Access to Higher Education through Consortia (review)
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During times of economic downturns, it is not uncommon for individuals to rethink their priorities, especially as they relate to career and/ or professional aspirations. As these individuals consider pursuing higher education opportunities, many may find that the doors of opportunity do not open easily, leaving many underprepared for the changing job market. Having limited opportunities for retraining and retooling can start a precipitous descent into marginalization that only perpetuates class reproduction, especially for persons who have been historically underrepresented and underserved in higher education.
Therefore, during these difficult times, it is even more important for institutions to keep opportunity available to these students while maintaining quality programs that will endure for many years. Knecht (2009) has urged institutions to “reorient efforts, change operational models, lower costs, improve our product, and be more responsive to a changing market” (p. A128). One way to help ensure that this result occurs is through consortia.
In Access to Higher Education through Consortia, the editors have compiled 11 short essays (average length nine pages) that report numerous innovative ways in which institutions can work collaboratively with major partners both in and out of the higher education community to increase access and promote a “college-going” culture. The consortia are time tested and span the country geographically, They share a concern with providing access to higher education for historically underrepresented and underserved populations from various environments, at different stages in the pipeline, and with varying structural designs. Although all 11 chapters are interesting and offer excellent perspectives, several chapters stood out because of their distinctive contribution to understanding access to U.S. higher education (Chapter 1), population diversity (Chapters 4–5), an unparalleled style of leveraging resources (Chapter 7), and unusual and creative approaches (Chapters 9–10).
Chapter 1, by John B. Noftsinger and Kenneth F. Newbold Jr., provides a much-needed historical context for understanding access to higher education in America. Sifting through over 400 years of history, the authors pinpoint significant events/ movements that greatly influenced access. Most notable was the 1947 President’s Commission on Higher Education, which called for the liberation and empowerment of every citizen to pursue an education. The remaining 10 chapters are devoted to descriptions the 10 consortia.
One promising group, discussed in Chapter 4 by Lawrence G. Dotolo, is the Virginia Tidewater Consortium. It works with non-profit agencies focused on low-income clients to hire “counselors with expertise in academic, career, and financial aid” (p. 36) to promote college participation. Chapter 5, by Rosanne Druckman, discusses the Hartford’s Consortium for Higher Education in Connecticut, which expanded an existing fifth-grade program and included “The Fifth Graders Go to College,” a program that encourages college participation among at-risk youth.
Providing access and services to historically underrepresented groups in higher education can stress already overburdened state university budgets. Chapter 7’s emphasis on leveraging resources was quite timely. In it, Pamela K. Boisvert described the Colleges of Worcester Consortium in Massachusetts which developed a successful statewide higher education access stream of services by leveraging federal, state, local, and foundation resources. The consortium is made up of 13 colleges and universities that collectively apply for grants and develop programs in regions or institutions that might not have succeeded in securing monies as single entities.
Two more innovative consortia approaches to access were brilliantly described in Chapters 9 and 10. The Committee on Institutional Cooperation sponsors a Summer Research Opportunities Program in Illinois, discussed in Chapter 9 by Barbara McFadden and Yolanda Zepeda. The consortium was developed to encourage minority students to pursue graduate studies and to steer them toward joining the professoriate by providing students with the requisite experience in research, enrichment workshops, and mentoring relationships that enhance graduate school preparation. Another consortium, discussed in Chapter 10 by Thomas R. Horgan and Debora Scire, centered on using service-learning along with civic engagement as a means of promoting college participation...
