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No Dejes Nada En La Puerta: Achieving Equity Through Asset-Based Peer Support, Brooklyn Herrera

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Higher education institutions are becoming increasingly diverse, and Latinx students are a major contributor to this diversity, as they are the largest and fastest growing minoritized population in the United States. Nevertheless, retention and completion gaps for Latinx students persist (Kolluri, 2021). Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) play a pivotal role in promoting educational equity for Latinx students, but they have traditionally been concentrated in urban areas and a small number of states. In future years, new HSIs will emerge largely in rural environments and states with rapidly growing Latinx populations, such as Georgia.

Informed by community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005), this …

Supporting Rural Student Success In Higher Education, Peggy A. Lumpkin

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Founded in the late 1880’s, this college originally served students exclusively from the surrounding Appalachian region. Faculty to student ratios average 18:1 and the number of students served average 1000-1200. Today, although the college serves a more diverse student body geographically, it still endeavors to retain the culture of personal attention and support from faculty and staff. These attributes make the college attractive to students from rural communities who often are first generation college students. Striving to survive against competition from both well-funded larger private colleges as well as from state colleges and universities, places pressure on college administration to …