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A formative evaluation of the student support services TRIO program for low income and first generation college bound students self-efficacy at Butte-Glenn Community College District

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A formative evaluation of the student support services TRIO program for low income and first generation college bound students self-efficacy at Butte-Glenn Community College District

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A FORMATIVE EVALUATION OF THE STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
TRIO PROGRAM FOR LOW INCOME AND FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE
BOUND STUDENTS SELF-EFFICACY AT BUTTE-GLENN COMMUNITY
COLLEGE DISTRICT

by

Patricia Ann Davis

__________________________________________________________________

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2008

Copyright 2008 Patricia Ann Davis
ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This dissertation and my desire for life-long learning would not have been
possible if not for the many people who have impacted my life, encouraged and
motivated me. To my father, who told me at a young age that I could be and do
anything I set my mind to and who encouraged me to constantly read and educate
myself. Although you may not be here on earth, I’d make you proud. To my mother
who quietly and consistently devoted her life to her family and her beliefs. Mom
(Nannan), you are a saint and an angel for your unconditional love for people. To my
children, Ryan Davis, Matthew Davis and Kameron Davis, you are young adults who
I am very proud of. We have gone through some challenging times, but we are
strong because of it. I hope I have been an inspiration to you by how I live my life
and give to others. My wish for you is the understanding that no matter the
challenges that may come in your life, through perseverance and choices, you can
accomplish anything you set your mind to.
I would also like to thank Dr. Dennis Hocevar for his dedication and passion
for education and his support, encouragement and patience in keeping me on task
through the program and the dissertation process. To the USC Sacramento Cohort,
my USC family, thank you for your friendship, and your academic and emotional
support. And, to the many, many people who have come into my life as friends,
mentors and teachers for your belief in me, even when, at times, I did not believe in
myself.
iii
And, importantly, to Charles Rough, my dream come true. With you, I have
truly have found my soul mate and best friend. Thank you for coming into my life,
and for inspiring, challenging, mentoring, guiding, uplifting and encouraging me.
Our journey in life together is truly a blessing.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ……………………………………………….. ii

LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………….. v

ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………… vi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………….. 1

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………...…… 17

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ……………………………………….. 35

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS ………………………………………………... 44

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS ………………………………………….. 88

REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………. 107

APPENDICES …………………………………………………………….. 111
v
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectations ……………………… 3
Table 2. Number and Percentage of Low-Income Residents
in Target Area ……………………………………………………………. 5

Table 3. Low-Income Students Enrolled at Butte College by
Ethnicity in 2004 …………………………………………………………. 6

Table 4. Transfer Rates of SSS-Eligible Students Compared to
Total Population at Butte College by Ethnicity in 2004 …………………. 7

Table 5. TRIO Students …………………………………………………. 46
Table 6. Non-TRIO Students ……………………………………………. 47
vi
ABSTRACT
The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the strengths and
weaknesses of the TRIO Student Support Services program at Butte College, a
federally funded program to aid low income, disabled and first generation college
students. The study will present suggestions for increasing the self-efficacy of the
TRIO students and for improving the retention and transfer rates for these students to
four year institutions.
Data were collected through a Likert self-efficacy questionnaire sent to 140
TRIO students, two randomly chosen campus classes of 77 non-TRIO students, a
tabulation of responses of 53 randomly chosen applications of TRIO students that
included a Personal Needs Assessment, interviews with the Butte College TRIO
Director and Assistant Director, faculty, staff, eight TRIO students, three former
TRIO students, a review of federal TRIO and other government documents, and a
literature review of student retention, remediation, and self-efficacy.
The TRIO application and Personal Needs Assessment results indicated a
large number of students were between 16 and 25, female and Caucasian, 61% of
students self-identified that they lacked academic preparedness and educational
and/or career goals, close to 50% of mothers and fathers completed high school, 72%
of the students didn’t work or worked less than 19 hours, 77% applied for financial
aid and 91% said their taxable income was $15,000 or less per year.
The qualitative study results identified through the interviews with TRIO
students, TRIO administrators, faculty and staff that the interventions of personalized
vii
attention and support helped the students stay accountable and keep on track. The
Likert Self-Efficacy questionnaire found similar results for both TRIO and non-
TRIO students. This may have been due to student academic experience and support
TRIO students received prior to applying, as most students started TRIO in their
second year of college. The TRIO program serves a very small number of eligible
applicants due to limited funding resources. However, the student support services
the campus and the TRIO program offer to students is considerable. Promoting a
campus-wide climate with all departments, faculty, staff and administration, taking
steps to promote student retention and transfer is paramount to student success.
Whether it is offering a first-year life skills courses to help students with acclimating
to college and life management skills, offering classes to all students using a variety
of methods to actively engage students, offering supplemental instruction to peer
tutors, or learning communities, it is imperative that students come first and we all
take the responsibility to connect with students, build relationships, assist with
resources and support students in their academic and personal life skills for student
self-efficacy, retention and transfer.
1
CHAPTER 1
Problem of Practice
Community colleges have long grappled with student self-efficacy, retention
and transfer rates for general student populations. Specifically, for Butte-Glenn
Community College District, these issues are further confused when addressing the
decreased retention and transfer rates of low-income, first-generation college
students. Why are these percentages disproportionate between the general population
and low-income, first generation students? How do colleges address these issues?
What specific tactics can a college take to increase student retention and transfer
rates of students? How can we increase at-risk student self efficacy for success in
the district?
Review of Studies
Literature reviewed in Chapter 2 of this dissertation will focus on two
important areas of college success, student retention and student
motivation/persistence. Although connected and both important, focusing on one
area and not the other would lead to an incomplete discussion of research that leads
to personal student success. Increasing numbers of student self efficacy literature
will be reviewed as a tool and a glue to bind student retention and
motivation/persistence.
Pascarella (2005) offers a comprehensive review of literature on the impact
of college on students. His review of support and retention programs such as the
federal TRIO program indicated that “research consistently indicates that such
2
comprehensive programs have a statistically significant and positive effect on
student persistence” (p. 405). He noted that a study by Chaney, Muraskin, Cahalan,
and Goodwin (1998) of “nearly 3,000 full-time, first-year SSS [federal Student
Support Services program, one of the clusters of TRIO programs] participants at 30
sites and about 3,000 students with similar characteristics at 20 non-SSS sites.
Participants in the SSS programs were 7 percent more likely than non-participants to
persist into their second year” (p. 405). Also noted was that “instructional courses,
peer tutoring, and workshops appeared to have the largest effects” (p. 405). The
TRIO programs derive its name TRIO from the series of the first three federal
educational opportunity programs for students, beginning with Upward Bound in
1964, Talent Search in 1965, and Student Support Services (SSS) in 1968.
Currently, there are eight programs.
Schunk, Pintrich and Meece (2007) say that “motivation is an important
quality that pervades all aspects of teaching and learning. Motivated students display
interest in activities; feel self-efficacious; expend effort to succeed; persist at tasks;
and typically use effective task, cognitive, and self-regulatory strategies to learn” (p.
vi). The authors identify theories and research in motivation. Specific to self-
efficacy, they discuss Bandura’s (1982) model of Self-Efficacy and Outcome
Expectations:
3
Table 1. Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectations

Self-Efficacy Low-outcome expectation High-outcome expectation
High self-efficacy Social activism
Protest
Grievance
Milieu change
Assured, opportune action
High cognitive engagement
Low self-efficacy Resignation
Apathy
Withdrawal
Self-devaluation
Depression
Bandura (1982) Behavioral and Affective Reactions as a Function of Different Levels of Self-Efficacy
and Outcome Expectations (adapted from Schunk, Pintrich and Meece 2007, p.140)

Tinto (1993) examines previous research and theories about student retention
and the current effectiveness of existing programs to address this issue. One area he
addresses is the significant relationship between the dynamics of the classroom,
learning and retention. Tinto challenges the thinking that student attrition is mainly
due to the “reflection of individual actions and therefore are largely due to the ability
or willingness of the individual to successfully complete the tasks associated with
college attendance” (p. 85). He offers a ‘Longitudinal Model of Institutional
Departure’ (p. 114) that gives a clear picture of the many variables that may affect a
student’s continued attendance.
To summarize the longitudinal model, students enter college with different
family, skills, abilities, and school background. Students have different intentions,
goals, college commitments, and outside commitments. Their college interactions,
formal and informal, include school performance, faculty/staff interactions,
4
extracurricular activities and peer interaction which comprises their school and social
integration. This affects, positively or negatively, their intentions, goals, college
commitments, and outside commitments, which can affect, over time their decision
to depart from the college.
Purpose of this Study
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the
TRIO Student Support Services program at Butte College, a federally funded
program to aid low-income, disabled and first generation college students. More
specifically, the study will present suggestions for increasing the self-efficacy of the
TRIO students and for improving the retention and transfer rates for these students to
four year institutions. Specifically, the goal of the study is to develop both literature-
based and site-based recommendations to improve the TRIO program at Butte
College. What can Butte-Glenn Community College District do to increase student
self-efficacy, retention and transfer rates of first-generation, low income students to a
successful completion of certificate programs or transfer to four year institutions?
Setting
Butte-Glenn Community College is a two-year California community
college, serving Butte and Glenn counties in northern California, one of 110
community colleges in the system. The main campus of Butte-Glenn Community
College District is located in Oroville, California, approximately 80 miles north of
the state capital, Sacramento. It is situated in the rural agricultural foothills between
5
the town of Oroville and Chico in Butte County. Two additional centers are located
in Chico and in Orland, which is located in Glenn County.
The TRIO grant application was produced in early 2005, with Butte College
Institutional Research collecting the college data for 2004. Some of that data is used
in the following tables. This data differs somewhat from the California Community
College Chancellors Office website under Accountability Reporting for the
Community Colleges (ARCC) regarding Butte College information for 2004
(http://www.cccco.edu/SystemOffice/Divisions/TechResearchInfo/ResearchandPlan
ning/ARCC/tabid/292/Default.aspx ). The researcher used the data from the original
TRIO grant application for this report for consistency. In the Fall 2004, 29,494 total
(not FTE) number of students were enrolled in courses as of the census date. Of the
29,494 total number of students enrolled, 8,511 (28.9%) of Butte students qualified
as low-income, 4,888 (16.8%) were first-generation college students, and 662 (2%)
were low-income students with disabilities.

Table 2. Number and Percentage of Low-income Residents in Target Area

Population Number Percentage
Butte College 8,511 28.9%
Butte County 72,696 20%
Glenn County 10,732 37%
Sources: Butte College Institutional Research (2004), US Census, 2000.
6
In fact, 31% of the first-generation students surveyed (unpublished Butte
College Disabled Student Programs and Services survey results 2004-05 documented
by the Dean of Student Support Services as given to him by the Information Systems
department) reported that neither of their parents had earned a high school diploma,
with another 25% reported having only one parent with a high school diploma. The
percentage of first-generation status differs across ethnicities. The ethnic breakdown
of the school’s low income is shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Low-Income Students Enrolled at Butte College by Ethnicity in 2004

Ethnicity Number Percentage
African American 361 1.2%
Hispanic 1,141 3.9%
Native American 285 0.9%
Asian/Pacific Islander 537 1.8%
Caucasian 5,625 19.0%
Other/declined/unknown 562 1.2%
TOTAL INSTITUTION 8,511 28.9%
Sources: Butte College Institutional Research (2004), US Census, 2000.

An educational problem Butte College faces is the issue of low retention and
transfer rates to four year institutions of low income and first-generation college
bound students. From Table 4 (below), it is apparent that the total student population
transfers at a much higher rate than Student Support Services (SSS) eligible students.
The most significant statistic of the total population is that 46.4% of Caucasian
7
students transferred. This figure was retrieved from the Butte College Information
Systems department on campus by the Dean of Student Support Services in
preparation of the original TRIO grant application.

Table 4. Transfer Rates of SSS-Eligible Students Compared to Total Population at
Butte College by Ethnicity in 2004

Ethnicity SSS-Eligible Total Population
African American .45% 6.0%
Hispanic .11% 23.2%
Native American .11% 3.6%
Asian/Pacific Islander .89% 13.8%
Caucasian .33% 46.4%
Other .33% 4.8%
TOTAL INSTITUTION 2.22% 97.8%
Source: Butte College Institutional Research, 2004.

In addition to challenges that first generation, low-income students may face
attending a community college, they may also experience issues at the high school
level that could affect their success in higher education. Challenges may include
lack of individualized support in preparation to complete high school, such as an
inadequate high school curriculum and an awareness of financial opportunities or
support services, and lack of encouragement to attend community college from
family or their high school teachers or counselors. If the students are struggling to
complete high school, the thought of attending college may be overwhelming.
8
Butte-Glenn Community College District applied for and received a SSS
TRIO grant in early 2005. TRIO focuses on improving college retention and
graduation rates of college students who are from low income families or where
neither parent has graduated from college. The TRIO program officially recruited
students in the Fall 2005, with a federally mandated goal to recruit and serve 160
students. The TRIO demographics are 20 students (12.5%) who are low-income, 20
students (12.5%) who are first-generation college bound, 14 students (8%) who have
a disability, and 106 students (67%) who are low-income and first-generation college
bound. By Spring 2006, the TRIO program reached capacity. The TRIO focus at
Butte College is on helping the students be successful in their studies, stay in
community college, and eventually transfer to four year institutions or complete a
certificate program. The grant will only allow TRIO staff to recruit students after
they have been admitted to Butte College as other Student Support Services
programs focus on outreach to students in K-12. However, outreach to high school
counselors who know students who will be enrolling at Butte-Glenn Community
College District is possible.
Current Intervention
The Butte College TRIO Student Support Services program, in existence
since September 2005, just completed, in the Spring of 2007, its first program
evaluation for the grant and sent to the U.S. Department of Education. Student
persistence from the academic year in TRIO in 2005-06 to 2006-07 was 139 students
(87%). Students ending the cohort year in good academic standing (2.0 GPA) were
9
136 (85%). The transfer rate was 14 (8%). The average GPA for the 2005-06 year
was 2.8.
The TRIO program has various components to ensure a successful retention
and transfer of participants. Each student is assigned to a cohort group for the year
they entered TRIO. The student will stay in this group, even if they leave the TRIO
program but stay at Butte College. Students, after admission to TRIO, will develop a
customized Education Action Plan (EAP) with the Counseling Office or EOPS, if
they haven’t already, and share the information with the TRIO director or Assistant
Director. The plan will outline actions and objectives to reach current semester and
academic year goals and beyond. The plan will document the need for other services
that might include financial aid and personal counseling, career advising, and
accommodations for learning and physical disabilities. The plan is on the computer
and can be modified as assessed and evaluated by the student and TRIO staff.
Collaborative learning opportunities were identified by the Butte TRIO
program as being beneficial for the retention of students. In the initial grant
planning, to ensure collaborative study, four structural elements were designed.
First, clustering the same courses for students in the program at the same time during
the first year of the program to provide a supportive environment, all participants
attend first-year college experience courses, and make available a quiet, designated
study area all participants can use. The clustering of students wasn’t possible due to
the wide range of academic levels of TRIO students. However, the new TRIO office
does have a quiet, designated study area that all participants can use.
10
Second, student requirements are participation in at least one cultural or
educational TRIO activity plus meeting with a TRIO academic support advisor two
times a semester. A cultural activity might be a play, musical, or look at an art show
and an educational activity might be tutoring, attending a skills workshop or another
of the many campus workshops available.
Third, ensure that the most qualified faculty work with the at-risk
participants. Although this proposal is still an interesting concept for the college, it
hasn’t happened yet. Fourth, closely monitor EAP progress. The TRIO academic
support advisors, who are the Director and Assistant Director of TRIO, do encourage
students to talk to them about their EAP. The TRIO director said some students are
very good at checking in and talking to the advisors. In fact, she noted that one
student has seen her eight times during the current semester. Other grant suggested
TRIO activities included, students will work together in structured study groups and
socialize together. Study groups and social activities are not structured at present.
However, students are encouraged to use CAS, the Power Center or Supplemental
Instructors that are available for some courses, such as Chemistry and Math. Staff
and faculty will become mentors by way of their added contact with the students
providing services. However, during research and interviews with TRIO
administrators, it was found that it was not feasible to cluster TRIO students, as the
students varied in their academic level, and not all were first-year students. Nor
were there enough students at the same level and coursework to make the classes.
11
Students must sign a SSS contract. The contract requires students to meet
twice per semester with an advisor; meet with an advisor before registering each
term or adding/dropping courses; talk to an advisor if they have issues with a class or
an office on campus; participate in at least one cultural and personal growth event
and attend transfer fairs and visit four-year colleges. The form is included in the
appendix.
The initial grant design suggested that faculty involved in working with
TRIO students must have a teaching style that works well with teaching in clustered
classes. Methods of student-centered instruction are interactive methods versus
lecture-based, as the college identified this helps with student retention. The college
is currently developing opportunities for faculty and staff to participate in On Course
workshops to give them ideas for the more interactive methods of classroom
experiences versus straight lectures. This is discussed further in Chapter 5. Butte-
Glenn Community College District was not able to cluster TRIO students in courses,
as the low number of students at the same academic level, as mentioned before,
made it cost prohibitive to implement low enrollment courses.
Additional components of the program suggested in the initial grant
application suggested the monitoring of academic progress, including LEAD courses
(Language Education And Development) which are basic writing, college reading
and developmental math courses; career exploration workshops led by the Career
Services department; DISCOVER, a computer-based career guidance system
developed by American College Testing; and off-campus field trips to workplaces.
12
Faculty/staff facilitated tutoring, mentioned initially, has not been implemented.
First-Year Experience (FYE) series is a series of courses to help students and was
suggested in the grant application. However, this concept is still a work in progress
for the main campus and is not being implemented in TRIO. They include time
management, power reading, test anxiety strategies, study skills, research methods
and other library resources and leadership skills, such as planning and conducting
meetings, interpersonal skills, and involvement in campus organizations. Financial
aid workshops will be provided to help students apply for the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); Butte Foundation scholarships; Cooperative
Education work study where the students obtain a part-time work experience in a
field directly related to their major and career goals; and on campus work study. The
TRIO director and assistant director talk to the students about financial aid,
scholarships, work study, and service learning opportunities. They tell the student
who to talk to in each area or help them set up appointments, write recommendation
letters and give the students encouragement.
Additional services above and beyond those mentioned earlier to assist the
students in their success and transfer to four year institutions include transfer
resource materials including information and applications for four year colleges;
scholarship resources, and career choice books; and college transfer fairs and campus
visits.

13
Purpose, Design and Utility
The focus of this formative evaluation study is to examine the strengths and
weaknesses (Patton, 2002) of the Student Support Services TRIO program
intervention at Butte-Glenn Community College District, observe student self-
efficacy in this program, to improve the program for future students, and aid in the
retention and graduation/transfer of low-income, first-generation students in this
program.
The unit of analysis (Patton, 2002) was the TRIO program at Butte-Glenn
Community College District and the individuals involved in the study are student
participants, program administrators, faculty teaching the classes that serve TRIO
students, and the TRIO student participant classes themselves. The time period the
study focused on is from the inception of the program in September 2005 through
February 2008. Butte College has a semester system.
A review of the SSS TRIO applications for current students accepted into the
TRIO program was conducted to find similarities and differences in the following
areas: financial aid acceptance; highest level of education completed by the student’s
parent(s); student’s high school GPA, if a graduate or received a GED; and
participation in other TRIO programs. In addition, analysis of the student’s Personal
Needs Assessment responses on the application was completed. Under the main
headings of Advising, Academic Support/Instruction, Transfer Planning, and
Workshops, students are requested to check particular services that may “interest
and/or benefit you.” In addition, the students are asked to check off from a list
14
“What obstacle(s) may challenge you in completing your academic goals?” A self-
efficacy questionnaire was given to TRIO students. The results from the application
and the self-efficacy questionnaire are noted in Chapter 4.
Qualitative data also was collected. Qualitative data are “observations that
yield detailed, thick description; inquiry in depth; interviews that capture direct
quotations about people’s personal perspectives and experiences; case studies;
careful document review” (Patton 2002). The design strategy was that of a
naturalistic inquiry “studying real-world situations as they unfold naturally; non-
manipulative and non-controlling; openness to whatever emerges (lack of
predetermined constraints on findings)” (Patton 2002).
The purposeful sampling strategy (Patton 2002) was the criterion for
sampling the two TRIO program administrators and current and former students who
have participated in the TRIO program. Summarized results of the interviews are
noted in Chapter 4.
The analytical approach used was content analysis beginning with inductive
reasoning and evolving into a deductive approach. The researcher was first be open
to whatever evolved, but then identified core patterns or commonalities to
specifically research further.
Using multiple methods of sources collection, interviews with TRIO students
were conducted to record their personal reflection about the TRIO program (positive
and negative), how it has supported their education experience, and what they feel
might give added benefits to future students. Interviews and observations were done
15
until responses reflect similar comments by TRIO students, both past and present.
The director, assistant director and office secretary (lead greeter) of TRIO were also
interviewed.
Procedure
The study began in the Summer 2007 with director interviews and as
opportunities arose during the Spring 2008 semester, additional interviews or
evaluations were assessed. The Director and Assistant Director of the TRIO program
were the primary gatekeepers and supporters for the researcher in accessing TRIO
participants and student applications.
Oral interviews were conducted with the students in the TRIO program, to
determine what they found helpful by being a participant, to their college success.
After choosing the six to ten students to be interviewed by the researcher based on
the director’s observations of student participation in the program, the TRIO director
explained to the student that the researcher is completing her doctorate in education
at USC and is evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the TRIO program in order
to improve the program for student success. The director further explained to the
student that all students interviewed will be asked similar questions, themes noted
among respondents, and the student names will not be included in any reporting of
results. The researcher is an employee of Butte-Glenn Community College District
but does not directly work with the TRIO program. The researcher’s supervisor has
approved time during the work day for interviews, observations and meetings with
16
the TRIO program director and assistant director. The researcher was responsible for
costs incurred in evaluating the data collected.
Importance
Butte County has been adversely affected by the economic recession.
According to the U.S. Census in 2000, the median income is 32.8% lower than the
overall median household income in California. The percentage of individuals living
below poverty line was over 5% more than the State of California average (U.S.
Census, 2000). In 2004, 41% of students enrolled at Butte College were low income.
Butte College is the destination for many first generation and low income students.
We must collectively access our resources to address the issues of self-efficacy,
poverty and education to ensure that all students including low-income and first-
generation students have the opportunities to make their future a success. The
federally funded TRIO program is one tool to provide resources to students and give
them the skills they need to make critical education, career, personal life and
financial decisions.
17
CHAPTER 2
Literature Review
History of TRIO
The Higher Education Act (HEA) legislation was originally signed into law
in 1965, authored by Lyndon Johnson, and was the first federal legislation that had
real effect over higher education policy (Callan in Heller, 2001). The Higher
Education Act created educational access programs and is administered by the U.S.
Department of Education. According to Inside Higher Ed, the Higher Education Act
is significant legislation for American colleges, and looks at financial aid programs,
accreditation, teacher training, and other graduate programs (Retrieved November
25, 2007, from Web site http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/01/12/hea).
Congress must renew, or “reauthorize” the Act or extend it every four to six
years with any changes done at each reauthorization time through amendments to the
Act or extend the existing law “as is” to keep all the HEA programs. In particular,
the reauthorization of 1980 was significant in that it not only requested the adoption
of selecting of the first generation in college participants but also forced the issue of
ensuring that TRIO (named after the first three federal educational opportunity
programs, Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services)
participating colleges would make the TRIO program a permanent part of a college’s
student aid program, just as financial aid programs are. The two programs
compliment each other and are a necessary permanent fixture on each campus. It
was the intent that TRIO programs would not disappear after a few years of program
18
offerings. Another important feature of the law is that the TRIO programs are
protected from the pleasures of the executive branch of government. The TRIO
programs are an institution in and of themselves, refined as the decades have passed
to further meet the needs of students. Part of the success of TRIO has been the
leadership and support of TRIO by the education committee in Congress advocating
on behalf of the programs.
The name TRIO refers to student programs federally funded under Title IV of
the Higher Education Act of 1965, for low-income (economically disadvantaged),
first-generation college students. However, TRIO originally began in 1964 under the
Economic Opportunity Act which first created the Upward Bound program.
Currently, two-thirds of the students in TRIO come from families with an income of
less than $24,000 for a family of four with neither of the parents having graduated
from college (http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/index.html ). According
to the TRIO Web site http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/low-income-
prior.html , in 2006, the total funding allocation for the federal programs was
$824,225,171, with over 2,700 projects and over 870,000 TRIO participants in all the
programs. The funds are distributed to colleges through competitive grants. While
financial aid programs “help students overcome financial barriers to higher
education, TRIO programs help students overcome class, social and cultural barriers
to higher education” (Retrieved September 27, 2007 from Council for Opportunity in
Education Web site
19
http://www.coenet.us/ecm/AM/Template.cfm?Section=What_is_TRIO&Template=/
CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=2862).
Upward Bound was the first program to encourage low-income high school
students to complete high school and get ready for college. It began in 1964 under
the Educational Opportunity Act and serves students in grades nine through twelve.
The Talent Search began in 1965 to assist students in grades six through twelve,
including applying for financial aid for college. Upward Bound and the Talent
Search programs are early intervention programs focusing on reaching students in
grades six through 12, keeping them in school besides showing them options they
have in college and encouraging them to focus on college preparation and admission.
TRIO includes the Special Services for Disadvantaged Students program, now called
Student Support Services (SSS) (U. S. Department of Education 2006 – A Profile of
the Federal TRIO Programs and Child Care Access Means Parents in School
Program). Student Support Services help students stay in school until they graduate.
These three programs, Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services
were originally termed the TRIO program.
Title IV of the Higher Education Act (amended in 1968) outlined the details
of student access and assistance programs, creating GEAR UP and TRIO. TRIO is a
student support program under the support of the Council of Opportunity in
Education (COE). The Council for Opportunity in Education’s main focus is in
supporting and further developing access and assistance programs (2007 Directory of
TRIO and GEAR UP Programs). The Council supports the people who are
20
employed in these programs. The TRIO student access programs now number eight,
but all are geared to help low-income, economically disadvantaged students. The
eight federal TRIO programs include the Educational Opportunity Centers, Ronald
E. McNair Postbacculaureate Achievement, Student Support Services, Talent Search,
Trio Dissemination Partnership Program, Training Program for Federal TRIO
Programs Staff, Upward Bound, and the Upward Bound Math-Science program.
The Educational Opportunity Centers (EOCs) help students choose a college
program and get financial aid. The Ronald E. McNair Postbacculaureate
Achievement program encourages students from underrepresented groups to obtain a
doctorate degree. Over 1,200 colleges and agencies offer TRIO programs in the
United States (trio website). However, the TRIO programs, due to limited funding,
serve less than 10 percent of the eligible population on campuses (Institute for
Higher Education Policy – “People Like Us Don’t go to College” pg 17).
Just recently, as of December 17
th,
2007, the Senate passed the appropriations
bill (H.R. 2764), after it passed both chambers of Congress and it now awaits the
President’s approval. The bill was signed by President Bush on December 26, 2007
and became Public Law No. 110-161 (Retrieved June 4, 2008 from the Library of
Congress Web site: http://thomas.loc.gov ). The bill will keep the funding at the
current level (Council for Opportunity in Education, December 2007). However, as
with many federally funded programs, the dynamics of the political arena, such as
the upcoming election year, the funding appropriations for 2008 may change. The
TRIO director said that every year there is concern over possible funding cuts.
21
However, that has not happened locally. However, there is no cost of living increase
factored in the TRIO federal awards and this counteracts with the college yearly
decisions on salaries and benefits.
Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs
(GEAR UP), was created in 1997. President Clinton created GEAR UP during a
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and it was officially established
in 1998. It encourages low-income students to attend college. GEAR UP serves
students in grades six through twelve. Schools with over 50% of students eligible for
the Free and Reduced Lunch rates are eligible for the GEAR UP program. If funding
is received, all students in the school are eligible for services. In addition, schools
are eligible to receive state grants to do training, teacher development, articulation
and parent education (Retrieved April 9, 2008, from GEAR UP Web site:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/gearup/index.html).
GEAR UP is a program served by the National Council for Community
Educational Partnerships (NCCEP), not COE as is TRIO. Mahar (2005) discusses
the relational discourse between NCCEP and COE, the importance of each of the
programs purposes and how they can and should work together as supporters for
college availability and favorable circumstances.
Some of the services from GEAR UP are similar to TRIO, such as tutoring,
mentoring, information about attending a four-year college and financial aid
education. GEAR UP compliments the TRIO program as it is a conduit to college by
supporting disadvantaged students in grades 6 – 12 in ways to help them go on to
22
college. The program is at high-poverty middle and high schools. As the TRIO
program at the community college level supports students through their education in
a two-year college and sees them to graduation and transfer to a four-year institution,
GEAR UP is an intervention program that gives the same support and
encouragement to students in middle and high school that shows them that college is
accessible and they can and do attend. GEAR UP also provides some funds for
college scholarships.
In researching GEAR UP in California, the California GEAR UP web site
http://www.castategearup.org/ showed that in northern California, where Butte
College is located, two school districts in two neighboring counties that have GEAR
UP programs. They are already partnered with the community college that serves
these two counties. This program is a great compliment to the TRIO program at the
college level by not only marketing college options to younger students, but also
supporting the students, teachers, schools and parents with help in making sure the
students are engaging in activities that give them the foundation for college success.
The TRIO Dissemination Partnership program was created by the Higher
Education Amendment of 1998 to provide grants to help expand the successful
practices to institutions who serve low-income, educationally disadvantaged, first-
generation college students who do not have a federally funded TRIO grant. These
projects include practices that
promote the effective use of technology; encourage business and community
partnerships and K-12 collaborations; conduct program evaluations and
assessments of student outcome; increase student retention and college
23
completion; increase participation of underrepresented groups in
undergraduate and graduate study; and increase awareness of underserved
groups in the benefits of TRIO programs. (Guide to U. S. Department of
Education Programs – TRIO Dissemination Partnership Program, pg. 105)

TRIO in California
Due to the TRIO program being a federally funded program rather than a
state program, it is not monitored from the California Community College
Chancellor’s Office. In 1991, Senate Bill 121 by Hart emphasized that a strong
transfer function was the shared responsibility of the California Community
Colleges, the California State University and the University of California systems.
“Enhancing Student Transfer: A Memorandum of Understanding between the
California Community Colleges and the University of California” was created in
1997 to increase the collaboration and transfer opportunities. The MOU was signed
by Richard C. Atkinson, then President of the University of California and Thomas J.
Nussbaum, then Chancellor the California Community Colleges.
Although community colleges provide access to many students, especially
students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and the transfer of
students to four-year colleges has increased, a 2003 U.S. Department of Education
report notes that only about half of the community-college students who indicate a
desire to transfer to a four-year institution eventually succeed. (Handel, 2007) The
Accountability Reporting for the Community Colleges Web site
(http://www.cccco.edu/Portals/4/TRIS/research/ARCC/arcc_2008_final.pdf ) noted
in the ARCC 2008 Report that during the year 2006-2007, the system transferred
24
99,000 students, with 54,391 going into the California State University (CSU)
system and nearly 14,000 enrolling in the University of California (UC) system.
However, the California Community College Chancellors Office Data Mart Web site
https://misweb.cccco.edu/mis/onlinestat/ftes_rpt.cfm?RequestTimeout=1000 noted
that during the year 2006-2007 there were 1,047,151 credit FTES statewide.
Approximately one in ten students enrolled in the fiscal year 2006 -2007 transferred
or (9%).
Problem Validation
Research indicates that despite increasing community college enrollments,
students are still academically unprepared for successfully completing college level
courses without intervention. Disadvantaged students, such as low-income, first-
generation, and/or English as a Second Language (ESL) students have additional
language challenges to overcome. Stress over family finances and family support,
competing work versus school schedules, possible unsupportive family who do not
understand the value of education before income may be present. This can
overwhelm students first experiencing college courses, dynamics with instructors
and other students, and the academic demands of each course. Community colleges
are challenged with funding issues, which among many other campus needs, affects
their ability to provide increasingly needed academic resources for students,
especially at the critical time when students first arrive on campus.
The California Post-secondary Education Commission, in the California
Master Plan for Education (Retrieved January 6, 2008 from
25
http://www.cpec.ca.gov/CompleteReports/ExternalDocuments/2002_FINAL_COMP
LETEMASTERPLAN_2.PDF) long-range planning, estimates over 700,000 more
students will enroll in higher education in 2010 than those in Fall 1998 in California.
A survey by the National Center for Educational Statistics indicated that
college students enrolled in remedial reading were half as likely to earn a degree or
certificate than students not taking any remedial reading courses (Indicator 18 (2004)
Remediation and Degree Completion (retrieved November 24, 2007, from the
National Center for Educational Statistics Web site:
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2004/section3/indicator18.asp). The need for a
remediation course or courses, especially in reading, where generally the students
took more than one or two courses, stemmed from the large number of students who
were under prepared for college level coursework to begin with, and didn’t complete
a degree or certificate. According to the survey, the need for remedial reading was
linked with increased amounts of remedial coursework and lower levels of degree
completion.
Ashburn (2007) notes that on the The Community College Survey of Student
Engagement for 2007, done in the spring semester, that more than half the students
taking the survey did not have a meeting with a college advisor within a month of
starting college to discuss educational goals. More than a third of the students said
that they had not taken any course placement tests within a month of entering college
and one-third had not attended any orientation. Almost two-thirds of students in the
26
survey said that academic advising was very important to them, but behavioral data
indicates otherwise.
Hagedorn (Retrieved October 17, 2007 from Web site: http://www.higher-
ed.org/AEQ/lsh.htm) suggests that instead of giving the most money to the
University of California (UC), less to the California State University (CSU), and the
least to the California Community Colleges (CCC), California needs to spread out
the distribution of funding on a more equal basis. Remediation at the community
college versus at the CSU and UC level adds a burden to the community colleges.
Community colleges are at the lowest level of the pecking order in status and
funding for students.
Hagedorn (Retrieved October 17, 2007 from Web site: http://www.higher-
ed.org/AEQ/lsh.htm) also suggests that we define success at the CCC level using
many specific measures than just transferring a student. For example, CCC’s might
use measures like the extent of student diversity on campus or providing appropriate
job training to employ more people. Most importantly, the University of California,
California State University and California Community College systems must
collaborate more, work together for the benefit of the student instead of using an “us
versus them” mentality. By creating a more fully integrated cohesive collaboration,
the united goal becomes one and the same, educating students.
Community Colleges report an increase in enrollment rates of
underrepresented minorities, specifically Latino/Latina students, yet Latinos/Latinas,
however, are not transferring at a significant rate. In viewing the courses enrolled in
27
from the Transfer and Retention of Urban Community College Students (TRUCCS),
a sample of 5,000 community college students from the nine campuses of the Los
Angeles Community College District, Lester (2004, para. 15) concluded that an
achievement gap exists, Latinas are not being appropriately served by K-12
schools and/or community colleges….are not completing courses at the same
rate as Caucasians….may not be academically prepared….may need support
services that seek to bolster their aspirations. (para. 15)

Another analysis involving the TRUCCS study looked at results based on the
various education levels attained, junior high or less, high school, community
college, four-year college, or graduate school of either parent. Results indicated that
there are significant income differences and proportions of minority students among
the five education levels. Hagedorn (2004, para. 24) found the following:
Overall, the findings of this study show that the predictors of first-generation
status differ when disaggregating parental education levels. [However, first-
generation students] tend to have lower income and lower high school GPAs,
serve as the primary wage earner, believe that grades reflect learning, feel
nervous about entering college yet now feel that they belong at the college,
and encounter difficulty understanding the English language. (para. 24)

The study indicated this last issue may be due to the higher number of international
students attending LACCD. Suggestions were made to consider the uniqueness of
students depending on their parent education level as their views and experiences can
be varied.
Cabrera’s (1999) study looked at how the racial climate on a campus can
affect the assimilation of African American and White students. The study involved
1,454 students (1,139 Whites and 315 African Americans) attending four-year
colleges. Cabrera found that many traditional thoughts on persistence issues may not
28
be supported as much as the importance of college preparation in maintaining a
diversified student body and embracing cultural diversity by providing situations for
students with which to connect often. Programs like TRIO provide these programs
and situations.
Problem Solution
“People who regard themselves as highly efficacious act, think, and feel
differently from those who perceive themselves as inefficacious. They
produce their own future, rather than simply foretell it.”
Albert Bandura

The Chinese proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a
man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” sums up the benefits of teaching and
modeling “best practices” for students. Increasing students’ self-efficacy can
produce far reaching positive consequences in a student’s education and life in
general. Bandura’s “Destiny Idea” basically says that you view the world
differently, depending on your level of self-efficacy. If your self-efficacy level is
high, you are more likely to feel that you have power over your life, and are in
control, versus feeling that you don’t have control of your life choices with a low
self-efficacy.
The researcher sought out any federal self-efficacy studies to include in this
report. It would have been even more interesting if there was a study specific to
TRIO higher education self-efficacy. However, although various papers and sites
were listed, no federal study was found specific to this targeted subject. Future
research on self-efficacy in federal student programs such as TRIO would be
29
valuable. This researcher will, in general terms, give a general overview of self-
efficacy research, and benefits of, as it relates to student success.
Schunk, Pintrich and Meece (2008) define self-efficacy as “one’s perceived
capabilities for learning or performing actions at designated levels” (pg. 122)
(Bandura 1993, 1997). Schunk, et al. (2008) say
Self-efficacy affects choice of activities, effort, and persistence. People
holding low self-efficacy for accomplishing a task may avoid it; those who
believe they are capable are likely to participate. (pg. 139)

Ultimately, the greater a person’s efficacy, the greater their effort, determination, and
resilience and, thus, accomplishments (Pajares and Schunk, 2001). If a person has
lower self-efficacy, they may be worried and apprehensive, affecting their outcomes
Pajares and Miller (cited in Pajares and Schunk, 2001). If a person is self-assured of
their competence to do something, they will have positive thoughts about the end
result, whereas if they don’t feel competent, they will imagine a different end result,
even before they’ve tried.
Bandura’s social cognitive theory of reciprocal interactions (as cited in
Schunk, Pintrich and Meece, 2008), Triadic Reciprocality research, involving
behavior, the person and the environment, suggests
Achievement behaviors as choice of tasks, persistence, and effort model self-
efficacy. As students work on tasks, they observe their progress toward their
goals (e.g., acquiring skills, completing material). These progress indicators
convey that students are capable of learning and performing well, which
enhances their self-efficacy for further learning. (p. 126-127)

The higher a student’s self-efficacy, it may affect students’ strategies
including choices, effort, persistence, and achievement (Schunk, Pinrich & Meece,
30
2008). Self-efficacy and self-concept are different ways people picture themselves.
Self-efficacy thoughts and questions a person may have center around “Can I do
this?” and their answer reveals their level of confidence whereas self-concept
questions a person may ask center around their feelings “How do I feel about doing
this?” and reveal their perception of themselves good or bad doing the task (Pajares
& Schunk, 2001).
Classroom organization can decrease a student’s self-efficacy if the focus is
on separating students based on their ability. However, if students can seek out
assistance from other group members, it may be positive. Teaching student
strategies for coping with issues and moving forward may require changing the
classroom curriculum. Student self-efficacy increases when they see they see what
they have accomplished, despite difficulties.
Bandura (1994) looked at self-efficacy at different ages. Regarding young
children, peer interaction is critical. Children compare themselves to others and are
aware of their relationship and interaction with others. If children feel that they
aren’t accepted in a peer group, they may have lower self-efficacy.
Regarding goal orientations, Schunk, Pintrich and Meece (2008) say that
students who have ‘mastery goal’ orientation where success is defined as learning,
improving their skills and having a full understanding of what they’re needing to
accomplish (their effort will increase the desired outcome), have a better sense of
self-efficacy, as opposed to ‘performance goal’ orientation where success is defined
31
as competitive, aggressively seeking high grades that are better than others
(comparing their perceptions of their ability with others).
Goal setting and a good sense of self-efficacy will lead to improved skills,
increased motivation and help academic accomplishments (Zimmerman, Bandura,
and Martinez-Pons as cited in Schunk, Pintrich & Meece, 2008). Goals that are
somewhat difficult, fairly specific, and seem to be closer to reach and where one can
see progress are more effective in raising self-efficacy (Locke & Latham, 2002;
Nussbum & Kardash, 2005; Schunk, 1995 (as cited in Schunk, Pintrich & Meece,
2008).
Most people have goals, whether it is something they would like to learn,
complete, or change. Bandura (1994) notes that depending on a person’s level of
self-efficacy, it will affect their method of handling goals, tasks, and challenges.
Bandura notes that if one has strong self-efficacy they view challenging problems as
responsibilities to deal with, develop deeper interest in the activities in which they
participate, form a stronger sense of commitment to their interests and activities, and
recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments. People with a weak self-
efficacy avoid challenging tasks, believe that difficult tasks and situations are beyond
their capabilities, focus on personal failings and negative outcomes, and quickly lose
confidence in personal abilities.
Locke and Latham (1990, as cited in Schunk, Pintrich & Meece, 2008)
suggest a theory regarding goal choice and goal commitment. The choice of a goal
won’t in itself cause action, as the person needs to choose to take action.
32
In Locke and Latham’s theory, self-efficacy is one of the most important
positive influences on personal goal setting. People with higher self-efficacy
set higher goals. Self-efficacy also bears a positive relation to goal
commitment, with commitment being stronger when efficacy is high. (p. 144)

Models such as teachers and peers can influence self-efficacy. According to
Bandura (1994), the higher the self-efficacy of teachers regarding their abilities to
teach, the more they can inspire their students. The higher the teacher’s self-efficacy,
the more motivated and engaged they are to have a more positive classroom
environment, try new activities, encourage students and meet student needs (Schunk
et al.) When teachers engage students, show the importance of learning, give good
techniques for learning, they can increase student motivation.
Peers as models are important. When a student observes a fellow student, or
better yet, several students at different levels of ability doing a task capably, it will
also be motivating. Schunk, Pintrich, Meece (2008) also talk about “coping”
models. If a student observes another student having difficulties and then improve, it
will motivate the struggling student, who may feel that if a peer can succeed, they
can too. However, this can backfire when “ability” grouping make a student feel
they are in the less skilled group or when learning becomes so competitive that only
the “best” appear successful. When students work together and help one another it
can do more than working individually or competitively (Bandura, 1994).
Schunk, Pintrich and Meece (2008) said that performance, motivational,
attributional, and perceived causes of outcomes (pg. 309) and strategy value
feedback to students are important. Giving performance feedback and constructive
33
information on what to improve and how to do it will increase self-efficacy. If
someone a student considers credible gives uplifting convincing (motivational)
feedback, it will motivate a student. In addition, if a student learns that they can
personally control their outcomes and is given feedback that they can do better, such
as changing their level of effort to improve results, increasing success, the students
cannot attribute it to their “lack of ability.” Strategy feedback is similar to
attributional feedback. When students are given informational strategies such as
organizational skills and techniques to improve learning and they realize that these
skills can be transferred to other activities, it will increase their self-efficacy (p. 308-
310).
Students have been tested to see if performance-contingent rewards versus
task-contingent rewards (performance not evaluated) affects self-efficacy. Schunk
(1983) noted that “performance-contingent rewards led to the highest skill,
motivation, and self-efficacy (Schunk et al., 2008).
There are a multitude of factors contributing to student, instructor and
campus growth and success regarding self-efficacy. First, it is imperative that
college administration embrace and take responsibility to engage in campus-wide
dialogue with faculty, staff and students regarding issues, options and steps to take to
influence student success. Faculty must be open to engage in communication,
changing their methods of instruction, student involvement and the overall learning
environment. This needs to be dynamic and ongoing. Students need to receive the
34
opportunity and the assistance to develop their self-efficacy and gain the
understanding of their responsibility for positive outcomes.
Increasing student self-efficacy may be one of the most important, least
costly and beneficial ways to help a student succeed in school and life. Although
family involvement during adolescence has been proven to influence children’s self-
efficacy, educational success, and career exploration and choices, a support system
and effective teaching in higher education can substantially increase self-efficacy in
college students, even if a student did not have the family, K-12 or community
support while growing up.
35
CHAPTER 3
Method
Research Questions
Student success is based on a number of internal and external influences. In
this study, the researcher seeks to identify those influences that contribute to
educational success in order that students, instructors, program administrators may
focus their time, efforts and resources wisely. Clark and Estes (2002) and Schunk et
al. (2007) provide frameworks for thinking about motivation, choices, persistence,
cognitive effort and self-efficacy, Payne (2005) provides a framework for
understanding poverty, and in various publications Hagedorn, Tierney, Tinto, and
Pascarella provide frameworks for thinking about the institutional correlates of
persistence. The following is a list of potential research questions to consider,
keeping in mind that in this study I will base my recommendations on both the extant
literature and on the local data I collect at Butte College. For this reason, both
literature based and site based questions are included in the following list of potential
research questions:
Literature Based Research Questions
1. What are the attributes of a successful TRIO student vs. an unsuccessful
TRIO student regarding college completion?
2. How does poverty affect TRIO student success?
3. How does goal setting assist TRIO student success?
36
4. What external resources do TRIO students bring or not bring to school to be
successful?
5. What intervention tools and resources do instructors and TRIO administrators
have access to as well as need?
Site Based Research Questions
1. How can Butte-Glenn Community College District increase student retention
in the TRIO program?
2. How can Butte-Glenn Community College District increase student success
in the TRIO program?
3. What are the strengths of the TRIO program at Butte College?
4. What are the weaknesses of the TRIO program at Butte College?
5. How can the TRIO program be improved at Butte College?
Qualitative Evaluation Design Summary
The evaluator sought to do a pure qualitative method study using naturalistic
inquiry, the gathering of qualitative data, and content analysis (Patton 1987, p. 66).
The TRIO staff selected the student participants in the program to be interviewed.
The evaluator met individually with selected students within the TRIO
program to do an in-depth interview and ask students questions about their TRIO
experience including how the program has benefited them and ask for their
suggestions on improving the program. In-depth oral interviews were also
conducted with the Director and Assistant Director to gather their ideas, suggestions,
37
insights on the strengths and weaknesses of the TRIO program at Butte Community
College District.
A self-efficacy questionnaire was given to TRIO students in Spring 2008
which addresses student perceptions of their own self-efficacy using a Likert
questionnaire ‘General Perceived Self-Efficacy’ by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1993).
This particular scale was selected to find out, in general, how students perceived
their personal ability to handle certain situations. The scale was designed by
Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1993).
Although the original grant plan for the program was to have some courses
specifically for TRIO students, the students are currently enrolled in classes with a
mixed group of students.
Finally, the demographic content of each student application to the TRIO
program was tabulated and referenced, noting similarities and differences. The
application is discussed in detail in the Instrumentation and Procedures section.
Participants and Setting
The TRIO program at Butte-Glenn Community College District is staffed by
a director, assistant director and secretary serving 160 students who are a
combination of low-income, first-generation college bound and may have
disabilities.
Of the current TRIO students, students will be selected by the director to be
interviewed by the evaluator in Spring 2008. For the Spring 2008 interviews, the
38
Director of the TRIO program selected students to be interviewed who are new to the
program in Fall 2007 and before.
All students were asked to complete the Likert scale of General Perceived
Self-Efficacy in Spring 2008. The TRIO director and assistant director will be
interviewed in the Summer 2007.
Instrumentation and Procedures:
Semi-Structured Interviews
Oral interviews were conducted with students to gain their perspective on
how the TRIO program has helped them succeed in school and what they suggest the
TRIO program could do to further help them or other students. The interview guide
questions for students are:
1. How long have you attended Butte College?
2. How long have you been in the TRIO program?
3. How did you hear about TRIO?
4. What have you liked about the TRIO program?
5. How has the TRIO program helped you?
6. Do you have any suggestions of ways that TRIO or the college could
improve services for students?
Student interviews lasting 30 minutes maximum were conducted at random
dates in the Spring 2008 semester with TRIO students. The director will select the
interview participants. The TRIO program office or nearby outdoor picnic area were
the site of the interviews.
39
In addition to student interviews, staff interviews were conducted with the
Director, Assistant Director and others who are participants in some way with TRIO
to gather their thoughts and ideas for the TRIO program improvement. (This might
have been a brainstorming session if money were no object!) Through initial
informal discussions with the Director of TRIO, the lack of financial resources was
thought to be the main deterrent to changing and improving the TRIO program. The
Butte-Glenn Community College District TRIO program was granted a budget of
just over $200,000. This budget covers, for the most part, the salaries of the director,
assistant director and secretary as well as operating costs. Financial resources to
increase services to students are being sought and the TRIO program did get a gift of
refurbished computers to give to some of the students.
Questionnaire
The ten questions in the Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1993) Likert ‘General
Perceived Self-Efficacy’ scale are:
1. I can always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough.

2. If someone opposes me, I can find the ways and means to get what I
want.

3. I am certain that I can accomplish my goals.

4. I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected events.

5. Thanks to my resourcefulness, I can handle unforeseen situations.

6. I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort.

7. I can remain calm when facing difficulties because I can rely on my
coping abilities.
40

8. When I am confronted with a problem, I can find several solutions.

9. If I am in trouble, I can think of a good solution.

10. I can handle whatever comes my way.

Response format:
(1) not at all true, (2) barely true, (3) moderately true, (4) exactly true

This design approach gave the evaluator an opportunity to gather a variety of
responses which can be evaluated. The questionnaire was given to TRIO students in
the Spring 2008 semester. In addition, the questionnaire was given to non-TRIO
students in Spring 2008 and the results compared with TRIO students.
Document and Materials Analysis
All accepted student applications for the TRIO program were analyzed. (A
TRIO application is in the appendix). Under the heading Personal Data, the name,
address, birth date, predominant ethnic background, employment status (number of
hours work per week) is asked. In addition the current class level, plans to attend a
four year institution, target transfer date, target degree, major/career interest is asked.
The student is asked how they found out about TRIO, their reasons for applying and
what their educational/career goal is.
Under the heading Eligibility Information, the student is asked if they’ve
applied and received financial aid and what type, the highest level of education
completed by the parent(s), and any disabilities (medical, psychological, learning)
the student has and any services received for these disabilities. The Educational
41
Background section asks if the student is a high school graduate, GPA, if received a
GED, if participated in any other TRIO program, and what colleges attended.
The Personal Needs Assessment asks the student to check off any of
seventeen services available under headings: Advising, Academic
Support/Instruction, Transfer Planning and Workshops. Finally, the student is asked,
“What obstacle(s) may challenge you in completing your academic goals?”
The researcher wanted to identify the similarities and differences among
TRIO applicants in their responses. The responses of particular interest are the
school and career interests, the reason for applying to TRIO, the highest level of
education by the parent(s) and the answers to the Personal Needs Assessment.
Qualitative Analysis:
Cresswell’s Six Step Data Analysis and Interpretation (2003, p.190) was
used: First, the data gathered during taped interviews, student applications and
classroom observation were organized for analysis. Taped interviews were first
transcribed. Student application information gathered were organized and sorted by
responses.
Second, the researcher read through all the data gathered to look for general
interpretation of the meaning of the data. “What is the general impression of the
overall depth, credibility, and use of the information?” (Cresswell 2003, p. 191)
Third, a ‘coding process’ was used to organize the data by ‘chunks’
(Cresswell 2003, pg. 192). This involved sorting the data by categories, grouping
42
similar topics under named codes to describe content using either participant
descriptions or researcher interpretation.
Fourth, coding helped when gathering descriptions of people, settings, and
themes.
Fifth, the representation of the themes and description such as quotations,
visuals such as tables and charts were organized to illustrate how the information
was used in the qualitative narrative.
The sixth step was interpreting the data which can vary and encompass the
researcher’s personal interpretation, participant comments and research findings.
Limitations
Individually, the data sources may give an incomplete picture of the
programs strengths and weaknesses. However, this mixed method of data collection
can help make a stronger case for strengths or weaknesses. The period of time for
interviews is less than one semester - two months. A longitudinal study would give a
clearer picture of results of student support services activities and impact on students.
As interviews progress, the questions changed from the initial interviews as the
researcher increased her interviewing skills. Student mobility may be a reason for
not completing the TRIO program and transferring to a four-year college. Funding
and grant guidelines limit the degree of services and number of students who can
participate in the TRIO program. The specific self-efficacy questionnaire given to
students may not clearly differentiate the level of self-efficacy of TRIO and non-
43
TRIO students because it is intended to measure a generalizable trait rather than a
situational state (e.g., self-efficacy for success in college).
Validity
The validity of the findings were reached through triangulation of the
different data sources, student interviews, director and assistant director interviews,
student self-efficacy responses, student application self-assessment responses,
observations of classes and faculty teaching, and research findings. The director and
assistant director of TRIO will review the final report to determine accuracy.
44
CHAPTER 4
Results
This chapter presents the results of this research investigation into what
students, both current and past, and the director and assistant director and other
administrative staff perceive to be working and not working in the TRIO program.
The TRIO name was derived from the first three federal educational opportunity
programs for students, Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services
(SSS). The researcher collected data from a self-efficacy questionnaire from TRIO
students and non-TRIO students, from student applications, interviews with current
and former TRIO students, and interviews with key campus staff.
The Likert scale self-efficacy questionnaire data was tabulated and analyzed
and described below. Student demographic data is displayed in the appendix and
described in the narration in this chapter. Representative TRIO student responses to
open ended interview questions and interviews with key campus staff appear in this
chapter.
Survey Data and Analysis of Survey Results
Self-efficacy questionnaire results for TRIO students and non-TRIO students.
In late January 2008, a self-efficacy questionnaire was sent to 140 current
TRIO students at Butte College and 45 TRIO students responded (32%). Although
the TRIO program normally has a total of 160 students participating, this was at the
beginning of the new semester and a significant number of students had either
transferred to a four-year institution or left the program for various reasons. The one
45
page questionnaire included a short note to the students explaining who the
researcher was, the reason for sending them the questionnaire, asking them to
respond, and to send the questionnaire back in the stamped, self-addressed envelope
by mid-February. It concluded with information to contact the researcher if they had
questions. A sample is included in the Appendix.
In addition to sending the questionnaire to TRIO students, the same
questionnaire was presented to students in two traditional campus classrooms,
randomly chosen, one a Anthropology course and the other a Women in American
History course taken by both men and women. The instructors were previously
contacted for permission to ask the students to participate. The instructors were told
that it would take 10 minutes to tell the students about the questionnaire and for the
students to fill it out. All 77 students in the two classrooms volunteered to fill out
the questionnaire. However, they were informed that they did not have to
participate. Two students in the classroom self-identified, one as a TRIO student and
one as an EOPS student. The note to the students in the classroom was similar to the
questionnaire mailed to the TRIO students. A sample in included in the appendix.
The researcher has summarized the responses of the two questionnaire
results. Ten statements were listed with space after the statement for a response. The
students were asked to respond with the number that best answered the statement for
them. The possible responses that best answers the statement for the student were:
(1) not at all true, (2) barely true, (3) moderately true, and (4) exactly true. The
statements were:
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1. I can always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough.
2. If someone opposes me, I can find the ways and means to get what I want.
3. I am certain that I can accomplish my goals.
4. I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected events.
5. Thanks to my resourcefulness, I can handle unforeseen situations.
6. I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort.
7. I can remain calm when facing difficulties because I can rely on my coping
abilities.
8. When I am confronted with a problem, I can find several solutions.
9. If I am in trouble, I can think of a good solution.
10. I can handle whatever comes my way.
Forty-five (32%) of the TRIO students returned the completed questionnaire.
Of the non-TRIO students, 77 filled out the questionnaire (100%). Every student in
the two classes completed it. The results are shown in Table 5.

Table 5. TRIO Students

Statement Question
Number
(1) not true at
all
(2) barely true
(3) moderately
true
(4) exactly
true
1 0 1 (2%) 21 (47%) 23 (51%)
2 2 (4%) 6 (13%) 29 (64%) 7 (16%)
3 0 1 (2%) 15 (33%) 29 (64%)
4 0 5 (11%) 20 (44%) 20 (44%)
5 1 (2%) 5 (11%) 23 (51%) 16 (36%)
6 1 (2%) 2 (4%) 9 (20%) 33 (73%)
7 2 (4%) 10 (22%) 14 (31%) 19 (42%)
8 0 10 (22%) 19 (42%) 16 (36%)
9 2 (4%) 5 (11%) 22 (49%) 16 (36%)
10 0 3 (7%) 18 (40%) 24 (53%)
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Table 6. Non-TRIO Students

Statement Question
Number
(1) not true at
all
(2) barely true
(3) moderately
true
(4) exactly
true
1 0 5 (6%) 45 (58%) 27 (35%)
2 0 23 (30%) 44 (57%) 10 (13%)
3 0 4 (5%) 26 (34%) 47 (61%)
4 0 6 (13%) 41 (53%) 30 (39%)
5 0 12 (16%) 47 (61%) 18 (23%)
6 0 4 (5%) 26 (34%) 47 (61%)
7 3 (4%) 11 (14%) 41 (53%) 22 (29%)
8 0 7 (9%) 45 (58%) 25 (32%)
9 0 6 (13%) 42 (55%) 29 (38%)
10 0 12 (16%) 36 (47%) 29 (38%)

It is interesting to note that of the 77 non-TRIO students, 23 (30%) said it
was ‘barely true’ that if someone opposed them, they can find ways and means to get
what they want (statement #2) as opposed to only six (13%) TRIO students. A
majority of non-TRIO respondents chose the response “moderately true” for most
statements. Forty-seven (61%) of the students chose “exactly true” for statements #3
“I am certain I can accomplish my goals” and #6 “I can solve most problems if I
invest the necessary effort.” This was similar for the TRIO students with 29 (64%)
responding exactly true to #3 and 33 (73%) responding exactly true to #6.
The most significant similarity between the non-TRIO students and TRIO
students was Statement #6: “I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary
effort.” Thirty-three out of 45 (73%) of the TRIO students and 47 out of 77 (61%) of
the non-TRIO students responded that this statement was exactly true.
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Despite all of the aforementioned described differences, responses of the
TRIO students were very similar to non-TRIO students in that a clear majority of
both groups reported moderately high self-efficacy which, according to research
literature, isn’t the norm. If time had permitted, further research for additional
efficacy surveying tools may have clarified further TRIO versus non-TRIO student
self-efficacy levels. However, one thought to consider is the current TRIO students
are generally not new college students. They have had time on a campus and their
level of self-efficacy may be higher than others.
Application Data
The researcher collected information from 53 randomly chosen applications
of currently participating TRIO students. These applications were completed prior to
the student being accepted into the program. The TRIO application was revised after
the first year of the TRIO program and the researcher chose to tabulate the results
from the most current applications to get the most consistent comments from the
students. Students did not complete every section of the application. However, all
completed information was tabulated.
A majority of students were between the ages of 16 and 25, female, single,
Caucasian and United States citizens. Thirty-two percent (17) of the students did not
work and 40% (21) worked from one to 19 hours a week. Based on the TRIO
academic advisors review of the application and conversations with the students to
review their applications, the following was noted.
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Thirty-eight percent (20) of the TRIO students lacked educational and/or
career goals. An additional 23% (12) lacked academic preparedness. Seventy
percent (37) started TRIO as sophomores and 28% (15) started TRIO as freshmen in
their first year of college. Thirty-nine students indicated plans to pursue a four-year
university with two indicating they are considering attending. Eight colleges were
listed, with most students (25) choosing the local CSU, Chico campus to attend.
Twenty-five students listed specific majors and/or career interests and seven were
considering a major/career that they listed. They ranged from business, accounting,
engineering, nursing, psychology, law, English, dental hygiene, counseling, graphic
design, computer information systems, automotive, biology, teaching, becoming a
doctor, among other interests.
When students were asked their target degree(s), some students listed two or
three degrees. Sixty-four percent (34) planned on getting a Bachelor degree, with
26% (14) noting an associate degree, 19% (10) a masters degree, 11% (6) a
doctorate, and 9% (5) a professional degree. Of the respondents, 77% (41) were a
high school graduate and 17% (9) students reported getting a GED. High school
Grade Point Averages (GPA) reported by the students ranged from 1.8 to 4.0, with a
few unknown and one application said “bad.” Four GPA’s were between 2.0 and
2.5, eight GPA’s between 2.6 and 3.0, eight between 3.1 and 3.5, and nine between
3.6 and 4.0. Few students indicated participating in other TRIO programs such as
Talent Search, Upward Bound, Student Support Services, or Educational
Opportunity Centers.
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Thirteen percent (7) of students indicated that an instructor told them about
TRIO and another 19% (10) said another student told them. Forty-nine percent (26)
indicated a variety of people or places alerted them to TRIO. These included the
local fair, Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS), Disabled Student Programs
and Services (DSP&S), TRIO staff, school academic counselors, orientation, Center
for Academic Success (CAS), and relatives. The reasons for applying to TRIO
included the support they would receive with tutoring, scholarships and other
financial help, learning about school services and resources, career exploration, help
with educational goals including planning classes to take, learning their options,
desire to be informed, most effectively and accurately plan for transfer, and
researching universities. Also, several said they had been in EOPS but didn’t qualify
anymore and they wanted that support to continue. One student listed that they were
homeless and needed aid to attend school.
Of the respondents, 77% (41) applied for financial aid and filled out the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Of the financial aid received, I have
included information on the highest number ranking financial aid students: 39
students indicated they received the Board of Governors (BOG) Fee Waiver, 34
received a Federal PELL Grant, 21 received a Cal Grant and 11 received loans.
In responding to the question regarding the education level attained by the
parent you grew up with, regarding the mother, 53% (28) of the respondents said
their mother completed high school or had started high school. Twenty-one percent
(11) said that their mother completed grade school or had completed some grade
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school. Eleven percent (6) went to a two-year college and 6% (3) students did not
know their mother’s school information. For the father’s education level, 45% (24)
said their father completed high school or had started high school. Twenty-six
percent (14) said their father completed grade school or had completed some grade
school. Eight percent (4) went to a two-year college and one student didn’t know his
father’s school information.
Ninety-one percent (29 out of 32 respondents) said their current 2006 taxable
income was $15,315 or less. Forty-seven percent (25) of the respondents have four
or fewer family members in their household.
Twenty-six percent (14) of the students had been tested for a physical or
learning disability. Explanations of disabilities included physical abuse by husband,
traumatic brain injury, work related injury, major depression, trouble understanding
details/words, forgetting longer lectures (processing), a knee injury from military,
mild dyslexia, childhood issues, cerebral palsy, depression, anxiety and Attention
Deficit Disorder.
The most interesting information from the application was the student driven
responses to the Personal Needs Assessment. Applicants were asked to check all of
the services that may interest and/or benefit them. All 53 students completed this
section of the application. The main categories were advising, academic
support/instruction, transfer planning, workshops, and to select the obstacle(s) that
may challenge the student in completing his/her academic goals. They could check
all challenges that applied.
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In the category Advising, of the 53 students, 62% (33) said they would
benefit from academic advising/degree planning, 26% (14) financial aid application
assistance, 55% (29) career advising, career/interest testing 30% (16), and 17% (9)
said a referral for personal counseling. In the category Academic
Support/Instruction, 28% (15) said they would benefit from study strategies,
including 38% (20) just from tutoring in math. The most requested assistance was in
the category of Transfer Planning where 68% (36) requested information on
colleges, 68% (36) requested college application assistance and 68% (36) requested
college visits. In the category Workshops, the most requested workshop was on how
to apply for scholarships 47% (25), followed by test-taking tips (34%), resume
writing and interviews 34% (18), resume and interviews 32% (17), note-taking tips
28% (15), both textbook reading and personal finances each 26% (14). Of the
question asked “What obstacle(s) may challenge you in completing your academic
goals?” students could check all that applied. By far most students chose lack of
adequate finances 66% (35). Some students chose to add additional obstacles
including increase in class size and demands from professors not anticipated,
personal medical conditions, computer issue, car for work problem, uncertainty
about success and future decisions about career, feeling inadequate, and parents
failing health issue.
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Interview Data – Administration, Staff and Instructors
Combined Interview with the Director and Assistant Director
After reviewing the grant application and initially talking to the TRIO
Director, the researcher noted that not every student related teaching goal was
implemented. It was noted that the original grant suggested having courses taught by
instructors specifically attuned to working with high risk students, including TRIO
students. However, in reality, each of the TRIO students is at a different level of
course work and it was not financially feasible for the college to have courses with a
low number of students.
TRIO has the advantage that they have a limited number of students they can
accept into the program due to the grant guidelines, so they can be very selective of
their applicants and looked for students who have some college experience and
course success and appeared to be more likely to succeed in this environment.
The TRIO interview questions and verbatim responses are as follows:
What do you feel is working well with TRIO?
TRIO Director - meeting grant guidelines, getting 160 students that we need
for the program: low-income, first-generation, and disabled. TRIO students are very
cognizant of goals, because transfer is the main focus. Every student has to have a
transfer education plan, even if they didn’t have one, and a lot didn’t, they have one
now. They (TRIO staff) are agents helping them (the students) help themselves to
find a major by going to the Career Center, Financial Aid, Admissions and Records.
Staff goes with them if need to if they don’t feel comfortable. Staff helps them
54
realize that they can do it. The TRIO staff do want to make a difference and make
sure students realize they can do it. The TRIO Assistant Director - student statistics
show that it’s important to get financial aid to help students as that can be a big issue
in attending school. They look at prior academic success, emphasis on student
education plan, establish relationship, foster that. They look at education plan and
classes they’re taking, help them look if the classes are meeting their educational
plan as they need to follow [a] plan.
Scholarships, the Foundation for Butte College and other, CalSOAP (Student
Opportunity Access Program) work collaboratively with other student service
programs to boot students through the system, make sure program’s working and
aware and coordinating, part of trip 2
nd
program joined. California Student Aid
Commission (CSAC) for secondary 9-12 and lower level. TRIO is federally funded.
TRIO stands alone, may have some scholarships that students may apply for at
CSAC. TRIO successfully works on collaborative relationships with other programs
including EOPS, CalSOAP, transfer coordinating effort (academic need, goal plan
transfer, get all services, financial aid, education counseling, Disabled Student
Program and Services (DSP&S).
Do you meet with other programs or individually with a student as need arises?
TRIO Assistant Director – It depends. Both, can get priority through
relationships with financial aid, various department administration staff, such as the
Assessment Office, can get priority meeting because TRIO staff have developed the
relationships. TRIO has an advisory committee that brings people together, both on
55
and off campus, different departments, the local Rancheria, and student on
committee. The grant requires an advisory committee.
TRIO Assistant Director - I feel real comfortable, familiarity, to take students
over, or call (other student service programs). TRIO Director - depends on students
and how connected they are with campus already.
They said not every program will have a collaborative relationship, the more
they work together the stronger they are. School size doesn’t matter, even if large.
In a smaller campus, the dean is over programs and creates a structure and creates a
collaborative relationship. The TRIO Director has been with TRIO two years and the
Assistant Director has been with TRIO two years and an additional 8 years with
Butte College in other areas of campus. Everybody is willing to work with them,
relationship building was initially built in the writing of grant, desire to create a
collaborative relationship since inception to be successful. It wasn’t a cold start.
Grant writer gave general guidelines, then the Director of EOPS, created a
committee, bringing the relationships together.
Is there anything you feel is not working as well as you would like? Or want to
change?
We’re in the third year of program. Ideal world have information at
fingertips, still working, as now have a good data base but playing catchup as delay
in getting online data base. Using Student Access Program out of Colorado which a
lot of Student Support Service programs use. Consultant is fabulous. Our TRIO
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secretary works well with the program. All information we get from students goes
into reports – this was needed to pull all the numbers together.
We don’t have web site yet. Butte-Glenn Community College District is
redoing theirs. We would like to post activities, special highlights on different
students with a newly created web site. Now web sites are so interactive. We’d like
to offer interactive communication with a student and a student advisor. Technology
is helpful for student communication, as students stay in touch through text
messaging, and gives more ways to communicate.
Do students have access to computers? Are students computer savvy/access?
TRIO has three computers and a printer, but they are old; perfect world
would get more computers. Majority of TRIO students are savvy. Blackboard
popular and will be used forever. Maybe a handful of students not strong with
computers but we haven’t had any issues. Students are at a higher level, have a track
record, transfer is their goal. Most have been in school awhile.
What are the students ages?
TRIO student ages are around 18-55 years old. The advantage of TRIO’s
intake process is they’re able to clarify that transfer is their goal, not just goal of the
program. If student is unsure, we can wait to have them enter TRIO program. We
have an advantage as community college goal is transfer, at four year level goal is
graduation. We’re successful to transfer in three year period coming into program.
If student is already in school 3-4 semesters, they generally have already taken their
basic classes. They’re already having successes, in taking classes.
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What is their grade point average (GPA)?
Grant specifies that need to get students up to a 2.75, have students in basic
skills, some above, some below GPA. The grant is really looking at students to see if
in three year period will they be able to transfer? There are a lot of students to
choose from to be in program. If have new student and they access at pre-algebra,
maybe lead for English, that assessment shows potential, assessment is success
instrument, with education plan, they have potential. Upward Bound, Talent Search
refers students into program, with a Student Education Plan, and student knows what
wants to do, they’re focused. TRIO is an anchor, not floating around, ask what are
your goals, what do you want to do with life?
They have speakers come in talk about transfer, one called “Donuts and
Discussion,” held at different times and includes food, is a motivator, anchor, lunch
and learn. They are more academic support and both have degrees in counseling but
refer student out for counsel, and academic support. The TRIO staff are academic
advisors, not counselors.
The next question alluded to things if money was no object?
Add computers, more food cards with a monetary value to give to students,
supply cards with a monetary value. Right now TRIO has help from other
departments to fund these cards. The students get cards valued at $7.50 for the
cafeteria, for attending their second student advisor appointment. The money for
these cards is funded separate from the federal funding. On their first appointment,
they get a $15.00 supply card for the bookstore. This little extra money is really
58
appreciated. Grant covers staff salary/benefits, operation costs, consultant fees at
$5,000.00 and indirect costs (eight percent). There is very little left for the program
expenses. This year, TRIO got some district augmentation, but very little extras,
tickets to a Butte College play, buy lunch for students when go on campus tours
without worrying about funding, and helps with “Lunch and Learn,” “Cake and
Conversation,” and “Donuts and Discussion” informative workshops. Since TRIO is
federal funding, the money stands by self, but TRIO can have separate budgets and
income to supplement the TRIO federal funds. Sherrie said finding funding is very
stressful.
Wouldn’t it be nice if TRIO could be for every eligible student and not limited
to a fixed number of students? What could the college do for every student,
campus wide?
TRIO Assistant Director - The campus is doing a model of Supplemental
Instruction, Center for Academic Success is offering personalized service programs.
The TRIO advantage is the number of students, a lower caseload. EOPS has close to
300 students that each staff person sees. Each TRIO administrator sees 80 students.
All students have services available to them at Butte College. TRIO is successful
because of how they deliver services to students, give individualized help, give them
supply cards, are high touch, caring, for instance, if student is in crisis, they take
them over to the health clinic.
Many students do not have a support system and are floating. There is an
anchor at TRIO. Students can hang around the TRIO support system, study in a
59
quiet place, attend workshops and motivational lunches together. The researcher
asked if any other opportunities besides the motivational luncheon where all students
get together, to get all same information, like a first-year experience. One of goals
for TRIO was for first year experience. The college is trying to get that going, but
haven’t yet. TRIO works with the Center for Academic Success, a resource for all
students. TRIO students are all over campus. When the TRIO Director and
Assistant Director brainstormed, they realized students are at all different levels so it
would be hard for them to be in one class. They may start next year a program for
freshman TRIO students in the future.
Have you researched other colleges regarding their TRIO program?
The Center for Opportunity in Education (other departments helped pay for
the TRIO Director to attend). She felt it was very beneficial. She wanted to see who
the federal representative was, the head of the Department of Education, and listen to
her talk about performance report. The TRIO Director also attended Western
Education Student Opportunity conference where TRIO program personnel in the
western United States get together to discuss best practices, They have a lobbyist
who watches out for TRIO programs, and personnel from many positions. She
listened to five or six other programs talk about what they do. This was a good way
to get new ideas, and didn’t cost anything.
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Think of just few words to express what TRIO does for students, some key
words?
Motivation, encouragement, relationships, self esteem. It is moving students
forward so that they believe in their own success. Have someone to advocate for
them, who cares about them, and will help them. They have a few students, who
haven’t been in program for years, call back and check in, ask questions. The
speaker at the TRIO luncheon was a student from Sacramento State and was a
former TRIO program student.
TRIO Secretary Interview
Much of the secretary’s job involves budget work, handling all the accounts
of the program. However, she calls herself the “ambassador when the students are
coming through the door.” She’s a public relations person. She works with the
database software that TRIO purchased to help with the federal reporting. The
database currently keeps the information about the student, name, address and phone
number, ethnicity, term in school, GPA, financial aid, assessment information, EOPS
status, Educational Plan. The TRIO office keeps a file on the students, but most
important is what the TRIO staff need to work with the student.
The secretary helps gather information for the federal Annual Performance
Review. They are granted funding for four year at a time. They are already working
on the application for renewal that is for the year 2010. She is the main person that
the students talk to about filling out financial aid forms, scholarship papers, she talks
to them about events, monitors attendance, helps plan four-year campus tours.
61
She would like to see scholarships for TRIO students. She would like to see
more funding for students to attend distance four-year campus tours. It would be
nice to be able to fund to have more students attend cultural events, like plays. The
drama department produces plays that the TRIO staff likes to have students attend.
The plays are held at a community playhouse in a neighboring town. They want to
have the students attend cultural events so that the students see beyond the
classroom, expand their view, and realize that there is more out their than they might
think.
Attending the U.C. Davis campus, about 70 miles away, is also a good field
trip for students. The students see all sorts of activities, since the campus has about
100 clubs and very involved students. She says students need to want to continue
college but need the encouragement and understanding about resources to help with
affordability. The students need to know there isn’t a glass ceiling. There are many
college choices and student’s are not in this alone. They need to know about the
college visits and be encouraged.
She says that the students really like the free printing offered at the TRIO
office. She said that because the printing is free, the students seem to be more
creative, such as creating a PowerPoint presentation. It gives them time to explore
the internet and expand their knowledge since there isn’t a time limit on using the
computers. She says TRIO is a very helpful link of what is and what could be.
Students who are proactive will learn and look. EOPS keeps on improving their
program through change and TRIO is too. The creation of the EOPS – Power
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Center, of which the TRIO Assistant Director’s salary is 73% paid by TRIO and 17%
paid by Math Success, which provides tutoring services for students is one of the
changes that is helping students.
Students have a comfort level, coming to the TRIO office, but they are
encouraged to explore the transition to the local state college or other transfers.
Students worry about issues such as continuing school with children, family or health
issues. The TRIO staff helps them with solutions. The TRIO Director and Assistant
Director help students with suggestions, such as how to handle situations with
instructors, how to think through issues and how to handle them. The secretary
oftentimes is the first contact for the students, so can help them calm down and give
them a “hankie at the door!” She said that students may leave TRIO, but often
resurface as TRIO is their lifeline, but students have to want to pursue education.
They’re always welcome back.
The secretary is helping with Summer Bridge, a six week program that
collaborates with EOPS to bring high school students to campus. This year the
group is all Native Americans, but in past years, there was a more diverse ethnicity.
These students have never been at Butte College. To qualify, they must be a US
citizen, first-generation college student (parents did not complete a Bachelors
degree), they haven’t graduated from high school, or received a General Education
Diploma (GED) or pass the High School Proficiency Exam. Plus they must be
currently enrolled in or have previously been enrolled in remedial Math or English.
Students successfully completing the Summer Bridge program will receive many
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benefits, including a $250.00 book voucher if eligible for EOPS, assistance in
completing financial aid forms, a Student Educational Plan (SEP), online class
registration, free morning snack and lunch each day, awards dinner, UC Davis tour,
and a cultural outing.
Learning Resource Specialist Interview
The researcher spoke to a Learning Resource Specialist at Butte College. She
was a associate faculty part-time at the college for four years. This semester she is
working part-time as a Learning Resource Specialist with additional time spent
developing additional student learning resources including Supplemental Instruction
(SI) using paid students to attend classes and then do peer-led reviews of courses.
She is not teaching in addition to the staff position as she enjoys her time with her
young child. When I asked what she suggested for improving student services to
support retention, she immediately suggested having a below-level campus transfer
class, a developmental On Course class (see Chapter 5). It would be a Life
Management course to target those who aren’t at transfer level.
The researcher inquired as to how to implement this type of course. She said
that the instructor/department need to want to lead the class and prepare a one to ten
page proposal outlining the learning objectives, submit this to the curriculum and
academic site committees. She envisions this to be a First Year Experience class
based on the On Course book (Downing 2008), with life management skills, college
management skills, discussions of what’s life like while going to school to give
students a “cultural shift.” The course would be a half or full semester.
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She said that within a few weeks, maybe six weeks at the most a student
decides if they will make it or not going to college. Students who don’t have the
skills to start will have more challenges. Oftentimes first generation students don’t
have the family support encouraging them to attend college. They are encouraged to
seek employment instead. She said that with human beings, brains are not fully
developed until their early 20’s. So at 17, one is not making the same decisions as at
age 24. The brain is immature. Students need guidance. She said study groups can
be very helpful to students as it gives them support, keeps them engaged and meets
their social needs.
Based on her involvement with using On Course in the classroom and
knowledge of other support methods, including Supplemental Instruction, she feels
that the On Course methods address the whole person, are in depth, and very
effective. She feels that Supplemental Instruction doesn’t get to the core issues in
humans like the eight principles of On Course does. Those eight principles for
successful students are: personal responsibility, self-motivation, self-management,
interdependence, self-awareness, lifelong learning, emotional intelligence, and
believing in themselves.
Staff Development Coordinator/Faculty
The researcher interviewed the Staff Development Coordinator who received
her Ed.D. in Developmental Education. She also teaches Language Education and
Development (LEAD) courses. These courses include ESL, reading and English
courses. Students are placed in these courses after an assessment. She was
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passionate about the topic of student and staff resources, expectations of each other,
staff development, methods of instruction, supporting students by listening, being
accessible, and engaging both faculty and students in looking at different ways of
accessing new knowledge. She said there are 500 associate faculty (part-time, three
classes or less) and 175 faculty (full-time) at Butte-Glenn Community College
District.
She feels that there needs to be more professional development. She says
faculty often have a misperception about who students really are and student
expectations of faculty expectations are inaccurate. With the misperceived ideas,
there are expectations versus reality from both. For some students, education is not a
priority, as they don’t have enough money and focus on work, even low paying jobs,
and coming from high school, they think all they have to do is show up. They
quickly find that college isn’t what they expected and more often, they’re
academically under-prepared. She said that we have faculty, even some who have
attended prestigious colleges, who, unless they are honest with themselves, and
remember how it was like when they first attended college, weren’t always the
perfect student.
She feels that professional development can bridge the gap between students
and faculty since approximately 70% of students come to community colleges under-
prepared. Techniques, such as those in On Course, now being used by some college
faculty, encourage faculty to do activities that help to, as effectively as possible, to
help the students we have, instead of wishing we had a different student. Just
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looking at the statistics, there are a lot more students who could benefit from
developmental education than there is availability for students. She said that TRIO,
EOPS, DSP&S are very beneficial for students but they have limited numbers of
students they can accept into the program. Even though Butte College has a lot of
other services, not all students are aware of what is available. For instance, she is a
LEAD instructor and does connect students to service. The average student is not
wealthy, often with families who encourage the student to go to work instead of
going to school. The students are not aware of the services available to help them to
do their job at school.
The Early Alert program creates an opportunity to bridge the gap. The Staff
Development Coordinator helped found this program which encourages all faculty
and staff to immediately identify students who are struggling in school, for whatever
reason, so that they can get help. Although this program is used more at the
beginning of the semester, it can be used anytime.
She says that “most educators are passionately committed to make a
difference, doing meaningful, purposeful work.” Someone told her faculty are social
workers helping people change their lives. One of the things that faculty can do is to
tell students about campus services in case they are not aware of them. She says
faculty and staff should not be working in silos, this needs to be an interdisciplinary
approach to help students make connections. If students feel they belong, they feel
they can stay. She said author Frank Smith said “invite students to be members of
the club.” Students feel powerful about earning money, and may waver between
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college and work, but no person says I’m glad I didn’t go to college. They realize
they can earn more with a college degree. Education is a way to help their lifestyle.
They just need to learn how to be a student, including how to manage their time.
She spoke of Butte-Glenn Community College District’s support of the Basic
Skills Initiative, supported by the Chancellor’s Office and the campus Academic
Senate; the Butte College values which include ‘students first;’ the campus Strategic
Initiatives. She says if you believe in the Strategic Initiatives, you believe in
professional development to work with students, to learn who they are and how we
can help them. We need to understand student attitudes and broaden our
perspectives as educators.
She feels we need to keep students who show up and work to help them, not
just letting them drop and just recruit new students. She said that instructors are
different. Some are real open and available, accepting of students, like she is, but
even she stopped giving out her home number when students would call near
midnight! She said that there are lots of things instructors can do. If not using On
Course, they can use the principles of On Course and create methods of instruction
that engage the students. There are many classroom assessment techniques to access
student outcomes. The goal of a good teacher is to look at what’s working, and what
needs to be changed.
She said that on the Myers-Briggs Indicator, a self-assessment tool, she is a
ENFP. She said many faculty are introverts and many students are extroverts.
Students 35 years old or younger understand collaborative learning. Many students
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are kinesthetic learners. Instructors need to be creative and create experiences for
the students to move around. Since she is a English LEAD instructor, she has
students write sentences on the board and other students discuss the sentences. She
has students volunteer to read. We need to engage students, but students create their
own success.
Student Interviews
Interviews with current TRIO students
Ann is a current TRIO student who has been in TRIO for four semesters.
The services she has used were the English tutors, the computers in the TRIO office
and the free printer. She’s learned about planning in general, working with her
Educational Plan and has met with the TRIO staff two times a semester. She has met
with the Counseling office to help her with future decisions involving her
Educational Plan. She feels comfortable and the process is not a “monster” and the
counseling office has definitely helped her with her goals.
She thinks the TRIO staff does a good job. She had felt that they needed new
computers, but they just got them. She is on the TRIO Advisory Board of about ten
people and she is the “student voice.” She like the “Lunch and Learn” and other
information/food meetings. She suggested more “life skills” workshops, like “how
to budget money.” She thinks that it would be great if TRIO could accept more
students.
Ann came to the program because she saw that her ex-boyfriend was college
educated and earned more money, even though he was working in a field different
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from his major. She is a first-generation college student and said that her parents did
not have the background to encourage her. She heard about the TRIO program
through her counselor. She tried to get into EOPS but was turned down and got into
TRIO. She is an orientation leader for Butte College and offers information to
incoming students about things that have helped her, including that community
college is their chance to find out what they’re interested in.
She feels that students should be encouraged to do a Student Educational
Plan (SEP) and that more should be done to help students find a major they’re
interested in. She said that the SEP can be done at Counseling or at the Transfer
Center. Ann said that although she had already accessed financial aid, the TRIO
secretary also knew a lot about it and assisted in checking to see where her financial
aid award was when delayed. She appreciated the “personal touch, warm and
friendly people, and that the talk was genuine.” Ann attends Butte and Chico State
and is involved at Chico State now in the Campus Involvement and Awareness group
that looks at social justice issues.
Sue is in her second semester of TRIO and in her third year at Butte College.
She was in EOPS, had night classes at first off-site, but when came onto the main
campus read about TRIO. She has found the Assistant Director and Director both
very supportive. The Director is her counselor and gives extra encouragement, tells
her about activities Sue might be interested in and CAS workshops. Sue feels that
the TRIO staff are more personal and friendlier than EOPS staff. It’s a good place to
hang out and be comfortable.
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Sue feels that the Math Projects tutoring, EOPS entry and tutoring is very
helpful and that others would really benefit from it.
She would like to be able to borrow more books for classes including a
calculator. EOPS has a different approach. Their major help is with a book voucher
and offer an academic stay on track support. Since book prices are higher, gift cards
at the bookstore and for the cafeteria helped her as an EOPS student. They helped
with financial aid counseling and the transfer center support and information. Many
instructors are part time and not around as much to offer help. She feels that the
campus offices are not like a community and don’t always realize that she needs
their help.
Sue is in the Alcohol Addiction Studies (AAS) program and would like to
become a Social Worker. She’s planning on transferring next spring to a four year.
She grew up being home-schooled. She got a lot of support and help from her mom
applying for scholarships. The TRIO Director wrote a letter of recommendation for
Sue for a scholarship.
Sue felt what works is “being in the present to tackle classes.” She said it
was important to go to different CAS workshops. She attended lectures at Chico
State. She likes it that the Director and Assistant Director walk around campus and
stop and talk to students. In the beginning, by chance, she just happened to come in
and see the dynamics of the students and staff. Sue feels she can talk to staff, about
general things, good and bad. A lot of things that go on with TRIO, she can’t really
measure, but feels they are very beneficial.
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Matthew is in his fourth year at Butte College. He has spent two years in
TRIO. His brother was going to Butte and told him to sign up. He wants to transfer,
graduating this spring, if he “passes his hardest classes.” His interest is Visual Arts
and R.T.V.F. and he will have two degrees. Matthew had an accident in his first
semester at Butte College, where he fell off a cliff, needed extensive physical
therapy, and needed a walker and a cane for a long time. He has memory issues
where it is hard to remember things plus it is hard for him to take tests. He’s very
proud that he will be a first-generation college graduate along with his brother. He’d
like to work at the local television station after he attends Chico State.
Matthew is thankful that he has his TRIO academic advisor, the Assistant
Director, to talk to when he needs someone to talk about all kinds of things. He is
also appreciative the TRIO secretary, who is a Chicago native, for her support. They
talk about the Bears and she brought back a picture of the stadium which he
treasures. At some point, he’d like to be able to travel and maybe see the stadium!
He says he is calm when he’s around the TRIO office. Sometimes he gets
real stressed and is working on how to deal with it and his ups and downs. Before he
began TRIO, he was just taking classes, but didn’t have a plan of what he should
take or not take. He was in EOPS previously but not focusing on his classes. Now
he feels he “has a roadmap to his success and can see the end of the tunnel.”
Matthew said he had the assistant principal in high school tell him he’d never
finish college because he spent time in the principle’s office. He wants to prove him
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wrong. Matthew says his family supports him in his desire to go to college. Also,
his friend of 20 years is supportive even though he doesn’t live nearby.
Matthew, in his own words, say’s he persistent, goes to classes and does his
homework. He’s worked hard at it, but it’s a struggle. He has attended tutoring and
feels the resources at school are very helpful, but he often forgets the help he has
received. He has no insurance and he says that stops him from getting some of the
medicine and medical help he needs.
He appreciates that he can use one of three computers in the TRIO office and
be able to talk to TRIO staff. He says TRIO staff are different from EOPS staff
because they “do not get on your case for slipping on a grade, are encouraging and
that helps him keep going.” He is excited about the graduation ceremony and family
may come from out of state to see him graduate.
Marla is in her third semester at Butte. She’s 37, had a back injury and has
come back to school after time away. She was in EOPS, but one day was standing
around and heard David talking to a group of freshman students about TRIO, so she
listened. She said they weren’t paying much attention, but when she started asking
questions, they started listening, which she thought was good!
She feels TRIO helped her as she didn’t know where anything was on
campus, and especially didn’t know the services there were for students. She was
focused on other things. With TRIO, she knows where things are and how the
resources can help her. Marla says that having the TRIO Director as her academic
advisor has been the “best thing” as the Director has helped her personally as well as
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academically, and has encouraged her move towards graduation. Also, the Director
has shared her personal experience going through school and her challenges and that
has inspired Marla.
Marla feels it would be very useful to have more tutoring within the TRIO
program and get better computers. She feels the TRIO program should have more
variety of services as struggling students often times don’t know what to do when
facing academic challenges. There’s so many “rules” for campus, on when you do
this or that, that it would help to have more accountability. Since TRIO has access to
records during the semester, she feels they should have more “arsenal” to intervene
and just do that early on. There is not a big enough variety of services from TRIO
itself. TRIO needs to intervene quicker.
She says that although there are a lot of services on the campus, she doesn’t
feel that each area (ie financial aid, counseling) works together. Students wouldn’t
be so confused if they did a better job of presenting services. Also, student
schedules, bus schedules, timing of services are important. She feels it would be
better for students if there was more time spent on teaching students how to use
services and reinforced what services were available to make it more streamlined so
access and timing would make student life on campus simpler and less
overwhelming. When students first come on campus, they are learning how to
become students, how to get to their classes and they don’t necessarily know who to
talk to or what to ask. If something isn’t done right away, students start to fail and
going to school becomes overwhelming. She feels that there should be more
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information and conversations with students, so they are always thinking beyond
Butte. She is very excited as she was offered a job working in the Transfer Center.
She feels CAS is a totally different set up. Marla is in the Math Project in
TRIO. She thinks this program would be so good for more students, because it is
one-on-one. People qualify because they are low income, but it has limited funding.
Carol found out about TRIO on the first day of school, and started TRIO in
the first group in the Fall of 2006. She also is involved in New Horizons in EOPS.
She returned to school after 30 plus years away. She is 52. She knew she needed
help and went after it. Winning a free backpack playing games at a luncheon also
motivated her!
She said the TRIO Math Project has seen her through three different Math
classes. She says that the TRIO secretary calls students and is so warm and
supportive, letting students know “what’s up.” Carol has been on two or three trips,
including visiting CSU, Chico and Sacramento State and found it very helpful. She
says communication both ways, from students and TRIO, including “news”
information about workshops or four-year college visits is important.
Carol has been in EOPS for two years and received a dictionary and
thesaurus from EOPS as well as was able to get free copying of schoolwork.
However, she is appreciative of the pens, pencils, smiles and use of computers and
free printing of information she finds for school classes from the internet. She thinks
the luncheons are very helpful as they give information on financial aid, budgeting,
and scholarships. She appreciates the people at the Transfer Center.
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She has had a lot of help from the EOPS counselor and went to the Transfer
Center counselor early on. TRIO has helped her not to stray but stay on the right
Education Plan path. Carol’s major is Psychology and she found a resource in that
department to talk to. She is taking a summer psychology course off the TV at Butte
College with a BOG Fee Waiver. She’s not sure if she’s going for a BA or a BS.
She likes the Eureka software to look at information about degrees. She also uses
the Career Center. She’s applied for three or four scholarships. Carol likes the
motivational quote that changes weekly at the TRIO office.
Carol said that when she started the TRIO program, she started telling others
about it because she really liked it. She always feels bad when she talks to students
and they say they don’t qualify for the TRIO program or they haven’t heard about it.
When she first started the program and told others about it, two or three people went
to talk to TRIO staff and to check it out.
She feels everyone needs support and she is appreciative that there is this
support available to her. TRIO helps her plan her classes and her motivation to
succeed. She says TRIO does a good job of judging students and selecting those
they feel are going to succeed. When she first started college years ago she went to
Mills College where she “failed” and dropped out. She said she’s learned a lot since
then and is more prepared this time in school.
Ben began Butte College in the Fall of 2004. He was enrolled in the Cal
Works Vocational program which lasted only one year. He realized he wanted to
keep studying and became an EOPS student. His EOPS advisor encouraged him to
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get his A.A. degree. He was afraid to take the GED, as English is not his first
language. David recruited him into TRIO and that has helped him keep on track.
His wife works at Chico State.
He said he needs to know more about what’s on campus to help him.
However, his pride is affected when he has to ask and his language barrier makes it
hard. His EOPS advisor helped him to keep on track to get his Ceramics Certificate
and get him financial aid. He said he had worked at Target, but there was no sense
of accomplishment even when he tried to do the best he can do. Employees are
number if they don’t have a degree. Until he gets more education, he has been
working in the Butte College Coyote Gallery for three years, doing some ceramics to
sell.
Ben is 39 years old and has eight children. He’s lived in 11 countries and
met his wife in Costa Rica. He is a freelance artist in the community. He’s busy
with classes, but has sold artwork in local galleries when he has time to make it. He
wants to go to the San Francisco Art Institute or Chico State to study art.
He said that his relationship established with TRIO’s Assistant Director helps
him keep on track and focused on courses and look for financial aid opportunities
like scholarships.
Ben said TRIO needs to continue to market the program like the Assistant
Director did, walking around talking to students, and do more to advertise it. He said
he even talks to fellow students about the TRIO program. He feels concerned for the
general student population. He says so many people are here but don’t have a plan
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on what they’re going to be doing for their education. He said that he considers
education is an investment and he needs to work hard for it, stay committed and
sacrifice to get it done. He has a 3.8 GPA. His values won’t allow him to take
things for granted. He used the example of water. Most people take water for
granted, but he remembers having to carry water to where he was living. His travel
experiences have helped him view the world differently. He said he really didn’t live
as a tourist, because in the 11 countries he’s been in, he had to immediately work,
live with the people, learn about their culture, their language. This has helped
change his point of view on things, learn others viewpoints. He feels that his
sacrifice now will produce long term good results. In the meantime, he makes sure
that no matter if the family has little money, they can make “not a house, but a
home.”
Jim was initially in EOPS. He has been on campus for four years. After one
year, he heard about TRIO, but couldn’t get in. He tried again to get into TRIO in
his third year. He feels TRIO helps you to see what scholarships are available and
help you to apply. Everyone is very helpful. EOPS helped him with his Educational
Plan.
Jim’s taking general education classes. He’s attended a few workshops at
CAS. What he likes best about TRIO, is the staff explains in detail what he needs to
do. They “don’t give up on you, they take the time” to make sure he understands.
He says this was very important for him. It was noticed that he had a hard time
expressing himself during this interview. I tried several times to gather more
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information but he wasn’t very expressive and said he didn’t have more thoughts on
TRIO.
He’s going to Chico State in the fall. His major will be Applied Computer
Graphics. His only suggestion was to do more announcements about TRIO or
activities to make sure people are aware of the activities.
Jean has been attending Butte College for seven semesters. She has been in
TRIO for three semesters and is also a TRIO tutor. She is going to be attending
Chico State in the fall, majoring in Math, planning on teaching Math at the
community college or CSU level. She plans to get a Masters in Math for the
teaching. While she was in her second semester taking Math, she though she would
like to continue with it in school. Other than one Math teacher she didn’t like, she
has liked her other teachers and that has made her decision easier. One teacher she
really appreciated forced her to do the homework before it was due, so that she could
ask questions in class if she was having problems. She feels teachers should
challenge you and not give the test answers before the tests. She received three
financial scholarships to attend Chico State. She is a paid tutor in Math for TRIO.
She tutors all levels of math, including math for teachers. She feels tutoring
reinforces what she has already learned. She encourages students to try math
problems themselves first and only then will she work with them. She can also tutor
logic, English and research papers. Tutoring has been helpful to her in that it had
given her an opportunity to create great personal relationships with the TRIO staff.
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Jean is very appreciative of the free printing she has had as a TRIO student.
She has liked the $15.00 bookstore gift card given at the beginning of the semester.
She has used it to get engineering paper, pencils. The gift packet given at the end of
the semester is appreciated (includes a test Scantron). She appreciates all the
information she got on Butte College scholarships. She’s a member of MESA. She
said MESA and TRIO recruited her by mail to participate. This has helped her fit in
at school.
Jean would like to see TRIO scholarships, maybe ten at $500.00 each. She
thinks that the recognition, besides the money, given through scholarships is very
motivating. She appreciates that some scholarships that are not based on personal or
parents income but based on GPA and goals. She feels if you give out too many
awards, it’s not as impressive to students. It takes away their value. It’s real special
that only a few get scholarships. She would like cheaper water on campus. She
would like it if TRIO would give away water bottles or sell them inexpensively.
Her advice to students is to figure out what the teacher requires of you and
then you can do the work. All teachers are different.
Summary of TRIO student interviews
In general, the TRIO students interviewed were very satisfied with their
TRIO experience. They liked the personal touch of having someone to talk to if
things are going good and when they’re not. Many commented that they felt the
TRIO staff was like family. They felt accountable to the TRIO staff and they liked
that. The current TRIO students liked the free printing, the use of computers, the
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tutors, the workshops they can attend, the meetings like Lunch and Learn, the gifts
that they can sometimes get, backpacks, cafeteria or bookstore coupons, trips to four-
year colleges, the motivational quotes on the board in the TRIO office and the
sharpened pencils. They liked that the TRIO staff keep them focused and on track,
spent the time to really explain in detail about what they needed to do, rather than
shuffling them out the door. They liked the quiet TRIO office to relax in, study, talk
if they need to and that it was safe. They appreciated the communication about
getting scholarships and financial aid.
The TRIO students, when asked what ideas they suggested for improvement
or to give in addition to the current services, suggested more life skills workshops to
help them maneuver through challenging issues such as time management, financial
aid and budgeting, ability to borrow more books or a calculator, more tutoring within
the TRIO office versus the CAS center, just more variety of services. The researcher
felt that they, in essence, wanted the services as a ‘one-stop shop’ atmosphere, rather
than going elsewhere for the resources. One student felt that the workshops should
be mandatory as sometimes students don’t understand that they would benefit from
the topics. Several students mentioned wanting more communication about the
services Butte College has for students, as Orientation is only a half-day and too
much to share at one time. More announcements about activities within TRIO, the
campus or off-campus would be appreciated as well as even more information,
reminders and help with applying for financial aid, scholarships and scheduling
classes.
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One of the current students interviewed was on the TRIO advisory board and
was an orientation leader and another student was a TRIO tutor.
Interviews with former TRIO students
Kameron, as of the current semester, now attends Chico State. She was in the
TRIO program for three semesters and was a TRIO tutor. She feels that “counseling
is such a blessing” and that even if she didn’t have an appointment, the TRIO staff
was willing to meet with her if she needed it. She feels that community college
professors are not “cut throat” and want students to succeed. She feels that there is a
change in a four-year school, not as friendly an environment and just want to know
what’s the problem, and say how to fix it, but not get personal. The TRIO personnel
are like family members.
The TRIO Director was the one who encouraged Kameron to apply for
scholarships. The Director said that she would write a letter of recommendation and
to ask for one from one of her teachers. So she applied for scholarships. Kameron
feels that the Educational Plan and Counseling most important. She met with the
counselor and the TRIO Director, her TRIO academic advisor two to three times a
semester, if not more. She likes the quiet time in the TRIO office. She could go
there at 7:30 am to study, or later to eat lunch.
The CAS Center was very helpful as well as the Extended Opportunity
Programs and Services (EOPS) - Power Center. The EOPS - Power Center offers, by
appointment, one-on-one assistance in Math, English and other subject areas.
Kameron was a Spanish studying student and was a Spanish tutor for friends and
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helped in TRIO and the CAS Center. For two times a week for three to four hours
each time, she tutored one semester.
She feels that the TRIO program would benefit from more on-sight tutors in
more areas. The current math tutor takes appointments but is always booked up. A
computer tutor is available too. She realized that CAS has this beneficial help for
students, so students can go there.
She is very appreciative of the Butte College Foundation scholarships,
including a scholarship for TRIO students. She said that all that is required is to fill
out an application, get a copy of your transcripts, get two letters of recommendation
indicating what qualities the student has that justifies getting a scholarship. It is easy
to apply. CAS gives “how to” apply for Butte College scholarships, prepare a self
profile and how to pick and choose scholarships to apply towards. She feels that
there should be more at TRIO about how to write a scholarship essay “selling
oneself, preparing a profile and how to complete an application. She said that
because finances are so important to many college students.
Before she got to Butte, she received an A.A. in Bible Studies. She said the
TRIO Director, her academic advisor, is very helpful and listens, even when
discussing personal problems. The TRIO Assistant Director is very helpful and
personal. Both of them are good at reminding all the TRIO students about
scholarships and making the students accountable to taking advantage of
opportunities. She feels that the “lunch and learn” meetings about how to fill out a
FAFSA form, how to do a research paper, going to cultural events including plays
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are very good. She likes how there are two counseling appointment and one cultural
event attendance required, although she communicates more often. She likes the free
CAS workshops. She likes the free printing of papers or research at the TRIO office.
She thinks the ‘encouragement luncheon is real special, where all TRIO students are
invited, there’s motivational student speakers, and people on campus and off who
support TRIO are also invited attend. This is the only time everyone is together at
one time.
She said that Butte College and especially TRIO staff are great at
encouraging students. She will be attending both Chico State and Butte College next
semester. She likes the fact there are role models for students and peer support. The
program is like family and Butte College is like a small family but more students. It
is not as impersonal as a four-year college. She’d like to see more tutors at TRIO.
Penny first went to college in 1984 but stopped. She then went back to
school at Butte College in 1996 and got her A.A. degree in Ornamental Horticulture
in 1998. She then transferred to Chico State. She remembers when she started at
Butte College she saw a poster that said “Transferring – Let TRIO help you.” She
went to the TRIO office and talked to the TRIO Director and her academic advisor,
who asked her something no one else had asked: “What do you want to do?” Penny
said she had been very easily swayed by people who made suggestions to her about
what to major in, without thinking if something was right for her. For instance, a
counselor looked at her classes, saw she was in Spanish and said she could be focus
on being bilingual teacher. So she said to the counselor that would be her
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concentration. But shortly, this made Penny very nervous as she had only just
started a foreign language and the thought of teaching while speaking Spanish made
her very uncomfortable. So when the TRIO Director, her academic advisor, asked
her if this was really what she wanted to do, which was so out of character for an
authority person to do, it really made her think.
She was sent to the Transfer Center and worked on the nuts and bolts of a
plan, writing down dates of when she would be transferring which made it more real
for her. She applied for the dual admissions program, taking one class free of
charge, to “feel what it’s like.” Her Liberal Studies advisor at Chico State has been
very helpful.
Advice she’d give students is to rely on other people, and preferably, take
advantage of workshops at the Learning Resource Center. There are so many
workshops including time management and goal setting that are helpful. Talk to
university advisors regarding transfer. Talk to current students at the university who
are in the program degree you’re interested in.
Butte College, Penny felt, is so accommodating to begin with. TRIO kept her
focused and on task. She didn’t need academic help or financial help. She felt that
the two required meetings a semester with the TRIO staff was ideal, made her
accountable but wasn’t too intrusive. The questions they asked her were good for
her to think about, such as where she was at in school, how things were going. She
felt that Sherrie was great about telling her about the Apple program that helps a
student financially by paying up to $19,000 towards their student loans if they taught
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in low performance, low income or rural areas. Penny felt that her academic advisor
was knowledgeable about programs. Participating in the TRIO program got her
focused because she was going on her own and didn’t have a clear plan.
Sarah initially went to Chico State right out of high school. Then, years later
she spent six semesters at Butte before she graduated. She was in the TRIO program
for two semesters. She said there are so many things to think about to graduate, so a
student needs to know deadlines and steps to take. Currently she’s attending Chico
State as an Anthropology major in the Social and Behavioral Sciences department,
but working on a minor at Butte. She heard about the program when it was first
announced. She is a first-generation college graduate.
She is very involved at Butte College as a Supplemental Instructor (SI). She
sits in during a specific class and takes notes. Then she has two outside sessions
with students who are interested to go over the class materials, answer questions and
to help the students. She gets paid for this. Right now there are eight classes with
SI’s. The SI group meets with coordinators and goes over learning styles of
students, for instance. She learned about the SI’s when she took a class with an SI in
it. She is also an Anthropology tutor in CAS. The TRIO assistant director is
involved in the SI program.
Sarah feels that the TRIO director, her academic advisor, has been a great
support as a counselor, to cheer for her, giving her a place to come to, to get help.
She feels that the college needs more than a short one partial day orientation
to guide you through college. Some workshops should be mandatory. Having more
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variety with different venues, such as time of day, would be good. She suggested
increasing the number of colleges to tour, and other options given to students.
Giving students more recommendations on what they need to do to be successful in
college even if they don’t ask for it is good because doing the right thing is
important. She felt that the main campus counseling center has issues, giving
misinformation and they don’t spend much time with the students. It would be
helpful to have more assistance with scheduling classes.
Butte College, Sarah feels, has amazing opportunities for students. It would
be helpful to have a community class for all freshmen students, to help them through
the process. She likes the idea of “reporting to” TRIO, like the athletics do in their
department. Her academic advisor is so helpful, and is a familiar face and the TRIO
office is a safe environment. She said the TRIO program would benefit the students
more by having more peers talk to them and share their experiences.
She works three to four jobs on campus. She thinks it is important as she is,
herself, a student but also part of the college community. It helps her do better as she
learns more about the campus and she can support and meet people. She feels
responsible for students. She’s been an orientation leader and involved as a SI.
Summary of Former TRIO Students
Former TRIO students had much of the same comments regarding what they
liked about the TRIO program, the ‘family’ atmosphere, and their suggestions for the
future. Increasing the number of tours to different colleges would be nice.
Increasing the TRIO tutoring would be helpful. One student said that TRIO students
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should ‘report’ to TRIO like the athletics report to someone at the Athletic
Department, giving more accountability to the students. Another student suggested
more peer to peer communication, so more seasoned students can share their
experiences, suggestions during the school year than just at the end of year luncheon.
One student was a Supplemental Instructor (tutor) and another worked
several jobs on campus (both students were paid). A student suggested that current
students talk to university advisors and current students in the four-year colleges in
the field that they are interested in.
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CHAPTER 5
Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations
This chapter includes a summary that centers on the initial questions which
motivated the study, further literature review, research recommendations for further
study and recommendations for action.
Summary of the Study
The purpose of this study was to explore the issues of student motivation and
self-efficacy, student retention and transfer success, specifically as it relates to low-
income, first-generation students in the TRIO program at Butte Community College.
The goal of this research was to evaluate the current Butte-Glenn Community
College District TRIO Program and augment the current strategies with information
to further strengthen the program. However, literature research information is of
great benefit to non-TRIO students in their quest for success in college and to the
college campus as a whole in globally providing, in a timely manner, student service
support services that proactively seek to further engage students, especially those
new to the college experience, provide help and support immediately if the students
become overwhelmed, frustrated and want to give up. The researcher would further
venture to say that the activities need not necessarily add expenses to an already tight
budget, but definitely would require a mindset for faculty, staff and administration to
“look outside the box” in how we provide services, constantly seeking to update and
improve services, look for better ways to collaborate, and ultimately to see an
increase in student retention and transfer success. Providing support services in
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education is no different than sales in business, in the sense that the student is our
customer and it is much more cost effective and financially beneficial to keep a
customer than to continually seek out new “customers.” For this reason, further
research is mentioned here in an attempt to share best practices that can augment
current services, teaching approaches, and campus mindset that will continue to help
with student success.
Discussion of Findings
The researcher collected and analyzed data from student self-efficacy
questionnaire responses, applications from students for the TRIO program, one-on-
one interviews with current and former students to see how they personally benefited
from the TRIO program and what they thought could be changed to improve student
success for themselves or other in the future. The researcher was told that the
students were very flattered and excited to participate in this interview process. The
researcher felt the students were sincere about their interview thoughts, very
appreciative of their TRIO experience and thankful for their TRIO staff
relationships. A joint Director and Assistant Director interview was conducted to
find out what they felt was working well in the TRIO program and what they thought
needed to be changed or augmented. The TRIO secretary was interviewed because as
the lead greeter to all students entering the TRIO office, she is in contact with all
TRIO students and is often called upon by the students regarding various issues or
conversations in general. A Learning Resource Specialist/Instructor on campus was
also interviewed due to her experience working with students with needs. Also, the
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Staff Development Coordinator and a campus LEAD (Language Education and
Development) instructor was interviewed. Her perspective of the first campus value
“students first,” student issues, and faculty development in relation to student
engagement was a good overview of the dynamics of the relationships and the
responsibilities of the many people who participate in student success, including the
students themselves.
Literature Based Research Questions
What are the attributes of a successful TRIO student vs. an unsuccessful TRIO
student regarding college completion?
In the Handbook of Individual Differences Learning and Instruction Jonassen
and Grabowski (1993 p. 352) talk about how desirable internal attributes vs. the
undesirable external attributes that affect people. How can the students with
undesirable attributes, with assistance from instructors and counselors, gain the
attributes that help in their educational success?
Handel (2007) suggests on behalf of four-year institutions that there are
successful transfer behaviors for community colleges including insisting on student
preparation for transfer in their community college coursework and student
understanding and support in applying for financial aid knowing that although a
four-year education will cost more, the financial income rewards are worth it.
Additionally, community colleges need to “establish a transfer-going culture” by
supporting a transfer center, visitations to four-year colleges, trained transfer
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counselors an administration communicating and collaborating with four year
colleges to facilitate successful student transfers.
With that being said, students entering the Butte-Glenn Community College
District TRIO program are already on the right path. In their application they
acknowledge their desire to transfer to a four-year institution. Some indicate which
degree they’re interested in. Since many have had at least one year of college under
their belt, they are more knowledgeable about their interests and courses to take.
However, that is not always true. The one-on-one TRIO student interviews indicated
that students immediately responded to the question of how the TRIO program and
staff have been a tremendous support to them by helping them focus on their career
interests, on issues and solutions for financial aid, the creation of an Education
Action Plan that includes student driven goals to reach the EAP, and information or
referral to counseling to establish courses needed to efficiently reach their transfer
goal. From the student interviews, the researcher saw a definite pattern of students
checking in with TRIO staff to talk or hang out and think of the people and place as
family and home-away-from-home.
An unsuccessful student, on the other hand, is not as apt to stay connected to
their Student Educational Plan or check in with the TRIO office and communicate
with staff when facing school or life issues. These issues might be family
relationships, personal crisis (whatever that may be), financial or work problems,
health issues, and disengages from classes, either not attending, not completing
assignments, not studying for tests, or not talking to instructors about issues and
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solutions. With a smaller campus, and up to 160 TRIO students at one time, the
TRIO staff does seek out students who they have not heard from for a while. The
unsuccessful student many times feels that the staff is very helpful, supportive, and
cares about the student in a way that they might not have felt of family or friends or
other campus services who do not have the time or structure to help beyond their
particular field. Although the TRIO staff emphasizes they are not counselors, they
can and do talk with the students in a private office about options and solutions to
issues and ask for accountability of the students in following up with them with their
progress to rectify academic and life issues so they can be successful in school.
How does poverty affect TRIO student success?
In the book A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Rubye Payne, Payne
quotes Hodgkinson (1995): “Low achievement is closely correlated with lack of
resources, and numerous studies have documented the correlation between low
socioeconomic status and low achievement” (p.87). However, what can we do to
increase TRIO student self-efficacy in spite of background challenges? Payne lists
resources that we can provide at school. Emotional resources help one persist
despite the newness of experiences. We can role model for students and help to give
them the tools to increase their emotional resources. We can give students the skills
they are lacking, reading, writing and the ability to do math, so they can mentally be
able to retrieve information to help themselves. We can give them a support system,
by sharing resources that are available, depending on their need. We can give them
information that will assist their knowledge and ability to maneuver through college.
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Payne mentions that “two things that help one move out of poverty are education and
relationships” (pg. 3) and “four reasons one leaves poverty are: It’s too painful to
stay, a vision or goal, a key relationship, or a special talent or skill” (pg. 3). The
community college can provide the resources and opportunities to help students in
their desire for education and a better life for themselves and their families.
How does goal setting assist TRIO student success?
What activities will facilitate student understanding, initiation and follow
through regarding setting personal and educational goals? Ruby Payne identifies goal
setting as very important to student success. We can teach goal setting daily to the
students in classes.
Specific to self-efficacy in the classroom, Schunk, Pintrich & Meece (2008)
identify how goal setting can support student success. By making goals
understandable and explicit; demanding, but still attainable; with closer, sub-goals
and goals at a distance; and providing positive feedback to students with rewards that
support academic performance, goal attainment and increased self-efficacy can be
reached. The TRIO program staff has students work on goal setting combined with
the personal student contact relationships, helps the students evaluate, stay on task
and reevaluate their student contracts.
Academically, do students’ perceptions of themselves academically affect
their accomplishments or do their accomplishments affect their self-beliefs? Pajares
and Schunk (2001) say depending on how you view this, determines your
institution’s educational focus and efforts. If it’s a student’s self concept, then you
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spend the time to help the student raise their level of confidence. Bandura (1997)
says that “educational efforts should focus on altering students’ self-beliefs” (Pajares
and Schunk, 2001). You do this by encouraging students and telling them they are
able to accomplish academically and can acquire skills to do so. If it’s performance,
then you spend the time to increase the student’s competence level.
What external resources do TRIO students bring or not bring to school to be
successful?
Per Payne (2005), did the student’s “…parent provide insistence,
expectations, and support at home?” (pg.107)? In college, parents may not be so
directly connected, but the student may bring to college the issues they dealt with
growing up. TRIO students are low-income and many are first-generation college
students. Many times family situations are dysfunctional due to low-income issues
and students and families are living in survival mode. Housing situations are
precarious, there is limited day-to-day stability, focus is moment-to-moment on how
to get food or gas if fortunate to have a car. Often, transportation is a big issue and
students can’t have the luxury of staying on campus to access support resources
because they need to go to a job that’s probably with low wages, or multi-task family
support issues, like childcare or caring for older family members.
It is not uncommon for families of students who have not benefitted from
attending college, to pressure the student to work, even minimum wage positions to
help family. The students may lack friend, family and community support and
encouragement due the lack of understanding of how this experience will enrich the
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student and increase their chances of a higher end income in statistically significant
ways.
What intervention tools and resources do instructors and TRIO administrators
have access to as well as need?
The TRIO administrators have expressed their appreciation of the
communication and support from all student support service areas of the campus,
plus campus staff, faculty, administration, and student scholarship opportunities from
the campus foundation. The TRIO staff seek to increase their financial resources so
they can directly increase resources to the students, whether it is support with
computers, printing, bookstore supplies like paper, pens, pencils, food services
vouchers, money for food and travel to visit more four-year colleges, and money for
students to attend cultural events off campus.
What the TRIO staff has truly provided to students, money can’t buy. It is
the passion, and sincerity to build trusting relationships and communication with
each student, encourage them, listen to them and emulate behaviors that a good role
model does. Ruby Payne describes that people in lower income situations will
benefit the most from this type of relationship.
Campus-wide, the dialog and activities need to ensure that the campus as a
whole, is taking steps to put students first. It is a joint effort and each part of
campus, whether in the classroom, the support services, the culture of the campus
community, must be supportive of student success.
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Site Based Research Questions
Although the questions focus on the TRIO program, this is a campus wide
discussion and what is effective for TRIO students can promote success for all
students.
How can Butte-Glenn Community College District increase student retention in
the TRIO program?
The researcher had the opportunity to attend an On Course weekend
workshop in the spring of 2008. The workshop is based on the book by Skip
Downing for college students to create success in school and in their personal life.
The workshop was at Butte-Glenn Community College District, specially funded so
that anyone at the college could attend at no personal expense. The presenter has
worked with the author to share the On Course contents to community and four-year
college faculty, staff and administrators across the United States. The workshop
included many easy to implement instructor strategies to engage students in the
classroom and encourage them to be actively involved in their educational and life
choices. On Course offers a Web site for additional instructor and student resources.
The book is for students to self-explore through assessments, reflections and
activities that ultimately can improve their life.
Butte-Glenn Community College District plans to engage additional faculty,
staff and administrators in the On Course experience by offering future workshops at
no cost to the individual departments. In a informal “brown bag” lunch meeting held
approximately two months after the first workshop, instructors shared their
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experiences and all expressed that the concepts and materials were very easy to
implement immediately in the classroom, nicely broke up the class lecture with
activities that engaged all students, and everyone expressed a desire to share their
successes and materials on a campus web site for all to view and use. Future
meetings will be held as a chance to stay “on course” and encourage others to
explore the opportunities to do activities and facilitate their instruction and student
time in a more rewarding fashion.
How can Butte-Glenn Community College District increase student success in
the TRIO program?
In combination with question one, students face many challenges in their
quest for a college education. Vincent Tinto (2008) notes that there are an increasing
number of low-income students starting college, especially right after high school.
Even though access has increased, there are different levels of academic preparation
among students, whether low or high level income. Based on a six-year longitudinal
study “…while 6 in 10 high-income students who began higher education in 1995-6
earned a bachelor’s degree within six years, only 1 in 4 low-income students did so.”
(Retrieved from Inside Higher Ed June 11, 2008 from Web site
http://insidehighered.com/layout/set/print/views/2008/06/09/tinto ). Tinto goes on to
say that only 7% of lower income students who start community college graduate
from a four year institution versus 26% of high income students. There is a
disconnect.
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Just recently the Vice President of Instruction sent to everyone on campus
this article by Tinto. In a brief discussion with him, the researcher noted that it was
good to see him communicate to a broad audience the student issues, needs and
solutions. He said it was the only way to get changes and solutions, if everyone
participated in the discussion and saw it as their responsibility to seek solutions.
Tinto spoke of three powerful “initiatives” to help students succeed. First, he
spoke of low-income students focusing on a goal of succeeding in one class at a
time, since so many do not have the privilege of staying on campus for any length of
time. The college would do well to help them in their goal by providing
supplemental instruction immediately to help them with support in the course they
are enrolled in. In Chapter 4, a TRIO student and supplemental instructor and a
learning resource specialist spoke of this added student academic support and the
success with it. This type of support will expand on campus.
Second, he suggested having basic skills learning communities. With this
support, students would enroll together for two or more courses connected together.
There would be subject matter and learning experiences that related to the different
courses, and supplemented with support that benefited the students of the two or
three courses. Tinto surveyed nearly 7,000 students in basic skills learning
communities. Bottom line is that students involved in this environment improved
academically and persevered in school. At Butte College, learning communities are
just becoming reality and I’ve heard that it will continue to expand.
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Third, he found that the basic skills learning communities worked much
better for the students when the methods of teaching the courses were changed. The
On Course program previously mentioned is being shared across campus and should
definitely help the course presentation and increase student engagement.
Tinto is quick to point out that what matters most is first-year intense support,
critical for student success for all students rather than Band-Aid existing programs
without getting to the real root of the issues.
What are the strengths of the TRIO program at Butte College?
The TRIO program at Butte College is in its third year of operation with the
same dedicated staff from the moment of inception. Butte-Glenn Community
College District Student Services, of which TRIO is a part of, encourages
communication between different programs, with the goal to support the success of
students. The TRIO staff routinely communicates with other student support service
areas about TRIO students by phone or personally walking TRIO students needing
services to appropriate departments or specific people to assist.
Due to the economy, the state budget issues, and locally, the declining
student full-time-equivalents (FTEs), the college has been deep in conversation about
all areas of campus needing to take ownership of ways in which they can
individually increase retention, review course offerings, scheduling of courses, and
numerous other components of providing the best student services. One of the noted
issues is the high number of students who attend, but then drop out of school in the
first month of the semester.
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Several services were begun to assist students, including “Ask Me?” a
volunteer organized, strategically placed information tables across campus during the
first week of the semester, to answer questions, give directions to classes, etc. Also,
the “Early Alert” program was announced to all faculty, staff and administration. If
anyone becomes aware of a student who is having issues, problems, frustrations, and
potentially may give up attending school, and fills out a form with information about
the student, this will set in motion someone who will contact the student to offer
more personalized help.
What are the weaknesses of the TRIO program at Butte College?
The weakness of the TRIO program is not of commitment and dedication and
support for all TRIO students. It is the limited financial resources available to the
program. The TRIO program at Butte College is almost exclusively operated with
federal funds. There are potentially many more students who would qualify for
TRIO services, but the TRIO federal award, dictates the enrollment to 160 students
with specific backgrounds, low-income, first-generation, disabled and a combination
thereof, at Butte-Glenn Community College District. Due to the limited number of
students the staff can select, they have focused on selecting student who are most
likely to succeed in the program and transfer, the main goal of the community
college TRIO program. The students have generally been going to school for a
while, have already thought about their interest of study, and just need the extra
support services. Many other students are struggling, possibly not asking for help or
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know who to ask, and either feel overwhelmed or worse yet, taking classes that are
not helping them reach a designated goal.
How can the TRIO program be improved at Butte College?
The students in the program are very pleased by the help and support they
already receive. Although, as mentioned in the student interviews in Chapter 4,
students asked for additional tutors, additional resources, they were very cognizant of
how helpful the existing services are, as well as very appreciative.
The researcher would like to suggest adding a service learning/volunteer
experience component for several reasons. Doing something for someone else will
make the giver feel good which is empowering. Second, in life, many activities need
to be done collaboratively, for the greater good, and if an activity(s) can be done by
the TRIO students, they can see how many helping hands can be better than one.
They will get to know and support each other through this activity. Although there
are numerous additional reasons for a service learning experience, a key component
of this activity is within the student, self-reflecting on the process, the activity, the
results, and all the experiences, good and challenging. The self-reflection will give
the student an opportunity to be quiet and think about how the activity affects them,
how they can affect the process and by writing about this, the student will have gone
deeper into the experience than by volunteering and moving on to something else.
Another suggestion is developing for students a peer, staff, alumni or
community mentor relationship program. This may be far beyond what TRIO has the
capacity to bring about, but may be something the college could incorporate. The
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benefits are enormous. Students would have the opportunity to develop a
relationship that is focused on student success. The mentors benefit by having the
opportunity to be connected to the mission of the college, students first, and to share
with the students ideas, experiences that have helped them travel through school and
life. Four-year colleges have developed programs like this that have brought alumni
back to campus in richly rewarding student and mentor experiences.
Conclusion
It is the hope of this researcher that the results of this study will serve as a
reflection opportunity for administrators and others to continue those activities that
add value to student self-efficacy and student success and supplement these practices
with additional tools to compliment and enhance student retention. The complexities
that face students today are involved, such as inadequate K-12 preparation for
college level courses, financial issues, work hours, family dynamics issues, lack of a
personal support system, medical and mental health issues, and unless understood,
dealt with and a strong support system is in place, will overwhelm and undermine
students ability to stay on course and persevere to further their higher education.
This study looked at ways the college can continue to meet the student needs,
retention and transfer, while facing increasing budget issues that may undermine
programs and/or staffing in student support areas. Student success is not just a
student support services issue but a campus wide responsibility.
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Research Recommendations
In order to expand and refine the usefulness of services for low-income, first-
generation TRIO students to support similar non-TRIO students, the following
research would be valuable.
1. Research best practices nationally in TRIO programs in community
colleges to revise or sustain the findings in this study.
2. Research further the results of additional self-efficacy or self-
assessment questionnaires (pre and post) given to TRIO or non-TRIO
students. This information will give students and college staff ideas
on issues or strengths so activities can be created to influence capacity
for student success in school.
3. Research the cost/benefit ratio of expanding more personalized and
accountable services that TRIO students receive to the campus
general population of students.
4. Research potentially creative ways to best utilize staff, faculty and
other limited resources to provide these added services to students.
5. Research in greater depth why students succeed at Butte College or in
general. Seidman (2005) suggests that if a college is truly committed
to student success, with every facet of their programs and services,
they will candidly and continually seek student engagement in the
process of student success.
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Action Recommendations
1. Determine, or update regionally all K-12 feeder school contacts.
Create a regional group of engaged people with the same goal of
college bound student success. This group would engage in
discussion issues such as poor academic preparedness for college and
low-income, first-generation, family dynamic issues among many
concerns. The group would create strategies for solutions, by way of
steps to take, measurements of success, goals, evaluations. The main
goal is to create ways to overcome student confidence and priority
issues for academic success. Create and market a united, regional
college bound mindset.
2. For Butte-Glenn Community College District, create a local K-16
conference, such as is done for discussing sustainability issues,
bringing in speakers, on topics or from colleges having successes, to
share best practices. The public should be invited as they might be
part of the solution. For instance, sharing the On Course book and
teaching techniques would serve well all teachers, independent of
their level of teaching. Taking a proactive approach to student
success rather than a reactive one, and rather than pointing the fingers
at someone else as being responsible for the issues students have in
their academic success, this approach will guide the schools to
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collectively engaging in step to support students at all stages of their
education.
The TRIO staff and other Student Support Services staff, as
well as education leaders in the area can share their research into this
topic. In addition, outside educators should be invited to engage the
participants in ideas and solutions that have worked elsewhere.
The conference needs to be just one way of bringing together
people and resources to promote education. But the conference must
be followed up with action and steps from within, strategic regional
planning and evaluation along the way.
3. Specific to the TRIO program, create a Butte College TRIO web site
that is interactive with existing TRIO students and also can be used as
a marketing tool for incoming Butte College students and other non-
TRIO current students. This site has been requested but currently has
not been created.
4. Visit for-profit higher education institutions regarding student support
services to learn what they are doing that Butte College can
implement.
5. Create a Butte College student engagement process to really ask the
tough questions on what students feel they need from us for their
academic success. The first-step might be a student-centered report
card questionnaire that addresses what the students feel is or isn’t
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working on campus as it relates to their student success. The
questionnaire should be broad and encompassing all facets of student
interactions with Butte College. Opportunities for students to add
additional information should be provided.
Second, campus forums would give students opportunities to
speak to faculty, staff and administrators about their needs. The
listener participants, representatives from all areas of the Butte
College faculty, staff and administration must genuinely listen, and
actively engage and be ready to respond to student requests or openly
communicate with students why they can’t respond to certain specific
requests.
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111
APPENDIX A
Trio Student Support Services (SSS) Application Results
Age:
16-20 19
21-25 11
26-30 9
31-35 3
36-40 4
41-45 4
46-50 2
51-55 0
56-60 1

Gender:
Male 12
Female 37

Marital Status:
Single 40
Married 2

Predominant Ethnic Background
American Indian or Alaskan Native 1
Asian 3
Black or African-American 2
Hispanic or Latino 10
Caucasian 27
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0
More than One Race 9
Other: Arabic Palestinian 1

Citizenship:
United States Citizen 47
Permanent Resident 4

Employment Status:
How many hours per week do you work?
None 17
1 - 19 hours 21
20 - 39 hours 10
40 + 0
112

For Office Use Only: Academic Need of Student
High school GPA 0
Predictive Indicator 11
Diagnostic Tests 1
College GPA 0
Low College Grades 2
Out of academic pipeline for 5 or more years 0
Lack of educational and/or career goals 20
Lack of academic preparedness 15
Need for academic support to raise grades 4
Other 2

Current Class Level:
Freshmen (1st year in college) 12
Freshmen (<30 units completed) 4
Sophomore 37

Four-year University: (Listed in narration Chapter 4)
Plan to pursue:

Am considering:

Major/Career Interest: (Listed in narration Chapter 4)
Plan to pursue:

Am considering:

Target degree(s):
Associate's 14
Bachelor's 34
Master's 10
Doctorate 6
Professional 5

How did you find out about TRIO?
Instructor 7
Academic Department 4
Printed Material 5
Another Student 10
Other: (Listed in narration Chapter 4) 26

Briefly explain your reasons for applying to TRIO:
(Reasons listed in narration Chapter 4)
113

What is your educational/career goal?
(Education/career goals listed in narration Chapter 4)

Financial Aid:
FAFSA submitted:
Yes 41
No 4
Financial Aid Received at Butte: (check all that apply)
None 2
BOG Fee Waiver 39
PELL Grant 34
Cal Grant 21
Loans 11
Work Study 5
VA Benefits 3
Scholarships 1

Highest level of education COMPLETED by the parent you grew up with?
Mother
Grade School 11
High School 28
2-Year College 6
4-Year College 1
Beyond 4-Year 0
Unknown 3
Father
Grade School 14
High School 24
2-Year College 4
4-Year College 6
Beyond 4-Year 0
Unknown 1

Most current taxable income for 2006:
$15,315 and under 29
$15,316 - 20,535 2
$20,536 - 25,755 0
$25,756 - 30,975 1
$30,976 - 36,195 0
$36,196 - 41,415 0
$41,416 - 46,635 0
$46,636 - $51,855 0
114

How many family members in your household?
1 7
2 5
3 6
4 7
5 4
6 1
7 3
8 1
9 0
10 0
Other: 0

Do you have or have you ever been tested for a physical or learning disability?
Yes 14
No 31
(Explanations listed in narration Chapter 4)

High School Graduate:
Yes 41
No 5

GPA:

GED:
Yes 9
No 3

Have you participated in any other TRIO programs? (check all that apply)
Talent Search 3
Upward Bound 1
Student Support Services 1
Educational Opportunity Centers 5
Other: Cal Works (not TRIO) 1

PERSONAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Check all of the following services that may interest and/or benefit you:
Advising:
Academic Advising/Degree Planning 33
Financial Aid Application Assistance 14
Career Advising 29
Career/Interest Testing 16
Referral for Personal Counseling 9
115

Academic Support/Instruction:
Study Strategies 15
Tutoring in Subject Areas 20
Writing 13
Reading 3
Math 20
Science 11
Other: 3

Transfer Planning:
College Information 36
College Application Assistance 36
College Visits 36

Workshops:
Test-taking Skills 18
Note-taking Tips 15
Textbook Reading 13
How to Apply for Scholarships 25
Resume and Interviews 17
Personal Finances 14
Conducting Research on the Internet 9
Other: 10

What obstacle(s) may challenge you in completing your academic goals?
(Check all that apply)
Undecided about a major 11
Academically under prepared-not ready for college-level courses 3
Childcare 10
Lack of support from family 9
Lack of adequate finances 35
Single parent issues 8
Feeling out of place-not comfortable in the college environment 5
Transportation 5
Lack of support from friends 2
Other: 3
116
APPENDIX B
Trio Student Support Services (SSS) Blank Application

117

118

119
120
APPENDIX C
Letter Likert Self-Efficacy Questionnaire For Trio Students
Dear Student,
I am a Doctorate in Education student at the University of Southern California. I am
completing my dissertation this semester in order to graduate in May 2008. I am
also an employee at Butte College in the California Community College Technology
Center. My dissertation paper topic is the TRIO program at Butte College. I have
been given permission to contact you.

This questionnaire should take you five minutes or less to fill out. Please insert the
questionnaire in the stamped, self-addressed return envelope and put in the mailbox
as soon as possible or at the latest, by February 15, 2008. Please feel free to contact
me at 869-4087 if you have any questions.

I thank you in advance for your participation!

Patty Davis
Program Administrator
Butte College

Likert Self-Efficacy Questionnaire
Response format: To the right of the statement, please respond with the number that
best answers the statement for you: (1) not at all true, (2) barely true, (3) moderately
true, (4) exactly true

1. I can always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough._____

2. If someone opposes me, I can find the ways and means to get what I want.
_____

3. I am certain that I can accomplish my goals. _____

4. I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected events. _____

5. Thanks to my resourcefulness, I can handle unforeseen situations. _____

6. I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort. _____

121
7. I can remain calm when facing difficulties because I can rely on my coping
abilities. _____

8. When I am confronted with a problem, I can find several solutions. _____

9. If I am in trouble, I can think of a good solution. _____

10. I can handle whatever comes my way. _____

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the TRIO Student Support Services program at Butte College, a federally funded program to aid low income, disabled and first generation college students. The study will present suggestions for increasing the self-efficacy of the TRIO students and for improving the retention and transfer rates for these students to four year institutions.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Davis, Patricia Ann (author)

Core Title A formative evaluation of the student support services TRIO program for low income and first generation college bound students self-efficacy at Butte-Glenn Community College District

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 07/23/2008

Defense Date 06/18/2008

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

Tag community college,OAI-PMH Harvest,student support services,TRIO

Place Name school districts: Butte-Glen Community College District (geographic subject)

Language English

Advisor Hocevar, Dennis (committee chair), Hentschke, Guilbert C. (committee member), Zimmer, John W. (committee member)

Creator Email pdavisusc@yahoo.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m1378

Unique identifier UC170937

Identifier etd-Davis-20080723 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-195656 (legacy record id),usctheses-m1378 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Davis-20080723.pdf

Dmrecord 195656

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Davis, Patricia Ann

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu