Advancing Equitable Access to Select Admissions Health Professions Programs

PATHWAYS TO RESULTS OCTOBER
2019
Implementation Partnerships Strategy Brief

Office of Community College Research and Leadership

Advancing Equitable Access to Select Admissions Health Professions Programs

by Marci Rockey

The Pathways to Results (PTR) model was developed to advance equity throughout student transition points in programs of study at
Illinois community colleges. PTR has been recognized as a helpful tool in identifying and addressing equity gaps in selective admissions
health professions programs at open-access institutions (Gallaway, 2018). Two neighboring community college districts in northwestern
Illinois—Black Hawk College (BHC) and Sauk Valley Community College (SVCC)—participated in PTR Implementation Partnerships,
focusing their projects on advancing equitable transitions into health professions pathways.

Identifying the Problem

At Black Hawk College, the first challenge to implementation was obtaining data that differentiated between which students were interested
in, and which ones had been admitted into, selective health science programs. Collaborative partnerships across the institution resulted
in the creation of a general occupational and technical studies (GOTS) program of study to more accurately identify students who were
interested in health science programs but had not yet been admitted. Further data collection and analysis revealed specific barriers to
access for Black and Latinx students as well as students transitioning from the English as a second language (ESL) and adult education
programs.

SVCC, which is situated in a rural district, sought to advance gender equity in its health sciences programs given that 90% of the

institution’s students in these areas of study are female. Further, while male veteran students were entering the nursing field, there

was a lack of representation in radiologic technology. This identified

a missed opportunity to engage this subpopulation which already

possessed valuable transferable skills with relevance to health About Pathways to Results:

careers in a rural economy (Bray, Beer, & Calloway, 2019). Implementation Partnerships

Improvement Efforts PTR is an outcomes-focused, equity-guided process
designed to improve student transition to and through
Understanding the experiences of Black and Latinx students as postsecondary education and into employment. The
well as more proactively connecting students with support services process engages community college practitioners and their
were central to BHC’s improvements. Data was collected in the partners to identify and understand the problematic aspects
form of surveys and focus groups to gain insight into the racialized of systemic design--whether processes, practices, policies,
and gendered experiences of students in health professions. Given or pedagogies--and to find sustainable solutions that will
the high number of students who reported balancing work and support equitable student outcomes. In 2016 a second
family responsibilities, regularly scheduled office hours for advising project was added to the Pathways to Results model titled
and the uniform loan program were made available in the Health PTR: Implementation Partnerships. Teams participated in
Science Center building. In addition, nurses were hired as tutors Implementation Partnership, or “Year Two,” project work
for both the LPN and ADN programs, including one tutor who was to implement, evaluate, and scale their work in a network
a recent graduate that successfully transitioned from the ESL of other colleges that were striving to improve equitable
program. Faculty-assisted advising and registration is also being student outcomes in innovative ways.

introduced in a prerequisite course for practical nursing.
SVCC embarked on a targeted advertising campaign for veterans through billboards and social media. In a small college with limited
funds for marketing, it can be challenging to attain support for campaigns surrounding select admissions programs that fill quickly.
However, this project provided support for targeted marketing associated with advancing gender equity and outreach to military
veterans in a specific program. While the impact of the campaign will not be known until subsequent application cycles, community
feedback has been positive. Similar to what BHC implemented, support services that included the expansion of advising and tutoring
services for radiography students and a student mentoring program were added.

Mapping the Logic Model

According to Advance CTE (2019), middle-skill jobs that require postsecondary training but not a baccalaureate degree represent 53%
of the labor market in Illinois, with the largest projected growth being the health professions field. Therefore, advancing both racial and
gender equity is critical to the state’s economy. At both colleges, it was evident that staff members’ efforts to close these gaps in selective
admission programs had to factor in the comprehensive student experience that includes multiple transition points from interest to
completion.

Notes on Scaling and Sustainability

Informed by the PTR project, BHC applied for and received an additional grant to develop a contextualized academic ESL program for
health sciences to bridge students into this career pathway. If the college can build a strong foundation for contextualizing ESL, the hope
is to scale into other CTE programs since the project has been credited with breaking down silos among departments. The team is also
hoping to build on its efforts of understanding the larger racial
campus climate and engage larger numbers of Black and Latinx
students in focus groups.

SVCC hopes to build upon the peer mentorship program and
learn more in the coming academic year about how students have
benefitted from it. In addition, the PTR process will be adopted at
the institution to facilitate the Program Review process required
by the state (Illinois Community College Board, 2017). Both
institutions identified the PTR model as a tool to center equity in
program improvement, which has created space for conversations
that are both challenging and critical.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Cathy Dorathy at Black Hawk College and Josh West at Sauk Valley Community College. The thoughtful
reflections of these team leaders were recorded through blogs, interviews, and on-campus meetings, greatly contributing to this strategy
brief.

References

Advance CTE (2019). State snapshots: Illinois. Retrieved from https://cte.careertech.org/sites/default/files/Illinois_CTE_Factsheet_2017.
pdf
Bray, J., Beer, A., & Calloway, M. (2019). The rural male in higher education: How community colleges can improve education and
economic outcomes for rural men. Washington, D.C., Association of Community College Trustees.
Gallaway, C. (2018). Reaching for Equity in Dental Assistance: Solving Issues of Access for In-District Students at Prairie State College.
Champaign, IL: Office of Community College Research and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved from
https://occrl.illinois.edu/docs/librariesprovider4/ptr/prairie-state-brief.pdf
Illinois Community College Board (2017). Program review. Retrieved from https://www.iccb.org/academic_affairs/?page_id=36

This publication was prepared pursuant to grant number D56871 from the Illinois Community
College Board.
Copyright © 2019 - The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois