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
Mt. Hood Community College & ACCT - Student Bakr Alkarawi & President Dr. Lisa Skari; Association of Community College Trustees Director of Government Relations, Katie Brown
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This episode features a conversation with Mt. Hood Community College student Bakr Alkarawi, who shares how his own experience as a student facing housing insecurity has propelled him to take action and work with college leadership, policymakers and community partners towards a bill in the Oregon legislature that would fund services and support for students facing houselessness. Bakr offers helpful perspective on what resources and staffing support have assisted him while taking GED and college-level coursework at Mt. Hood including the STEP grant, MHCC Foundation scholarships, and guidance from key faculty and staff along the way.
Mt. Hood Community College President, Dr. Lisa Skari, discusses different strategies the college has taken to address student basic needs insecurity integrating student voices in this work.
Lastly, Katie Brown, Director of Government Relations, at the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), talks about the current federal policy landscape related to community colleges and addressing students’ unmet financial need. This community college priorities document from ACCT (and AACC) for the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan legislation is a helpful summary and guide from the conversation with Katie.
Welcome to the All-Hand Student Pathways Force podcast, where we're focused on elevating student voices from working community colleges to shape inclusive policies, programs, and partnerships. This is Mark Goldberg, the host, and I'm very happy to have the chance to talk with and learn from different working community college students, as well as other higher education leaders. Thanks for listening. In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Baker Alkarrawi, a phenomenal student from Mount Way Community College. Following that, I have the chance to talk with the college's president, Dr. Lisa Skari. And lastly, we'll zoom out to the federal level and talk higher ed policy related to basic needs with Katie Brown, the Director of Government Relations from the Association of Community College Trustees. Thanks for listening in. I'm really happy to speak with Baker Alkarawi, who's a student at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon, and wanted to welcome Baker into the podcast.
SPEAKER_02Well, hello. Thank you so much, Mark, for having me. I am really grateful for this opportunity, you know, to shine some light about some of the aspects that students are struggling with and Mount Hood, and really from what I have seen, and I couldn't be more grateful for you giving me this opportunity. So thanks so much for this.
SPEAKER_03Well, thank you for taking the time. Could you talk about your journey into college at Mount Hood Community College? Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02So I'm an immigrant from Iraq, and um, I've been here in the United States for about six years now. When I came here, I went to uh school for a little bit of time, and then ultimately I dropped out because my mother wasn't able to work, she can't walk. We struggled with rent really the majority of the time. We relied on churches and world relief organizations for our rent and all of that. And so I just wanted to drop out of school and go towards what really mattered at the moment, which is getting money to stay afloat with bills. And I've worked in numerous jobs. I've worked um really any job that kept me afloat with my bills, like Pizza Hut, FedEx, really Walmart. I pushed carts in Walmart's parking lot as well. Really, any job that has allowed me to stay afloat with all of those bills. But at some point in time, I was like, I'm not liking this paycheck to paycheck life. And I just really wanted to go and get my education. And GED was the opportunity, you know, the window that has allowed me to do that through Mounthead Community College. And ultimately I was able to get there and get the GED program and was able to actually finish it and started going to credit classes the term after.
SPEAKER_03That's great. So thank you for sharing that story and how you found your way into Mount Hood and starting in the GED program and continuing on once you passed your GED to take courses. What has been your biggest success so far at the college?
SPEAKER_02Yes, absolutely. My biggest success at Mounthood at this point is really advocating for college student homelessness. There were a lot of people who have allowed me to do this, honestly, and I have to thank them every time I am given the opportunity to do so. Catherine Creech, my biology instructor, Jonathan Spindor, as well as my many of my other teachers have encouraged me to speak about my life experiences, you know, so we can demonstrate where a change is needed in our society and systems of government. You know, really without the help of MHCC Board of Education, MHCC's president, Dr. Skari, uh, MHCC's government relations, Al Sigala, and Mr. Gorsek, a college instructor, criminal justice instructor, as well as a state senator, Senator Gorsek trying to board it, Senate Bill 851, you know, that will prevent 20 of our students that are vulnerable with housing security from going back to homelessness through ARCS, the Affordable Rent for Costers program, and uh will give housing an opportunity to so many people that will allow them to continue their educational journeys and become the properly functioning members of society and um really reach their full potential.
SPEAKER_03That's really inspiring to hear you talk about Baker. And I'm curious how you got involved in this issue of housing or students facing homelessness. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02So I myself was homeless. I've slept in my car for uh about four months trying to follow up on my education, but that was just incredibly impossible for me to do at the time because I've prioritized other things. And one of those things were you know staying afloat with my bills and you know having to go back to working full-time because part-time job would not cut it. Yeah, ultimately I was able to get subsidized housing. And once I was able to do that, I went back to MHCC's GD program and actually was able to finish the all four tests in just one month. Ever since I thought that there are a lot of aspects that our governments and our people don't know about, and many of them are the ones that you know, people from disadvantaged backgrounds, people from families who can't afford to put them in college, people who who are completely self-dependent from young ages or starting from zero are facing, especially college student homelessness and housing insecurity and all of that.
SPEAKER_03Thinking about the work and advocacy you've done to address student housing insecurity and homelessness, you touched on a bill in the legislature, but I'm wondering if you could elaborate any more on how you've been involved in shaping this policy and how it would really help community college students at Mount Hood and across the state.
SPEAKER_02So, how I was involved in this is that I found out about ARC. ARC stands for the Affordable Rent for College Students Program. It's a program that's been that actually was started by College Housing Northwest, a nonprofit organization that is looking to house as many students as it can to make a housing affordable for them. Also found out that the partnership of this program is actually Mount Hood Community College, Portland Community College, Portland State University, uh New Avenues for Youth. So, you know, all of those people have come together to try and fund this program with the donations of our community to house homeless students because they have realized that growing out of proportion was an issue before COVID and it's now more than ever a bigger issue than all times. What really encouraged me to go out about this is because uh they are running out of funding June 1, 2021. You know, we can't guarantee that the program will continue because it's completely dependent on donations. And so I thought to myself that I'm gonna try and talk to Dr. Skarry, MHC Board of Education, who then you know allowed me to speak with Senator Gorsek. I shared a little bit about my life experiences and why getting getting support for this program is absolutely fundamental and a solution to not only college homelessness, but also many issues that we are dealing with in our society. So now this bill, SB 851, Senate Bill 851, it will continue to house for at least two more years, 20 students and many more. It will prevent 20 students from having to go back to sleeping in their cars, from having to, you know, go back to being challenged with their education. And the goal is to demonstrate where this program is really um changing the slope of where homelessness altogether is going towards a much positive direction. Students who are struggling with their housing and are having you know this issue coming up. Many of them have said that if it wasn't for the program, they would have dropped out of school. And reasonably so, because when you are put in a situation where you have to pick between housing or education, you're gonna go towards the main basic things that you would need to survive as a human being, and that's housing. But at the same time, I really don't think that people should be challenged with their education because of their housing.
SPEAKER_03Right. It shouldn't be a choice between housing and going back to school. And as you've talked about earlier, knowing that in certain jobs that you've had, there hasn't been the same opportunity for economic mobility. But through education and training at the community college, it's preparing students for careers. And in order to pursue that education, there has to be stability with housing and food and other basic needs, right?
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, absolutely. Like in order for you to follow up on your education, you know, become a better person, get a better job, create more potential and enhance your life through education, you would need those basic things afforded to you.
SPEAKER_03That's super inspiring, Baker, and the work that you've led to really push on an important policy issue that is connected to student success. Can you talk a little bit about what your educational goals are?
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Starting my second year this spring, uh at Matten Community College, you know, uh biology major, pre-medicine. Hopefully, you know, my goal is to get into Oregon Health and Sciences University, OHSU. My career goal is to become a physician. Good for you.
SPEAKER_03Thank you. Well, in Oregon and across the country, funding college can be a major source of stress for many students. I'm wondering what resources at MHCC or outside the college have been most helpful to you in addressing the costs of college.
SPEAKER_02Yes, there is the foundation scholarship at Mounthead Community College has helped me with most of my college funding that I've needed. I've been able to get most of my school bills covered with a GED scholarship that I was able to get, you know, for graduating from MHCC's GED department has been absolutely very, very helpful throughout the past year. Organizations that I'm very, very grateful for for helping pay for my classes, and those are Airco and the work source, Portland Metro. Just really grateful for all of the work that they are doing for all of the people who need help with their school and paying for classes.
SPEAKER_03We've talked a little bit about different resources that have assisted you in your journey at Mount Hood. I'm curious if you could talk about any individuals on campus who have really helped you. So, has there been someone on campus who's helped you navigate those benefits, get connected with resources? And if so, how were they most helpful to you?
SPEAKER_02Yes, there are many people who've helped me navigate my college life. Stephanie Haas is just really one of the most amazing people who have whenever, whenever I needed something, you know, she comes up with something that's absolutely life-saving, whether the brief housing insecurity that I've experienced about a few months ago, any financial insecurity, financial needs, but she'd been able to connect me with all those people and get that resolved. John Sheehan, another person, is just absolutely phenomenal with his work and his helping students who are housing secure. Really a lot of people who work in a STEP program. You know, I'm so grateful for all of the help that I've been able to get from Stephanie Haas, John Sheehan, as well as my teachers at the GED department that I absolutely miss and can't wait to see again.
SPEAKER_03Well, knowing the team at Mount Hood and the GED faculty, I'm certain they are super proud of you and your biggest fans as you continue on in your education at the college and beyond. I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit more about the STEP grant and if and how that's helped you address some of those unmet financial needs as a student at the college. The STEP program is absolutely great.
SPEAKER_02I've been in it ever since I started my GED program. You know, they've helped me with a lot of things, one of which is actually gas money, you know, in the form of cards, whether it's give me cards. It's a huge help to for my travel uh expenses from where I live to the college. The STEP program is just a resort for me that I would go to whenever there is something that is really, really major that requires immediate help. I would go to Stephanie, and she's always got something that will absolutely help. So couldn't be more thankful.
SPEAKER_03Great. So I want to come back to different basic needs that students have housing, food, and wanted to ask you a question related to that broad topic. So we know there are a lot of students who qualify and are eligible for different resources and benefits, but don't take advantage of them because they feel that it may be taking these benefits away from another individual who needs it more, or because the resources themselves may be stigmatized and so the students are not pursuing them. And so I'm wondering, from your experience, what we can do to reduce the stigma associated with some of these benefits and resources and increase the number of students accessing these benefits so that they can really focus on their studies and be successful in school.
SPEAKER_02I think that a lot of our students are actually overcoming this reluctance issue to ask for help. And there is a lot of help that is needed to support all of our students, mainly with housing security. There's those surveys are coming out, so many students, especially during the pandemic, food insecure, housing insecure, financial insecurity, obviously. And I think that what we need is actually federal and uh state resources towards community colleges who are actually doing all of the work, all of the finding and helping students, because outreach in itself is an effort.
SPEAKER_03Baker, I'm curious how the COVID pandemic has changed your college experience this past year at Mount Hood Community College, and how you've been able to navigate this unique time.
SPEAKER_02The pandemic has been really challenging, especially with having to do everything online. MHCC has helped me when my laptop broke down. I was able to reach out to Stephanie, who was able to get me a new laptop where I was able to actually do my homework on and is just, you know, in a time where everything is online right now, you need a laptop. It's completely mandatory, you know. But MHC have been able to not just me, many of our students as well. They've been helping them with uh numerous things. They have this forum, this student support form that's available to all of students that will give them help with their bills. Really, if they're facing housing security, need help with rent or anything like that, then be able to provide this emergency help and also uh give students who are in need for laptops as well as internet. That is just absolutely great and magnificent.
SPEAKER_03So, Baker, what advice do you have for educators, career coaches, and others working to help students succeed through their college experience?
SPEAKER_02That's a very good question. First of all, I'd like to start this by making sure that our teachers, educators know and understand that college student homelessness is an issue, housing insecurity is an issue, and can severely impact students' uh academic progress, students' GPA, students' ability to turn in assignments on time when you are worried about where you're going to sleep tonight or what's going to happen to you tomorrow. You are preoccupied with that to a degree that block you from actually paying attention to your classes. The advice that I would give is to strengthen the trust between students and teachers. So then students are capable of actually relaying to their teachers the challenges that they are facing, more particularly with housing and security, and ultimately be able to get the support and the help that they need. You know, the success of our students will reflect positively from all directions on the teachers and their abilities to work with students who are more particularly in need.
SPEAKER_03What I'm hearing you say is a request for sensitivity, understanding, and really humanity from instructors and staff and understanding student realities. You just mentioned strengthening trust between instructors and students. And I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on how they can do that more.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. I'm more than happy to give you uh a really good example. One of really the greatest teachers, Katherine Creech, my biology teacher, the very first week of Miss Creech's class. I've accidentally missed uh a little assignment, did not submit it. Uh, and so it after Zeathline, I've woke up in the morning and I found an email from her telling me that she wants to know why did I not submit that assignment? Is it something that she can help me with? How can she support me? Um, and you know, she was just really worried. She's like, I'm worried and I want to see how you're doing. How can I help you so you can be successful in my class? And uh, and I just thought that that was just really, really incredibly kind and nice. And I wish to see that in all of our teachers.
SPEAKER_03That makes really good sense. And I think the example you provided with your biology instructor that flexibility and the interest and caring that she had for you has really made a difference. Yes, absolutely. So, building on that, what advice would you give other students at Mount Hood and different community colleges from your own experience as a student?
SPEAKER_02To speak up. You know, we have to speak up, we have to elevate student voices, and this way we'll be able to actually influence a change, especially the ones who are facing housing security and who have been homeless. This is the kind of people that will be able to tell you where a change is needed in our society, where the systems have failed, and we really need to pay attention. College, especially if you're a first-generation college student, it's challenging. Believe me, I know it's very, very challenging, especially if if your English isn't uh well too, that can create language barriers. And that was the case for me.
SPEAKER_03Thank you for sharing that. One of the things you just talked about was encouraging students to speak out more in requesting and asking for the resources, supports that they deserve. And I think the flip side to that question is what can colleges do better to listen to students so that they can develop policies and programs that are inclusive that really set students up for success and understanding the real obstacles and challenges they may face.
SPEAKER_02That's a very good question. They are doing great at it, creating opportunities for students to come participate and talk. There's this down hall meeting that happens frequently where MHC Board of Education meets with students as well as the Dean of Students and the MHC president, where they talk to students directly about the challenges that they are facing and how they can help them and all of that. And I think that they are doing a great deal, you know, of public outreach, as well as you know, the step program that's working directly with students that are being intercepted. I have to acknowledge the fact that we're doing everything online. You know, in person, we'll be able to make a lot more connections. And I would encourage more programs that allow for students to speak about their experiences and their challenges, uh, and also allow them to speak about how the kinds of solutions that they have for them. Really, no one understands uh most of the society issues that we are dealing with as much as the people who have uh suffered from it the most, as much as the people who have dealt with it the most. Those people would understand how it works and also are motivated to actually go after it.
SPEAKER_03What you just said is is so critical for all of us in the community college setting is to recognize that students have lived experiences and have the most dynamic solutions, having that experience to help shape policies that can be more understanding and inclusive of student realities. And so the more we listen to students with suggestions, with insights, with observations, the better we can create an environment to set students up for success. And so, as you describe some of the ways Mount Hood has done that, it sounds like there may be even more ways and programs to really engage students, to hear the experiences students have had, and to listen to potential solutions. And I think your own personal journey is the perfect illustration of that. Policymakers are interested in learning from. Students, I want to commend you on your efforts, your advocacy, your leadership in this space, and understanding how your own experience as a student can help pave a way for other students.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, absolutely. Well, thank you, Mark, for all of it is that you are doing it. So I'm just really grateful that we, you know, we have this opportunity to speak about that. And really thank you so much.
SPEAKER_03Your efforts, Baker, and your energy are contagious. And I hope listeners will dive in deeper on this issue and support your efforts and others' efforts to help address student houselessness in a systemic way, recognizing the impact it has on students' abilities to stay focused on their studies.
SPEAKER_02Lastly, I just wanted to say to all of our students who are homeless right now, who are finishing their homework from their cars, who have gone through this past cold winter storm and still was able to do as well as they wanted to do in their schools. I want you to reach out to me. And I want to see how I can help you to the best of my ability to share your story, get your perspective, and really provide all of the support that I could provide. Then you can reach out to me. But the ultimate goal is that we'll be able to demonstrate to our leaders where a change is needed in our society by demonstrating to them the challenges that we have faced pursuing our education.
SPEAKER_03Well, thank you, Baker, for that offer to other students and for your compassion, your energy, your advocacy, and overall for taking the time to have this conversation with me. I've learned a tremendous amount from you, and I hope that our conversation will be illuminating for others. It was my pleasure. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02Thank you so much for having me, Mark.
SPEAKER_03So now I'd like to welcome Dr. Lisa Scari into the podcast. She's the president of Mount Hood Community College. And thank you for joining me, Dr. Scari.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Well, thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_03So I'd love to get your overall reactions to the discussion I had with Baker Al-Kawari, who is a student at Mount Hood Community College, earlier in this podcast episode.
SPEAKER_01Well, the whole reason I got into education and into this role was really to serve students. And as open access institutions of higher ed, I believe strongly that community colleges are here to support our students. And that goes just beyond academic support, right? It's about creating an environment that's inconducive to learning. And for many of our students, that means supporting their mental health, addressing food and housing insecurity and childcare and access to the internet, right? The list goes on and on and on. And in listening to Baker talk about how Mount Hood Community College has supported him really kind of affirms that we're working in the right spaces and are on the right track. And it's a good reminder that there are also areas of opportunity where we have a chance to kind of step in and continue that work. And the reality is his story isn't very different from many of our other students here at the college.
SPEAKER_03That's helpful to hear and appreciate your reflection there and recognizing just the realities that students face and how the college is putting a focus on those foundational areas so students can be successful. So, what did you hear that highlighted work that the college is doing well to address students' unmet financial needs?
SPEAKER_01Well, it was clear from Baker's story that Mountain Hood Community College faculty and staff are really stepping up and modeling this concept of being student-centered. And it wasn't just one person from one department, right? We heard about it, it was faculty, it was staff, it was administrators, it was the foundation. And there was even a little bit of nod in there to our board of education. And this alignment of coming together to support student success is making such a difference. And from Baker specifically, we heard how multiple programs at the college were supporting a success, right? We had work source for tuition assistance, there was the GED scholarship, and then the STEP program. And when an organization's goals are reflected in the words of our students, you know that you're doing something right or at least making some progress.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. And you could hear in the way he described the individuals, faculty, and staff that he spoke of, just how much he appreciated all of that support and those relationships. Did you hear anything from the conversation with Baker that could illuminate a new opportunity for the college that supports student success?
SPEAKER_01Well, I have to say, you know, while I'm really proud of the work that this has done to date and believe that the college is on the right track, there's always more that we could do. And for me, I think one of the most needed areas is in this area of elevating the awareness around student basic needs and then taking that and leveraging those conversations into a higher and a broader level, right? We talk about hunger and homelessness. And these are community issues and really they require community solutions. And Baker's done an amazing job at kind of modeling this with his advocacy and using his voice to reach out to our state senator. And now we see some subsequent legislation introduced. The question for some of us in the colleges, right, is how do we take this experience we've had and this knowledge that we've gained so far? And for those of us in positions of power, how do we do a better job of stepping up and giving voice to our students and the issues they're facing? It's critically important for us to think about our role in making this an issue that is getting the response it needs. And in working with our students, I think we can do this together.
SPEAKER_03It seems like Baker's advocacy and his story is a great example of how to make that happen, right? So the awareness leading to better policies, potentially. So building on what you just said, could you talk a little bit about how the college has focused on addressing basic needs in security to date and what that has looked like in terms of college policies and programs?
SPEAKER_01Even prior to the pandemic, the college was wrestling with this concept of how to best support the basic needs of our students. And then, you know, COVID hit, right? And we knew we had to ramp up the work to maintain our commitments to our students as their basic needs had been further threatened. So last July, we established a student basic needs response team. And the goal of this was for this team to maintain an institutional focus on serving the needs of our students who had been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. This is a cross-campus team, and it's made up of representatives from all of our employee groups and all of the major areas on campus. And what we did is we charged them with four things. The first was for them to collect and conduct research to really identify the greatest needs that our students were having. And then second, to prioritize those areas and then figure out some of the key responses in serving our students. The third part is we really wanted the coordination of these student-focused efforts to touch every area of campus, which would accomplish the fourth goal, which was creating these effective coalitions across campus to build capacity and kind of develop this shared understanding for this work around supporting our students. And I have to say, this team is doing amazing work, both in serving the students, but also in increasing the awareness across all areas of the campus. And to date, some real direct examples, I think they've distributed, you know, over 210 laptop loaner laptops and about 60 Wi-Fi hotspots, in addition to connecting these students to real-time resources. And that's just one example. You know, as you may know, Mark, Mount Hood Community College has in place a pretty robust STEP program. And this program provides not only tuition support and books, but things like utility assistance and technology like loaner laptops and two students who also receive SNAP benefits. Now, one of the reasons our program is so successful is that we co-enroll our STEP students in other student support programs, such as our Mount Hood Scholars program and our PDX Bridge program. And both of these programs help support students from first generation or historically underrepresented BIPOC students with an array of academic and basic needs supports. And we feel that by doing this co-enrollment for the eligible students and getting them into as many student service programs as possible, we're able to provide a holistic kind of wraparound approach to each student and get them as many supports as they need to be successful. And as you heard from Baker talking about those resources he's accessed, the approach has worked.
SPEAKER_03Well, it's inspiring to hear how the college has been creative and efficient in really braiding those resources to support students comprehensively through the STEP grant and beyond. And I think other colleges could learn from that model because it really does help students maximize the resources available to them. I think where you started with the basic needs response team and bringing more faculty and staff and really the whole college community into this work to engage in different ways with clarity of what those priorities are. I also feel like that's something that other colleges could learn from. I think that topic actually ties in nicely to the next question I wanted to ask you, which is about the broad pathways to opportunity framework across Oregon that all 17 community colleges and different state and community partners are involved in. And it really is a framework to help students maximize benefits and resources that close opportunity gaps and create economic mobility for students. And I'm wondering how the Pathways to Opportunity initiative really aligns with your priorities as the president of the college?
SPEAKER_01I have to say that the Pathways to Opportunity framework is completely in sync with where the college is going. Mount Hood Community College has a strong commitment to the success of our students and recently have really started digging into this critical work of equitable outcomes. In fact, it was, I think, fall 2019 when the Board of Education endorsed this work through two of our four strategic initiatives for the college. And one of those goals was around improving student success. And then the second one was around advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. And so with these guiding lights of where we're headed, and you look at then our student population and how we can best serve them, the broad goals of the college are in alignment with this pathways to opportunity framework.
SPEAKER_03That's helpful to hear. So I know that Mount Hood Community College's district is really one of the most diverse regions of the state in terms of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic levels. How can the Pathways to Opportunity initiative help advance racial equity in rebuilding and creating a more inclusive economy as we come out of this COVID pandemic and economic recession?
SPEAKER_01Well, I believe the Pathways to Opportunity provides really a solid framework for this work. And at Mount Hood Community College, it allows our internal teams to really assess how we are currently providing our services and then how we can better align our services and systems to support our colleges' low-income and underrepresented BIPOC communities. You know, the work takes on different looks as you're looking at different student populations and different supports. And at the same time, we also feel that by aligning and upgrading our systems and our processes in serving these students, and the more we can make it easier for them to obtain their certificates and degrees and credentials, the better it is and easier it will be for them to obtain those family wage jobs that we're ultimately here to help them prepare for.
SPEAKER_03That makes makes really good sense. I want to come back to what you'd mentioned before and raising awareness of student challenges and in doing that, the importance of really hearing from students and elevating their voices. And I'm curious what are some ways that Mount Hood Community College is elevating student voices to shape policies and programs leading to student success?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, I think the one thing we've learned through this work is the power of that student voice. And it's something we've really been working on as we're looking at student basic needs and actually as we're looking at serving our greater student population. But related to this, I'd mentioned earlier we have our student basic needs response team. And so one of the ways we've been elevating the voice is twice a month when they do reports out to the college on kind of the work and progress of the team. As a part of their presentation, they've also been sharing direct quotes from students on what they're facing and what their needs are. And, you know, we're not sharing names, obviously, but they're putting those quotes out to kind of highlight what our students are experiencing. And it's been extremely powerful. And because we also know that because much of what happens on campus is driven by policy, we've known that we've needed to better engage our board with the student voice. And actually, this last January, we did our first ever student town hall with our board of education. And the focus of it was really on kind of what students were experiencing during the pandemic and how the college either was or might be able to support them. And you want to come full circle, right? Um, it was actually at this town hall meeting where we first met Baker and heard his story. And so if you take that and now fast forward it to where we are today with you know your opportunity to speak with him, the possible legislation. I mean, this is what happens when you elevate the student voice.
SPEAKER_03That's really cool to hear. And I think that the two examples you gave are wonderful ways to elevate student voices, right? So taking student quotes and sharing them broadly as part of the basic needs response team report out to the to the whole community. And then that opportunity for students to engage with the board, those are great ways to raise awareness and interesting to learn that that's where um you got connected with Baker and sort of the seedling to the work that he's really doing now to a point where there's this bill in the legislature to support students who are facing housing insecurity or homelessness.
SPEAKER_01It's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_03Is there anything else that you'd like to share in terms of the work you're all doing in support of students for this podcast episode?
SPEAKER_01You know, Mark, you touched on something earlier that I would just like to kind of emphasize again. And it's taking a moment to say how grateful I am to the Pathways to Opportunity community and their commitment to serving our students. There's a wonderful group of partners, and each college operates their pathways to opportunity framework a little bit differently, but collectively, we gain so much by learning from each other. And most importantly, our students are benefiting from this collaboration. And I think the pathways to opportunity is an example of some of our best work. And I just want to express my appreciation also to you for putting a spotlight on it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, thank you for saying that and having helped stand up the pathways to opportunity learning community and efforts. It's been inspiring to see how it has evolved at each of the colleges, and as you said, organically in an organ way where it doesn't look the same everywhere, but we continue to learn from one another. And I think in the last year, it's while we've been virtual and dealing with really crises for students and our communities, it's made the work even more critical. And we've been able to pivot and still have that community of practice through Zoom to still share insights across the state and bring in national and state partners and just appreciate your willingness to support these efforts as the president of the college for Mounthood and also for spending the time to have this conversation and be a part of this podcast series, which is another strategy to elevate student voices tied to our PTO work.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_03Next, I'd like to welcome Katie Brown to the podcast. Welcome, Katie.
SPEAKER_00Thanks, Mark. Thanks so much for having me.
SPEAKER_03Katie is the Director of Government Relations at the Association of Community College Trustees, ACCT, and she helps lead advocacy efforts to give community college governing boards, leaders, and students a greater voice on Capitol Hill and with the administration. So thank you for taking time to have this conversation on our podcast today.
SPEAKER_00Sure, excited to be here.
SPEAKER_03So I'm wondering, Katie, if you could share more about ACCT for listeners that aren't familiar with the organization and how ACCT has been advocating for policies that address community college students' unmet financial needs, including basic needs and security.
SPEAKER_00Sure, happy to. So ACCT, we are a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. And we represent about 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who serve on the governing boards of over 1,200 community technical and junior colleges across the United States. And the trustees we represent have diverse professional backgrounds, and they can be any anyone from a community professional, business official, public policy leader, or any individual really that cares about community colleges and the community college students in their local areas. And so centered in our mission is really, you know, promoting high quality and affordable higher education and ensuring that all individuals have the opportunity to persist and succeed in their post-secondary pathways. And I think that's really common across community college missions. You know, historically they're open access institutions and they really are dedicated to ensuring that any individual at any age can access a post-secondary education. So, you know, in order to achieve the mission that our members have set, it's crucial that we advocate for policies that help remove some of the barriers that community college students tend to face, including unmet financial need. For community college students, many of them work full or part-time while attending school, they're parents or caregivers, or they're over the average age of a traditional college student. And so cost of attendance can be a huge barrier that can be very difficult to overcome without access to the right resources and the right supports. And unmet financial need has become even more of a barrier for many students in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. So at a high level, we've been really advocating for federal policies specifically that would help greatly reduce or fully eliminate some of these barriers for students. And that includes policies that would eliminate or reduce community college tuition costs for students, those that would increase federal financial aid, like the Pell Grant, which is the bedrock of federal student support. And then also making sure that federal aid is available to all students, including dreamers, those attending shorter-term or non-degree programs, adult students, and incarcerated students. Additionally, you know, many community college students today face barriers to success outside of tuition and fees. An increasing percentage of students are in need of basic needs services like childcare, transportation, housing, nutrition, health care, and other services. And it's important to point out that the rates of basic needs and security are higher for. Students attending two-year colleges than those attending four-year colleges, and are also higher for traditionally marginalized students, including students of color, former foster youth, and students who are independent from their parents for financial aid purposes. So we've really been, you know, trying to lift these things up for federal policymakers as they are shaping policies that will impact the lives of students, specifically community college students, because if we can support community colleges and community college students at the federal level, you know, we'll have a really hard time making sure that these services are sustainable for all students.
SPEAKER_03That's really helpful to hear about ACCT and in particular the policies that you're focused on with your members. The work we've been doing in Oregon through our Pathways to Opportunity framework is really built on the career pathways initiative that we've had for years. So we have seen the challenges that many of our students in our pathways programs struggle with in terms of paying for college, but also appreciate the recognition and the focus on those basic needs, if it's housing security, food insecurity, childcare transportation, and and so on.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely, yeah. And your your work in the state on career pathways is definitely a gold standard and it's been fantastic. We're hoping that other states can follow suit with some supports from the federal level as well.
SPEAKER_03So I think building on what you just said, we know in Oregon that pre-COVID we had almost 450,000 Oregonians, 25 and older, who were either working, making 15 an hour or less, or were unemployed, all without post-secondary credentials. And we can easily assume that those numbers have increased dramatically during this recession. If Congress and the new administration are going to focus on an inclusive economic recovery that prioritizes those most impacted by the recession that you had talked about, communities of color, immigrants and refugees, those with the least formal education, low-wage workers, rural residents, what policies are front and center right now that community college students and professionals should be aware of and how can we all help?
SPEAKER_00Sure, this is a fantastic question. As you know, there's been many conversations on Capitol Hill and within the administration recently about the best way to really move our nation towards an economic recovery in a way that doesn't exacerbate existing equity gaps, you know, that have been kind of long in place even before the pandemic. So, and this is, you know, given the fact that over 80% of today's jobs require some form of education beyond the high school level, it makes sense that in these conversations, access to post-secondary education is front and center. And community colleges in particular, which is exciting for us, and I know exciting for you all, have been a focal point of these discussions given their mission as open access institutions who work really hard to offer a wide variety of post-secondary pathways for students that lead to in-demand jobs or lead to longer educational pathways. So, in terms of some of the policies that are front and center right now, President Biden included tuition-free community college as a provision of his recent Build Back Better proposal, which is geared towards an economic recovery. To coincide with this, House and Senate Democrats recently reintroduced the America's College Promise Act, which I'm sure many of you have heard of. It's been introduced in Congress for the past several years. But the bill really outlines a tangible plan for tuition-free community college. And under the bill, the federal government would provide a three-to-one funding match for community colleges who agree to waive tuition and fees for all students in their state, including Dreamers. This policy has been a priority of ours for a really long time now. And states have been doing a lot of work to establish promise programs at the local level. You know, what better time is there than right now for the federal government to really support these efforts? So, in line with that, there's also been a push on Capitol Hill to double the maximum Pell Grant award. The current maximum Pell Grant award per student per year is $6,495, which, as we all know, you know, doesn't come close in many instances to covering tuition and fee costs for most students. Should Congress pass a policy like America's College Promise Act that would cover tuition and fees and also double the maximum Pell Grant, students would be able to apply their Pell dollars to non-tuition costs like books, equipment, housing, and nutrition costs, which would further remove barriers to success. So those are two of the policies that we've been hearing a lot about and advocating a lot for. And then last but certainly not least, I'll mention, you know, basic needs services, as I mentioned before for college students, are even more front and center now than ever. And there has been significant push on Capitol Hill and in conversations with the administration to include funding for childcare, broadband services, and evidence-based retention strategies, which is fantastic. Obviously, very important for a comprehensive recovery package to include those things. And it's also important for staff at community colleges to have strong relationships with local community-based organizations and other basic needs providers that they can connect students with. So it's important for the federal government to encourage and support these partnerships, which I know has also been talked about in the context of a recovery package. And then, in terms of the second part of your question, how can community college students and professionals help advocate for these policies? I'll just say that it's a tremendous time of opportunity for community colleges and students to weigh in on discussions on Capitol Hill. As many of you probably know, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden is a community college professor, which makes her keenly aware of the challenges that colleges and their students are facing. And in Congress, there's unprecedented support for community colleges on both sides of the aisle. So simply reaching out to your federal policymakers and elevating these and other policies that can make a difference in the lives of students will absolutely move the needle when it comes to these discussions.
SPEAKER_03That's a tremendous summary of policies that are front and center, and then clear suggestions on how we can all get involved in contacting our legislators and continuing to emphasize the importance of policies and funding that address basic needs, Pell Grant, and even free community college. And it's great to hear that there's strong support across both parties for community colleges at this moment in time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think I think as you know, you know, sometimes we see bipartisanship as a rarity. But with community colleges and you know the importance of skills and education, it's really, you know, they're it's really unmatched in terms of the bipartisan support that we've seen, and that bipartisan support has only increased, you know, since the pandemic. So it's really encouraging to see policymakers acknowledging, you know, what these institutions can do for you know students and then what needs those students have that maybe have not always been front and center in federal policy.
SPEAKER_03So, Katie, I'm curious if you could talk about President Biden's proposal focused on infrastructure and how that ties in and supports community college students and programs.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think front and center, like you just said, Mark, in discussions on Capitol Hill, when we talk about recovery, I think a lot of people automatically think about infrastructure. And there has been a lot of bipartisan support for kind of a large-scale infrastructure bill over the last several years, so even before the pandemic, but now it's even more crucial that we create jobs and really be able to improve our nation's infrastructure both physically and then also with broadband and technological infrastructure. And so President Biden proposed the American Jobs Plan not too long ago, I forget the exact date, but I think it was end of March. And the American Jobs Plan included about $2 trillion total in funding over 10 years to support infrastructure needs of our nation. And I think one thing that's really awesome to point out is in addition to physical infrastructure, it also addressed the need for workforce and for more federal resources to be dedicated to job creation and workforce. And more specifically, the plan mentions, you know, community college business partnerships, which I think have always been really critical at the local level to building relationships between community colleges and businesses and then creating training and education programs that are in line with the needs of local employers. And so the president's plan, in mentioning those partnerships, kind of really lifted up the role that community colleges can play in preparing workers for infrastructure-related industries. And so it's definitely something that we're continuing to advocate for. We call it, you know, a community college-led job training program that would really be able to connect community college students with in-demand jobs. And then additionally, the president's plan also included funding for physical infrastructure for community colleges specifically. I believe it was about $12 billion. We're advocating for a little bit more than that, considering the infrastructure needs on our campuses are really great. And also, you know, just the equipment needs for training students for in-demand industries, and then, like I mentioned, broadband needs. But the the fantastic silver lining of all of this is that there's a recognition of community colleges in this plan. And um, while it's not legislation yet in Congress, I think Congress is working on kind of turning the president's plan into legislation that they could then pass and sign into law.
SPEAKER_03Thank you for for talking about infrastructure. And I want to shift a little bit back to students. Baker Alkarawi from Mountain Hood Community College spoke with me about his experience there and wondering if you had any reactions to the interview with Baker in telling his story and his suggestions for college leaders.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Well, first I'll just say that Baker's story is absolutely inspirational, and you know, his passion for helping other students who have or are currently facing housing insecurity or other barriers to success is tremendous. And I think you said it, but his enthusiasm is contagious, and I definitely agree with that. Um, one of the biggest things that struck me about Baker's story is that it helped humanize the issue of basic needs and security among college students. And, you know, I think the way that Baker spoke about constantly needing to choose between working full-time and paying bills or continuing to pursue his education really painted a vivid picture of the types of supports that students need and why they need them in order to be able to continue their education. You know, I think I think it's great that that basic needs has been a topic of conversation on Capitol Hill, but you know, sometimes it can feel vague, like we say basic needs, but we don't really know exactly what that means. And so stories like like Baker's really, really do humanize what um you know what that looks like. And then, you know, Baker talked about the importance of having a resource or a point of contact on campus that he could go to when or if something came up. And it it really for me underlined the need for these types of services to be embedded in on-campus operations because students don't need to just access them, you know, at the beginning of their pathway or at the end, but it's through really throughout their educational journeys, you know, something can pop up and maybe their car breaks down or they can't make a rent payment. And if they have someone to go to about that, they can really, you know, overcome that and then move move forward instead of um you know being sort of hindered for a little while and not receiving the assistance that they need. It was really encouraging to hear Baker's story, and um, you know, it's a reminder that community college student voices can and should help shape policy at all levels of government.
SPEAKER_03From your role at ACCT to hear you say how powerful student voices are in this policy-making work is also inspiring to me. And you know, I think for this podcast episode, having Baker talk about his experience as a student and the college president and her role as the as the leader, Dr. Lisa Scary of Mount Hood, and then to have the policy connection with with you and ACCT. It really ties it all together. So I just want to thank you for taking the time, Katie, to have this conversation. Um I learned a lot from your summary of what's front and center right now in Washington and also um clear suggestions on how college uh students and leaders can get involved to continue to advocate for um student success and and an inclusive economic recovery that does route through community colleges.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. Thanks so much, Mark. It's definitely an encouraging and critical time for advocacy, especially for community colleges and students, and I'm honored to be able to join today.
SPEAKER_03We appreciate you you doing so and thank you again for for this conversation.