the greatest impact” (p. 565).
Informal contact with faculty members may be important to returning students who
may have more in common with faculty members than with their traditionally-aged peers.
As an example, Mark, a returning student with a wife and children, sought out a faculty
member’s perspective on how to balance work and family, even though he was intimidated
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at first. Other student respondents mentioned that they visited faculty to the extent that they
felt comfortable or welcome to do so - not to the extent that they had a similar interests or
required clarification o f course-related material. This finding suggests that beyond listing
office hours, an invitation to visit those office hours may be required for certain students to
initiate a personal relationship with a professor. Also, staff and faculty members can play a
key role in supporting or “ cheerleading” students on through college, which suggests that
solicitation o f conversation about student dreams and goals, may provide an important
connection to campus for a student. The results presented validate Nora’s (1987) assertion
that “ If students perceive that counselors and faculty members are genuinely interested in
their career goals, they w ill be more committed to their institutions” (p. 54).
Connectedness in the Norman Topping program begins at the retreat where students
are given tips on how to be successful in college. Many students cited attendance o f NTSAF
workshops as reasons why they approached a faculty member out o f class or why they
always sat in front while attending class. Smedley, Myers and Harrell (1993), studied
minority-status related stresses to find that minority student stresses are experienced as
“ heightened concerns over their academic preparedness, questions about the legitimacy as
students at the university, perceptions o f negative expectations from White peers and from
the faculty. ..and a lack o f understanding about the peculiar demands o f attending a highly
competitive university” (p. 447). The NTSAF program has responded to these needs. The
positioning o f the retreat at the weekend before classes commence provides incoming first
year students a tool kit with which they can better understand university life and the
academic community. Participation in the retreat also helps them establish a tight knit
community right from the start o f their college experience.
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Understanding Validation o f Identity
Validation as a scholar is helpful for nontraditional students. Smedley, Myers and
Harrell (1993) also found that “ the more debilitating minority status stressors were those that
undermined students’ academic confidence and ability to bind with the university” (p. 448).
A NTSAF staff member cited in this study emphasizes that first generation status, income
level and experiences are descriptors that placed them at an advantage over their peers as
opposed to a disadvantage. By promoting a new conceptualization o f risk factors, the staff
member in this study helped students cognitively transform potentially disabling indicators
into assets. Also, staff promoting the scholarship as something to be proud o f - a title held -
appears to help students face challenges on campus with confidence and self-determination.
As Brower notes, “ A large literature exists on how self and other expectations influence
performance, and the most consistent finding being that we live up or down to the
expectations set for us” (Brower, 1992, p. 458). To enhance validation NTSAF staff
members set expectations high with minimum G.P.A., course load and community service
requirements for the students. Further, staff describe the program as both a merit-based and
need-based program. The NTSAF’s practice o f covering expenses associated with graduate
study may also provide students with motivation to excel in class and go on to graduate
school.
Implications for Policy and Practice
Low income, first generation and underrepresented minority students experience
similar feelings o f isolation, confusion and self-doubt that presumably most college students
feel; however these feelings may be intensified by stresses specifically related to their
backgrounds and experiences. Based on findings from the present study, caretaking of
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children and hours spent at work both inhibit a student’s ability to connect with the campus.
These factors may also influence the decision made by many people not to not return to
school at all. One example o f a policy that could alleviate stresses experienced by returning
students is proposed legislation sponsored by Senators Hillary Clinton (NY) and Bob
Graham (FL). The legislation, titled “Nontraditional Student Success Act,” provides federal
funding for scholarships and childcare services for returning students with families
(http ://cl inton. senate .gov).
Student stresses can be alleviated inside o f institutions as well Family housing
provides an option for students with families o f their own to better affiliate with the campus
community. Programs designed for at-risk students benefit from creation o f communities of
which students, staff and faculty are a member. Organizing a retreat with before the first day
o f school may help students to make important staff and student connections and create the
sensation o f being a member o f the campus community early in their college career. Other
communities that prove to be beneficial are special interest floors in residence halls. These
programs might be considered, for instance, on campuses where minority students feel
disconnected or isolated. Faculty members should be encouraged by administration to invite
students to office hours as opposed to simply listing them. Students benefit when faculty
members are open to develop personal relationships with students where they are desired. In
this study, students cited stress due to lack o f awareness o f appropriate support services
related to a specific problem and a desire for support through stressful college experiences.
Programs for at risk students must provide students with the support network, cultural capital
and support services that w ill help them be successful in their classes and their relationships.
At the same time participants should be validated as scholars who w ill succeed regardless of
the services provided for them.
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Implications for Future Research
Campus involvement for nontraditional students should be further explored.
Specifically, more information about the workplace as a community should be developed.
Many departments on college campuses hire students with Federal Work Study to help with
workload, and these positions may provide a community in which nontraditional students
thrive. Also, involvement in class-related groups and experiences may offer a venue in
which nontraditional students can connect with the campus. Research studying the effects of
in-class group work should be conducted.
Chapman and Pascarella (1983) found that student behaviors, attitudes and values
are influenced by many different agents at the university Existing literature, however, often
omits student-staff relationships and favors student-faculty relationships, perhaps because o f
its inclusion as a construct in Tinto’s (1975) model, among others. While faculty-student
relationships should not be replaced, they can be difficult to foster due to the increase in
adjunct faculty on campuses today and heavy workloads o f tenure-track faculty members.
Staff-student relationships may supplement faculty-student interactions. This work
establishes the need for more studies on the topic o f staff-student relationships and how they
benefit the college experiences o f nontraditional students.
Conclusions
Two constructs found in the literature, campus affiliation and identity development,
were studied in this investigation to find that community creation, help navigating the
campus, and validation are important to nontraditional populations. Qualitative inquiry
(semi-structured interviews and observations) allows for respondents to define these
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constructs in a cultural context, which promotes the construction o f many different
definitions of constructs, and by extension, condemns one rigid definition or one truth.
In addition to challenging the idea of using culture-neutral constructs to assess
nontraditional populations, I also object to the assumption that institutions are, and should
be, culture-neutral. Experiences that nontraditional students bring to institutions o f higher
education must be honored and integrated into the campus culture. Instead o f stripping
culture from our students, we should be encouraging them to embrace culture in the
classroom and in their outside lives. This study affirms Tierney's (1999) perspective
endorsing programs that promote cultural capital and affirm cultural integrity:
The ideas o f cultural capital and cultural integrity move educators away from notions
that either money or cultural assimilation w ill resolve the inequitable educational
opportunities experienced by large numbers o f students o f color in the United States.
Cultural integrity transfers the problem o f educational inequity from the student to
the institution and identifies cultural background as an essential element for academic
success. Whereas Tinto’s model assumes that college students must commit a form
o f cultural suicide to be academically successful, students from marginalized
communities should find ways to have their backgrounds affirmed and honored on
their respective campuses. By so doing, the habitus o f students who do not have
much in the way o f economic or traditional modes o f cultural capital is less
deterministic and more fluid. Such students are thus able to act as social agents and
produce the conditions for change and improvements in opportunity, (p. 85)
It is possible that what some researchers, policy makers and practitioners have isolated as
“ risk factors” - minority, first generation, commuter, returning, low income, part-time
students - may create a self-fulfilling prophesy for these students. The present study
suggests that transforming these risk factors into empowering characteristics may create a
successful outcome. The present investigation illustrates that supporting nontraditional
students and honoring their cultural background are not mutually exclusive. The
backgrounds and experiences students bring to college are only the beginning to
understanding why students persist; how these backgrounds and experiences are supported
and validated may effect how they are expressed. Encouragement o f students to create their
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own experience on campus and bring culture into the classroom, campus community and
surrounding community necessitates validation o f cultures outside o f the dominant
institutional culture. The relationships students build, cultural capital gained and validation
received may be equally important as academic support and integration in retaining students
o f color.
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Bean, J. P., & Metzner, B. S. (1985). A Conceptual Model o f Nontraditional Undergraduate
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Braxton, J. M. (2000). Reworking the student departure puzzle. Nashville: Vanderbilt
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Braxton, J. M. & Lien, L. A. (2000). The Viability o f Academic Integration as a Central
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Creator Winslow, Sandra Beth (author)

Core Title Community building, navigating the campus and validation of identity: Exploring campus affiliation and identity development for low-income, first-generation and underrepresented minority students...

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Master of Education

Degree Program Postsecondary Education and Student Affairs

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Education, administration,education, educational psychology,Education, Finance,Education, higher,OAI-PMH Harvest

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Advisor Tierney, William G. (committee chair), Jun, Alexander (committee member), Sundt, Melora (committee member)

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