Achieving the Dream: Lessons Learned from Four North Carolina Community Colleges

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Achieving the DreamLessons Learned from Four
North Carolina Community Colleges
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Achieving the Dream Quick Facts

• Multi-year initiative funded by the Lumina
  Foundation for Education
• Started in 2004 with 27 colleges in 5 states
  grown to 35 campuses in 7 states
• Mission improving the success of community
  college students, particularly those in groups
  that have been underserved in higher education
  (first time college students, low income, and
  students of color)

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Achieving the Dream Quick Facts
Participating colleges/students will

• Maintain students access to college
• Increase of students who complete remedial
  courses and move on to credit-bearing courses
• Enroll in and complete gatekeeper courses
  (introductory math and English)
• Complete the courses taken with a grade of C or
  higher
• Re-enroll from one semester to the next
• Earn certificates and/or degrees

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Achieving the Dream Quick Facts
Unique initiative to community colleges because

• It has a strong emphasis on data
• It is working to make changes at the state and
  national levels (policy changes)
• It is building public awareness of the community
  colleges important role in higher education
• It is developing a knowledge base of research on
  student success
• It is fostering a long-term partnership with
  organizations that can strengthen community
  colleges

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Integration of Achieving the Dream in
College/Community Culture Challenges Faced and
Lessons Learned
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Local ChallengesAtD Demands Institutional
Change and Courageous Conversations with
Stakeholders Taking Ownership versus Flavor of
the Month

• Lessons Learned
• 1. Administrative Leadership Imperative
• -Local, state and national policy changes

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• Local Challenges cont.
• Use existing college structures where possible

-GTCC and WCC integrated AtD into annual
planning process a.
Participants are cross section of campus
b. Prioritized the unit objectives which
drive budget c.
Planning process requires a culture of
evidence d. Planning units
adopting AtD goals
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Use of Existing Structures

• GTCC redesigned student services functions with
  Student Success in forefront
• a. Centralization to one large
  welcome center
• b. Career services melded with
  admissions, counseling
• WCC redesigned Academic Skills Center, Testing
  Center and centralized its Developmental Studies
  programs/services
• Durham Tech focused on the First Year
  Experience

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Use of Existing Structures

• Timeline for integrating AtD meshed with WCCs
  reaffirmation process

• Recurring theme Focus on Student
  Outcomes/Student Success
• WCCs QEP and AtD focused on improving students
  success in developmental mathematics
• Blended funding from AtD, state, private and
  other grants to reach goals/objectives

Another Lesson Reinforced Resources, Resources,
Resources (Money Makes the World Go Round)
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Use of Existing Structures

• Use a Variety of Communication Strategies to
  SPREAD THE WORDa. Professional Development
  Opportunities focusing on components/objectives
  of initiativeb. Web-site college publications
  emails personnel meetings, posters, giveaways

Lesson Learned Make the Initiative FUN!!! The
Message Spreads Faster
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Difficult Discussions with Stakeholders

• 1. Discussions with Faculty and Staff
• a. WCC focused on Math for QEP and AtD
• -Unpopular Data although the data drove
  decision making
• -Significant changes in structures
  (centralized developmental department
  change in testing format more
  accountability)
• -Math Faculty Assumed Quilt
• b. Faculty discussions related to
  Developmental Students
• - All faculty are involved
  with developmental
• - Faculty/staff professional
  development

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Difficult Discussions with Stakeholders cont.
2. Discussions with Community Partners Public
Schools a. Private discussions with
Superintendent and Associate Superintendent
b. Sharing of data c. Linkage Task
Force including principals, counselors
3. Discussions with Students Example
Durham Tech
4. Discussions with SELF or the Personal
Monologue Example Durham Tech
Real Lesson Learned Change is hard!
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Achieving the DreamCulture of Evidence

• Over the next four years, GTCC will develop and
  implement programs and processes that will
  measurably improve the success rates of all
  students, emphasizing success of underserved
  students.

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Achieving The Dream Culture of Evidence

• Use data to
• Select ?
• Evaluate ?
• Select/Modify ?

• Goals
• Interventions
• Goals and Interventions

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GOALS

• Graduation Rate of 20
• Overall fall-to-fall retention rate at or above
  60.
• Developmental Education retention rate 55.
• Improvement in gateway course success of 4 and
  4 for all gender/ethnic groups.

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Culture of Evidence

• Use what we have
• State data warehouse
• Annual surveys
• Performance Measures/Critical Success Factors
• Hand-tabulated departmental data
• Old Faces of the Future data
• Assessment Committee

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Culture of Evidence

• Get what we need
• Administer TABE in Developmental
• CCSSE
• Cohort studies/analysis
• Intervention evaluations
• Colleague Safari and Query-Builder
• Build local data warehouse

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Culture of Evidence

• Leadership emphasis
• Measurable college-wide presidents initiatives
  (strategic goals)
• Learning Evidence Committee
• Make data widely available
• Convocation, all personnel meetings
• Committees LEC, SSAC, IEC, Academic Team,
  Learning Leadership Team, etc.
• Newsletter
• Administer CCSSE for the 2nd time

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Achieving the Dream

• Are we making a difference?

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Achieving the Dream

• Orientation Who came?
• Proportionally more females
• Proportionally more whites
• About the same percentages of students who
  performed at each level of the Placement Tests

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Orientation Evaluation Results

• Fall, 2005 Evaluation Satisfaction
• Session I 87.7
• Session II 91.1
• Session III 94.5
• They
• Felt Welcomed
• Thought staff were knowledgeable
• Understood the registration process
• Would encourage others to attend
• Wanted to Register at the Same Time

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Orientation Persistence Rates
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Orientation Persistence Rates
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OrientationAttendance/Success Rates in English
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ACA Success Rates

• Office Systems Technology
• Fall 2004 44 (comparison group)
• Fall 2005 87
• Paralegal
• Fall 2004 60 (comparison group)
• Fall 2005 94

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Student Engagement

• All colleges identified the following
• Students who are not connected to the college
  are less likely stay in school and to be
  successful.

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Research Shows that

• Students who are actively engaged with
• Faculty and Staff
• With the Subject Matter (more than just reading)
• With other Students (projects, teams, etc.)
• Are more likely to learn and to stay in college
  until they achieve their academic goals.

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Durham
Early Alert

• Durhams faculty members step in to assist
  at-risk students early. If they need back
  up, they submit an Early Alert referral
• A student exhibiting life-skills problems is
  referred to Counseling and Student Development
  counselor (mentoring, financial assistance, bus
  pass, textbooks, child care assistance, health
  issues, etc.)
• A student exhibiting academic problems is
  referred to Campus Learning Center Early Alert
  tutor (math, reading, or English intensive
  tutoring)

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Student Engagement
Durham

• Transformed Advising from course approval to one
  of support and engagement of students.
• Will require College Success Course in ALL
  programs by Spring 2008.

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Student Engagement
Martin

• Improved Orientation
• Developed ACA 085 Improving Study Skills
• Developed Academic Success Planner Used as Text
  Book for Students
• Enhanced Tutorial Services
• Provided Pre-semester Placement Test Review
  Session in Math/English/Reading
• Provided PREP Post-Secondary Remediation and
  Early Preparation for recent high school graduates

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Student Engagement
Guilford

• Revamped Orientation
• Developed Learning Communities
• Currently Renovating Student Welcome Center
• Conducted Professional Development for
  Instructors
• Instituted a Mentoring Program
• Revamped Developmental Curricula
• Marketed to GED Students

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Student Engagement
Wayne

• Restructured Orientation
• Developed Male Minority Mentoring Program
• Centralized Developmental Studies
• In the process of Changing the Facilities to
  better accommodate Student Services programs
  (One-Stop)
• Split the Testing Center from the Academic Skills
  Lab so they can provide more tutoring services
• Working with CCSSE Data to present to faculty

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Student Engagement Common Theme Among the
Colleges
All

• Changed Orientation Process
• Reviewed Outline of Academic Skills Course
• Provided Math, Reading, English Reviews Prior to
  Taking Placement Test
• Strengthened Tutoring Services
• Conducted Surveys CCSSE Survey (Community
  College Survey of Student Engagement)
• Reviewed the Process of Advising

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Achieving the DreamNCCCS Conference 2006

• Kay Alexander Wayne Community College
• kha_at_wayne.edu
• Kathy Baker Smith Guilford Tech
• kbsmith_at_gtcc.edu
• Phyllis Broughton Martin Community College
• pbroughton_at_martincc.edu
• Bill Ingram Durham Tech
• ingramb_at_durhamtech.edu