San Francisco State MHA students in fall 2008

Metro Academies : Where College Success Meets Social Change

 

The Metro Health Academies (MHA) is a new program for the first two years of college. Students complete their general education requirements in a small cohort, alongside other students who are interested in social justice. They receive extra support and advising to succeed in their coursework. MHA provides a community of students, teachers, and advisors working together to help students do well and stay on track for graduation. MHA is dedicated to supporting a new generation of leaders for social justice in urban communities.

 

About MHA:

MHA is a new program at San Francisco State University and City College of San Francisco to support diverse students in their freshman and sophomore years in:

 

  • Completing general education requirements with a small cohort ofstudents who are interested in social justice
  • Preparing in an engaged learning environment to write effectively, speak powerfully, and think critically.
  • Building a solid foundation of meaningful work in public health, social services (from social work to mental health to the non-profit sector), the health care professions, or community organizing.


Students benefit through:

 

  • A clear, fast track to graduation
  • One-on-one support from teachers and dedicated MHA advisors
  • A community of students with similar interests working together
  • Interesting classes that are relevant to real life
  • Strong academic preparation using proven learning strategies
  • Extra academic support in writing, math, public speaking, and critical thinking for success in a variety of majors
  • Learning ways to give back to their community and make a difference in the world

 

MHAs give students personalized support for college success with an orientation to college and in-class academic support and tutoring. Students receive intensive support for accelerated progress in challenging areas such as writing and math. They take courses together in a learning community so that no one "goes it alone." MHA students get on a fast track for graduation with extra advising and a course sequence carefully planned to insure that students get the classes they need and meet university graduation requirements. The MHA students who are studying at a community college have a smooth transfer pathway, wasting no time on course work that is not transferable.  

 

Students will build a solid foundation for a lifetime of meaningful work in public health, social services, the non-profit sector, the health care professions, or community organizing.

 

The Future of MHA:

 

Summary of the current year: In fall 2008 we started two prototype Metro Health Academies based on the same carefully crafted approach for the first two years of college - one at City College of San Francisco and the other at San Francisco State University. MHA seeks to develop strong foundation skills for its students, supporting them to persist and make strong academic progress toward graduation. Once City College and SF State University students have completed the lower division MHA program with community college students simultaneously having earned their associate of science degree, they start their junior year together on an equal footing, regardless of whether they transferred from community college, or are native Cal State University students who started at SFSU. While our pilot effort is just now coming to the end of its first year, early qualitative evaluations are pointing to considerable differences between MHA students and similar students not in MHA. Our students participate more, express more engagement and confidence, and perform better academically. Retention rates at the close of MHA's first year are 90% at SFSU and 75% at CCSF.

 

Dissemination: From the beginning, our Metro Academies effort was guided by the vision of establishing a California- and nation-wide network of Metro Academies in major US urban areas. Several California State Universities and community colleges are working with us to develop MHAs at their own campuses. Additionally, major publishers have expressed interest in publishing a series of three to four college textbooks based on MHA's approach.

 

Detailed replication materials will be packaged for ready dissemination and adaptation to other campuses, accessible on the web. We will support the adaptation process through a technical assistance office, technology-assisted trainings, and annual summer institutes. We see academic technology as pivotal for both statewide and future national dissemination.

 

In the longer term, we are also interested in adapting the content of the program to a number of disciplines and career paths. For example our core curriculum could readily be modified for a Metro Academy of Education for teacher training; a Metro Academy of Early Childhood Education for early childhood educators; and so on.

 

For more information about our dissemination plans and funding needs, please contact Vicki Legion at vlegion@sfsu.edu or (415) 338-3480.

 

Breadth of Support for MHA

Funders
  • The James Irvine Foundation
  • U.S. Department of Education (Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education - FIPSE)
  • The Mimi and Peter Haas Fund
  • Cal State University Chancellor's Office
  • San Francisco State University
  • City College of San Francisco

 

Letters of Interest from Associations and Organizations
  • The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
  • The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
  • The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU)
  • The Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (a collaborative of nine Bay Area health departments)
  • RC 2000 Urban Coalition of Community Colleges
  • The California State University System (Vice Chancellor)
  • The National Association of County and City Health Officials