Undocumented Students Equity to In-State Tuition: Reducing

Undocumented Students Equity to in-State Tuition:

Reducing The Barriers

There exist policy ambiguities and variations at federal, state, and institutional levels related to undocumented student access to and success in higher education and this has created problems for these students. This study investigated specific policies and procedures to provide the resources and capital to assist undocumented students as well as reviewed key elements of showing the correlation of these difficulties with ethnic identity in access and equity to higher education that would help eliminate student's frustration. The study also illustrated that there is no accountability system surrounding the success of undocumented student's postsecondary education divide significant structure. Three research questions guided the study; a) Without the fundamental requirements met how will undocumented students achieve their goal to attain a degree, and seek a rewarding career? b) Is it unjust to extradite an illegal alien who has been living a constructive life and contributing to benefit our society? c) Because of the current economic hardship in the U.S., is it fair to allocate money for college students face Issues/barriers includes finances, lack of leadership/institutional support, finding job and residence problem. With regard to strategies for institutional change, networking, leadership lobbying, education, and direct challenges emerged as main themes. The researcher suggest that The United States cannot maintain its global position if they do not utilize all the talent that is available, which includes undocumented students. I do think that the rules should apply to all U.S. citizens given the fact that taxes local and federal are paid by the people. So why would an immigrant who has only been paying taxes for a few years have an advantage of lower tuition cost than a person who has paid all their lif

Acknowledgement

Table of Contents

Chapter-I Introduction 6

Purpose of the Study 8

Importance of the Study and Research Problem 9

Research Questions 9

Methods 10

Limitations 10

Terms 11

Theory 11

Institutional Theory 11

Critical Race Theory 13

Chapter-2 LITERATURE REVIEW 14

Overview 14

U.S. History of Immigration 14

Ethnic Identity 16

Federal, State, and Institutional Undocumented Student Policies Federal Actions 18

The Dream Act 19

State Actions 21

Summary 24

Chapter-III Methodology 25

Introduction 25

Research Design 25

Grounded Theory Research 25

Sample 25

Data Collection and Analysis 25

Validity Considerations 26

Chapter-IV Results and Discussions 27

Institutional Actions 27

Undocumented Student Experiences 28

Policy/Legal Analyses 29

Conclusion 31

Recommendations 32

References 34

Chapter-I Introduction

I graduated [high school] with honors. I was so happy that I asked my counselor to help me go to college. She told me that I was just another undocumented girl and that she could not help me. I insisted she help, but she only wrote on my school records on red ink, "She is undocumented." I thought my dreams would not end here. I knew that school was the only way for me to be successful. I went to a local college and was initially told I could not enroll because I was undocumented; but God was with me and he provided an angel willing to help me fulfill my dream. (Harmon, Carne, Lizardy-Hajbi, & Wilkerson, 2010)

These are the words of "Sara," a now legal immigrant who first arrived in the U.S. As an undocumented 12-year-old child. Her story is one of personal tragedy and determination in the struggle to achieve an education that she believed would change her life and create opportunities far beyond her imagination. Today, Sara possesses two associate degrees and owns a successful business. In Sara's mind, her accomplishments are a result of both personal persistence and the willingness of an "angel," a higher education administrator that she was able to form a relationship with, to work on her behalf and grant Sara access to a college education. Sara's story is not an uncommon one. Educators, both within the realms of K-12 and postsecondary education, have continued to assist undocumented students who come to them seeking information about college options, available financial resources, clarification on current immigration laws, and overall support.

According to the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (2009), the term undocumented student refers to "a non-citizen who does not hold an immigration or visa status that would permit the student to be lawfully present in the United States" (para. 2). Through the Supreme Court ruling of Plyler v. Doe (1982) that granted undocumented children equal right and access to public K-12 education, an estimated 50,000 to 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high schools or receive their GED each year (Morse & Birnbach, 2010).

Although no federal laws prohibit undocumented students from applying to and attending U.S. colleges and universities (The College Board, n.d.), these laws do not address the issue of financial access to higher education and the provision of legal paths to residency in any consistent manner. Ambiguities at the federal level and, as a result, variations in policies at state and institutional levels have created particular effects for both undocumented students and the higher education professionals who seek to assist these students in obtaining higher education. In particular, higher education professionals are not only unable to decipher the intent and application of these policies that exist at varying levels, but are also frustrated by the lack of training and education that they receive in handling the unique issues that undocumented students present in the college setting (Oseguera, Flores, & Burciaga, 2010).

Because of these instances the United States is currently evaluating an immigration law reform act.

The Dream Act was established in 2006 by Senator Dick Durbin democrat of Illinois and he presented the DREAM Act (S.729) in the Senate and Representative Howard Berman a democrat from California who introduced the American Dream Act (H.R.1751) in the House. (Palacios pg. 2) The In-state resident tuition legislation act that will benefit undocumented students is a significant policy to provide access to immigrant college students to four-year institutions, the military and eventually the right to citizenship.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to identify specific policies and procedures to provide the resources and capital to assist undocumented students as well as review key elements of showing the correlation of ethnic identity in access and equity to higher education that would help eliminate student's frustration. And to illustrate there is no accountability system surrounding the success of undocumented student's postsecondary education divide significant structure. In most states undocumented students whose family are long time residents of the area and pay state and local taxes are considered a resident of that particular state. The realization for many first-generation, undocumented students is that they cannot attend a college/university of their choice because they are not documented. Moreover, after graduation they will have even more difficult than their peers finding a job because they don't have the proper documentation. Undocumented, underrepresented students are at a disadvantage to receive learning opportunities and achievements than their peers. Moreover, immigrant families need greater access to accurate information about college in a consistent manner.

The Dream Act has established standards for the promotion of success for all undocumented students to attend a university of choice being a four-year or community college. However, with the present new legislation that makes it a crime to be in Arizona without legal status and requires police to check for immigration papers many immigrants who have lived here illegally for many years and lead productive lives will be subjective to racial profiling. Besides Arizona, there are other states that are contemplating initiating this policy. I think that this will have a negative impact on the public school systems as well as universities and colleges in enrolling undocumented students because they already face many, cultural, social, and economical challenges. These stigmatisms could create difficulties in undocumented students identifying their self-worth, and may develop inferior beliefs.

Importance of the Study and Research Problem

To date, there is no study that examined the policy issues and identified policies that can help student in access and success in higher education. For this reason, the results of this study can construct a new area of dialogue regarding individuals who are indirectly affected by undocumented student policies. Once the challenges and strategies for change that higher education professionals have utilized are revealed, there exists an increased potential for individuals to inform policy changes at institutional, state, and national levels.

The need for change is evident, reforms for better immigration laws for public education to create opportunities, access, and respect for undocumented students is imperative. Undocumented high school students need to have the accessibility to secondary learning and know that laws were created to employ citizenship and in-state tuition eligibility for residents who contribute to our society and social order.

Research Questions

Based upon current research gaps surrounding in light of policy ambiguities and inconsistencies at institutional, state, and federal levels, about undocumented students the study seeks to answer the following research questions:

1. Without the fundamental requirements met how will undocumented students achieve their goal to attain a degree, and seek a rewarding career?

2. Is it unjust to extradite an illegal alien who has been living a constructive life and contributing to benefit our society?

3. Because of the current economic hardship in the U.S., is it fair to allocate money for college to immigrants or only to American students?

These research questions seek to explore the undocumented students' difficulties as well as to capture the perspectives and actions of policy personnel within a particular policy context. The queries also capture professionals' methods and strategies for inciting institutional change on this issue. Overall, these questions will offer a grassroots-level picture of the current state of affairs for college educators on the topic of undocumented student access and success.

Methods

The researcher aims to use qualitative method to explore the views of policy makers and experts' current situation regarding policies about undocumented students Rubin and Rubin (2005) asserted that "naturalistic, qualitative social researchers gather information by observing and by talking with and listening carefully to the people who are being researched" (p. 2). Individual interviews are extremely beneficial in helping to gather information relevant to a particular issue (Creswell, 2007); therefore, to obtain data on higher educational professionals? experiences and understanding of roles, it is best to question the participants directly to "enter into the other person's perspective" (Patton, 2002, p. 341).

Limitations

The researcher intends to visit Senator of Arizona, who has created a hindrance on immigrants who exist in that state. Moreover, federal law still prohibits states from granting unauthorized aliens residential rights for postsecondary education for in-state tuition. Bigotry and prejudices against someone who is different still thrives even today and state laws to the contrary are preempted by federal law.

Terms

Immigrant; a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

Undocumented Students; the term undocumented student refers to "a non-citizen who does not hold an immigration or visa status that would permit the student to be lawfully present in the United States" (para. 2).

Dream Act; Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, was most recently reintroduced as a stand-alone bill to Congress on March 26, 2009 (a form of this legislation was first introduced in 2001). This act would not only repeal Section 505 of the IIRIRA, but also provide opportunities for undocumented persons to become temporary permanent residents and obtain a postsecondary education or join the military.

Theory

In order to describe the issues faced by undocumented immigrant students in the midst of ambiguous and inconsistent policies, two main theories framed the study: (a) institutional theory (J. W. Meyer, 1977; J.W. Meyer & Rowan, 1977) and (b) critical race theory (CRT) (Bell, 1995; Delgado & Stefancic, 2000). These theories offer a contextualized understanding of current policy ambiguities and inconsistencies with regard to undocumented students.

a) Institutional Theory

The origins of institutional theory were developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries under the auspices of neoclassical theory in economics, behavioralism in political science, and positivism in sociology (Scott, 2004). Sociologist Emile Durkheim (1961) originally described institutions as products of joint human activity that are comprised of sets of symbols, both cognitive and moral. According to Durkheim; "Once formed, institutions are profound external sources for the regulation of human conduct and the stabilization of social structures" (Bidwell, 2006, p. 34). Throughout the evolution of institutional theory, scholars have ascribed to this basic understanding of institutions as emergent spaces in which symbols and social relationships are negotiated.

Therefore, institutional theory seeks to determine "how people actively construct meaning within institutionalized settings through language and other symbolic representations" (H.-D. Meyer & Rowan, 2006, p. 6). Institutional theory posits that these constructions of meaning are shaped by larger social and cultural beliefs (Burch, 2007). For example, institutional theory has been used to examine the relationship between educational policy (i.e., larger social and cultural norms) and classroom practices within varying school settings (i.e., organizational behavior) (Coburn, 2006).

This basic framework is beneficial for studying the experiences of undocumented immigrant students for two main reasons. First, institutional theory contextualizes the relationship between policy and practice and the factors that affect implementation at the ground level. Because policies regarding undocumented students vary at the federal, state, and institutional levels, ambiguities exist that create opportunity for differences in practice at the ground level. Second, institutional theory provides a macro-level framework for understanding the ways in which social and cultural norms shape policy formation at all levels.

b) Critical Race Theory

Critical race theory (CRT) complements institutional theory by offering a contextual perspective for the current policy issues surrounding undocumented students in higher education, as well as assists in interpreting higher students' experiences and views as a result of these policy issues. Originating from critical legal studies (CLS), CRT argues that racism is endemic within American society, a perspective that CLS scholars failed to include in their overall challenges of mainstream legal ideology (Taylor, 2009). Because of the centrality that race has played in the shaping of past and present U.S. laws, CRT seeks to "analyze the myths, presuppositions, and received wisdoms that make up the common culture about race and that invariably render blacks and other minorities one-down" (Delgado & Stefancic, 2000, p. xvii).

Chapter-2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Overview

In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the literature and context of this topic, three separate areas that are pertinent to the framing of the study will be addressed in this chapter: a) Ethnicity and Undocumented Students; b) federal, state, and institutional undocumented student policies; and c) undocumented student access and success. A brief overview of the relationship of the difficulties of undocumented student with regard to ethnicity provides a contextual framework for understanding undocumented student policies. The policies themselves are then discussed and critiqued through existing literature on these policies. Finally, a presentation of pertinent literature highlights the work already undertaken by scholars on this subject

The current body of literature on the policy analysis for undocumented student is virtually nonexistent; however, the general field of undocumented students in higher education is a growing area of interest given the introduction of the DREAM Act in 2003 and in-state tuition policies that have been in place within several states since 2001. There are two main areas of research that scholars have investigated: a) undocumented student experiences of access to and success in higher education and b) policy effects on undocumented student access and success. Some studies have been published that highlight policy effects on higher education professionals, and those will be discussed at the end of the chapter.

U.S. History of Immigration

Providing a brief history of immigration policy creation and implementation in the U.S. will assist in framing the issue of undocumented student access and success in higher education through a broader lens that highlights certain dynamics shaping political discourses today. Overall immigration policy and regulation in the United States has generally been driven by two interrelated factors: a) economic demands and the need for mass labor and b) reinforcement of constructions of race and who qualifies as "American," which reveals competing notions of citizenship and residency.

Beginning after the Civil War, most immigrants came to the United States for economic reasons, "Immigrants helped solve problems, such as building the population and providing a labor force" (Bailey, 2008, p. 39). Bonacich and Cheng (1984) developed a conceptual model of international labor migration demonstrating that development in advanced capitalist countries created a demand for cheap labor, as well as imperialist and distorted development in third world countries. These factors fostered the importation and immigration of workers in order to fill capitalist demands, a pattern which continues to drive immigration policy regulation today.

Regarding notions of race and immigration, Anna Sampaio (personal communication, 2006) at the University of Colorado at Denver asserted that racial targeting during times of economic slowdowns led to the creation of radicalized immigration control/deportation acts. She further argued that using race as an organizing principle is more likely to mobilize opposition and increase support for restrictive initiatives and legislation. In this regard, race is tied to the notion of citizenship and who has access to certain privileges in U.S. society. According to Spickard (2007); "One's race determined one's eligibility for citizenship in the United States right from the start" (p. 89). This eligibility was specifically designed for and conferred upon whites, as posited by CRT scholars (Bell, 1995; Delgado & Stefancic, 2000).

One of the first policies of the newly formed United States government was "An Act to Establish a Uniform Rule of Naturalization" in 1790, which stated:

"Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that any alien, being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years, may be admitted to become a citizen thereof." (Spickard, 2007, p. 89)

This and other founding documents affirm the intent of powerful whites and the policies they created to relegate nonwhites to noncitizen status. Thus, the history of immigration in the U.S. is one in which varying racial minority groups have navigated and endured policies created for the benefit of whites (Taylor, 2009).

Ethnic Identity

In Ortiz and Santos' results suggest that like Asians, Latino are identify as a distinct group. They are characterized as Puerto Rican, Chicana, Mexican, Dominican, Latino/a, 7 of 9 however, most prefer Mexican-American (given that the study was done in California. Within this group some of the sub-groups have a negative association attached, Ferdman & Gallegos's (2001) model of Latino Racial Identity Orientation, (Ortiz & Santos p.133). Mexican-American racial classifications do not fit neatly into the binary classification used by the United States, which leads to mistaken in ethnic identity.

The authors also discussed the Latino/a culture and traditions, describing how family members, music, food, language, religious beliefs, and cultural events contribute an important role in ethnic identity. Senior family members describe the traditions, cultural experiences and value of their history. For many students they lost their cultural awareness during high school. However, college became a time for students to return to their cultural background and understand the importance of family in their ethnic identity development.

Ortiz and Santos critically examined immigrant Asian-American family structure and its generational effects on ethnicity. Asian racial groups have sub-groups that self-identify as Chinese, Cambodian, Japanese, Taiwanese, Filipino and Korean. Additionally, within these sub-groups are varied religious beliefs, Christian, Catholic or Buddhist which also contribute to ethnicity. This is the only group that had a significant interaction with mainstream America during high school. In the Asian culture the extended family often lives in one 5 of 9 household, children, parents, grandparents, and they speak their native language. They believe in strong family ties, and that children must be respectful of their elders. Asian parents tend to be strict and have high expectations for educational achievement and preserving and protecting Asian culture.

Asian students felt that their cultural values were transforming, just from living in the United States and that Asian assimilation to mainstream American had occurred. An Asian female participant in the study discussed the strict cultural background and how she concealed her interracial dating from her parents. The author states that once ethnic identity is weakened when a group adopts the host society, group members sometimes lose all traces of their identity. However, Asian acculturation with the mainstream culture is strong and bicultural according to Berry's Model of Identity. Students value their language and traditions as well as positively interrelate with society as a whole. Asian college students had positive interactions with mainstream America, which made them begin to examine their own culture. However, some Asians feel that if you acculturate fully you have sold out your race to mainstream America

Federal, State, and Institutional Undocumented Student Policies Federal Actions

Two major legal acts have been presented in recent years that specifically affect debates surrounding postsecondary educational access and success for undocumented students. The first act of legislation, Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996 and stated:

"Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident." (IIRIRA, 1996, para. 505a)

Some interpreters of this law argue that in-state tuition is a benefit not afforded to all citizens, namely, citizens who come from another state and attend a 4-year public college or university. Therefore, in-state tuition benefits should not be granted to undocumented students because this type of action "encourages unlawful presence in the U.S. And unfairly shortchanges those who follow federal immigration laws" (Fung, 2007, p. 417). Others argue that "the provisions of IIRIRA do not preclude states? abilities to enact residency statutes for the undocumented" (Olivas, 2004, p. 453). In other words, Congress does not possess the authority to regulate state benefits. Additionally, Olivas (2004) asserted that the language of the law actually argues that undocumented students cannot receive greater benefits than nonresident citizens. For example, an undocumented student cannot gain residency in a shorter amount of time than a nonresident citizen. As evidenced, this law has proven to be highly interpretable; and as a result, states have subsequently passed laws that either allow or restrict tuition benefits for these students, with some based on criteria other than residency and others based on stricter requirements above and beyond residency (Connolly, 2005).

The Dream Act

Federal legislators have also attempted to offer a more comprehensive solution to the ambiguities of the IIRIRA by drafting legislation specifically for undocumented students, the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which was most recently reintroduced as a stand-alone bill to Congress on March 26, 2009 (a form of this legislation was first introduced in 2001).

The immigration law reform act is one of the changes President Barack Obama has promised the American people. He is genuinely taking into consideration the Dream Act, along with other strategies to improve immigrant existence in the U.S. The initiative of the DREAM Act would allow states the right to determine eligibility for in-state tuition. The DREAM Act would successfully revoke a condition, Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), which has discourage states from offering in-state tuition to undocumented students unless they offer the same benefit to all out-of-state students (Palacios pg. 2).

Some of the common barriers to college for undocumented students are the same as their peers such as and the insufficiencies in the academic preparation of the high schools years and financial difficulty. Under the Dream Act undocumented students who are enrolled in institutions of higher education and meet all of the requirements for conditional permanent residency status would be eligible for federal student loan and federal work-study programs. However, with the current financial downturn in the United States economy, many federal and state programs will be negatively affected. This will have an impact on low-income students as well as undocumented students who want to participate in college grant programs, financial aid, tuition cost and the university/college student scholarships and loans. Because of the current economic hardship in the U.S., is it fair to allocate money for college to immigrants or only to American students? If immigrants are serving in the U.S. military and contributing to the economical structure than I would think that most would say that it is fair.

The Dream Act is a policy which states that, undocumented students willing to attend college or serve in the armed forces have the full ability to contribute to our society by creating a clear path to citizenship and allowing states to determine eligibility requirements for in-state tuition.

The DREAM Act, would allow illegal immigrants who were brought here at a young age by their parents a pathway to conditional legal status if they arrived in the United States before age 16, have been in the country for five continuous years, and have graduated from high school or obtained a GED or serve in the military.

To be eligible to apply for the Dream Act permanent residency the individual must live in the U.S. before the age of 16 and have continuous residency for five years. The individual must be able to speak English. The individual must enroll in some form of higher education, a trade school, community college, a four-year institution or the military. Within a two-year period and if the student has followed the aforementioned criteria the undocumented youth can petition for conditional residency. While in the conditional status a student cannot apply for Pell grants, but can utilize personal scholarships and loans. If the criteria are not met after six years the undocumented individual conditional status will lapse and they could be deported back to their homeland.

The Dream Act is still awaiting approval while many immigrants have spent more years illegally in the United States than in their home countries. The Dream Act gives hope to many immigrant American families for authorized work, education, and permanent residency. Hopefully the Dream Act immigration law reform will be passed this year along with many other initiatives the President is implementing to improve access to institutions of higher education.

State Actions

Twelve states have granted in-state tuition for undocumented students: California, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin (Bykowicz & Linskey, 2011; Morse & Birnbach, 2010). In 2008, Oklahoma ended its in-state tuition support; therefore, only 11 states are currently implementing this law (Table 2). Nevada does not consider immigration status for instate tuition eligibility (only for state scholarship eligibility). These in-state tuition policies generally contain the following eligibility requirements: (a) two to four years of attendance at an in-state high school; (b) high school diploma or GED obtained within the state; (c) enrollment in a state public postsecondary institution; and (d) an affidavit signifying intent to legalize status within the U.S. (except in New Mexico) (Biswas, 2005). Most policies also signify that individuals must be socially responsible members of their communities with little or no past criminal history. For the most part, these policies have based in-state tuition eligibility on residency rather than immigration status and are thus redefining resident student population qualifications rather than creating targeted legislation directed explicitly at undocumented students (Fung, 2007). This understanding of residency is in juxtaposition to the notion of citizenship by birth through which individuals enjoy a number of privileges not extended to others (Schuck, 2007).

Table 1-Current State Actions Regarding Undocumented Students and Higher Education

Note. Information is from Bykowicz and Linskey (2011) and Morse and Birnbach (2010).

Proponents of the policies argue that these individuals were brought into the U.S. At the sole discretion of their parents and caregivers and have been, in all practical ways, raised as "Americans." With access to higher education, these individuals are better equipped to contribute socially and economically to their communities and to the country as a whole (Oliverez, 2006). Opponents contend that these policies reward law breakers; increase education costs for taxpayers, and ultimately must be eliminated because only legal residents should be eligible for in-state tuition benefits (Morse & Birnbach, 2010).

There are also several state policies that explicitly restrict in-state tuition and aid to undocumented students and, in some cases, admission to public colleges and universities within the state. States with these laws include: (a) Arizona, which eventually removed almost 5,000 students from in-state tuition status; (b) Colorado; (c) Oklahoma; (d) Georgia; and (e) South Carolina (Table 1). In 2008, Alabama's State Board of Education banned undocumented students from attending 2-year colleges (Associated Press, 2008). While the following efforts did not pass, testimony on one bill was introduced to the Missouri Senate Committee on Pensions, Veterans? Affairs, and General Laws in 2007 to ban all undocumented students from public institutions; and Virginia legislators introduced a similar bill later that year (Olivas, 2008).

Perez in his article "Creating Pathways to College for Migrant Students: Assessing a Migrant Outreach Program" suggested that: "Students should be encouraged to take student success courses during their first semester to learn early on about the transfer process, and/or major requirements to avoid taking unnecessary or inappropriate courses since cost is a major concern. These courses can also help students establish connections with undocumented student support clubs. Getting involved with undocumented student support clubs is particularly valuable because they provide students with peer role models and allow students to share information. The clubs also provide students with a sense of empowerment and official institutional" (Perez pg. 35)

Most undocumented students situation correspond with the first-generation student as well as the low-income student. Poor students with no financial means and social capital are questionable to make it to college. The RAND study showed that economically disadvantaged families have been hit even harder by the recession, increasing the amount of financial aid and while the increase in Pell Grants to $5,350 in 2009 and $5,550 in 2010 is encouraging, the cost of college education is significantly more. Additionally, undocumented students are not privy to state and federal grants.

Summary

The literature review provided information on three major areas that are relevant to this particular study: a) U.S. immigration history; b) federal, state, and institutional undocumented student policies; and c) undocumented student access and success. Knowledge about all three of these areas is essential in order to contextualize the experiences of higher education professionals within the current political milieu.

Chapter-III Methodology

Introduction

This chapter will discuss and outline the methodology utilized to obtain quantitative data through survey. An account of the research approach, sample development, collection of data and collection instruments and data analysis for this study is also provided.

Research Design

To explore the policy issues as well students experiences and perceptions the researcher used previous research on the topic

Literature-Based Research

It is secondary type of research. Literature reviews are conducted using the library and conducting literature searches. It is not like reviewing a book, a bibliography or annotated bibliography, neither a sequence of summaries nor a review of all the random or arbitrary literature that you find in a general search or limited to your own library but it is a systematic, survey, critical assessment and amalgamation of existing literary works, studies, concepts, previous and present view point on a particular research topic, field or problem.

The research resources should be academic research. Genuine and primary research and the relevant to the research topic and research question and also relevant to the subject

The objective of review is gain knowledge of the previous research in the research subject. The research studies conducted previously in the topic as well as theories/debate/data exist in the area of research

Grounded Theory Research

To further investigate Immigrant Students' experience regarding accessing education and living as an undocumented migrant, grounded theory research was utilized. Grounded theory (GT) as defined by Glaser and Strauss (1967) involves conducting research that focuses on the interpretive process of the study data by analyzing the meaning of the data obtained. GT is well suited for this study because the purpose of this study is to understand the policy barriers that undocumented students are facing troubles.

Sample

The researcher used key words related to the topic of the study, these include; undocumented students, dream act, immigrant students experiences. The researcher used university library as well Google and yahoo search to obtain the peer reviewed research articles.

Chapter-IV Results and Discussions

This chapter presents the results what the researcher found by reviewing the literature. The purpose of the study was to identify specific policies and procedures to provide the resources and capital to assist undocumented students as well as review key elements of showing the correlation of ethnic identity in access and equity to higher education that would help eliminate student's frustration. And to illustrate there is no accountability system surrounding the success of undocumented student's postsecondary education divide significant structure. In most states undocumented students whose family are long time residents of the area and pay state and local taxes are considered a resident of that particular state. Following is a detailed discussion of policy issues, legal actions taken by the states and undocumented student's experiences.

Institutional Actions

Several individual institutions and state-wide systems across the U.S. have created policies to clarify federal and state policies for undocumented students. The University of Delaware has enabled undocumented students to enroll as residents without the passage of an in-state tuition law (Olivas, 2004). In Virginia, where legislators have attempted to ban admission for undocumented students, some institutions have both questioned and rejected this recommendation from the state (Biswas, 2005). On October 13, 2010, the Georgia Board of Regents approved a measure to prohibit undocumented students from attending selective public institutions that have had to turn away academically qualified resident students (Hebel, 2010). Earlier in the year, the same Board of Regents approved a measure that would bar all Georgia University presidents from consenting to the use of in-state tuition fee waivers for undocumented students and that would give institutions 60 days to verify residency statuses of all incoming first-year students to ensure that they are receiving the correct tuition classifications (Diamond, 2010). One private, 4-year institution in the Southwest U.S. possesses a confidential policy that strongly discourages admission of undocumented students and asserts that their presence on campus poses a liability to the institution. These are only a few examples of ways in which institutions and institutional systems have created their own policies in order to clarify current policy discourse.