Academic Pipeline Programs

Abstract

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Key Factors in Designing the Health System–Community Pathways Program for African American/Black Children and Young Adults

“…The programs evaluated in our review used a variety of recruitment and selection strategies. These activities are usually carried out by diversity officers, principal investigators of established enrichment programs, program directors, research faculty mentors, or institutional research officers (* Byrd and Mason, 2021).…”

“…Participants in academic pathways programs need to have the opportunity to express their voice in "brave and safe spaces" that allow debate with civility and respect (Arao and Clemons, 2013). Furthermore, safe spaces can inspire movement and activism; tertiary-education level alumni of pathways programs can challenge program policies and decisionmaking processes (* Byrd and Mason, 2021).…”

“…Mentors have been described as advocates and confidants who play integral roles in college students' goal setting (Apprey et al, 2014). Past program evaluation has shown that mentoring increases the success of pathways programs and that many different successful mentorship models exist (* Byrd and Mason, 2021). Many of the qualities and resources that successful mentors need (e.g., protected time) do not vary by age of the mentee, and those qualities (e.g., willingness to mentor, previous experience with mentoring) were associated with effective mentorship whether the mentee was an elementary school or postgraduate student.…”

“…Pathways programs have seen success with all such mentorship models. Many programs used a mix of peer and senior mentorship (* Byrd and Mason, 2021). Success of this model was attributed to its ability to provide both a present-day and long-term view of an individual's future.…”

“…For collegiate and postcollegiate programming, there was high emphasis on exposure to faculty, career development, and networking (Taylor et al, 2019). Institutions of higher learning are natural homes for pathways programs that model themselves after liberal arts colleges by facilitating (1) close interaction with faculty, (2) exposure to fieldwork and laboratories, and (3) opportunities to engage in networking, research, campus culture, and interactions with other students, scholars, and administrators (* Byrd and Mason, 2021). Components cited as most valuable in high school and college pathways programs included clinical experience, mentorship, career exposure, and research opportunities (* Stephenson-Hunter et al, 2021).…”