Katie Price, Outreach Enrollment Advisor, and Erica Compton, Advising and New Student Services Manager, were recently selected to co-present at the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) pre-conference at Boise State University. Their presentation titled, Refugee Students in Idaho: Who Are They and How Can We Help?, was an appropriate addition to the IDEA pre-conference of the Pacific Northwest Association for College Admission Counseling (PNACAC) Regional Conference as its main focus is on underrepresented student populations in college admissions. The PNACAC serves a five-state region. In 2016, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho welcomed over 6,800 refugees to their cities and communities. The purpose of the presentation was to introduce the demographics and history of Idaho’s newest Americans and explore the relationship between navigating the admissions process and supporting the transition into relationship-building with academic advising for refugee students.
The 47 attendees were asked to address the following questions, “How do you identify refugee students on your campus? What student support initiatives would best assist this population? Do you have any initiatives?” Attendees broke up into small groups and discussed these questions. Many groups suggested that the best ways to identify refugee students were to use financial aid information, have students self-disclose (either on the admissions application or essay), connect with high school counselors and support programs like TRiO, or work with community-based organizations, such as the International Rescue Committee.
Attendees did not have any specific refugee-only programming on their campuses. There were many suggestions for support initiatives including the creation of a student mentorship program, scholarship assistance, and cultural competency initiatives. Many schools also suggested connecting refugee students to programs that are already available on campuses that have diversity centers.
Overall, the presentation led to a collaborative discussion on generating new ideas for best practices in assisting our newest Americans.
For more information, please contact Erica Compton ericacompton@cwi.edu or Katie Price katieprice@cwi.edu.