Grambling State University Standard Three Compendium

R3.1 Access and Equity

The Evidence

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Mission: The mission of Grambling State University includes the recruitment and retention of high-quality candidates from a broad range of backgrounds. Multiple strategies are employed to support the mission of increasing the diversity and strength of the pool of candidates, including though not limited to the following initiatives: Connect 2 Success, formerly known as GEAR-UP, Call Me MiSTER, Career Services Handshake, and Grab Day, formerly known as High School Day.

Goal: The EPP focuses on developing and sustaining the active recruitment, retention, and graduation of a diverse candidate pool who are prepared to meet the employment needs of the service area. The EPP seeks to identify and address community, state, national, regional, or local needs for hard- to-staff schools and shortage fields, which currently includes, STEM, ELL , and SPED. The College of Education collaborates with the University Recruitment Office to develop a recruitment and retention plan that not only reflects the needs of the University, but those of the state, region, and nation as well.

Conceptual Framework: The Conceptual Framework depicts the EPP’s over-arching paradigm as a catalyst for change. The programmatic offerings are informed by evidence-based and data-driven best practices. Performance-assessment, research-based pedagogy, and strategic professional field experiences are common threads across the EPP departments Curriculum and Instruction, Developmental and Higher Education, as well as Kinesiology, Sport, and Leisure Studies. The graduates emerge well-equipped to hit the ground running as teachers and leaders. The curricular content , pedagogical knowledge-base, as well as professional skills and dispositions acquired through successful matriculation in the EPP programs are the strong foundation upon which graduates can become educators who are ready to assist their future students in achieving their full potential. This is made possible through the collaborative engagement of the GSU College of Education, College of Professional Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, and Division of Graduate Studies. The EPP Framework includes three strands: Masters of Subject Matter Content, Facilitators of Learning, and Enhancers and Nurturers of Affective Behaviors. The college philosophy is, Committing to excellence in teaching, scholarship, service, and professional development through lifelong learning and the empowerment of learners.

Recruitment: Faculty and staff actively engage in efforts to recruit candidates for high-need content areas, as well as for specific geographic areas which may be under-resourced. Recruitment of a diverse candidate pool continues to be the goal of both GSU and the EPP. The EPP also actively promotes involvement in student organizations and intentionally links candidates to opportunities such as Kappa Delta Pi and Aspiring Educators. Faculty members in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction serve as the advisors for the various clubs. All candidates are encouraged to consider joining a club that hosts regular meetings and offers service learning projects.

Evidence and Analysis

Description of Evidence: The narrative, URLs, tables, and screenshots in The Evidence section below provide information about:

General admissions criteria for GSU, Program-specific admissions criteria for the College of Education Initial Programs, and Diversity of entry cohorts