African American Students at SJECCD

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African American Students at SJECCD

• Office of Research and Institutional
  Effectiveness
• November 29, 2007

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Office of RIE Mission
Many think of institutional research as a
means of reporting to the State for the
allocation of funds. It is much more than that
in this district. In full support of the mission
and values of the SJECCD, the Office of RIE works
in tandem with its colleges to develop a culture
of evidence with which the best decisions can be
made in support of our colleges amazing students.
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Office of RIE Mission
We realize our students live in the San José
area and many of us live in this same area and
yet our personal experiences may be dramatically
different. The history of our arrival to this
area and the many additional places beyond San
José that our students also call home may not be
fully understood by the majority of our faculty
and staff, comments the Director of
Institutional Research, Dr. Bayinaah Jones.
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Office of RIE Mission
Understanding our students and the many
cultural lenses through which they perceive the
world and interact within society helps make all
SJECCD employees more useful to our student body.
The staff in the Office of Research and
Institutional Effectiveness (RIE) use critical
race theory, student voices, historical and
cultural information to develop an informed
picture of the data collected at San José City
College and Evergreen Valley College.
What makes us different? A Critical Race
Theory Approach
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Taking a Critical Race Theory Approach

• CRT helps keep race central to any systematic
  change model and was first applied to education
  in 1993 (Tate).
• CRT challenges the ways in which race and racial
  power are constructed and represented in American
  legal culture, and more generally in American
  society as a whole (Crenshaw, 1995)
• CRT provides a framework that can be used to
  examine the role of race and racism in education
  (Dixson Rousseau, 2006)

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The Data through CRT Lens

• African Americans in our neighborhoods and schools

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African Americans Locally
There are 31,002 African Americans in SJ, making
up 3.4 of the population.
50 - Female
70 - 18 years and over
16 - Speak language other than English at home
14 - Foreign born
Of African Americans 25 years and older in Santa
Clara County
US Census, American Communities, 2006
CPEC, 2005
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African Americans in Schools
High school age population
28 - Complete A-G 31 - Enter Community College
San José Unified School District
2006-07 AY 1,073 African Americans (3.5)
High School with Most African Americans Gunderso
n High School 113 (11)
East Side Union High School District
2006-07 AY 1,124 African Americans (4.3)
High School with Most African Americans Oak
Grove 218 (8)
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African Americans at SJECCD
Evergreen Valley College
Fall 2006 544 African Americans (5)
Language 2 - Primary Language not English
Gender
Age Distribution
22
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African Americans at SJECCD
Evergreen Valley College

• Top Three Zip Codes
• 95148 (11)
• 95111 (10)
• 95121 (10)

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2
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African Americans at SJECCD
San José City College
Fall 2006 999 African Americans (8)
Gender
Age Distribution
Language 11 - Primary Language not English
21
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African Americans at SJECCD
San José City College

• Top Three Zip Codes
• 95112 (7)
• 95128 (7)
• 95126 (7)

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English Courses Fall 2006
Evergreen Valley College

• English 1A 43 Af Ams (6 of all)
• 47 Success Rate
• English Basic Skills 95 Af Ams (6 of all)
• 54 Success Rate
• English 1A 68 Af Ams (9 of all)
• 63 Success Rate
• English Basic Skills 113 Af Ams (14 of all)
• 54 Success Rate

San José City College
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Math Courses Fall 2006
Evergreen Valley College

• Transfer Math 3 Af Ams (2 of all)
• 33 Success Rate
• Math Basic Skills 114 Af Ams (6 of all)
• 41 Success Rate
• Transfer Math 15 Af Ams (10 of all)
• 27 Success Rate
• Math Basic Skills 168 Af Ams (6 of all)
• 36 Success Rate

San José City College
Math 20 Series
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Math 11A Retention Rates
San José City College
Evergreen Valley College
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Math 11A Retention Rates
San José City College
Evergreen Valley College
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African Americans are Most Successful in the
Following Departments
Evergreen Valley College
Law Enforcement 100 Nursing 89 Theater 85
Art 78 Philosophy 74
(Fall 2006)
San José City College
Athletics Men 94 Social Science 83 Alcohol
and Drugs Studies 79
Art 76 Air Cond. 71
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EVC Faculty Ethnic Breakdown
African American
Part-Time
Full-Time
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SJCC Faculty Ethnic Breakdown
African American
Part-Time
Full-Time
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African American Faculty

• 7 of all Faculty is Af Am at Evergreen Valley
• - 21 of Counseling Faculty
• - 5 of English Faculty
• - 7 of Math Faculty
• 5 of all Faculty is Af Am at San José City
• - 12 of Counseling Faculty
• - 6 of English Faculty
• - 0 of Math Faculty

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Voiced Experiences of African Americans

• Qualitative information provided by African
  American students
• As cited from Public Forum, SJCC, November 6,
  2007. Approximately 30 in attendance. Majority
  of comments specific to SJCC.

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Social Issues on Campus

• Stated disconnection between African American
  males and females. African American females are
  feeling
• disrespected by African American males
• Crabs in a pot
• We dont support each other but criticize
  instead
• Age Differences were noted
• Older students did not stress this concern

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Discrimination and Stigma

• How are claims of discrimination handled?
• Nobody addresses discrimination on campus
• African American women stated they experience
  more discrimination than others
• Experiencing discrimination from other ethnic
  groups and also by African American males

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Administration Issues

• Counseling department has only one African
  American
• We need somebody who can understand our
  problems
• Help with work study programs on Campus
• Encourage and support African Americans in
  employment opportunities

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Suggested Directions

• Identify community outreach programs
• Where are African American students in the
  community?
• African Americans must serve on hiring
  committees.
• Make sure voice is heard (i.e., Newsletter, AS
  Representation)

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What are our expectations?

• Sixty-seven percent of African American male
  students who begin college never complete their
  degrees (Diverse, 2007)
• Nationally, African American men comprise only
  4.3 of the students enrolled at American
  colleges and universities. Same percentage as in
  1976 (Diverse, 2007)
• No student rises to low expectations (Dr. Shaun
  R. Harper, cited in Diverse, 2007)

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Potential Community Resources
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Thank You
www.sjeccd.org/rie/index.html
Office of Research and Institutional
Effectiveness San José/Evergreen Community
College District