Resources for Supporting Rural Students
During the grant work, college faculty and counselors spent time with rural high-school partners to investigate how to support rural students' transitions to college.
As the Community Colleges of Spokane (CCS) has five rural centers, it employs many people whose sole aim is supporting rural college students. These faculty, staff, and administrators live in the same rural areas as our students, and they are uniquely positioned to help further students' academic, professional, and personal goals.
To support these goals, grant resources were used to purchase books available for check out in the TLC's professional development library (located in 1-1219, or contact Angela.Rasmussen@scc.spokane.edu for more information). While most focus on general strategies to support all learners transitioning to college, there are two titles that address issues specific to rural students: Hollowing Out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What it Means for America by Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas (2010) and Rural People and Communities in the 21st Century: Resilience & Transformation, by David L. Brown and Kai A. Schafft (2018).
Additionally, a small panel of faculty and an administrator gathered to share their insights into supporting rural students, and the videos that follow captured that conversation.
The panel included:
- Janelle Cordero, English Faculty, Newport Center, Janelle.Cordero@scc.spokane.edu
- Kris Cornelis, History Faculty, Newport Center, Kris.Cornelis@scc.spokane.edu
- Jaclyn Jacot, Dean of Extended Learning and Workforce Initiatives, Jaclyn.Jacot@scc.spokane.edu
- Ben King, Math Faculty, Main Campus, Ben.King@scc.spokane.edu
In Part I, the participants introduce themselves and share traits of rural students.
In Part II, the panel talks about the unique strengths and challenges facing rural students and their communities.
In the final section - Part III, the panel shares strategies that faculty, administrators, and staff can take to support rural students and better support student success.
Feel free to contact the participants if you have any follow-up questions.