Ensuring College Access and Success for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Students
De Anza’s IMPACT AAPI Learning Community is featured in a new report from the Campaign for College Opportunity written by Rowena Tomaneng, president of San Jose City College and former associate vice president of Instruction at De Anza. The brief highlights effective strategies for ensuring that Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students can succeed in college without sacrificing their own cultural assets.
The report provides a detailed analysis on college success trends for multiple groups within the U.S. Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (NHPI) populations, among the fastest-growing in the nation, while noting the dangers of aggregating over 26 distinct Asian American and NHPI ethnic groups together. De Anza College is one of the Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) institutions mentioned in the article for their excellent programs and support.
The Campaign for College Opportunity is a nonprofit group that advocates for equity and access to college education in California. Its latest report was issued as part of an initiative called “Affirming Equity, Ensuring Inclusion, Empowering Action.
IMPACT AAPI was launched at De Anza with funding from an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. It’s one of several Learning Communities at De Anza that focus on supporting students from population groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education.
IMPACT AAPI is featured in the brief as a "model program for SEAA (Southeast Asian American) student success due to its holistic approach: an academic, cohort-based learning community, embedded counseling, cocurricular activities, and professional development."
The brief showcases how IMPACT AAPI helps students satisfy general education requirements, especially in math and English, while also allowing students to specialize their studies. IMPACT AAPI students are given the opportunity to learn in depth about the effects of western colonialism and war on Asian and Pacific Islander communities through new Asian American Studies courses. Southeast Asian American civic and community leaders also come to campus to present to students, which furthers their understanding and appreciation of the material.
However, learning does not stop in the classroom. IMPACT AAPI is celebrated in the brief for its cocurricular activites for students and training for staff. Students are more immersed in campus life through cultural and university field trips and travel to Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander conferences. Meanwhile, faculty and staff members are able to participate in a professional development program that focuses on immigrant and refugee expereinces and student struggles in order to develop the cultural competency skills of employees so that they can better help our students.
The brief ends on a final note: "students in learning communities such as IMPACT AAPI have reported that their AANAPISI program fostered an environment of belonging and care in which they developed meaningful connections with faculty, staff, and students, leading to their success."
(Posted on July 31, 2024)
