Institution California State University, Chico State California Academic Level Graduate Issue Area Retention Website https://www.csuchico.edu/graduatestudies/fellowship-awards/equity-fellowship.shtml Key Personnel Sharon A Barrios Program Focus Career/Workforce, Mentoring Overview The mission of the Graduate Equity Fellowship Program (GEFP) is to assist Latinx students to overcome academic and social barriers to increase their access to graduate degrees. Program goals: Increase the number of Latinx students completing graduate degree programs at Chico State. Encourage exploration of doctoral degree opportunities, promote consideration and pursuit of university faculty and leadership careers, and assist in the transition to and through doctoral programs. Close the equity gap and expand opportunities for Latinx students to attain graduate degrees and careers in academia. 100% of fellows attain their master’s degree and 2% transition to doctoral degree programs. Program Description GEFP offers a funded, two-year intensive faculty-mentored research assistantship, research skills and writing workshops, and doctoral program exploration and application support to encourage Latinx students to apply to and successfully complete master’s programs. Peer-group writing and research collaboratives and opportunities to meet with and develop professional relationships with program alumni are offered. To minimize their outside employment and student loan debt, students are offered funding for two years to cover 99-100% of their tuition. Outcome The strength of the program rests in the abiding commitment of the graduate dean, staff, and faculty to the educational advancement of Latinx students. It has achieved high retention and graduation rates, with 93% of the program's Latinx students having completed their master's degrees since 1986 (compared to 81% of the overall grad student population). In the past 10 years (up to fall 2022), 97% of Latinx Graduate Equity Fellows (32 participants) attained their master’s degree. From fall 2019 to fall 2022 students achieved 100% retention and graduation rates. In the past 3 years, two fellows have transitioned to Ph.D. programs and another will start this fall. This meets the overall target of 2% of participants pursuing Ph.D. programs. Two of the three students are Latinx. Learn more about Latino College Completion in California Return to Growing What Works Database
