Setting
The Adelante program study was implemented with low-income, Latino men at Pima Community College, which is a two-year, Hispanic-serving institution with six campus locations throughout the greater Tucson Metropolitan Area in Pima County in southern Arizona. The study had three cohorts (fall 2010, fall 2011, and fall 2012) and tracked outcomes for two semesters for all three cohorts. Pima drew participants from six campuses (Downtown, West, Desert Vista, Northwest, East, and Community), p. 16.
Study sample
100% of the study sample are low-income, Latino males. Three-fourths of the sample are aged 17-26 years old, and one-fourth are 27 years old or older. More than one-third (36.7%) are first-generation to attend college. About six out of ten (59.2%) of the full sample regularly speaks a language other than English at home.
Intervention Group
The Adelante program is a three-semester program, whereby all students receiving the intervention were eligible for awards up to $1,500 per semester (p. 19). The award was broken into three payments, and the first two payments were contingent on students meeting service participation benchmarks and being enrolled for six or more credits (p. 19). The third payment could vary in amount depending on benchmarks attained by the student. Students received $150 for attending an orientation, and $150 for meeting with an Adelante advisor twice during the semester. The remaining $1200 payment was based on academic performance and participation in academic tutoring and workshops. The program orientation was one-hour long at the beginning of the semester. Advising sessions are approximately 20 minutes each. In the first session, students receive advice on their personal education plan. In the second session, students discuss their mid-term progress with their advisor and resolve issues. Adelante students also were incentivized to participate in tutoring, workshops, and platicas sessions (whereby Latino men discuss challenges and issues they face with other Latino men). Students in the intervention group received "thoughtful, positive, specific messages related to academic success, designed to make students feel that they can succeed," (p. 24).
Comparison Group
The comparison group did not receive an Adelante program orientation. They had the opportunity to have general advising offered at the college, but were not incentivized to do so. They could participate in tutoring and academic workshops, but had no scholarship incentive to do so. Comparison group students did not have the option to participate in Platicas sessions. Students in the comparison group receive a broad range of messages to students, but not "thoughtful, positive specific messages related to academic success designed to inspire students to succeed.
Support for implementation
Private foundation support was provided to pay for the research study. Chapter 3 details the implementation and support for the Adelante program. According to the authors, the program components were well-executed. The Adelante program worked closely with staff in Financial Aid, Student Accounts, Student Services, and the Learning Centers to implement the program (p. 35). Students in the program participated at high rates in the advising and student support services offered (p. 35). The college had three full-time staff to oversee the program: a program coordinator, a full-time adviser who worked only with Adelante students, and a support specialist. The college's general advisers also provided in-kind support to Adelante program participants. The college added additional general advisors as the program capacity increased and advisers had up to 35 more students to advise on top of regular, full-time advising responsibilities. The program had oversight from senior administration and strong support, also. Platicas sessions were facilitated by the Program Coordinator (p. 40).