Hitting a Moving Target:

1
Hitting a Moving Target

• How to Create a Successful First Year Experience
  for the Community College Student

2
Existing Data Community Colleges

• February 06 Conference 6 CCs Presenting But No
  Presentations on the CC Experience
• National Resource Center on the 1st Year
  Experience 2003 Web Survey 54 of Respondents
  Were 2 Year Institutions
• 2004 First Year Assessment List Subscribers
  23.9 2-Year Institutions
• 2002 Survey of First Year Academics 48
  Associates Colleges

3
National Survey of First-Year Curricular
Practices Fall 2000

• CC Students Likely to Have Classes of lt 25
  Students and Senior Faculty Teaching
• 98.3 of 2-Year Institutions Offer Remedial
  Courses and 1/3 Have Populations of Over 50
  Remedial Students
• 2-Year Colleges More Likely to Have
  Institution-wide Attendance Policy
• 2-Year Colleges Less Likely to Collect/Report
  Mid-term Grades

4

• Even Though 2-Year Colleges Enroll More At Risk
  Students, They are less Likely to Offer 1st Year
  Seminars
• 2-Years More Likely to Offer Distance Education
  to 1st Year Students
• Over 50 of 2-Years Have An Early-Alert System to
  Identify Students with Academic Difficulty
• 60 of 2-Years Strongly Encourage or Require
  Students to Select a Major

5

• Academic Advising Much More Likely to Be
  Centralized at 2-Years
• 2-Years Far Less Likely to Require Students to
  Have Face-to-Face Contact with Advisor
• 2-Years Less Likely to Engage in Efforts to
  Increase Out-of-Class Interaction Between
  Students and Faculty

6
2002 National Survey of First-Year Academic
Practices

• Overwhelming Majority of 2-Year Colleges Offer
  Developmental Courses
• 33.9 of 2-Years Require One or More 1st Year
  Courses Compared to 79.3 of B.C. General and
  70.5 of BC LA Colleges
• 2-Years More Likely to Evaluate Impact of
  Developmental Education on Subsequent Academic
  Performance, Retention, Graduation

7

• 2-Years Less Likely to Offer Early Assistance to
  Any Student in Academic Difficulty During the
  First Term
• 2-Years Most Likely to Report A Few or Some
  Students Participating in 1st Year Seminars
• 2-Years More Likely to Have None or A Few
  Students Involved with Learning Communities
• Associates Colleges Much More Likely to Have
  None or A Few Students Involved with Research

8

• 2-Years Least Likely to Require Library
  Introduction For All Students

9
First-Year Experiences at Suffolk County
Community College

• Student Support Services (Trio) Program Provides
  Comprehensive Assistance to a Small Subset of
  Population
• OS 20 College Seminar (3 Credits) for
  Developmental Students Full Semester
• OS 15 College Seminar (1.5 Credits) for All
  Students Half Semester
• OS 43 Seminar for College Success (4 credits) for
  Selected Developmental Students Summer/Fall

10

• OS 15 or OS 20 Required for Most Students (Except
  FT Evening PT Students)
• College Success Growing 60 Students College-wide
  in 2004, Now 240 Students

11
SCCC Program Models Student Support Services
(Trio)

• Eligibility Academic Need, 1st Generation
  College Students, Disabled, Financial Need
• Peer Mentors for New Students
• Tutoring Services in All Academic Areas
• Intensive Advising, Scheduling, Registering
• Social Skills Development Club, Community
  Service, Trips
• Mid-Semester Progress Reports
• Workshops on Test Anxiety, Study Skills

12

• Individualized Educational and Psychosocial Plans
  with Specific Goals
• Supplemental Instruction (Recitation Model)
• Comprehensive Assessment Compared with Control
  Group on GPA, Rate of Course Completion,
  Persistence, Transfer Rate, Graduation Rate
• Significant Difference with Positive Outcomes for
  Treatment Group Versus Control Group

13
SCCC Program Model OS 20

• C. Morin Started Program with Another Faculty
  Member
• Target Population Lowest Developmental Category
  of Students
• Services
• Teaching Academic Survival Skills (Test Taking,
  Study Skillsetc)
• Self-Directed Search for Career Direction

14

• Library Research Instruction
• Academic Advising and Course Selection
• Review of Degree Audit with Every Student
• Use DISCOVER Program to Begin Looking Further at
  Careers and Potential Colleges

15
SCCC Program Model College Success Program

• Started Summer 2004 with 60 Students
• Initially Higher Developmental Level, Now Any
  Developmental Student
• 3 Week Intensive Summer Course, Last 3 Weeks of
  August (OS 43) and Continue Meeting 1 Hour Weekly
  Throughout Fall
• Coordinated Scheduling of Developmental Courses
  During Fall Semester

16

• Intensive Version of OS 20
• Initially Pre- and Post- Test with LASSI
• Learning About College/Campus Resources
• Building Study Skills and Test Taking Skills
• Library Orientation and Research
• Orientation to Reading and Writing Labs
• Developing Time Management Skills
• Advising and Review of Registration
• Training - Use of Student Computing Portal

17

• Mandatory Workshops on Sexual Harassment and
  Date/Acquaintance Rape, Alcohol Education,
  Wellness, Financial Management

18
SCCC Program Model OS 15

• Required for Most
• One Half of First Semester
• Programs/Curricula Similar to OS 20 Without Focus
  on Developmental Issues

19
Challenges/Needs at SCCC, Elsewhere?

• Non-developmental Students Only ½ Semester, 1 ½
  Credit Course
• No Ongoing Support, Learning Community,
  Structured Academic Advising, Mentoretc
• Typical Student Overwhelmed by Work School
  Requirements
• Often Lack of Family Financial or Emotional
  Support

20

• Social Disconnection From Other Students
• Lack of Overall Goal/Purpose of Education
• Poor Organizational/Planning Skills
• Difficulty in Setting Realistic Goals
• High Percentage of Students with Chronic Career
  Indecision
• Insufficient Resources in Most Student Services
  Departments

21
Possible Solutions

• Change College Seminar (OS 15) to Full Semester
• Develop Pilot Project with Assigned Counselor to
  Follow Up with Students
• Use Text Focused on the Community College Student
• Develop Another Course Last Semester?
• Increased Financial Advising to Reduce Reliance
  on Working

22

• Increased Scholarship Funds to Offset Expenses
• More Comprehensive Orientation Before the
  Beginning of the Semester
• Continued One Hour Weekly Meetings for All
  Students During Second Semester
• Comprehensive Career Assessment Counseling for
  All New Students Prior to First Semester
• Assign All New Students to Counselor/Advisors
  Initial 105/1 Ratio

23

• Institute Annual Assessment YFCY, Other?
• Target Subgroups (e.g., racial/ethnic minorities)
  and Develop Support Systems