Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count

1
Achieving the Dream Community Colleges Count

• Derek V. Price, Ph.D.
• Presentation to the 22nd Annual Student Financial
  
• Aid Research Network Conference
• Chicago, Illinois
• June 10, 2005

2
What is Achieving the Dream?

• A national initiative to help more community
  college students succeed
• Through the initiative, participating colleges
  commit to closing achievement gaps by assessing
  what is happening on their campuses and make
  lasting changes in their own practices and
  cultures

3
What is Achieving the Dream?

• The work of the initiative is premised on a
  data-driven institutional change model
• Participating colleges benchmark key student
  outcomes - disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and
  income adopt strategies to close achievement
  gaps, monitor their progress, and share their
  results broadly

4
Initial Community College Cohort

• 27 community colleges in 5 states Florida, New
  Mexico, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia
• At least 50 of first-time freshmen were Pell
  Grant recipients OR at least 33 of all students
  were African-American, Native-American or
  Hispanic
• This year, the effort will expand into Ohio and
  Connecticut

5
Achieving the Dream Key Outcomes

• To increase the percentage of students who
  accomplish the following
• Complete remedial courses and move on to
  credit-bearing courses
• Enroll in and complete gatekeeper courses such
  as Introductory Math and English
• Complete courses with a C grade or higher
• Re-enroll from one semester to the next
• Earn certificates and/or degrees

6
The Framework for Institutional Change

• Identify the achievement gaps with data
• Engage the broad campus community to diagnose
  the arena for intervention
• Use evidence to select a strategy to close the
  gap
• Evaluate the impact of the selected strategy
• If successful, scale the strategy
  institution-wide

7
Types of data

• Student longitudinal cohort file
• Student survey data (e.g., Community College
  Survey of Student Engagement)
• Faculty and student focus groups
• Institutional assessment and evaluation reports
• Community stakeholder dialogues

8
We call this framework a Culture of Inquiry and
Evidence

• To use data effectively, colleges need to
• Ask the right questions
• Find the right data
• Analyze the data with a critical eye
• A process of critical inquiry and
  self-examination using data can
• help identify equity gaps and guide us to
  solutions
• challenge our assumptions and confirm our
  hypotheses
• benchmark our performance and
• monitor our improvement

9
Support structure for Achieving the Dream
Colleges

• National Partnership organizations
• American Association of Community Colleges
  Community College Leadership Program University
  of Texas at Austin Community College Research
  Center Teachers College, Columbia University
  Jobs for the Future KnowledgeWorks Foundation
  Lumina Foundation for Education MDC MDRC
• Nellie Mae Foundation
• and Public Agenda

10
Support structure for Achieving the Dream
Colleges

• Each college works with a coach to develop
  strategies, set priorities, and implement
  institutional improvements
• Each college also works with a data facilitator
  to analyze student data, and use these data to
  inform strategies for improvement, monitor
  progress,
• and evaluate results

11
For more information

• http//www.achievingthedream.org

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Persistence of Pell Grant Recipients

• John Lee
• June 10

13
AtD Goals

• Get schools to use data in decision making
• Think longitudinally
• Use data as part of an applied research design
• Change a general problem into a problem that
  belongs to someone
• Consistent evaluation

14
Data Base Design

• Longitudinal
• Uses existing data
• Each cohort will be followed for 6 years
• All first-time students entering the institution
• Includes full and part-time
• Goal to determine how minority and low-income
  students do in college

15
Population

• 30 community colleges
• Selected based on low-income and minority
  enrollment, concentrated in 5 states

16
Indicators

• Continued enrollment and degree attainment
• Success with gatekeeper classes
• Getting through remedial classes
• Units accrued over time
• GPA
• Degrees obtained or transfer

17
Future

• Each college will note program changes in time
  and population affected
• The data will be located on the Achieving the
  Dream website (AACC)
• Provide external comparisons
• Provide a model for other colleges

18
Starting Population in 2002
19
Percentage distribution of students, by Pell
status cohort 2002
20
Percentage distribution of students, by race and
Pell status cohort 2002
21
Percentage of students full-time in first term,
by Pell status cohort 2002
22
Percentage distribution of students, by age and
Pell status cohort 2002
23
Percentage distribution of students, by major and
Pell status cohort 2002
24
Percentage of students referred to remediation
classes, by number of classes and Pell status
cohort 2002
25
Percentage of students referred to any
remediation, by attempted and completed status at
the end of year 2, by Pell status cohort 2002
26
Percentage of students referred to math
remediation, by attempted and completed status at
the end of year 2, by Pell status cohort 2002
27
Percentage of students referred to reading
remediation, by attempted and completed status at
the end of year 2, by Pell status cohort 2002
28
Percentage of students referred to English
remediation, by attempted and completed status at
the end of year 2, by Pell status cohort 2002
29
Percentage distribution of students not referred
to remediation, by enrollment and Pell status
cohort 2002
30
Percentage distribution of students referred to
remediation, by enrollment status and Pell
status cohort 2002
31
Percentage distribution of referred students, by
remediation and enrollment status at the end of
year 2, by Pell status cohort 2002
32
Percentage of students completing gateway math
and English at the end of year 2, by Pell status
cohort 2002
33
Average cumulative GPA of students at the end of
year 2, by Pell status cohort 2002
34
Percentage of students persisting and
transferred/completed at the end of year 2, by
Pell status cohort 2002
35
Pell Grant recipients differ from non-recipients
in that

• They are less likely to be White or Asian
• They are more likely to be full-time
• They are more likely to be referred to remedial
  education
• But
• They are more likely to take and pass remedial
  classes
• More likely to persist

36
John Leejbl_at_jblassoc.com
37
Average number of cumulative credits completed by
the end of year 2, by Pell status cohort 2002