Issue
26(1)
Serving
Minority Populations: New Directions for Community Colleges.
(2004). Virgil Laden. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 128 pp. Price
$29.00. ISBN 0-7879-7790-X.
Review
by: Sundra
D. Kincey
Educational
Leadership and Policy Studies
Florida State University
The minority is quickly becoming the
emerging majority in today's community colleges. Serving Minority
Populations provides great insight into the efforts made
by community colleges to meet the challenges brought by students
from diverse racial backgrounds and how the colleges promote academic
success for minority students. Community colleges currently enroll
over one third of all students and approximately half of all minority
students within higher education.
This book is particularly helpful for
advisors who serve minority students in any setting and is especially
helpful for those employed in departments where minorities have
been historically underrepresented. Not only is the book helpful
in understanding the needs of minority students, it provides suggestions
and strategies for advisors working with students in special needs
programs, e.g., initiatives targeting welfare students. According
to Melendez, Falcon, and Montrichard (2004), experiences garnered
from welfare-to-work programs have tremendously advanced the abilities
of community colleges to serve disadvantaged populations. In addition,
community colleges have been successful in advancing and promoting
academic success among Hispanic students (Benitez & DeAro,
2004).
Even though their numbers are increasing,
students of color remain significantly underrepresented in higher
education. Programs such as the LifeMap -- Valencia Community
College, Orlando -- help students determine when and how to take
the specific steps needed to complete degree requirements and
attain career goals while effectively decreasing attrition rates
among minority students. Programs such as this provide valuable
information for advisors trying to help minority students and/or
first-generation college students achieve their academic goals.
It is disappointing that the editors
did not include a chapter dedicated to best practices for increasing
retention among students of color at community colleges. Still,
this edition has a wealth of research, both quantitative and qualitative,
that demonstrates how various programs serve to increase access,
retention, and academic success for students of color. As such,
Serving Minority Populations is a welcomed addition
to an advising library.
References:
Benitez, M. & DeAro, J. (2004). Realizing
student success at Hispanic serving institutions. Serving
Minority Populations: New Directions for Community Colleges,
127 , pp. 35-48.
Melendez, E., Falcon, L., Montrichard, A. (2004) Lessons from community
college programs targeting
welfare recipients.
Serving Minority Populations: New Directions
for Community Colleges, 127 , pp. 61-
78.
