Broadening the definition of at-risk students

Community College Enterprise, The, Fall 2006 by Bulger, Stephanie, Watson, Debraha

Community colleges are uniquely positioned to support at-risk students, including students who have challenges in reading, writing, and technology. A complete definition of the at-risk student is a necessary first step in conducting research that covers the characteristics of students who need support in today's community colleges. Through a review of extant literature on the topic, researchers critique current research including literature on the at-risk online student. Broadening the definition of "at-risk student" involves incorporating background characteristics (including technology proficiency), internal characteristics, and environmental factors into a set of variables which may be used in quantitative and qualitative research.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES have historically included services and programs for a diverse student population. Elliott, in The Urban Campus, asserts that "to their everlasting credit, it was these institutions-the junior and community colleges-that first embraced the New Majority populations and worked diligently to meet their needs" (1994). Given the needs of many New Majority students-displaced workers, single parents, immigrants, first generation or older than 18-24 year old students-community colleges must understand the variety of people they serve to create effective programs and services.

Community colleges enroll almost half of all first-time freshmen. According to the American Association of Community Colleges, thirteen million students with an average age of 29 attend 1,157 U.S. community colleges. Some are adults preparing for work, displaced workers, some are high school noncompleters who have fallen out of the normal developmental progression and need training, or require basic education or ESL training (Creighton & Hudson, 2002). A large percentage (53%) of low income, adult students attend community colleges and are single parents compared to 21 % of middle- to upper-income adult students. Many of them work full time (57%) compared to 33% of traditional 18-24 aged students, causing 45% of them to enroll half time or less (NCES, 1992; Kazis 2002). Community colleges serve the needs of a diverse student population through vocationaltechnical, continuing education, academic transfer, developmental education, and community service (Cohen &. Brawer, 2003).

The at-risk student is becoming a significant part of the community college mission for a variety of reasons. The present economy is plagued with lay-offs, both in private companies and public organizations such as municipalities. The largest impact of the economic changes is on laborers in industrial centers such as Michigan. At the same time, competition for highskill jobs has become greater since workers may be found all over the world (Friedman, 2005). American workers must continually learn new skills to compete. Lifelong learning is now a necessity. Community colleges, with their mix of program offerings, are uniquely positioned to support workforce development for the at-risk population.

At-risk student research gives insight into an important segment of the workforce. No longer does the term "at-risk" simply mean race and class; it encompasses a variety of limitations to learning. The higher education literature defines "at-risk" as a term with origins in K-12 education meaning students that "are poorly equipped to perform up to academic standards" (Quinnan, 1997, 31). The following discussion presents research that identifies three categories of definition for the at-risk student: background characteristics, internal characteristics, and environmental factors. Also, the researchers will address literature on the lack of technology skills as a defining characteristic of at-risk students. It is important to note that the definitions are not discrete. Most often, students fall into several categories of the definitions. For example, a student may be low-income, academically underprepared, and lacking technology skills. After discussing the limitations of the research, the authors will offer suggestions for new approaches to research on the at-risk student population in community colleges.

Identifying at-risk students by background characteristics

Considerable attention has been given to identifying the characteristics of at-risk students. Traditional definitions found in the research primarily address students in the K-12 educational system. In an attempt to identify the needs of at-risk adult students and improve their retention and ultimate academic success, a number of scholars and researchers have provided additional defining characteristics (Astin, 1982; Kaufman & Bradby, 1992; Tabb, 1991). Not surprisingly, at-risk students are labeled as academically underprepared, in part, and having unrealistic goals based on desire for instant gratification.

Controlling for racial-ethnic group differences, Chen and Kaufman (1997) identified five risk factors. They considered students at-risk if they had one or more of the following characteristics: