Community collaboration to support reentry adult women.

Abstract

The term "reentry woman" is used to describe adult women re-entering educational institutions after an absence ranging from a few years to as many as 35 years and more. While the literature describes the common barriers and challenges to these women, there remains a lack of articles concerned with practical programs geared to meet their needs (Gianakos, 1996). This article describes a mini-educational program designed to encourage adult women to enter or return to higher education. A community organization and a 4-year higher education institution collaborated to design and deliver the program. Financial support was provided to those who entered college after completing the program. The results, lessons learned, and a discussion of areas for further work are presented.

Introduction and Literature Review

Administrators and faculty in higher education became interested in reentry women when the numbers of these individuals attending college increased in the 1960s and 1970s. This trend has continued and, based upon projections, will persist into the future (Rooney, 2002). These women's ages range from 25 to 65 plus years, with most reentry women between 25 and 54 years of age (Padula, 1994). Research in this area is relatively recent (Morgan & Foster, 1999), and the literature has described barriers to reentry women that include financial problems, lack of self-confidence, and institutional administrative procedures (Killy & Borgen, 2000; Morgan & Foster, 1999, Padula, 1994; Pitts, 1992). Authors have reported that reentry women need age-appropriate career counseling (including major selection, job interviewing techniques, and resume writing), help with updating their academic skills, assistance in dealing with multiple role stress, and other coping skills (Killy & Borgen, 2000; Luzzo, 1999; Morgan & Foster, 1999). Pitts (1992) states that women need extra encouragement during the first part of their reentry journey, and she advocates that higher education institutions take a proactive approach with these women. She recommends that mini-educational programs be offered within the community to promote the value of continuing educational programs.

Despite the publication of this research, there remains a lack of articles concerned with nontraditional age students and practical programs geared to meet their needs (Gianakos, 1996). With the percentages of women enrolled in higher education expected to continue to increase through at least 2008 (Allen et al., 2000), the need for programs that support women in attending college is obvious. The remainder of this article describes and presents the results of a community and higher education institution's collaboratively sponsored mini-educational program that encouraged nontraditionai age women to enter or return to a 4-year institution and supported them in their efforts. The program addressed the primary barriers to and needs of reentry women that have been described in the literature. A local branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) in conjunction with the 4-year university located in the community sponsored and designed the day-long program. The workshop has been offered for 2 years and is planned for a third year. The article begins with a description of the program and then follows with the results of the program. Lessons learned and recommendations for future work are provided. Other adult educators may be interested in using this workshop as a format for programs in their own areas.

Background and Design of the Program

AAUW is a national organization with a mission of promoting equity for all women and girls, lifelong education, and positive societal change. The organization was founded in 1881, when popular wisdom held that higher education impaired women's health. While members must be college graduates, they do not have to be employed at a college or university. As a result, local AAUW branches are able to reach beyond the higher education institution and into the community to address broader needs. There are 150,000 members in 1500 local branches nationwide. Located in a rural area, 60 members belong to the Bozeman Branch in Montana. Members include women who were reentry women themselves and have now successfully completed their higher education endeavors. Some returned as undergraduates, others as graduate students. Because these members were aware of the challenges that they experienced personally, they proposed a "Transitions Program" to encourage adult women in the surrounding area to consider entering or returning to college. With the closest other four-year and community college located several hundred miles away, the program was intended to attract women who might be interested in and likely to attend the University in Bozeman. At a meeting in September, 2000, proponents of the program announced the idea and distributed a sign-up sheet that was used to form a program planning committee. Additionally, several current reentry women and members from other women's support groups throughout the community and university such as the University Women's Center and a local women's career counseling and computer training center were invited to the first planning session. Branch AAUW members knew these individuals because of their personal contacts at the University and within the community. During the sessions, members created the program format and content. Early in the planning stages, the president of the university agreed to co-sponsor the mini-educational program. The first program was conducted in January 2001. The following year, another planning committee was formed, and revisions were made to the previous year's content based upon feedback and evaluations from the participants and planners. The second program was offered in January 2002. Because of the success of these programs, a third is planned for January 2003. All programs have been held on the University's campus.

Program Format and Content

Following recommendations by Caffarella (2002), creating a program that welcomed participants and enabled them to be active learners by applying information to their own lives and situations rather than passive receivers of material, was a primary goal of the program planners. An initial ice-breaker was designed to make the women feel comfortable, and program greeters distributed a "go find someone who ..." autograph activity to the women when they arrived in the morning. The president of the university participated in the ice-breaker and then provided the opening program remarks. Forty-minute workshops titled "Finding Financial Support," "Finding Family Support," "Finding a Major," and "Developing Academic Skills" were offered during the daylong program. Participants attended all workshops. Planning committee members identified workshop speakers through their own personal contacts and knowledge. Presenters included representatives from the University Counseling Center, Student Study Center, and Financial Aid Office; as well as a counselor from the community, and other knowledgeable individuals. Speaking in the Financial Support Workshop, for instance, was a current reentry woman who provided information on how she was able to adjust her living standards in order to return to school. The committee asked presenters to provide active learning opportunities for the women rather than primarily presenting information in a lecture format. For example, during the "Finding Family Support" workshop, participants brainstormed ways to increase support from their spouses/children/other family members and practiced presenting these ideas to their families in a role play situation. During lunch, a panel of current and past reentry women presented their own testimonials. At the end of the workshops, resource tables provided by university units such as Financial Aid, New Student Services, the University Women's Center, Registrar's Office, and other relevant university administrative areas were available for participants to visit and obtain information. In addition, groups from the community, such as a child care provider and a computer training center, also provided materials. All presenters and information providers donated their time, materials, and expertise. Evaluation forms were distributed at the end of the program for participants to provide feedback.

Newspaper ads, radio announcements, and flyers advertised the program. Individuals were asked to register in advance. The registration fee of $10 paid for lunch and materials. A folder containing university and community resource information was prepared in advance of the program and distributed when the women arrived. Any woman interested in attending college was able to register and their academic background and preparation was not reviewed.

Results

Twenty women attended the conference the first year, 22 the second year. The evaluation survey from both years revealed positive responses. Responding to an item inquiring about overall helpfulness of the second year's program on a 5-point Likert scale with 5 representing "excellent" and 1 representing "poor," the mean score was 4.5 and the mode score was 5. Components of the program were evaluated also, and the lunch panel was assessed as the most beneficial activity, with a mean score of 4.7. All workshops were rated positively. The mode score for all workshops was 5. Mean scores for the workshops were, in descending order as follows:

* Finding a Major: 4.2

* Developing Academic Skills: 4.1

* Family Support: 4

* Financial Support: 3.8

The Planning Committee believed that the slight variation in evaluation scores was attributable to the differing presentation methods of the presenters. Women gave higher scores to workshops that provided more opportunities for them to apply and discuss the information as it related to their own situations. Since qualitative data provides more reflective, descriptive, and in-depth information (Creswell, 1998; Gay & Airasin, 2002), the evaluation form also included open-ended questions. Some of these responses included: " I am so relieved to find out that my fears are the same as other women and that if you believe in yourself, so will others." "This conference gave me all the information I needed to get started. I also learned I have a lot of support that I didn't know was there." "Very supportive and encouraging." "I'm glad to see others in the same age bracket wanting to further their education." Recommendations for improvement were few, but several asked for additional information about financial aid and revisions have been made to that workshop. How many women actually entered the university? Several women contacted AAUW members (some of whom work at the university) and reported that they had entered school and that the educational program had a strong impact on their decision. After the first year's program, five participants reported entering the university the following year. Figures for attendance from the second year's program are not yet available. The five women from the first year's program have remained in contact with AAUW members and report progress in their studies. There have been no reports of women entering other institutions.

Because of the involvement of the community group, women who attended the first program and subsequently enrolled in the university have been provided some financial support. The Bozeman Branch of AAUW awards annual scholarships to deserving women students. Members decided to award the May 2002 scholarships to women who had attended the Transitions Program in January 2001 and then enrolled in the university the following fall, During the Branch's May 2002 Awards Banquet, five scholarships of $400 each were awarded to participants who were then completing their first year of studies. The subsequent thank-you notes from the recipients included the following comments: "The Transitions Conference was inspirational and instrumental in my return to college. Thank you for the passionate, articulate speakers who had real life experiences to share. Thank you for the dedication of the organizers who offered us the practical advice, support, and mentorship in a neatly orchestrated package." "I can't thank you enough for the scholarship that you gave me. Going back to school is a challenge and I appreciate that you gave me money and support to keep me going."

Lessons Learned and Discussion

There were many lessons learned from sponsoring the event that other similar planning committees may find beneficial.

1. Planners of similar programs should strive to ensure that the event is a collaborative endeavor between the community and college or university. Including individuals from the community and the university in the planning and implementation provided a diversity of knowledge and information that would not have been available otherwise. Women from the community, especially those who had been reentry women themselves, were able to bring a perspective to the event that would have been lacking in individuals working solely in a university setting. They were able to provide the "I have been there and been successful" motivational aspect to the program. In addition, they knew which aspects of the university administrative system could be most difficult to returning students, thereby ensuring that someone was available to provide assistance and information in this area. Holding the program at the university gave participants the opportunity to come to the campus and become more comfortable with the environment.

2. Planners will find it beneficial to include upper level college and university administrators as part of the program. The presence of the university president during the opening of the program sent a strong message that the university was really interested in these women enrolling in school. The president was dressed casually and his remarks were supportive and encouraging to the participants.

3. A good ice-breaker makes participants quickly feel comfortable and at ease. Most of these women did not know anyone in the program before attending. The "go find someone who ..." autograph activity enabled the women to meet the other attendees and to give them something to talk about immediately. The ice-breaker established an atmosphere of participation, involvement, and friendliness.

4. Active learning activities are important, but not easy for everyone to design. Planners should work with presenters in designing these experiences. Feedback from participants of the fast program revealed that they, like other adults, enjoyed presentations that included active learning. Small group brainstorming, problem solving, and opportunities to discuss their own personal experiences/situations were assessed by the women as most valuable. The planning committee had asked all the workshop presenters for the first program to provide active learning opportunities. Unfortunately, some presenters did a better job of this than others. As a result, several new presenters were selected for the second program in 2002. For the second year, presenters were invited to meet with the planning committee several weeks before the program, and during this session, committee members provided examples of activities that had worked especially well the first year. In addition, presenters brainstormed and discussed possible active learning exercises that might work for each of their topics. As a result, the 2002 program saw an increase in the quantity and quality of active learning experiences.

5. Including current and successful reentry women is an important component of the program. Women who are considering returning to school are inspired by and learn from others who have actually done what they are considering. However, some of these presenters may have to be coached and coaxed in their presentations. Some may not believe they have anything of value to contribute to the discussions. At the same time, it is important to let the presenters speak in their own voice, thereby resulting in a sincere and genuine delivery.

6. Giving presenters time limits and quietly notifying them when their time is almost over is critical to ensuring the program stays within schedule. While many of the presenters were concerned that they would not be able to fill the allotted time, all were able easily to fill the time and could have spoken much longer. In order to keep the program on schedule, one of the planning committee members held up sheets of paper with "10 minutes," "5 minutes," and "0" written on them.

7. Knowing how to advertise the program in your own community is important. For the 2001 conference, a considerable amount of money was spent on newspaper and radio advertising. Flyers and posters were distributed at local libraries and other strategic community announcement locations. The program evaluation form asked participants to identify how they learned about the program. Few had learned about the program through the radio, and, as a result, this medium was not used the following year at a substantial savings.

8. Planners should expect last-minute registrations. While 1-week advance registration was requested, many participants waited until 2 or 3 days prior to the program to register. The first year this occurred, planners almost canceled the program because of the small number of registrations. Both years, around 70% of the registrations took place 2 to 4 days before the program began.

Future Work

While informal contacts between participants and members of the community organization were beneficial, this paper points out the need for a more formal follow-up of participants. Formal mentoring programs offer adults significant career and academic support (Cohen & Galbraith, 1995; Hansman, 1998). Establishing mentoring matches between potential reentry and successful reentry women may result in more individuals entering and remaining in higher education institutions. These mentoring relationships could be flexible, with the pairs determining how often they are in communication and in what form. Simple once-a-month telephone contacts could be very beneficial in encouraging reentry women and in supplying them with the extra motivation to stay in school. Additional money for scholarships could have a substantial impact on reentry women. While the $400 scholarships were helpful to the women participating in the Bozeman program, an increase in this figure could have a more significant benefit. Also, while all first year attendees who subsequently enrolled in college were awarded scholarships, the ability of the group to continue this practice is questionable if the number of enrollees increases in future years. Planners should consider collaborating with other groups to offer additional financial support to these individuals.

References

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Creswell, J. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Gay, L & Airasian, P. (2002). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and applications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Gianakos, I. (1996). Career development differences between adult and traditional-aged learners. Journal of Career Development, 22 (3), 211-223.

Hansman, C. (1998). Mentoring end women's career development. In L. Bierema (Ed.), New directions for adult and continuing education: Women's career development across the Lifespan, 80 (63-71). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Killy, K., & Borgen, W. (2000). Self-confidence and the reentry experience for North American women. International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling, 22, 119-130.

Lewis, L.H. (Ed.). (1988). Addressing the needs of returning women. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Luzzo, D. (1999). Identifying the career decision-making needs of nontraditional college students. Journal of Counseling and Development, 77,135-140.

Morgan, B., & Foster, V. (1999). Career counseling for reentry dual career women: A cognitive developmental approach. Journal of Career Development, 26 (2), 125-136.

Padula, M. (1994). Reentry women: A literature review with recommendations for counseling and research. Journal of Counseling and Development, 73, 10-15.

Rooney, M. (2002). A surge of students. Chronicle of Higher Education, 49, (10), A33.

Marilyn Lockhart, Montana State University 

Marilyn is an assistant professor of adult and higher education. She is the president of the Bozeman, Montana, Branch of the American Association of University Women and has been a member of the Transitions Planning Committee for 3 years. She acknowledges and would like to thank all of those who participated in planning and sponsoring the program described in this article.