Improving Diversity

Tutorial specialists collaborate with faculty, staff and other departments and/or units on campus to help students with their academic endeavors. The goal is to increase retention and graduation rates and to create a campus environment conducive to student learning. 

CASD is composed of four units: PreCollege Programs, Multicultural Retention Programs (MRP), the Multicultural Education Center (MEC) and Student Support Services (SSS). 

• Aspiring Pupils for Professional Leadership in Education (APPLE), for students entering grades 8-10, offering a one-week program curriculum in Reading/Writing, Mathematics, Speech Communication, Special Education, Teaching as a Profession: Legal and Ethical Issues, Methods of Teaching, Measurement and Evaluation In Education, Current Trends and Issues In Education, Childhood Adolescent Development, Education and Diverse Populations, Introduction to Educational Psychology, Multicultural Awareness, and Financial Aid and Admissions College Preparatory workshops and Mapping Your Future (GLHE College Access); 
• Exploring Science, Technology and Engineering Education Majors (ESTEEM), for students entering grades 8-10, offering a two-week program curriculum in English/Writing, Mathematics, Speech Communication, Water/Beach Microbiology, Website Design, Meteorology, Introduction to Engineering, CSI: Chemistry, Quail Embryo Development, Financial Aid and Admissions College Preparatory workshops and Mapping Your Future (GLHE College Access); 
• PreCollege Enrichment Program (PEP) for student entering grades 8-12, offering a one-week middle and high school program curriculum in Reading/Writing, Mathematics, Speech Communication, Computer Technology, Health and Wellness, Art, Self-Esteem Building, Study Skills, Multicultural Awareness, Financial Aid and Admissions College Preparatory workshops and Mapping Your Future (GLHE College Access); 
• Wisconsin Youth in Nursing (WYN) for students entering grades 10-12, offering a one-week program curriculum in Reading/Writing, Mathematics, Science, Human Anatomy, Pathophysiology, Nursing Careers, Critical Thinking/Nursing Skills, Educational Workshop for Nursing Students, Anatomy Cadaver Lab, Obstetric Nursing, Pediatric Nursing, a field trip to Appleton Medical Center, Financial Aid and Admissions College Preparatory workshops and Mapping Your Future (GLHE College Access); 
• Young Entrepreneurial Scholars (YES) for students entering grades 10-12, offering a two-week program curriculum in English Composition, Mathematics, Developing a Business Plan, Business Technology, Admissions and Financial Aid College Preparatory workshops, field trip to Citizens First Credit Union in Oshkosh and Mapping Your Future (GLHE College Access). Eighteen (18) students that participated in the UW Oshkosh YES Residential Program were interviewed and eight were selected by the YES partners to participate in a six-week YES Internship Program in Milwaukee. 
• In summer 2011, eight (8) YES residential program students interested in the accounting field were interviewed and selected for a six-week internship at the following Milwaukee area businesses: Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee, Office of the Comptroller–City of Milwaukee, Johnson Controls, Inc., Milwaukee Public Schools, Northwestern Mutual Life, Quarles and Brady and Zoological Society. The YES sponsors provided each student with a $1,000 stipend at the end of the internship. 
• Additionally, the CASD PreCollege Programs offered the Summer Mathematics and Reading Talent Scholars (SMARTS) for students entering the 7th grade. SMARTS is a two-week program offering a curriculum in Reading, Mathematics, Esteem Building, Study Skills and Multicultural Awareness. Also, SMARTS students had an opportunity to participate in a Financial Aid and Admissions College Preparatory workshops. SMARTS is funded through the UW System Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. 

The 2011 PreCollege Programs enrolled 128 middle and high students primarily from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds. Participants came from 69 different middle schools and high schools throughout Wisconsin; out of the 69 participating schools, 30 were from the Milwaukee Public School (MPS) district (43.5 percent). The following data represents self-identification of our student population for the 2011 programs: 30 percent Hispanics, 32 percent Black/African American, 13 percent Hmong and 21 percent Caucasian and 4 percent American Indian/Alaska Native. 

The following precollege programs were funded by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) for $139,252 for the following programs: COEHS PreCollege Program, APPLE, ESTEEM, MATH, PEP, WYN and YES. Additional funding for the programs were provided by the UW System Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion funded SMARTS for $19,390, Summer Food Services Program $7,812.00 and Coleman & Williams, Ltd., $1,579.00. 

In spring 2011, PreCollege Programs invited the summer 2010 PreCollege students from APPLE, ESTEEM, MATH, WYN and YES for a two-day reunion on the UW Oshkosh campus. Thirty-five middle and high school students attended. The PreCollege Programs sponsored an etiquette presentation dinner for the students and a luncheon with the deans from the College of Business, College of Education and Human Services, College of Nursing and College of Letters and Science. Additionally, students' class-shadowed college mentors from those colleges, participated in financial aid and admissions college preparatory workshops, attended presentations with the Multicultural Retention Programs and Student Support Services, Center for Academic Support and Diversity. The students also had an opportunity to interact with UW Oshkosh student organizational leaders for a panel discussion and participated in social activities on campus. 

To assist the University with the retention and graduation of students of color, the department offered three mentoring programs during the academic year. These included the Emerging Scholars Program (ESP), a faculty-student mentoring program to help African American students achieve academic, intellectual, personal and professional success at UW Oshkosh by promoting and facilitating interaction between faculty and students. This resulted in the pairing of twenty-two (22) African American students with nineteen (19) faculty members for the 2010-2011 academic year. The Association for Latino Men in Academia (ALMA), a program for Latino men on campus provided opportunities for growth and development to eight (8) students. Group discussions included topics related to culture, family and employment. Students attended the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute in Chicago. The Guiding Paths to Success (GPS) program, a new retention initiative, was implemented in January 2011. The program is designed to assist Southeast Asian/Asian students at UW Oshkosh during their educational journey. During the spring 2011 semester, the program invited faculty/staff and community speakers/presenters to share their knowledge and experiences about academic success and the Hmong culture. The topics of these monthly seminars were: Stress/Time Management, Achieving Success in the Classroom and Hmong Clans and Hmong Marriages. Attendance was 30-35 people at each of the sessions. 

During the spring 2011 semester a new program was piloted (MRP Tracker) to enhance retention of students considered to be at risk as determined by grade point averages. The goal of the program is to close the achievement gap and raise the level of academic performance of multicultural and disadvantaged students served by the Center for Academic Support and Diversity (CASD). The program closely monitors the academic progress of students on a course-by-course basis through feedback from faculty. These reports alert counselors/advisors to contact students experiencing academic difficulties. Part of the process includes assessing needs and developing an action plan for success. During the spring 2011 semester, 750 MRP Trackers (courses/201 students) was sent to faculty with a return rate of 58.13 percent (436), of which 86.70 percent (378 of 436) required intervention by CASD counselors/advisors. Of the 201 students monitored by the MRP Tracker, 57.21 percent (115 students) achieved with a gpa of 2.0 or above at the end of the 2011 spring semester. 

The MRP's senior development skills specialist helped multicultural students understand assignment instructions to help them create and produce well-written papers in order to gain confidence in their written work. Recognizing the need of those multicultural students struggling with English, and with a commitment to honor language variations, services are designed to better aid students by not imposing limited time slots for receiving help. 

Other services that helped students with written assignments included late-night study-a-thons at the Multicultural Education Center and study skills and note-taking workshops as well as seminars. The program also offered email correspondence with those students limited in readily available meeting times during the academic year. The Senior Developmental Skills Specialist continued to achieve positive results with multicultural students in writing assistance during the 2010-2011 academic year. The 30-hour work week, at the time, garnered 295 student contacts, with 193 contacts for fall 2010 (total 154.4 hours) and 102 student contacts for spring 2011 (total 88.2 hours). A total of 242.6 contact hours for both semesters was recorded. This was based on a 30-hour work week. Out of the 193 contacts for fall 2010, 49.1 percent working with the writing specialist received a grade of A or A-, while 47.5 percent received a B+, B or B-, 3.4 percent received a C+ or C and one student received a grade D. Out of 102 student contacts for spring 2011 (total 88.2 hours), 48 percent received a grade of A, A-, while 39.2 percent received a B+, B or B-. Twelve point eight percent (12.8 percent) received a C+ or C. 

The Math Skills Specialist (MSS) offered assistance during the 2010-2011 academic year to students enrolled in courses ranging from Basic Algebra through Calculus III, including Statistics (business, math, psychological and sociological) and Research Methods. Of the students who sought tutorial assistance, 77.8 percent (35 out of 45) successfully completed their coursework, compared to 75.8 percent who did not seek help with their math. Conversely, only 22.2 percent of the participants withdrew from or failed the class compared to 24.2 percent of those who did not seek assistance. This implies that even knowing that help is available fosters some of the encouragement instrumental in completing a class, even if an individual's assessment of his/her academic progress is low. The MSS also worked with two UW Oshkosh students as an examination administrator for the University of Wisconsin Extension System out of Madison to provide assistance and give exams to those students taking courses online or through the mail. 

The American Multicultural Student Leadership Conference (AMSLC), initiated in the 1980s, is hosted annually by all University of Wisconsin campuses on a rotating basis to provide a forum for multicultural students to network and caucus around issues of diversity. It also offers opportunities for these students to gain leadership skills through participation in seminars, workshops and plenary sessions as well as interacting with role models, e.g., keynote speakers, workshop presenters, UW-System administrators and faculty/staff members. In addition, students are given the opportunity to submit papers/artwork for presentation and competition in a number of academic categories (e.g., creative writing, visual arts, research, etc.). In April 2011, 10 UW Oshkosh students from the Center for Academic Support and Diversity attended the 2011 AMSLC, held at UW Platteville. Of those 10, six qualified for presentations. 

For 2010-2011, the CASD Study-A-Thon program, a highly popular, late-night student study session traditionally scheduled twice per semester at the Multicultural Education Center (MEC), was offered three times each semester due to student demand. Tutors from Student Support Services, the Senior Development Skills Specialist and the Math Specialist all helped with specific areas of study. As always, this is a hugely popular study night due to the extended hours and the welcoming, warm environment of the MEC. 

At the 2011 Honors and Awards Ceremony, the following students were recognized: Deseray Aguirre and Liem Nguyen received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence; Gerald Chatman, Jamie Castillo and Luis Granados received the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program; Tyra McFarland, Molly Moua, Lee Thor, Chong Xiong, Mai Xiong and Cheeneng Yang received the Multicultural Leadership Award; Mee Yang received the Glady W. Ihde Education Scholarship and the Stanley Larson Scholarship; Sandra Cortez received the Stephen Kearney Scholarship; Chee La Lor received the 4Imprint USA Inc. Scholarship; Mira Lopez received the Michael and Kelly O'Brien Scholarship; Liem Nguyen received the Alumni Research Award and the American Chemical Society Outstanding Senior Chemistry Major Award; Erica Soto received the Gertrude Haeming Bowman Scholarship; Tiffany Pillows received the Elmer Leach Foundation Undergraduate Nurse Award; Erica Soto received the Royal Arch Foundation of Wisconsin Nursing Scholarship; Chee La Lor, Chee Xiong and Susu Xu received the Excellence in Japanese Award and Tiffany Pillows and DeAndre Taylor received the Collegiate Honor Society Recognizing Outstanding Academic Achievement. 

During the 2011 summer, eighteen (18) UW Oshkosh students of color applied for the Summer Affirmative Action Internship Program (SAAIP), formerly TOPjobs. However, only one student was hired. SAAIP is not sure why there were low numbers in the availability of internships for this past summer, but hopes for an increase in summer 2012. SAAIP is one of many internship programs offered by the state of Wisconsin for racial and ethnic minorities, female students and students with disabilities. 

The Multicultural Education Coalition Student Board, offered the second annual Multicultural Leadership Retreat during spring 2011. The executive board members of multicultural student organizations and emerging leaders participated in the retreat. The retreat served as a platform for students to discuss and explore various dimensions of inclusive excellence. 

The MRP counselors provide staffing for the MEC and maintain an environment conducive to learning and cultural/recreational activities for students during the academic year. In collaboration with the University's Odyssey Program, the CASD scheduled its annual open house at the MEC during the early check-in of first-year students. The event offered information to parents and students about the University, including food sampling and entertainment. New students and their parents and/or family members received information packets regarding CASD programs and services and had an opportunity to interact with faculty, CASD staff and students. 

During 2010 -2011, the Multicultural Education Coalition Student Board, in collaboration with the other five student organizations (Hmong Student Union, Asian Student Association, Black Student Union, Student Organization of Latinos and Inter-Tribal Student Organization), planned the annual Celebration of Cultures event for the campus community at the MEC. Multicultural student organizations participated in the planning of the Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, Asian Heritage Month, the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, Holidays Around the World, MEC Homecoming Breakfast, MEC Mixer and numerous other cultural events and activities. During the spring semester, the campus community participated in the third annual Celebration of Cultures Picnic which offered food and live entertainment by the Trinidad Tripoli steel band. 

The UW Oshkosh program serves a total 300 students annually. Students must meet prescribed eligibility criteria relating to family economic status and/or parental education attainment. Students with documented disabilities may also be served by the program. 

The SSS grant was renewed for five years in 2010. The new grant cycle will run from Sept. 1, 2010 to Aug. 31, 2015. The grant application earned 99.6 points out of a possible 100 points and received an additional 15 points for meeting all of its objectives during the 2006-10 grant cycle. 

The U.S. Department of Education required all SSS programs to offer or to collaborate with existing campus departments to provide specific services. This is the first time SSS programs have been required to provide services identified by the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to this grant cycle programs could select from a list of permissible services those services most relevant to the needs of their campus. The required services are: academic advising, academic tutoring, information on the full range of federal financial aid programs, information for locating public and private scholarships, assistance in completing the financial aid application process, services designed to improve the financial literacy of students, and information regarding and assistance with graduate school and professional programs selection and application process. In addition, the SSS program at UW Oshkosh offers information and activities designed to acquaint students with the range of career option available and employment assistance. 

Two non-residential learning communities for incoming freshmen were piloted during the 2010-2011 year. One focused on STEM degrees and careers and the other had a global citizen theme. The groups met for two hours each week and were led by upper class students. In addition to incorporating the group theme into the meetings, the groups were designed to teach freshmen how to be successful in college. One of the group leaders served as an intern with SSS during the summer of 2011 revising the curriculum. All freshmen entering the SSS program in the fall of 2011 will be required to participate in an SSS learning community or learning group. 

The SSS program is evaluated by three objectives: persistence of program students at UW Oshkosh, academic standing and college graduation rate of program students. As the 2010-2011 year is the first year of a new grant cycle, the objectives have changed from the 2009-2010 program year report. The program traditionally meets and exceeds its objectives on an annual basis.