Strengthening Networks for Communicating Educational Opportunities for Undocumented Students

With this project, the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good seeks to influence changes which will assure educational opportunities for undocumented students, changes which are needed at several levels. The project directly affects Michigan families, schools and communities and its impact extends nationally, providing clear and timely information on which educational choices can be confidently made. Within the state and through partnerships across the country, the National Forum has an important continuing role to play in demystifying contested public discourse, representing current institutional policies, generating factual characterizations of the broader educational environment affecting these students, and influencing conditions through which the system of higher education can take greater leadership on this issue. The strategies behind these contributions complement one another and are essential for success in promoting change at three systemic levels: community, state and national. This work is guided and made possible by partnerships which we have developed over the course of many years. Through this proposed project, we aim to (a) integrate national, state and local perspectives and put better information into the hands of students, families and community representatives, (b) working within a new set of partnerships we have cultivated over the last year, reach out to Michigan schools and community groups to share the best information available, (c) maintain and expand our national information base, sharing it more broadly with advocates, researchers, policymakers, and other national partners to support their efforts and (d) offer technical support for groups in other states that wish to more closely examine and accurately represent the policies and practices affecting their own students.