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In FY2018-19, only 7% of all minors self-identified as “independent minors”. all the rest are “dependent” and must provide their Parent or Guardian’s name and relationship. |
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Problems with the current layout
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The current layout
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As cautioned by Immigrants Rising, the has several issues:
LANGUAGE: The language in the current
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question is
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too long overall, too ambiguous, and filled with legal language that is confusing to the minors it is presented to;
The language can be unwelcoming to undocumented and nonresident minor students, and doesn’t
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explain that students who meet the eligibility requirements can apply for nonresident tuition exemption through AB540 / SB68.
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And, finally, as cautioned by the student advocacy group, Immigrants Rising, the current language can be threatening and DOES NOT reassure these students that their parents' data will be protected and not shared
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;
LAYOUT: Data shows that over 90% of the minors completing the Standard application are “dependent” on a parent or guardian- which means that their residency status for the purpose of determining tuition will be based on their parent or guardian information - which is collected in this question.
However, the way the question is laid out - the ambiguousness of the two statements and the bulleted list - it appears to cater to Independent students, and it is very unclear as to how the application wants the student to answer the question.
What do we need to change?
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Layout: In 2018, 93% of all minors were “Dependents” and only 7% were legitimately Independent with special circumstances. Our current layout (not shown) makes it too easy for a student who may not be reading the question closely to select the wrong option, which means the college has to follow up with the student by phone or other time-consuming method.
We propose swapping the two sections so that the Parent-Guardian Information input fields are on top, and the “I do not have a parent or guardian…” statement is shown as the exception. below the input fields.
Adding this information, as well as acknowledging that their parents' data will be protected and not shared, will reassure the student with clear, non-threatening language.
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Meeting Discussion Notes:
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