National Association for Bilingual Education Phoenix, Arizona January, 2006

1. National Association
for Bilingual
Education
Phoenix, Arizona
January, 2006
Prof. Luis Zayas
Dr. Luis Burgos
Dr. Carmen L. Lamboy
The Role of Higher Education in
the Development of the
Bilingual Professional

2. Objectives
• Discuss seven essential steps in
the development and
implementation of a successful
program to serve underserved
adults

3. Objectives
• Present the development of the
Accelerated Dual Language model as
a case study-
– to illustrate the development of
such a program
– to demonstrate the possibility of
serving the fastest growing
underserved segment: Latinos

4. Objectives
• Provoke internal and external
discussion of the need to develop
programs to adequately serve
the underserved

5. Who we are
Sistema Universitario Ana G. Méndez (SUAGM)
School for Professional Studies
Accelerated Learning Program
Dual Language Accelerated Learning

6. FIRST: DEFINE WHY YOU
WANT TO DO IT!
• Establishes parameters for
development
• Becomes a benchmark to
assess how far you can go and
how far you have traveled

7. • Financial: additional enrollments
and income for the institution
–Powerful incentive that opens
doors and gains allies
–Usually puts a cap on how far
you can go
Reasons to serve
the underserved

8. Reasons to serve
the underserved
• Image and public relations
–Powerful initial motivator
–Usually provides for short-term
attention and limited scope

9. • Mission
–Provides ample room for
comprehensive
development and
expansion
–Establishes connection to
institutional and external
reality
Reasons to serve
the underserved

10. SUAGM: A combination of reasons
provides the greater motivation
• SUAGM vision is to achieve
projection beyond Puerto Rico
• Opening a center in a Latino
community in the US that is mostly
Puerto Rican was financially possible
and sustainable
• Providing access to underserved
populations has been the driving
force behind SUAGM’s foundation
and development

11. What do I do if this combination
does not exist at my institution?
– Fast growth of underserved population
segments creates powerful financial and
public relations incentives for action
– Future growth of institutions depends on
ability to attract and serve population
segments that are growing
– If not in the mission…negotiate space
for your own mission
•CREATE IT!

12. SECOND: DEFINE WHO
YOU WANT TO SERVE
• Important to research the
numbers, growth, composition
and characteristics of the
targeted population
• Gives clear focus to your efforts
• Diverse population have diverse
needs
– Resist the temptation to be all
things to all

13. • 58% increase in the Latino population
in the United States (1990-2000)
– Largest and fastest growing
minority group: over 40 million in
2004
– Latino population has increased
over 6% in 42 states; over 21% in
26 states
• 40% of Latinos are first generation
SUAGM: The definition of
our target population
US Bureau of the Census, 2000; Passel, 2004

14. • Educated bilingual
professionals have more and
better employment
opportunities
–Florida study indicates that
they make an average of
$7,000 more annually
Creating Florida's Multilingual, Global Workforce, 2000
UF, UM & FLDOE
SUAGM: The definition of
our target population

15. • Latinos represent 15% of
the US population-
–Only 10% of university
students
US Bureau of the Census, 2000
SUAGM: The definition of
our target population

16. • Latinos have lower success rates
in the educational system:
– 3 times the HS dropout rate of Anglos
– 35% go on to college vs. 46%
– 18% receive a bachelors vs. 37%
• Differences with first generation
Latinos is significantly greater
• Completion rates of adults is 2/3
that of Anglos
US Bureau of the Census, 2000; Pew Hispanic Center, 2005; Fry, 2002
SUAGM: The definition of
our target population

17. • Latino mastery of the English
language affects access to higher
education
– 18% of US population speak a language
other than English at home
• 60% of them speak Spanish
– 85% of Latinos speak Spanish at home
– 14 million Latinos report that they do not
speak English “very well” (49%)
US Bureau of the Census, 2000
SUAGM: The definition of
our target population

18. • Conclusion
– Latinos represent the fastest
growing and most underserved
population segment in the US
– In order to increase access of
Latino adults to higher education
we need alternative programs that
will allow for:
• Enhancing English skills
SUAGM: The definition of
our target population

19. THIRD: LEARN ABOUT AND
FROM YOUR TARGET
POPULATION
• Research projects and best and
failed practices
• Listen and consider their needs
and expectations

20. Research
• Search for information, visit or
contact other institutions and
projects serving your population
• Search the literature for research
on current practices
• Prepare targeted feasibility,
market and other studies

21. Learn about needs and
expectations
• Meet with community,
government and private sector
representatives and groups
• Conduct focus groups of
potential students

22. SUAGM: Search for best
and failed practices
Bilingual education

23. • Dual language characteristics
complements Adult Learning
Principles
– curriculum is content based
– effective language learning is tied to
real-life goals
– includes experiential or hands-on
activities
– spirit of collaboration and peer
interaction
Why Dual Language and
not Transitional?

24. SUAGM: Search for best
and failed practices
• Accelerated education:
successful experience as
alternative to meet the
need for flexibility and
convenience

25. SUAGM: Targeted research
• Conducted feasibility study to
determine overall demographic
trends in the area, market need,
workforce demands, and
geographic distribution of target
population
• Conducted market share and
enrollment projection study

26. SUAGM: Learning from
those we want to serve
• Conducted focus groups of target
population
– Considered differences within the
population in determining group
composition: national origin,
language usage, place of
residence/work

27. SUAGM: Learning from
those we want to serve
• Meetings with:
– Community leaders
– City, county, state and economic
development government officials
– Human resource area or other
corporate representatives

28. SUAGM: What we learned
from those we wanted to serve
• Students from our target group
were most concerned about
issues traditional students are
concerned: accreditation, faculty,
financial aid
• Learning English is high priority
but they recognize the need for a
facilitating environment where
they can use their language
• Location is essential

29. FOURTH: UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS
PREVENTED THE INSTITUTION
FROM SERVING THIS GROUP
• Critically analyze why they
are currently not being
served
• Define what needs to
change

30. Reasons for being
underserved
• The politically incorrect but widely
held reason…
– “They can’t cut it.”
– “They are not well prepared.”
• The more likely but hard to accept
reason…
– The institution does not offer the
programs and services they need
– The institution is not well-prepared to
attract, retain and serve the needs of the
group

31. The need for change
• Institutions need to examine how
current programs, services,
attitudes and image impacts their
ability to serve new populations
• If it is not reasonable to expect
the institution to change-
– Create an institutional space where
change is allowed and possible

32. SUAGM: What we
changed…
• We had to learn to understand,
respect and serve diversity-
– within our Latino community: national
origin, language usage
– within racially and ethnically diverse
community
• Our centers needed greater academic
and administrative autonomy to
identify and respond to these
changes: Branch Campus

33. FIFTH: DESIGN A PROGRAM THAT
MEETS THE NEED AND OPENS THE
DOORS TO THE UNDERSERVED
• Key Components
• SUAGM’s model

34. Key components of the
design
• Academic program and support
services that meet the needs of
the target population
• A business plan that realistically
& strategically estimates program
income and costs as well as
benefits to the rest of the
academic community

35. The Relationship between
Need and Program Design

36. Need
• Wide diversity in language
mastery
– Academic Preparation
– Migration History
– Usage

37. Response
• Computerized placement testing in
both languages with immediate
grading and data collection
• Required prior to enrollment
• Development of different language
levels
• Immersion
• Developmental
• First Year
• Second Year

38. Need
• Adults learn what is meaningful
• Language is learned best when
it is content based

39. Response
• Use of both languages in all content
courses
• Strictly follow 50/50 formula
• Modules
– Specify language to be used in each
workshop, assignments and
evaluations
• Faculty MUST use Monolingual
Delivery

40. Need
• Attend to different learning
styles
• Wide diversity in language
mastery
• Learning occurs at different
rhythms

41. Response
• Computerized language lab for skill
development
– Open lab for language and basic
skills development
– Faculty may arrange to bring their
classes
– Exercises developed in-house
complemented by other software

42. Need
• Clientele needs to
understand details of the
program and feel comfortable
• Financial
• Academic
• Administrative

43. Response
• “Sheltered environment” for students in
classroom
– May ask questions in language of
choice but will get answers in
workshop language
– All faculty is bilingual, including those
teaching language courses

44. Response
• Staff speaks, reads and writes both
languages
• Faculty and staff model a dual
language professional and provide
“sheltered environment”

45. SIXTH: IMPLEMENT YOUR DESIGN
WITH COMMITMENT, HARD WORK
AND OPEN MINDS AND EARS
• The start-up of a new and
different program always entails
going the extra mile
• Commitment becomes the real
motivator
• Essential to include
mechanisms for assessment
and feedback from the
beginning

46. Activities, Accomplishments and
Lessons Learned
The Orlando Experience

47. Lessons learned….
• Testing
– Re-design and Re-validate the
Spanish Placement test based on
one-year results and population
served
– Establish benchmark for the
transfer of English and Spanish
credits based on testing results
– Tests serve as baseline for
student profile and follow-up (pre
and post-test)

48. Lessons learned…
• Academic Programs
– Contextualization of content to
comply with state requirements and
realities
– Extra effort in recruiting faculty in
specialized areas
– Creation of academic governance
structure (ASAC)
– Development of a program
assessment model

49. Lessons learned…
• Administration
– Greater emphasis in training and
use of foreign transcript evaluation
– Organizational structure was
adjusted to improve conversion
rates of prospects and
unanticipated student needs

50. SEVENTH: DO NOT REINVENT
THE WHEEL OR GO AT IT
ALONE: PARTNER!
• With other institutions and
community
• Pool resources and experiences
• Learn from others who have been
successful

51. What is AGMUS
Ventures?
• Joint venture of Ana G. Méndez University
System (Puerto Rico) and Regis
University (Colorado)
• AGMUS Ventures created to develop
educational services and products with
four key characteristics:
– Accelerated
– Bilingual
– Adult focused
– Targeted to Latino markets: Latino-US and Latin
America

52. Services and products
• Develop new sites for implementation of dual
language education model
• Provide administrative services for institutions
wanting to develop this model at their sites
• Offer licensing and consulting agreements for
model implementation: feasibility studies,
marketing, staff and faculty development,
others
• Develop materials needed for implementation
of the model

53. Contact Info
Carmen Lamboy, lamboy@suagm.edu
Luis Burgos, lburgos@suagm.edu
Luis Zayas, lzayas@suagm.edu