All In: Student Pathways Forward
This podcast focuses on elevating community college student voices to shape inclusive higher education and workforce development policies, practice and partnerships that create economic mobility.
All In: Student Pathways Forward
Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC) & the The Hope Center - SWOCC Student Zac Warner and President Dr. Patty Scott; The Hope Center Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
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In the next episode of the All In: Student Pathways Forward podcast, host Marc Goldberg interviews Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC) student Zac Warner, college president, Dr. Patty Scott, and The Hope Center for College, Community and Justice Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy, Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield.
Zac is a parenting student studying electrical engineering, who began in the college’s GED program. Zac speaks to the culture of care on campus sharing insightful recommendations on how colleges can support parenting and working students career pathways.
SWOCC college president Dr. Patty Scott discusses the critical role faculty and staff play in encouraging and mentoring students.
Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield summarizes recent federal policy developments as well as The Hope Center’s 2022 priorities to support #RealCollege students like Zac. She highlights Oregon’s cutting edge career pathways and STEP program and the recent Benefits Navigator bill.
TheAll In: Student Pathways Forward podcast is a part of Oregon’s participation in the National Skills Coalition SkillSPAN network.
Welcome to the All-In Student Pathways Forward podcast focused on elevating student voices from Oregon community colleges to shape inclusive policies, practice, and partnerships. This is the host, Mark Goldberg, and it's an honor to speak with students across our state who share their community college experiences, offer salient and practical solutions to make colleges more student-centered, and hear from college leaders and policymakers listening in and reacting to the students' recommendations, building on their solutions and calls to action. This episode features an interview with Southwestern Oregon Community College student Zach Warner, who's a parenting student studying engineering, and who began his journey at the college in the GED Prep program. Afterwards, I have conversations with Southwestern Oregon President Dr. Patty Scott, as well as Senior Director for Policy and Advocacy at the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, Amy Ellen Duke Benfield, who both reflect on Zach's interview and share more on local, state, and federal policies and programs focused on student basic needs. Thanks for listening in. I'd like to welcome my featured guest for this episode of the All in Student Pathways Forward podcast, Zach Warner, who's a student at Southwestern Oregon Community College. Welcome, Zach, to the All in Student Pathways Forward Podcast. Thank you for having me. So I wanted to start and ask you if you could talk about your journey to Southwestern Oregon Community College and why you chose to enroll in courses there.
SPEAKER_03It's funny because I actually wasn't originally planning to come to SWAC. At the time, I had just gotten my son and I was working construction 80 plus hours a week, and I wanted a GD so I could get out of construction, you know, move to a different job. So I started the GED courses here at SWAC, and I had to do the night classes because, like I said, I was working a lot and I just gave it my all. When I graduated from the GED program, I had high enough scores that they gave me a tuition waiver if I wanted to attend college. So I thought about it. I did my homework, looked into a career that interested me, I could see myself doing, and signed up for classes. And I've been here ever since.
SPEAKER_02That's awesome. Congratulations on finishing the GED and continuing on with your studies at Southwestern. Can you talk a little bit more about what that career path is that you selected?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I've always had that in mind. As a kid, I was always taking things apart, trying to figure out how it worked. You know, breaking the VCR, breaking CD players, trying to put it back together, sometimes succeeding in getting it to work again, you know. So the highest score I had on my GD test was science. So I knew I wanted to go into a scientific field. So when I was doing my research, I was looking for a field that needed more people. So I had good job security, was high paying, was something that I would enjoy. And I kind of settled in the electrical engineering field. I haven't narrowed it down to a specific area inside that field. I mean, it's such a huge field. Integrated circuits for equipment, PCUs for cars, power supply.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And as you were saying, it sounds like the skills that you're developing in this program and in your courses are really transferable and you can take that in a lot of directions. Oh, yeah. And then also just fascinating to hear how you reflected from your GED scores and your background and how you've parlayed that into a future career. That's right. What would you say has been your biggest success so far at SWAC?
SPEAKER_03Oh, that's a hard question. Since I've been at SWAC, I've participated in pretty much everything I can get my hands in. Dr. Aaron Coiner, the engineering slash physics professor, had me sign up for a program last year called NCAS. It stands for NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars. It's a program that NASA hosts, but at first it was just felt like extra classes. So I kind of regretted signing up for it. For like four weeks, I had all these extra classes I had to do in between my normal classes. And then I passed the first phase. And then in springtime, I got to do the virtual NASA tour. I got assigned to a team. We competed with other students from different places around the country. It was a lot of fun. We got to design our own mission. We chose we were going to send a payload to the moon to try and study habitability and stuff. And we had a budget we had to follow within. We had to do challenges and we actually ended up winning. And then the counselor that worked with us, she elected me MVP of the team, which I did not see coming. And that was really cool. And it felt like a huge accomplishment. I work for Spear with Doc Corner, and I'm actually student lead on a couple of projects. We just landed a NASA-funded grant. There's currently scientists that are calculating the behavior of ionic particles in the atmosphere. And we got a grant to actually try and model them, do a 3D computer model. I would call that a huge accomplishment. I think honestly, the biggest accomplishment is the fact that I'm in college. So really boil it down.
SPEAKER_02That's just tremendous, all of that. And to hear about the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars program and getting the chance to just be on a team and compete and then to win it, and on top of that, be the team's MVP. That's amazing. We're doing a lot of cool stuff. Yeah. And I also just want to go back to what you said of the biggest success is just being in college and know that you started with describing that you were doing work in another field that sounds like was taxing 80 hours a week. And so just to make that transition, come back to school, you mentioned having a child as well. So being a parent. So I don't want to overlook that success because it's it's a huge one, right? Yeah, thank you. Yeah. Yeah, it is. It's it's been a journey. Yeah. So I wanted to ask you if you could talk about any challenges that you faced pursuing your education.
SPEAKER_03Well, I have the standard challenges that any student has, struggles with studies, you know, financial, having to worry about real world as in my son and paying the bills and everything while also trying to attend college and keep my grades up. That's probably the biggest challenge. And then there's the child care is a big one. Thankfully, my kid's actually going to school now. So he's taking care of most of the time I'm in classes. And then my mom helps me outside of that. Like I said, just the normal getting homework in on time and the stress of studying and stuff. So, but yeah, child care and finances would be the biggest one.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you've heard that from other students that I've gotten the chance to talk with on this podcast. The academics themselves can be challenging, as you said. And then on top of that, just the financial and for parenting students, childcare and know that that's always a juggling act day to day, right? And I think just staying there just on the financials, we hear all the time from students that funding college can be a major source of stress, and you talked about that already. I'm curious what resources within the college at SWAC or outside the school have been most helpful to you in addressing the costs of college.
SPEAKER_03So, like I said, when I first transitioned from GED into college, I had a tuition waiver. I did my best and kept my grades up, managed to keep a tuition waiver for the whole year. And then my advisor at the time had me signed up for FAFSFA, the Pell grant. She had me sign up for every scholarship that I was eligible for. And then on top of that, at the time they were looking for computer science tutors, and I had just passed CS 160. Me and my buddy, who are in the class, we both applied for the job and both got it. And so I've been a tutor ever since. So that helps also. Most of the financial strain isn't as bad as it could be.
SPEAKER_02With all the resources that you've described, the tuition waiver the first year, working with the advisor to fill out FAFSA and scholarships, and then being a tutor and getting some income while you're supporting other students, right? Yeah, yeah, thank you. I'm curious too, and I don't know if you talked about this before, but have you been connected with a STEP grant as well?
SPEAKER_03Yes, STEP is helping me pay for my gas when my brakes went out on my car. They help pay for my brakes. And they have actually helped me buy some books too. STEP has been amazing.
SPEAKER_02That's great. And related question with all of these resources, and you said visor helped you fill out FAFSA. Has there been someone on your campus who's helped you navigate these different benefits and get you connected to resources? And if so, how were they most helpful?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I don't think I could attribute everything to one person. A lot of people have been very helpful around here. I don't know if it's just SWAC or community college in general, but it's one of the best things about this place is if you need help, they know who to send you to to get that help. So Curtis Buell is in charge of the GED program. And so he was the first person to help me transition from the GD onto campus. And then ironically, his wife was my advisor. Honora was amazing. She's still amazing. I didn't know what I was doing. I was kind of like a dog chasing his own tail, trying to figure out what to do, what I was supposed to sign up for. And not only that, even after she was no longer my advisor, there's been times where I've been able to contact her and she's helped me still figure stuff out. And then my current advisor, again, Doc Corner, he's answered questions, he's helped point me in the right direction. Meredith Stone helped me out a lot. Clayton has been definitely another person that was extremely helpful and awesome. He was actually one of the GED teachers when I was coming here for my GD program. As he took over Step or SWAC, he talked to me about it and helped me get signed up for that too. Later on, they hired Summer. Summer's been awesome. Even the bookstore. I go anywhere, and if I need help, if they can't help me, they'll point me to the person who can. So it's it's been awesome.
SPEAKER_02What a testament to the support and culture there at Southwestern to make sure that students get where they need to go for the different supports. For sure. Sounds like they all have just been accessible. I think as we were talking about the different individuals that helped you to identify and access resources on campus, I wanted to ask a related question. At times we see that many students who qualify for different benefits and resources don't always access them because they believe that other students may need them more or because these benefits may be stigmatized. And so I wanted to ask you if you have thoughts on how we can help change these student assumptions and get students accessing and connecting with these benefits that are available to them.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Forgive me if I say this wrong, but it's almost silly to think that maybe this wouldn't apply to me. Worst case scenario, you apply to it and they say no. I'm sorry, somebody else needs it more than you. So if you need it or think you need it, apply for it. Also, if you have an advisor, talk to them, ask them if there's more. There might be something more specific to you. I would apply to everything you can, as long as it's not going to screw up something else.
SPEAKER_02That's great encouragement for other students. And I would say from the staff side, it's also faculty and staff are forthcoming in any and all of these options and understanding what students' challenges are financially, and then the A to Z. And I just was thinking back to when you talked about getting your GED and then learning that there was a tuition waiver that would pay for additional coursework your first year and how that made a difference for you and seeing the possibility of continuing your studies beyond a GED.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02I couldn't agree more. So from your perspective, Zach, what type of college policies could make it easier for students like yourself who are juggling parenting and work schedule and other family responsibilities along with their own education?
SPEAKER_03If I can't bring my kid to class, but I'm supposed to be at class, but I have a kid, that is what do I do? That's been an issue. There's been days where I've had to work from home via Zoom or can't show up to class because I have a kid. There was actually one class where I had to bring my kid to class and he behaved really well. He sat in the back of class, watched movies, and didn't interrupt class at all. But that was because the teacher was very understanding, but she was just awesome. Bringing a kid to class is not ideal. So I wouldn't even recommend changing that, having a place on campus where I wouldn't have to worry about him, where he could just hang out and play and just be a kid for an hour or two while I'm in class. That would be extremely helpful. This is college, right? This isn't high school. This is a school for adults. It should accommodate all adults, including a single parent or a parent in general that has kids.
SPEAKER_02That's a big area. And it's absolutely a policy and something that is uh barrier for students who are parents and particularly single parents. And so to have options on campus for child care that's either drop in in some cases, or maybe it's consistent whenever your classes are, um, so that it doesn't make it as difficult for um parenting students to be able to engage fully in their coursework.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Yeah. That's the big one. I guess this might just be nitpicking, honestly, but I've been in SWAC now for a couple of years, and I've had classes where it's basically like this is when we want you to have it done by, but if you miss that due date, we'll reopen it, you won't get penalized for it. But most of my classes are due, I have two papers that are due tonight. And if they're not done, I'm going to take a hit on my grade for it. Not just me as a single parent working multiple jobs, but for any adult that's functioning in the real world, trying to meet all those deadlines can be a struggle. Having them there as a guideline, but being able to work on them at your own pace, also, as long as they're due in before like two weeks before the end of the term or something, giving the teacher time to look through it and grade it, something like that would be great. But like I said, maybe I'm just nitpicking.
SPEAKER_02No, I think that flexibility with assignments, recognizing students and even some younger students straight out of high school who are also needing to work and may have other family responsibilities, but particularly working students, parenting students, there are always trade-offs and having some openness and due dates and flexibility, understanding the whole person and those realities could make a difference. And I don't think it's nitpicky. I've actually had other students on this podcast make the same recommendation from other colleges. And it's not to ask to compromise the quality of the education, it's to provide what I'm hearing is a little more flexibility, understanding when students have certain realities that make their lives just more complicated.
SPEAKER_03Yes, that's exactly it. That's all I'm saying is having guidelines like we want you to have this in by the state. If you're not going to let us know, let's figure out when you can get it in.
SPEAKER_02And not compromising the rigor at all, but just having some openness and flexibility. Yeah. I think that's a great, great suggestion. Stepping back a little bit and wanted to ask you what do you think is the most important thing that educators, career coaches, and other staff working to help students succeed can do to support them most?
SPEAKER_03Number one would be communication and availability, being able to reach out if there's an issue, if I need help, any if I can contact them, whether it's an advisor, a teacher, a coach. One of the best things I learned in my life was sometimes the greatest thing you can understand is you don't have to understand everything. So if a person's having issues and they're trying to share with you something personal, and then you try and relate to it, it can almost feel demeaning or condescending, if that makes sense. You don't have to relate to some experience somebody else is going through. You just have to listen, understand, and help them if you can. So being able to just identify what type of help a person needs and being able to point them in the right direction. Most of the people I've worked with are pretty good with that. But I know that's an issue I've heard other students talk about.
SPEAKER_02I think those two areas are profound. And what I heard you say in the communication and accessibility is just being responsive, right? So being available to students and being able to assist as needed. And then I think that second one is as meaningful for staff and faculty to just listen and then be there for students and figure out how they can help, as opposed to maybe centering themselves or bringing their own experience into it, but really just to be present and to listen to students, seek to understand so that they can assist in a way that's genuine, authentic, and caring. Yeah. Yeah. What advice would you give to other students at SWAC and maybe other different community colleges from your own experience?
SPEAKER_03The advice I'd give to any student across the board, it's not about how smart you are, it's about how much work you're willing to put into it. How much are you willing to give? Shoot for the top, do the work. You're not here to have fun. It's not supposed to be easy, and you are supposed to be learning something. In GED, we have people that show up and they're like, I want my GED. It's like I'm going to get my GED and they're determined. You know, even if they don't understand something, if they get stuck, they're going to ask for help, they're going to find the problem, they're going to overcome it. And I guarantee you, those people are going to be the first people in those classes to get their GED. That would be my biggest piece of advice. I am not the smartest guy on campus. I'm not even the smartest tutor up on this floor. And I am not the smartest guy in sphere or in physics class or anything, but I dang sure make sure my kid is the only thing that takes precedence over my homework. If I get stuck, I go find somebody who can help me. And for the staff side of it, don't give up on the ones that don't. The other side of that same coin. If you're on the staff and you have somebody that's not giving it their all and they're slacking off, don't give up on them. You got to keep working with them, you got to keep nudging them. And hopefully you can do something to ignite that spark that drives them, or just be there. So when that spark ignites from some other source, you can keep them on the rails as they start to accelerate. You know, staff, faculty, be patient with your students. Sometimes we don't get it, we don't understand. We have to ask questions because we're not going to be able to do anything unless we ask questions. Most of the teachers I know are really good about understanding and answering questions and stuff. And then the student side of it, be patient. Your teachers are dealing with more than you. They have to answer questions for everybody, not just you. If you don't get too frustrated when you're not getting something, ask for help. Please ask for help. There's people that can help you. And if the teacher specifically cannot help you because they don't have the time or the means or energy, they can send you up here to the third floor where there's tutors.
SPEAKER_02Well, and then with your tutoring, it must be an amazing experience to be able to work with other students.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I found tutorings beneficial in both ways. Not only do I get the uh fulfillment and feeling of satisfaction as I help somebody, but as I'm helping somebody, whatever I'm helping them with is reaffirmed for me also. If I'm helping somebody with their algebra, I'm secretly, not so secretly, making my algebra better too. So I found there's a moment, it's in all learning, but math for me is the big one. There's that moment where it doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense, and then oh my goodness, I get it. And not only do I love when I feel that way, but I found that I really like it when I help somebody else get there too, and they just hit that moment and it's like, oh my goodness, it's all so clear now.
SPEAKER_02So it is definitely a rewarding job. Yeah, well, and the way you describe that, and as you were talking about electrical engineering and the diversity of opportunities in the future, I wouldn't rule out some type of teaching in there too. It sounds like you enjoyed the interaction with other students and supporting them as they have those aha moments.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, you're not the first person to tell me that. Is that right? Yeah, so I've I've had a couple people now tell me they could easily see me as a teacher.
SPEAKER_02So this podcast is really about getting the chance to listen to students. And so I wanted to ask you, Zach, if you have any other ideas on how colleges can listen to students better to develop policies and programs that put students in the best position to succeed in college and beyond.
SPEAKER_03I think what you're doing is fantastic. Actually, asking students. And then presenting it to the higher up, so to speak. It's really what can we do to bridge the gap between students and administration? So I mean there's definitely a gap there. And it's not by anybody's fault for design, it's just kind of how the world works. So having programs like this that actually bring the thoughts from students to the years of administration, that's fantastic. Something that they do here at SWAC at the end of every term is they send out surveys about the class. I think that's useful. I've actually seen enough students say something about a certain class and then that problem being dealt with, maybe allowing for an open suggestion drop box on the SWAC website or something, something you could log in as a student and somebody in the higher up is actually taking the time to go through them.
SPEAKER_02I think that's a great suggestion. And it would be easier, I think, for a student who is running from class to home to make dinner, to go to work on their own time to just type up a quick summary, a suggestion box, and then submit it. It's another way to hear from students. So I just have another question or two here and a big one at the end. And just wanted to ask you how your experience at SWAC has been impactful in your life.
SPEAKER_03There's no better word for it, but it doesn't feel heavy enough to say impactful. Literally, when I got the tuition waiver and I decided I was going to go to SWAC and I started doing all the research, it changed whatever plans I had for my life. I've completely rearranged to make an actual career, get an actual high-paying job, higher education, do things I never thought I'd be able to do. SWOC has opened doorways that I didn't even think were there or would ever be available to me. My life is on a completely different set of rails. And it all started with I'm going to get my GD, so I'm not going to be stuck working whatever job will hire me. And it turned into now you have this career opportunity. Maybe someday I'll be uh electrical engineer for rockets for NASA or work for SpaceX or computer design or who knows? Who knows?
SPEAKER_02It's awesome. Yeah, that's fantastic. And thinking about your journey there and beginning in the GED program and that being a huge accomplishment in itself, and where you're at now, and all the opportunities you've had and directions you could take. The skills you've developed and future career is endless in a way, and appreciate you telling your story at Southwestern and how it has been transformational, and also all of your insights along the way as a student who is parenting, in addition to those suggestions with students on shooting for the top and doing the work, and then your opportunities in tutoring and work with NASA with the grant as well as the community college aerospace scholars. It's tremendous. Just as we wrap up, I did want to ask if there's anything else you'd like to share about your experience at Southwestern for this podcast episode.
SPEAKER_03I think SWAC is fantastic. And in all reality, you can get as far as up to an associate's, you can get the same education you'll get from a university. You can get financial aids, and it will always be cheaper to go to a community college. I would encourage anybody who's thinking about going to higher education for SWAC in particular. So people in Coos County, Curry County area, if you're thinking about going to higher education, make a pit stop by SWAC for a couple of years first. It's the smarter route. You won't be lost in a class of 200 people. You'll be in a smaller classroom setting where the teacher will actually know your name. It will be cheaper on your wallet. You'll still get the same education and be able to transfer to whatever university you want to transfer to, anyways. That's my last little two cents.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's a great way to end this conversation. And I think back to what you said earlier of the different individuals that have supported you. So aside from having smaller classes and having faculty who know your name, there's also a whole team of staff that will guide you through the process and help you connect with different resources and opportunities. Based on what you said earlier, add that to the pitch. Yeah. Just want to thank you again for spending the time having this conversation. It's incredibly inspiring to hear your journey at Southwestern and what the future holds and listen to your insights and reflections to ensure that other students have a similar experience and get the supports that they need to be successful. That's cool. Thank you so much for having me. It was awesome. I'd like to welcome my next guest, the president of Southwestern Oregon Community College, Dr. Patty Scott. Welcome, Dr. Scott, to the All-In Student Pathways Forward podcast today.
SPEAKER_00Thanks so much for having me today, Mark.
SPEAKER_02As we get started, I thought it would be helpful if you could share a bit more about Southwestern Oregon Community College for any listeners that are not as familiar with the institution.
SPEAKER_00So Southwestern Oregon Community College is located on the southwest corner of the coast of Oregon. Our district runs quite a large geographic span from north of Reedsport all the way down to the California border and then inland a bit all of Coos and Curry counties in western Douglas. It was the first college started by a vote of the people back in 1961. So we're almost 61 years old in May.
SPEAKER_02Wow. I didn't realize that and knew it was a large geographic area, but I didn't have that history.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was a long shoreman that had to advocate the state to change the law in 1959 to allow community colleges in Oregon to be established. And from 61 to 71, 13 of the original 17 were founded during that time, which is pretty exciting.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and I know that there's a large campus in Coos Bay. And is that the only campus, or are there other locations that Southwestern offers classes in your district?
SPEAKER_00We have a campus in Brookings, Curry County annexed into the district in 1995, and we built that campus and opened it about 10 years ago.
SPEAKER_02So more accessible for residents further south in Curry County. So I hope you had the chance to listen into my conversation with Southwestern student Zach Warner, who came through the GED program, has been enrolled in credit classes, has done some amazing work. So wondered what your overall reactions to the discussion I had with Zach were earlier in this episode.
SPEAKER_00So my initial reaction when I was listening to your interview with him, I was actually smiling quite a bit because it warms my heart to know the adult students coming back through the GED program who might not have had a good educational experience for whatever reason. And then they find their way back to us and they discover their potential. And that's what Zach's story is about. And the fact that we have this phenomenal physics instructor that's connected to NASA and hopefully a theme that you've seen through these interviews, the faculty that are committed that could be other places, but they want to be at a community college teaching. And that's what our physics instructor, Dr. Koiner, is. He could be back at NASA working, but he wants to be here inspiring our students. And that's exactly what he's done with Zach.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and that faculty member, among many others, training the next generation of potential NASA engineers. And I appreciate what you said as Zach's door into the college and the GED prep program. And I was impressed with the college and that policy of providing a tuition waiver for GED graduates. It was really interesting to hear for him. That was the sort of tipping point. If that hadn't been available, he wasn't even thinking about college. But because it was, it was like, oh, maybe I'll take some classes and see where he is now.
SPEAKER_00I've heard that before from GED students and prominent people in our community that came through our GED program that are very successful business folks, former distinguished alum of ours, same thing, waivers propels them into a credit program.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's just a great model and story. And I wanted to ask, too, from my conversation with Zach, what did you hear that highlighted work that SWAC is doing well to address students' unmet financial needs?
SPEAKER_00Well, one of the things I think that we do well are these waivers that we give. And we've done that for a very long time. We know that the adult students are hard to find. We know they're in our community. We know there's a significant number of our high school students who don't get to graduation for whatever reason, and they're out there. And when they're ready, we want them to know that we're here to serve them. Then the opportunity program, which is a newer funded program that's there. And our financial aid office works really hard to package to help students meet their need.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And when you talked about the opportunity programs, just for folks that may not be as familiar, that's your step grant and pathways to opportunity team. Can you say a little bit more about the opportunity programs?
SPEAKER_00It's a team of folks to help students get connected to other social services resources and SNAP and help with food insecurity. And it's all been evolving over the last couple of years, supported by the state legislature, really pushed by the Oregon President's Council. We started investing in it ourselves through some of our money with a few pilot schools. We were able to expand it because we demonstrated the results. The state has gotten interested in supporting it through additional funding. And it's a part of the governor's Future Ready Oregon bill as well to do some more expansion with career pathways that will all work together with the opportunities program.
SPEAKER_02That's great background, even up to this legislative session. So, from my understanding, Southwestern was one of the three or four or five schools that had some pilot funding for that benefits navigator role to assist students who may be facing basic needs and security, unmet financial need with benefits and resources. Then last full legislative session in 2021, a bill was passed, House Bill 2835, where there was funding for all the colleges to have a full-time equivalent benefits navigator. And now in this session in 2022, the short session, the Future Ready Oregon bill that would put millions 200 million. Okay.
SPEAKER_00200 million for a whole bunch of different things, not all that go into community colleges. But we will get some additional support, which is great.
SPEAKER_02Right. So that's the full amount for workforce training, which includes workforce boards and other providers. Since we were talking about the benefits navigator, one thing that I heard from my conversation with Zach was just how much Zach has appreciated the supports that he's received from faculty, Dr. Koiner, but even then different staff that have been there to guide him through the process in the GED program, transitioning into college, applying for FAFSA, connecting with the STEP grant, and even encouraging him to become a tutor. All those wraparound holistic supports have made a difference to him. And he rattled off six or seven different staff that have been there. And to me, is an illustration of something that it seems is going really well that Southwestern has put resources behind and efforts through your opportunity programs and beyond to make sure that students like Zach are getting all the supports that they need.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So from my conversation with Zach, did you hear anything that could illuminate a new opportunity for the college that supports student success, especially for adult students like Zach?
SPEAKER_00He had some good ideas around the suggestion where students can give suggestions that they have, especially the adult students, because they have a lot of valuable information, but it's trying to figure out how to get that so that we can take it and figure out how to use the information.
SPEAKER_02I thought that was a great suggestion too, in considering how to make it easy for very busy students, just finding a simple way for them to offer feedback. And in that type of suggestion box, it's also anonymous. Yeah. That's important to any students. Staying on the topic of serving returning adult students like Zach, wanted to ask if you could talk about how this type of work in serving returning students, adult students holistically in Southwestern's district aligns with your priorities as the president of the college focused on student success.
SPEAKER_00It's always been a priority for us, but we also are very mindful of the demographic cliff that's coming. There's only so many people in the K-12 system, and because of shrinking family size, so the adults are the folks that we really have to figure out how to reach in the entire district. We recently got a grant to go out and look for people who kind of disappeared during the pandemic. And another grant that we're looking at that will focus on bringing uh males from rural areas back to campus because we know if you look at our demographics in terms of gender, ours mirrors what the national numbers look like. And it's very much higher for females coming to college than males. And we want to see what we can do to try to bring more males to campus.
SPEAKER_02That was a competitive grant. And I think Southwestern is one of only five or six colleges across the country that was accepted. So kudos to you and the team there for receiving those funds and to be leaning into different approaches and better serving adult students, understanding the demographic shifts and who could benefit in the upcoming years from post-secondary education. So staying with the statewide pathways to opportunity work, its focus has been on connecting students with benefits and resources that's most effective with strong programs, inclusive policies, and dynamic partnerships. I wanted to ask what are some of the valuable community partnerships that Southwestern has developed that have been most impactful in supporting students holistically?
SPEAKER_00Well, we work really strongly with the Department of Human Services, SOWAB, which is our workforce investment board, Skobac, which is another workforce training nonprofit. We have the South Coast Early Learning Hub. We work really well with our K-12 partners in our region. We actually try to partner with everyone, everyone in particular that we can to help the students get what they need.
SPEAKER_02I appreciate you sharing those partners. I think anywhere you go, colleges can't do this work alone when we consider how to support students holistically. Those are all comprehensive partners when we really center students and understand what their needs are. So that's great to hear. Those are the organizations that the college is working collaboratively with. As we wrap up here, I just wanted to ask if there's anything else you'd like to share for this podcast episode.
SPEAKER_00I appreciate that you're doing this work. Now that I'm in this position and not directly working with students, I don't get the opportunity as much to hear the stories. I get letters in the mail and emails too, because the students have a pipeline directly to the president now. They can find our email andor the boards. I value hearing. I'll give you a couple of examples. We're getting ready for an alumni weekend that's coming up in June. We're doing something different. As you know, it's hard to track community college alum. We heard back from a guy who was here in the 70s. I think he was on the first baseball team. He played basketball, he met his wife, he rattled off all of his experiences that he had here. And he's this very successful person that lives in Eugene. And then recently I heard from a student, one of the last students that I taught in a class, and he constantly is updating me with what he's doing that's new and cool. And he always tells me, You had such an influence on my life. And so when I heard him talk about his experience with Dr. Koiner, it just really made me smile because Dr. Koiner is very engaged with students and he's doing a lot of different things that we haven't done here before. And he's pushing students in ways that they haven't had the opportunities in the past, particularly in physics and engineering. So it's pretty exciting to see where that will lead. And we also had a big, huge donation specifically for science scholarships, which will be nice to have a source to recruit people in here, a person like Zach who could apply for that money to continue his education.
SPEAKER_02You touched on a lot there. It's just the connection for alumni and hearing the impact, even years later, of graduates on their time at Southwestern, and then also just the power and impact of faculty and how enriching that is for students.
SPEAKER_00I am a proud community college graduate, and one of my most proud accomplishments was being recognized as the 2020 Distinguished Alum for Lane Community College. And in my speech, I mentioned that faculty member that really had the impact on my life that really changed the trajectory of probably where I would have gone. And it's similar to what I hear. I heard it in Zach's story, and I see it with our students, the power of the faculty or the power of anyone at the college that they can have on where a student ends up going and their potential. And I think sometimes we forget that we have that power, that influence. And it's the beauty of a community college because we get to know at a personal individual level who these people are.
SPEAKER_02Thank you for sharing that. I didn't realize you were a lane community college graduate, along with another guest I had a few episodes ago, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici is also a Lane Community College graduate. But that example is a testament to that relationship. And I also think back one last connection back to Zach when he described his work in the tutoring center and that moment for himself, but then seeing it with other students where the light bulb goes on. And that's in the learning, but also just in the potential for their future and the opportunities abound from their community college coursework and experience.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah, if you can teach it, you've learned it. And Zach demonstrated that.
SPEAKER_02What a great way to wrap up this interview and just appreciate you taking the time again, Dr. Scott, to have this conversation and to talk about Zach's interview and the priorities at the college and even some of the history back to the very beginning in 1961.
SPEAKER_00Well, thank you very much. I enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_02I'd like to welcome my next guest to the podcast today, Amy Ellen Duke Benfield, who is the Senior Director for Policy and Advocacy at the Hope Center for College Community and Justice at Temple University. Welcome, Amy Ellen, to the All-in Student Pathways Forward podcast today.
SPEAKER_01I'm delighted to be here, Mark. It is just great to have the opportunity to have a chat with you. I've always admired the work that you've done in Oregon and am delighted to be in an environment in which I might get to influence some Oregon policy.
SPEAKER_02It's really an honor to have you on. And I've followed your work at the national level for many years in your different chapters and just appreciate you offering up your expertise for this conversation. And with that, figured I would start by asking you if you could share a bit more about the Hope Center and the critical work the organization has led nationwide to address community college students' unmet financial needs. And as you described the Hope Center, I'm curious why addressing students' basic needs and security and increasing access to affordable food, housing, transportation, childcare, and technology, why are they all a priority at the Hope Center and the real college movement?
SPEAKER_01Sure. The Hope Center for College Community and Justice is an action research center. We transform higher education into a more effective, equitable, and impactful sector using a powerful combination of applied. Scientific research, technical assistance to colleges and universities, policy advising with state and federal governments, where I come in, and strategic communications. We believe that students are humans first and that their basic needs are central conditions for learning. We're redefining what it means to be a student-ready college. I'm tired of colleges that say are students out there college ready, and reliable and consistent access to affordable food, housing, transportation, technology, familial child care, health care, those are all central conditions for learning. Without those needs met, far too many students leave college in debt and without degrees. Real college students, some folks call them non-traditional students, make up the new normal and higher ed. Students' basic needs security refers to their ability to cover these essential costs of living and going to college just beyond tuition and fees. We know that, for instance, in Oregon, childcare costs more than tuition, which is crazy. This movement encourages policymakers, colleges and universities, students, faculty, staff, researchers, advocates, and others to join in this call. But you know what? I think one thing we don't talk about enough is that students go to college to be part of the American dream. But the new economics of college are pushing many students into poverty. 50% of students struggle to afford food and pay rent. The financial system assumes that students have parents who will support them. But today's students lack the privileges of those who went before them, but they work just as hard. 70% of today's students work, 25% of real college students have kids. Zach's story is a real college student's story.
SPEAKER_02Wow, Amy Ellen, that's a lot of really helpful information on not just the Hope Center and real college students, but just the realities of community college students across the country. And we've been fortunate to partner with the Hope Center and be a part of that national survey and colleges and the state using that data to help our legislators and policymakers and institutional policymakers at colleges understand these realities.
SPEAKER_01I think a lot of people know Hope from the Royal College Survey. And I'm delighted to be in an institution where I can rely on folks who are pulling together real-time research that then has the potential to influence state policy and federal policy, as you're talking about, and institutional policy.
SPEAKER_02I think just getting into policy now, there's been a lot of activity over the last few months that relates to community college students. Could you share more on the American Rescue Plan HERF funds that have been made available just within the last month or so to address student basic needs, the Dear Colleague Letter and the Progress on the Jobs Act and College Transparency Act? What does this present for states and local community colleges in addressing student basic needs and security even further?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the fact is Congress is right now really focused on finishing up the fiscal year 2022 appropriations. So the money, it's clear that Ukraine is front of mind for a lot of our politicians in our country in general. The Supreme Court nomination, as well as the China competitiveness bill, that's the vehicle by which the Jobs Act is the short-term Pell for workforce training legislation. And that is moving. The Senate came to an agreement that short-term Pell and something that's called the College Transparency Act move together because the College Transparency Act would allow the federal government to collect data from colleges to measure the quality of programs and to ensure short-term Pell doesn't go to fund poor quality programs with lousy employment outcomes. And so as the Jobs Act is currently formulated, it excludes for-profit institutions, which disproportionately lead to lower earnings than at community colleges. That's not universal across the board, but a lot of programs do. And so the hope was that the College Transparency Act, passing in tandem with jobs, would provide some security there for students and also help politicians be more reassured in terms of how they're spending valuable Pell dollars. We think that Congress will take up the China Competitiveness Bill after they finish the 2022 appropriations. On your next component, your question, in about six weeks ago, the U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, our favorite community college professor, right, announced new resources and updated guidance for colleges and universities to address this crisis of student basic needs and security and to connect rural college students to public benefits programs that will help them afford, persist, and finish their degree or credential. First off, six community colleges were awarded $5 million in federal grants to develop programs that address student basic needs. I think it's important to note this is the first time such grants have ever been made by the feds. The federal government is also providing access to $198 million, that's a lot more real money, and her funding, the American Rescue Plan funding, for students in institutions with the greatest unmet need related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea right now is that it's targeted toward community colleges and rural institutions, and that colleges can use these funds to address barriers to student success, such as food and housing insecurity, childcare, transportation, technology, and more. Sarah, our president and founder, was lucky enough to be invited to the announcement that was over at Bergen Community College in New Jersey. And let's just say we were all pretty thrilled that day with that news because it felt like a real college victory, a victory for students. The department also sent out what's called a dear colleague letter to all public and private higher ed institutions, informing them that they can use FAFSA data to communicate with students about other public benefits programs they might be eligible for, like SNAP, the affordable connectivity program, childcare, that kind of thing. And I want to say I joked with folks that this is a letter I've been waiting for my whole career, but there's some truth to that, Mark. I've been trying to get the feds to say for probably over a decade now that colleges can use FAFSA data to identify students who have unmet need and reach out to them to encourage them to apply for public benefits like SNAP and Childcare Medicaid is another big one. So this letter encourages colleges to coordinate with campus stakeholders like student organizations, financial aid administrators, or student life groups to inform their campus of these benefits. So I really hope that you're able to encourage and the folks who are listening to this podcast, go back, look up that dear colleague letter, and take that into their financial aid office or their president's office and ask what next, because this is a powerful step in the right direction to get more students' basic needs met.
SPEAKER_02So this would be a tremendous win. Hopefully that gets to the finish line.
SPEAKER_01This is the closest it's ever been. So I remain optimistic.
SPEAKER_02I want to shift a little bit, although it's all related and ask you, Amy Allen, and know in your previous roles at both CLASP and at the National Skills Coalition, you've done extensive research and really lifted up best practices for expanding benefit access and building partnerships to improve access to community colleges, address student basic needs and security, and increase college completion. And most recently, I had the privilege and honor of working with you and other National Skills Coalition colleagues on the Building Career Pathways Systems toolkit that was released last month and features our work in Oregon. I wanted to ask as colleges work to increase college completion and connect students into career pathways that offer quality jobs, what are some key takeaways? And then what has Oregon done well that could be replicated elsewhere and further scale in other states?
SPEAKER_01I think states have a real opportunity to advance racial equity and economic mobility by increasing access to high-quality skills training and building out career pathways. Oregon's known that for years. This toolkit highlights using funding from the federal government to support career pathways system development and partnerships. And although Oregon is leader with its STEP program, not enough states are using these resources in this way, meaning that states, community colleges, human service agencies, and workforce development agencies are missing an opportunity to use literally millions of dollars to transform career pathways that could benefit people and businesses. Some of the lessons that we highlighted in the report, we didn't just look at Oregon, we also looked at Arkansas, which uses a federal Brock grant funded through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF. They also have strong career pathways program partnership between the colleges and human service agencies. I want to underscore how special Oregon leaders are in their commitment to supporting low-income students' aspirations. And that's particularly evident in Zach's story. I heard it throughout. The Oregon Department of Human Services leaders want the state's anti-poverty programs to focus on moving people out of poverty, not just getting anyone into any job. They recognize that one of the best pathways for recipients of SNAP and other low-income students is to gain economic mobility by providing access to skills training at community colleges, but also really undergirding all that, providing it in combination with support services that address these non-academic needs and provide financial stability. Oregon post-secondary leaders see that the valuable academic and non-academic supports funded through the STEP program really helps create an opportunity for more students with low incomes and to close racial equity gaps. I also think Oregon has developed sector-based career pathways geared toward in-demand occupations. What is the base? What's the foundation of a good career pathway? It's being responsive to labor market demands. I think another lesson that states should look to Oregon to learn from is this notion of maximizing higher education and human services resources to address the full cost of training. When Zach talked about getting his training at SWAC, he wasn't just talking about the cost of tuition, though he was aided by that valuable tuition waiver and then subsequently qualified for Pell, but he also talked about childcare as a barrier. He also talked about transportation. He talked about being able to afford books. By maximizing federal and state funding streams, Oregon's Career Pathways Partnership has helped students address financial gaps and ensure that their community colleges have the funding necessary to provide this wide range of supports to make sure students succeed. There are less other lessons I could go on about that, but people should read the report. But another essential component of these partnerships is one I want to emphasize is to use student feedback to improve program delivery and design. Listen to student voices. Your podcast, this podcast, is a perfect example of giving students a voice to shape the education and services they receive. Even though I highlight Oregon all the time, over the country, when I talk to college leaders and policymakers, there's still room for improvement in Oregon. And it sounds like Zach has some great ideas to help strengthen what you're doing here. As you know, Mark, Oregon's Pathways to Opportunity initiative, which aims to close opportunity gaps and increase student economic mobility and racial equity by expanding access to all of these resources, federal resources, state, local resources. It's a prime example of a program that should be adopted by other states. Due to your Pathways to Opportunities coalition efforts, Oregon passed its groundbreaking trailblazing benefits navigator bill, which allocates money for every community college and several public universities to hire a benefits navigator position to help students access SNAP food benefits, food stamps, STEP, housing assistance, and other basic needs resources. This policy is a game changer, to be honest. Oregon is the first state in the country to fund such navigators at scale instead of supporting a community college or two taking such an approach. Oh, let's pilot it and see what happens, and then never come back around and fund the whole thing. I want to see every state in the country adopt this legislation. That's my goal. I'm going to take Zach on the road with me. But Zach noted how people on that campus helped connect him to various supports, including new brakes for his car. If he doesn't have brakes, he's not making it to school. He's not making it to all these extracurriculars that he's doing related to NASA, all those amazing things. And these supports are covered by the state of Oregon as well through the federal SNAP ENT program. Oregon has intentionally chosen to spend its federal and state dollars to support students like Zach. We need to see that nationwide.
SPEAKER_02Thanks for sharing so much on the toolkit and highlighting all these efforts in Oregon. Also the importance of listening to students, which is ongoing and has been a part of our Pathways to Opportunity initiative as well through state summits that I know you've participated in and Sarah has pre-COVID in Portland. So wanted to ask what the Hope Center's focused on this year in 2022 related to student access to affordable food, housing, technology, familiar care, and health care.
SPEAKER_01Sure. This is a perfect question as we're putting the final touches on our 2022 federal policy agenda. More broadly, I want to say a couple things about federal policy, which won't come as probably a shock to you, as I've known you've worked for years on some of these issues, but also a lot of your listeners. And that is unfortunately, federal policy often undermines student basic need security. Financial aid is insufficient for students and leaves them with significant unmet need, the topic of all in. The federal poverty measure used for public benefits and many financial aid programs is severely outdated. And complex bureaucracies and restrictive eligibility rules and public benefits and financial aid programs create significant administrative burdens on students and their families. Hope being hope, we urge the federal government to treat students as humans first by helping them afford higher ed. We call for major reforms to financial aid and public benefits to focus on students' basic needs, significant increases in federal funding for public higher education and institutions that serve high percentages of students of color, and a more equitable design of federal financial aid. Hope is in support of Jobs Act and short-term Pell, so that would be an example of a more equitable financial aid program. I'm also reminded, because of what Zach brought up, is that we have to support parenting students by increasing funding to child care. Congress just has no choice. More than one in five undergrads or more than four million students are raising kids while in college. And most parenting students experience food or housing insecurity. Parenting students of color also face disproportionate challenges. Be remiss of me not to mention that we also are looking to see an improvement in student mental health investments. We'd like to see more campus resources. The pandemic has just really showed that students have widespread sources of stress. So we think Congress needs to get in and not only require colleges to provide information to their students on affordable mental health resources, but make sure that we're providing their services there in the first place. I also want to say regarding housing and homelessness, I mentioned a little bit before how we need to get rid of some of the work requirements related to that. Most immediately, Congress needs to support students who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless and former foster youth. As few as 14% of former foster youth complete college. I'm just always shocked by that figure. We think that it's important that Congress go ahead and pass legislation to simplify the financial aid process for these students, as well as hook them up to benefits. I want to throw in here at the end that we'd like to see Congress make permanent federal emergency aid for students. We saw big investments in emergency aid at the height of the pandemic and meet the immediate needs of students. We also have some priorities for the Biden Harris administration, including formalizing partnerships between federal agencies to proactively notify students of public benefits. Like, how awesome would it be if Health and Human Services in DC automatically let know everyone who was receiving Medicaid that they might be eligible for Pell, or everyone who receives Pell that they might be eligible for SNAP? The fact is that we could automate a lot more of this. And then, of course, we'd also like to see substantial relief to student loan borrowers. And then I think there are a few things that folks should pay attention to in Oregon. As an onlooker, I continue to see positive investments to support adult Oregonians and other students. I understand that there's been an important bill called SB 1545 or Future Ready Oregon 2022 that has $200 million to advance opportunities for historically underserved communities, including adult learners, dislocated workers, and disconnected youth. I'm always excited to see that it includes a good chunk of change for community college career pathways programs, along with even more funding for apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeships. I think these investments are essential to help Oregon achieve its adult attainment goals by establishing priority populations, recognizing that it's not just the student that's transitioning from high school into post-secondary that matters, but also to look at these populations that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and suffer from existing systemic inequities. One area I do think Oregon could think about in the future is around providing basic needs dollars directly to low-income students. Last year, Virginia passed a new aid program that's basically like a college promise program that includes both adults and traditional age students, as long as you go into a high demand occupation. And if you attend full-time, you get an extra stipend for living expenses because they'd really rather see you attend full-time than work full-time. And so we'd like to see more states move in this direction since tuition is often not as much of a barrier for community college students, since Pell can help cover that or other forms of federal aid, but the living expenses are really what sets people back. And so to be able to find more ways for Oregon to respond to that creatively would be great.
SPEAKER_02I think with the Future Ready Oregon bill, it's inspiring to see funding follow this adult attainment goal, which I know you were connected with in providing technical assistance as it was being rolled out with different stakeholders. So glad that you're still tracking that in your new role at the Hope Center. In all that you covered at the federal level, it sounds like the Hope Center has an ambitious agenda in 2022 and just appreciate how comprehensive it is in getting at all of these areas of benefits and resources that students can and should be able to access. Also, you've pointed it back to Zach, who's featured in this episode and his story and his recommendations. And I just wanted to come back to Zach for a second. You've touched on his interview already. I wanted to ask if you had any additional reactions to his conversation with his experience at Southwestern.
SPEAKER_01Oh, what an inspirational story. I'm in awe of Zach, really. The way he made his journey from a GD into an incredibly challenging academic major, he blew me away. He's balancing school and parenting. He offered so much wisdom. And one of the things that just really resonated with me was his description of SWAC's culture. It sounds like on the whole, SWAC organizes teaching around student success with a pedagogy of care and a culture of care. Everyone was available either directly help Zach or affirm to people who can help. If only we could replicate that and have that culture of care at all of our community colleges, that would be phenomenal. I also found Zach's answer to one of your questions to be really valuable. You asked him about how we can change student assumptions so that they'll be more apt to apply for public benefits like SNAP and child care subsidies and the like. And he said it's almost silly to think that it wouldn't apply to him. The worst case scenario is to apply and not get it. And his attitude was apply for everything you can as long as it won't screw something else up. Now, that last line gave me pause because it underscores one of the challenges of public benefits. The rules don't always align to support post secondary. So sometimes one has to be careful to make sure they're fulfilling any requirements related to public benefits. like work requirements or recording requirements or that kind of thing. But Zach's right. Another example of how I'd like to put Zach on a PSA to encourage other students to apply for the supports that are out here that are already funded, that are out there to help you get to where you want to go and achieve your career and family aspirations. Another thing is it's important to know the reason most students don't apply for benefits is because they think they're not eligible or they think that other students are more deserving. And so I I really like how forthcoming he was about the fact that the worst thing you could do is try and not qualify. We got nothing to lose to apply for childcare subsidies, nothing to lose to get an extra couple hundred dollars on the table for food every month. And that these benefits are here and they're for students. They're for low-income people in general but that students are eligible and it is part of the ecosystem, the entire ecosystem we're not just looking at a student who walks in the door and as long as we take care of tuition, they're fine. And as long as we take care of their academics, they're fine. But that we really are thinking more broadly about the student as a human and therefore thinking about how can we build an ecosystem around the student that draws from financial aid, public benefits, tax credits, supports that we can provide at the institution, bring all that together into an ecosystem that wraps around Zach with care and support. So he can get where he wants to go at the end of the day and can be an amazing engineer and contribute to the economic well-being of our country.
SPEAKER_02Totally. And so that message of nothing to lose apply for any and all of these benefits and resources and then also key staff and faculty encouraging that as well. What I heard it's a message to students but also a message to college leaders with their own encouragement and that holistic approach as you just described. As we wrap up I just wanted to ask if there's anything else you'd like to add as part of our conversation, Amy Ellen.
SPEAKER_01Well I just really appreciate the opportunity to talk to you today. Hope is just incredibly grateful to have been a partner and continue to be a partner with Oregon's community colleges. And so just hope to continue that relationship and also encourage folks who are listening to this podcast to join us in the Rural College movement. So I'd encourage you to go to the website hope numeral4college commerforcollege com and get involved in the movement.
SPEAKER_02As I think anyone listening can tell there's so much expertise with Amy Ellen and Sarah and the whole team at the Hope Center. And it's really an honor to get the chance to chat with you every time I speak with you Amy Ellen I learn so much more and just appreciate your expertise and your passion for this work. Thank you so much for chatting. Thank you. Well that'll do it for another packed episode of All in Student Pathways Forward. This is the host Mark Goldberg just wanted to thank you for listening in to this complete recording and we will be back again soon for the next episode