National Association for Bilingual Education

Phoenix, ArizonaJanuary, 2006

Prof. Luis ZayasDr. Luis Burgos

Dr. Carmen L. Lamboy

The Role of Higher Education in the Development of the Bilingual Professional

Objectives

• Discuss seven essential steps in the development and implementation of a successful program to serve underserved adults

Objectives

• Present the development of the Accelerated Dual Language model as a case study-– to illustrate the development of

such a program– to demonstrate the possibility of

serving the fastest growing underserved segment: Latinos

Objectives

• Provoke internal and external discussion of the need to develop programs to adequately serve the underserved

Who we are

Sistema Universitario Ana G. Méndez (SUAGM)School for Professional Studies Accelerated Learning Program

Dual Language Accelerated Learning

FIRST: DEFINE WHY YOU WANT TO DO IT!

• Establishes parameters for development

• Becomes a benchmark to assess how far you can go and how far you have traveled

• Financial: additional enrollments and income for the institution– Powerful incentive that opens

doors and gains allies– Usually puts a cap on how far

you can go

Reasons to serve the underserved

Reasons to serve the underserved

• Image and public relations– Powerful initial motivator– Usually provides for short-term

attention and limited scope

• Mission–Provides ample room for

comprehensive development and expansion

–Establishes connection to institutional and external reality

Reasons to serve the underserved

SUAGM: A combination of reasons provides the greater motivation

• SUAGM vision is to achieve projection beyond Puerto Rico

• Opening a center in a Latino community in the US that is mostly Puerto Rican was financially possible and sustainable

• Providing access to underserved populations has been the driving force behind SUAGM’s foundation and development

What do I do if this combination does not exist at my institution?

– Fast growth of underserved population segments creates powerful financial and public relations incentives for action

– Future growth of institutions depends on ability to attract and serve population segments that are growing

– If not in the mission…negotiate space for your own mission

•CREATE IT!

SECOND: DEFINE WHO YOU WANT TO SERVE

• Important to research the numbers, growth, composition and characteristics of the targeted population

• Gives clear focus to your efforts• Diverse population have diverse

needs– Resist the temptation to be all

things to all

• 58% increase in the Latino population in the United States (1990-2000)– Largest and fastest growing

minority group: over 40 million in 2004

– Latino population has increased over 6% in 42 states; over 21% in 26 states

• 40% of Latinos are first generation

SUAGM: The definition of our target population

US Bureau of the Census, 2000; Passel, 2004

• Educated bilingual professionals have more and better employment opportunities–Florida study indicates that

they make an average of $7,000 more annually

Creating Florida's Multilingual, Global Workforce, 2000UF, UM & FLDOE

SUAGM: The definition of our target population

• Latinos represent 15% of the US population-–Only 10% of university

students

US Bureau of the Census, 2000

SUAGM: The definition of our target population

• Latinos have lower success rates in the educational system:– 3 times the HS dropout rate of Anglos– 35% go on to college vs. 46%– 18% receive a bachelors vs. 37%

• Differences with first generation Latinos is significantly greater

• Completion rates of adults is 2/3 that of Anglos

US Bureau of the Census, 2000; Pew Hispanic Center, 2005; Fry, 2002

SUAGM: The definition of our target population

• Latino mastery of the English language affects access to higher education– 18% of US population speak a language

other than English at home• 60% of them speak Spanish

– 85% of Latinos speak Spanish at home– 14 million Latinos report that they do not

speak English “very well” (49%)

US Bureau of the Census, 2000

SUAGM: The definition of our target population

• Conclusion– Latinos represent the fastest

growing and most underserved population segment in the US

– In order to increase access of Latino adults to higher education we need alternative programs that will allow for:• Enhancing English skills

SUAGM: The definition of our target population

THIRD: LEARN ABOUT AND FROM YOUR TARGET

POPULATION• Research projects and best and

failed practices• Listen and consider their needs

and expectations

Research

• Search for information, visit or contact other institutions and projects serving your population

• Search the literature for research on current practices

• Prepare targeted feasibility, market and other studies

Learn about needs and expectations

• Meet with community, government and private sector representatives and groups

• Conduct focus groups of potential students

SUAGM: Search for best and failed practices

Bilingual education

• Dual language characteristics complements Adult Learning Principles – curriculum is content based – effective language learning is tied to

real-life goals– includes experiential or hands-on

activities– spirit of collaboration and peer

interaction

Why Dual Language and not Transitional?

SUAGM: Search for best and failed practices

• Accelerated education: successful experience as alternative to meet the need for flexibility and convenience

SUAGM: Targeted research

• Conducted feasibility study to determine overall demographic trends in the area, market need, workforce demands, and geographic distribution of target population

• Conducted market share and enrollment projection study

SUAGM: Learning from those we want to serve

• Conducted focus groups of target population– Considered differences within the

population in determining group composition: national origin, language usage, place of residence/work

SUAGM: Learning from those we want to serve

• Meetings with:– Community leaders– City, county, state and economic

development government officials– Human resource area or other

corporate representatives

SUAGM: What we learned from those we wanted to serve

• Students from our target group were most concerned about issues traditional students are concerned: accreditation, faculty, financial aid

• Learning English is high priority but they recognize the need for a facilitating environment where they can use their language

• Location is essential

FOURTH: UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS PREVENTED THE INSTITUTION FROM SERVING THIS GROUP

• Critically analyze why they are currently not being served

• Define what needs to change

Reasons for being underserved

• The politically incorrect but widely held reason…– “They can’t cut it.”– “They are not well prepared.”

• The more likely but hard to accept reason…– The institution does not offer the

programs and services they need– The institution is not well-prepared to

attract, retain and serve the needs of the group

The need for change

• Institutions need to examine how current programs, services, attitudes and image impacts their ability to serve new populations

• If it is not reasonable to expect the institution to change-– Create an institutional space where

change is allowed and possible

SUAGM: What we changed…

• We had to learn to understand, respect and serve diversity-– within our Latino community: national

origin, language usage– within racially and ethnically diverse

community• Our centers needed greater academic

and administrative autonomy to identify and respond to these changes: Branch Campus

FIFTH: DESIGN A PROGRAM THAT MEETS THE NEED AND OPENS THE

DOORS TO THE UNDERSERVED

• Key Components• SUAGM’s model

Key components of the design

• Academic program and support services that meet the needs of the target population

• A business plan that realistically & strategically estimates program income and costs as well as benefits to the rest of the academic community

The Relationship between Need and Program Design

Need

• Wide diversity in language mastery– Academic Preparation– Migration History– Usage

Response• Computerized placement testing in

both languages with immediate grading and data collection • Required prior to enrollment

• Development of different language levels• Immersion• Developmental• First Year• Second Year

Need

• Adults learn what is meaningful• Language is learned best when

it is content based

Response

• Use of both languages in all content courses

• Strictly follow 50/50 formula

• Modules

– Specify language to be used in each workshop, assignments and evaluations

• Faculty MUST use Monolingual Delivery

Need

• Attend to different learning styles

• Wide diversity in language mastery

• Learning occurs at different rhythms

Response

• Computerized language lab for skill development – Open lab for language and basic

skills development

– Faculty may arrange to bring their classes

– Exercises developed in-house complemented by other software

Need

• Clientele needs to understand details of the program and feel comfortable

• Financial• Academic• Administrative

Response

• “Sheltered environment” for students in classroom

– May ask questions in language of choice but will get answers in workshop language

– All faculty is bilingual, including those teaching language courses

Response

• Staff speaks, reads and writes both languages

• Faculty and staff model a dual language professional and provide “sheltered environment”

SIXTH: IMPLEMENT YOUR DESIGN WITH COMMITMENT, HARD WORK

AND OPEN MINDS AND EARS

• The start-up of a new and different program always entails going the extra mile

• Commitment becomes the real motivator

• Essential to include mechanisms for assessment and feedback from the beginning

Activities, Accomplishments and Lessons Learned

The Orlando Experience

Lessons learned….• Testing

– Re-design and Re-validate the Spanish Placement test based on one-year results and population served

– Establish benchmark for the transfer of English and Spanish credits based on testing results

– Tests serve as baseline for student profile and follow-up (pre and post-test)

Lessons learned…• Academic Programs

– Contextualization of content to comply with state requirements and realities

– Extra effort in recruiting faculty in specialized areas

– Creation of academic governance structure (ASAC)

– Development of a program assessment model

Lessons learned…

• Administration– Greater emphasis in training and

use of foreign transcript evaluation– Organizational structure was

adjusted to improve conversion rates of prospects and unanticipated student needs

SEVENTH: DO NOT REINVENT THE WHEEL OR GO AT IT

ALONE: PARTNER!• With other institutions and

community• Pool resources and experiences• Learn from others who have been

successful

What is AGMUS Ventures?

• Joint venture of Ana G. Méndez University System (Puerto Rico) and Regis University (Colorado)

• AGMUS Ventures created to develop educational services and products with four key characteristics:– Accelerated– Bilingual– Adult focused– Targeted to Latino markets: Latino-US and Latin

America

Services and products

• Develop new sites for implementation of dual language education model

• Provide administrative services for institutions wanting to develop this model at their sites

• Offer licensing and consulting agreements for model implementation: feasibility studies, marketing, staff and faculty development, others

• Develop materials needed for implementation of the model

Contact Info

Carmen Lamboy, lamboy@suagm.edu Luis Burgos, lburgos@suagm.edu

Luis Zayas, lzayas@suagm.edu