How to Support Undocumented Community College Students in STEM During and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Institutional Undocu-Competence Framework Analysis
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online January, 2025
How to Support Undocumented Community College Students in STEM During and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Institutional Undocu-Competence Framework Analysis
The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to identify if and how a community college provided services to meet the needs of undocumented students seeking STEM degrees during the pandemic. The study is grounded in the framework of Institutional Undocu-Competence (IU-C) and draws from interviews with 16 students at an urban community college. The findings are critical for community colleges to develop Institutional Undocu-Competence for undocumented students in STEM during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
AndradeL. M. (2019). “The war still continues”: The importance of positive validation for undocumented community college students after Trump’s presidential victory. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 18(3), 273–289.
3.
AndradeL. M. (2021a). “The war still continues,” Part II: The importance of positive validation for undocumented students one year after Trump’s presidential victory. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 20(1), 3–16.
4.
AndradeL. M. (2021b). “We still keep going”: The multiplicitous socioemotional states & stressors of undocumented students during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 21(4), 401–413. https://doi.org/10.1177/15381927211000220
5.
AndradeL. M. (2023). Food, academic counseling, faculty support, financial aid, technology, therapy, and legal assistance: Immediate validation for community college undocumented students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2023.2288204
Balderas-Medina AnayaY.del RosarioM.DoyleL. H.Hayes-BautistaD. E. (2014). Undocumented students pursuing medical education: the implications of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Academic Medicine, 89(12), 1599-1602.
8.
CastrellónL. E. (2021). “As soon as they hear ‘undocumented,’ they stop advising”: Theorizing a (sub)conscious evasion of responsibility from institutional agents to undocumented students. Educational Studies, 57(3), 269–286.
9.
ChapaJ.De La RosaB. (2006). The problematic pipeline: Demographic trends and Latino participation in graduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 5(3), 203–221.
10.
CreswellJ. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design, choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
11.
CreswellJ. W.MillerD. L. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory Into Practice, 39(3), 124–130.
12.
FernandezJ. (2018). Undocumented Latino students pursuing degrees in STEM disciplines: Attitudes, perceptions, teacher support, and future views. Journal of Latinos and Education, 17(4), 344–357.
13.
FloresG. M. (2011). Latino/as in the hard sciences: Increasing Latina/o participation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) related fields. Latino Studies, 9, 327–335.
14.
García-LouisC. (2022). Suficiente, enough: Reckoning with the complexities of a colonial past that racializes LatinXs as MestizXs. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 22(3), 291–306.
15.
GildersleeveR. E.VigilD. (2015). Institutionalizing support for undocumented Latino/a students in American higher education. New Directions for Higher Education, 2015(172), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20151
KuczewskiM. G.BrubakerL. (2014). Medical education for “Dreamers”: Barriers and opportunities for undocumented immigrants. Academic Medicine, 89(12), 1593–1598.
19.
LaraA.NavaP. E. (2022). Undocumented Chicanx/Latinx graduate students: Illuminating home-based sources of support. Journal for Leadership, Equity, and Research, 8(2), 37–59.
20.
Leyva BedollaE.MontielG. I.ChenA. C.-R. (2020). Undocumented pre-health students: Community initiatives toward addressing pipeline gaps for postgraduate and professional advancement. In Handbook on promoting social justice in education (pp. 1–17). Springer.
21.
MarshallC. B.RossmanG. B. (2011). Designing qualitative research (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
NienhusserH. K. (2014). Role of community colleges in the implementation of postsecondary education enrollment policies for undocumented students. Community College Review, 42(1), 3–22.
24.
NienhusserH. K.EspinoM. M. (2017). Incorporating Undocumented/DACAmented status competency into higher education institutional agents’ practice. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 54(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/1.1080/19496591.2016.1194286
25.
NienhusserH. K.VegaB. E.Saavedra CarquinM. C. (2016). Undocumented students’ experiences with microaggressions during their college choice process. Teachers College Record, 111(2), 1–33.
26.
OwenW. F. (1984). Interpretive themes in relational communication. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 70(3), 274–287.
27.
PérezW. (2010). Higher education access for undocumented students: Recommendations for counseling professionals. Journal of College Admission, 206, 32–35.
28.
PérezW. (2011). Americans by heart: Undocumented Latino students and the promise of higher education. Teachers College Press.
29.
PérezW.EspinozaR.RamosK.CoronadoH.CortesR. (2010). Civic engagement patterns of undocumented Mexican students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 9(3), 245–265.
30.
RendleK. A.AbramsonC. M.GarrettS. B.HalleyM. C.DohanD. (2019). Beyond exploratory: A tailored framework for designing and assessing qualitative health research. BMJ Open, 9(8), 1–5.
31.
SalinasCJr. (2020). The complexity of the “x” in Latinx: How Latinx/a/o students relate to, identify with, and understand the term Latinx. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 19(2), 149–168.
Tapia-FuselierN. (2019). Undocumented students, community colleges, and the urgent call for undocu-competence. Journal of Student Affairs, 28, 145–152.
34.
Tapia-FuselierN. (2021). Enhancing institutional undocu-competence through establishing undocumented student resource centers: A student-encompassed approach. Journal of College Access, 6(2), 132–145.
35.
TeranishiR.Suárez-OrozcoC.Suárez OrozcoM. (2015). In the shadows of the ivory tower: Undocumented undergraduates and the liminal state of immigration reform. The Institute for Immigration, Globalization, and Education at UCLA. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2hq679z4
36.
ValenzuelaJ. I.PerezW.PerezI.MontielG. I.ChaparroG. (2015). Undocumented students at the community college: Creating institutional capacity. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2015(172), 87–96.
37.
VasileiouK.BarnettJ.ThorpeS.YoungT. (2018). Characterising and justifying sample size sufficiency in interview-based studies: systematic analysis of qualitative health research over a 15-year period. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1), 1–18.
38.
VictorinoC.DensonN.IngM.Nylund-GibsonK. (2022). Comparing STEM majors by examining the relationship between student perceptions of campus climate and classroom engagement. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 21(1), 33–48.