Page 29 - April JSF Report

GRANT PROGRAM COMMITTEE MINUTES (DRAFT) (5)
of Hearing requesting $200,000 over 2 years for the Youth to Young Leaders Pipeline. A.G. Bell will raise
$100,000 as a match to JSF’s grant.
It was suggested that A.G. Bell be invited to the June SUSF meeting.
b. George Washington University update
Bobby introduced Dr. Maxine Freund (Max), Associate Dean for Research and External Relations for the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University, and Dr. Elizabeth Tuckwiller, Associate Professor and Department Chair for Special Education and Disability Studies at GWU. Both Max and Elizabeth appeared before the Committee via Zoom. A JSF grant of $250,000 over 2 years began in 2022 and is currently funding a 3-phase study of State University System of Florida graduates with disabilities. The research is scheduled to conclude in 2024.
Max introduced Elizabeth, the faculty member who joined the JSF research as co-Principal Investigator while their colleague, Dr. Elisabeth Kutscher, has been on leave. In November, a Milestone 1 report was submitted to JSF that included analysis of June 2022 Focus Group participant data, reported on the number of Disability Services (DS) and Career Services (CS) participants, and identified findings from interviews with the DS and CS providers. In other developments, the project received approval from GWU’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), and the researchers’ proposal to present at the 2023 spring meeting of the American Education Research Association Conference was accepted. As planned, 3 doctoral candidates were chosen to assist with the research. Some themes that have emerged from the research involve college enrollment and completion rates, as well as how students are making enrollment choices.
The work for Year 2 of the project is under way. In November, the researchers proposed moving to a case study model that would focus intensely on a few campuses. Now they plan to take a different approach that would focus on how service providers who are situated in different units and offices across campuses all have an impact on students’ experiences. This revised methodology has received IRB approval from GWU. The next steps involve recruiting representatives from the 12 SUSF campuses, as well as talking to current and former Johnson Scholars. Recruitment will start at the end of March and will utilize a “snowball” recruitment technique, in which the researchers ask the people they interview to help them get in touch with others.
Max and Elizabeth were asked whether it would be more useful to look to employers rather than people on campuses. Max said they are trying to determine that. They want to see how various offices and programs contributed to the success of alumni, and they want to interview current students to compare how these systems have changed over time. Max and Elizabeth left the meeting.
10. Core programing – Florida International University
Bobby introduced Dr. Amanda Niguidula, Director of the Disability Resource Center at FIU; Yesenis De La Paz, Access Consultant/Scholarship Coordinator; and FIU student Karamot Adeola. FIU is one of the 12 universities in the State University System of Florida receiving JSF funding for students with disabilities. An article about FIU’s DRC had been circulated.
Amanda reported that 81 students received Johnson Scholarships in the fall and spring of this academic year, and 14 scholars graduated. A major challenge has been getting the student stories out to the campus community. The DRC’s recent article was distributed through the FIU News service, which placed it directly in front of students, faculty and staff. FIU stands out in the SUSF because of its success in recruiting students. Amanda attributed this to an internal marketing campaign that communicates the scholarship information through email, the website, social media channels, handouts and the television screen in the office lobby. An animated mascot for the DRC, a corgi named Cori, is part of the campus advertising campaign. Also, the DRC developed a simplified online application process that works well for students. The DRC is involved in all aspects of the scholarship, including recruitment, selection and reporting. A dedicated Scholarship Coordinator works with the Financial Aid office. There are 3,600 students registered with the DRC, but students don’t have to be registered with the DRC to apply for the scholarship. The DRC representatives recognized that requiring official transcripts can be a barrier for students, so it started accepting unofficial transcripts during the application process. Another barrier is obtaining letters of recommendation from professors. The DRC works with students individually to help them request recommendation letters.
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