Bronx Community College Help me help you: understanding how college support signals success for community college students Tanzina Ahmed Human, M.Phil. Social Sciences Bronx Community College

Foundation: Community Colleges Community colleges act as important gateways to higher education (21st-Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges, 2012). Students need the support of college instructors, staff and other students (Deil-Amen, 2011). Thus, how they narrate about the experiences, especially relationship experiences, in community college might relate to, predict, and even help explain their academic success over time.

Research Questions How do students write about campus relationships and social support while attending community college? How do students’ understanding of relationship support relate to or predict their academic success? Year-End GPA After Spring 2015 Support from College Partners In Fall 2014

Participants N = 104, (%) Gender Female 68 (65%) Male 36 (35%) Age Mean = 24, SD = 5.91 Under 24 69 (66%) Over 24 35 (34%) Ethnicity Latino/Hispanic Am 54 (51.9%) African American 22 (21.2%) African American Afro-Caribbean American 18 (17.3%) Caucasian American 6 (5.8%) Asian American 4 (3.8%) Household Income 49,999 or less 75 (72.8%) 50,000 or more 29 (27.2%)

Research Design Time 1: Fall 2014 Time 2: After Spring 2015 Students wrote 3 narratives to express their understanding of college relationships. Letters Best Experiences Worst Experiences Collected students’ year-end GPA from institutional sources. GPA Mean = 2.65 Standard Deviation = 0.91 Mode = 4.00

Kayla’s letter narrative “Dear Maddox (son), I promise to never touch your college account so that I know you’ll go to a better college than I did. Bronx Community College isn’t for everyone. Some professors you could not get a hold and when you do they brush off your concerns. Sincerely, Mom.” Kayla – a new student who received a 0 GPA because she dropped out after her first semester without completing any classes. Throughout her narratives, she showed that she could not find support from other, didn’t know how to elicit it, could not integrate into the community college environment, and ended up withdrawing from it.

Resolution strategies Students wrote different types of relationship-related resolution strategies to solve difficulties in Bronx Community College. Connecting Strategies: reaching out for the support of college partners.

Raoul’S Worst EXPERIENCE NARRATIVE “My worst experience so far was forgetting to get advised and almost getting kicked out. I emailed my adviser and he helped me get back on track. I was able to appeal my case and my appeal was granted. So now I’m pushing myself to do better in school and keep in check with my adviser at all times.” Raoul’s narrative demonstrates how he effectively solved his problem by reaching out to his college adviser for support.

Use of Resolution Strategies Year-End GPA Correlations Between Resolution Strategies and Year-End GPA Use of Resolution Strategies Year-End GPA Total Resolution Strategies .199* Total Connecting Strategies .307** Connecting in Letters .322** Connecting in Best Experience .093 Connecting in Worst Experience .068 Taking action strategies were not significantly related to year-end GPA.

Social support predicts gpa over time A standard multiple regression found that students’ use of the connecting strategies in their letters predicted year-end GPA, even after controlling for background variables (age, gender, Fall 2014 GPA, etc.) The model predicted GPA, F(33, 63) = 3.241, p < .001. GPA in Fall 2014 predicted year-end GPA, B = .535 [.380, .689], p < .001. Students’ use of the connecting resolution strategy in their letters marginally predicts higher year-end GPA, B = .118 [-.019, .256], p = .090. R2 for the overall model is .629, meaning the model explains 62.9% of variation in year-end GPA.

Scholarly implications Social skill is a competency that students must develop to succeed. Community college institutions can teach students to effectively use social support. Student narratives regarding social support can make early intervention possible.

thank you to my colleagues at bronx community college for their support!