Xueli Wang – författare

On My Own: The Challenge and Promise of Building Equitable STEM Transfer Pathways is the first book of its kind to provide a detailed, on-the-ground examination of the difficult paths-curricular, interpersonal, and institutional-that students must chart through community college. The book follows 1,670 two-year college students over four years as they begin STEM programs in the Midwest and documents their educational and life experiences as they moved toward, or away, from the prospect of transfer to a four-year institution. Their stories reveal that they were on their own, left to navigate the pathways to transfer without meaningful institutional support.The students pursued one of four pathways, or momentum trajectories: linear upward, detoured, deferred, or taking a break. The preexisting and lasting disparities in their access to education and financial resources, their experiences with teaching and advising, and the conundrum between support from and for family, among others, propelled them onto different trajectories in their quest for transfer. As this book makes painfully clear, the current state of transfer acts as a mechanism that perpetuates and worsens inequities in educational outcomes.As Xueli Wang argues, to cultivate an equitable STEM transfer pathway, culturally relevant and responsive supports that are accessible, welcoming, and validating must be put in place at the institutional level and appeal to the talent, motivation, and unique needs of historically marginalized students. In doing so, two-year colleges will be better positioned to fulfill their promise as an equitable pathway to bachelor's degrees and beyond.

2020 ASHE Council for the Advancement of Higher Education Programs (CAHEP) Barbara Townsend Lecture Award2021 Transfer Champion-Catalyst Award from the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS)2021 Outstanding Publication Award, AERA Division J Publication and ResearchOn My Own: The Challenge and Promise of Building Equitable STEM Transfer Pathways is the first book of its kind to provide a detailed, on-the-ground examination of the difficult paths—curricular, interpersonal, and institutional—that students must chart through community college. The book follows 1,670 two-year college students over four years as they begin STEM programs in the Midwest and documents their educational and life experiences as they moved toward, or away, from the prospect of transfer to a four-year institution. Their stories reveal that they were on their own, left to navigate the pathways to transfer without meaningful institutional support.The students pursued one of four pathways, or momentum trajectories: linear upward, detoured, deferred, or taking a break. The preexisting and lasting disparities in their access to education and financial resources, their experiences with teaching and advising, and the conundrum between support from and for family, among others, propelled them onto different trajectories in their quest for transfer. As this book makes painfully clear, the current state of transfer acts as a mechanism that perpetuates and worsens inequities in educational outcomes.As Xueli Wang argues, to cultivate an equitable STEM transfer pathway, culturally relevant and responsive supports that are accessible, welcoming, and validating must be put in place at the institutional level and appeal to the talent, motivation, and unique needs of historically marginalized students. In doing so, postsecondary institutions will be better positioned to fulfill their promise as an equitable pathway to bachelor’s degrees and beyond.

2020 ASHE Council for the Advancement of Higher Education Programs (CAHEP) Barbara Townsend Lecture Award2021 Transfer Champion-Catalyst Award from the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS)2021 Outstanding Publication Award, AERA Division J Publication and ResearchOn My Own: The Challenge and Promise of Building Equitable STEM Transfer Pathways is the first book of its kind to provide a detailed, on-the-ground examination of the difficult paths—curricular, interpersonal, and institutional—that students must chart through community college. The book follows 1,670 two-year college students over four years as they begin STEM programs in the Midwest and documents their educational and life experiences as they moved toward, or away, from the prospect of transfer to a four-year institution. Their stories reveal that they were on their own, left to navigate the pathways to transfer without meaningful institutional support.The students pursued one of four pathways, or momentum trajectories: linear upward, detoured, deferred, or taking a break. The preexisting and lasting disparities in their access to education and financial resources, their experiences with teaching and advising, and the conundrum between support from and for family, among others, propelled them onto different trajectories in their quest for transfer. As this book makes painfully clear, the current state of transfer acts as a mechanism that perpetuates and worsens inequities in educational outcomes.As Xueli Wang argues, to cultivate an equitable STEM transfer pathway, culturally relevant and responsive supports that are accessible, welcoming, and validating must be put in place at the institutional level and appeal to the talent, motivation, and unique needs of historically marginalized students. In doing so, postsecondary institutions will be better positioned to fulfill their promise as an equitable pathway to bachelor’s degrees and beyond.

An invigorating take on how community and technical colleges can center equity in fostering institutional transformation.In Delivering Promise, award-winning scholar of higher education Xueli Wang tells a story of educational change and innovation that has and continues to occur at countless campuses of community and technical colleges. Wang weaves together a careful account of how faculty, staff, administrators, institutional researchers, and college leaders rapidly adjusted to crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, while grappling with a new or renewed commitment to centering equity in their work. Her rich analysis of their successes and struggles is based on interviews with more than a hundred college stakeholders across several states, site visits, and reviews of voluminous media sources and internal documents. In this inspiring and insightful work, Wang highlights compelling examples of equity-driven innovation in community and technical colleges across a wide range of areas, including classroom instruction, student supports, institutional research, external partnerships, leadership, and policymaking. She discusses ways to remove long-existing barriers to access so that these colleges may increase enrollment and better serve minoritized student populations. She also illustrates how to ground humanity in institutional practices, structures, and policies to serve the whole student and holistically support faculty and staff.  Culminating with a path forward toward equity-driven innovation for community and technical college education, Xueli Wang brings to the forefront optimal strategies for change that center equity as both a process and outcome, both in times of dire need and into the far future.