IHEP Trip

As I reflect on the visit to the Institute for Higher Education Policy in Dupont Circle, Washington DC, I further realize how insignificant my research has been.

Here I am, consulting online documents and case studies from the past, and I don't read further onto the effects on policy that this research has on Higher Education. Of course, there are the theories and examples of reference, but honestly, why have I not further developed my thoughts these days? In reference to my project for this class, I'm looking over it again with a clearer mind and a definite goal, but with such a short amount of time in which to create the digital story, will I have something to be proud of to the level of what has been done at the IHEP?

One thing that has fascinated me was the partnership with Wal-Mart. How can an organization such as IHEP take money from a corporation such as Wal-Mart to do research that I somewhat see as "market research"? My train of thought immediately shifted to how Wal-Mart would use IHEP's research on students and populations for their own gain, though the thought behind the project was well-intentioned.

    The state of quality students who enter college varies these days, ranging from highly informed and motivated to those with less intention on success. It isn't that these students lack the will to continue in post-education, but there are certain factors mentioned in the conversation between Adam Howard and Arthur Levine that question the financial class of these students. What is also brought into question is the ability of the higher education institutions to provide access to students on the lower end of the financial class spectrum.

    The part of the conversation that spoke to me was the section on mentors. When Levine asks students from at-risk (higher percentage of not advancing past high school) backgrounds what motivated them to go into higher education, he related their stories to that of “reading the same novel by the same B novelist” when describing their struggles and finding a mentor or inspirational person. Mentors were a huge part of my education and a fundamental piece of my life, because without a mentor at different stages of my life, I would never have reached as far as I have in my career.

    The issue that is constant in this article is how students of lower financial class can continue to have access to higher education institutions, yet how barriers consistently deter certain “poor” students from getting an education. I agree to a point that students who enter college are deterred from continuing their education because of a detachment to their school. But I feel that there is a detachment because there is little reinforcement of mentoring, which offers students a connection to their school and pushes for pursuit of their education by accepting loans, applying for grants, and seeking scholarships. It's not that schools are getting expensive, but that students cannot motivate themselves to get out of their negative environment. In an article for the Chronicle of Higher Education, written 4 years prior to this conversation between Levine and Howard, Dr. Harvey Kaye speaks about being a mentor to middle- to working class students struggling through their undergraduate studies in more ways than financially (Chronicle of Higher Education, 2000). Dr. Kaye's article relates back to the 70s and 80s about students having to worry more than about how much the cost of college was, but to taking care of families, raising children, and juggling jobs with their academics. I question how much has changed, but I do realize that mentoring still existed back then to provide the necessary environment to keep students connected to their studies and university. And I continue to realize that students from poor financial backgrounds just need figures in their lives that will motivate them to continue, with proper education on finding ways to finance their college education.

Citations

Howard, A., & Levine, A. (2004, September). Where are the poor students? A conversation about social

class and college attendance. About Campus, 9(4), 19-24.

Kaye, H. J. (2000, April 21). Chronicle Review. In One Professor's Dialectic of Mentoring (chronicle

of higher education). Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/One-Professors-Dialectic-of/

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