Engaging Community Colleges A First Look

1
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT FOR STUDENT SUCCESS
Focus on Community Colleges
2
Test Your Community College IQ!

• What percentage of first time U.S. freshmen in
  colleges and universities enroll in community
  colleges?
• 24
• 33
• 45
• 61
• Answer 45

3
Test Your Community College IQ!

• What percentage of community college students
  attend part-time?
• 21
• 33
• 45
• 63
• Answer 63 (22 at 4-year colleges)

4
Test Your Community College IQ!

• What percentage of community college students
  plan to earn a degree?
• 26
• 45
• 60
• 79
• Answer 79 (More than 70 cite transferring as
  a primary or secondary goal)

5
Test Your Community College IQ!

• What percentage of community college students
  plan to earn a certificate?
• 11
• 26
• 37
• 48
• Answer 48

6
Test Your Community College IQ!

• Yet.what percentage of community college
  students earn an associate degree or certificate
  6 years after entering college?
• Answer 25
• Yet....what percentage of community college
  students actually transfer?
• Answer 25

7
Test Your Community College IQ!

• Whats the national dropout rate (not returning
  for sophomore year) for students attending public
  two-year colleges?
• 18
• 28
• 48
• 68
• Answer 48 (Compared to 32 for public
  four-year colleges)

8

• We know what they have when they come to usbut
  we see only their potential.
• Larry, Faculty Member, Skagit Valley College

9

• What Matters Most
• on the Road to Student Success!

10
Student Engagement

• What helps students persist and learn?
• High expectations
• Clear goals a roadmap from college to the
  future
• Feeling connected through relationships
• Navigating the system
• Being active and engaged learners

11
Student Engagement

• the amount of time and energy students invest in
  meaningful educational practices

12
CCSSE The Community College Survey of Student
Engagement

• Institutional practices
• Student behaviors

13

• Students involvement or engagement proves to be
  central to both persistence and learning.
• Even among students who persist, those who are
  more involved show greater learning gain.
• Vincent Tinto

14
Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice

• Active and CollaborativeLearning
• Student Effort
• Academic Challenge
• Student-Faculty Interaction
• Support for Learners

CCSSEville Community College 2006 Benchmark Scores
15

• Active Collaborative Learning
• Students learn more when they are actively
  involved in their education and have
  opportunities to think about and apply what they
  are learning in different settings.
• Do our perceptions match our students
  experiences?

16

• Active Collaborative Learning
• Often or very often
• Ask questions in class? 64
• Worked with other students during class? 46
• Worked with classmates outside of class? 21
• Tutored or taught other students? 7

17

• Student Effort
• Students behaviors contribute significantly to
  their learning and the likelihood that they will
  attain their educational goals.
• Do our perceptions match our students
  experiences?

18

• Student Effort
• Often or Very Often
• Prepared 2 or more drafts of a paper? 49
• Worked on a paper or project that required
  integrating ideas of information from various
  sources? 57

19

• Academic Challenge
• Challenging intellectual and creative work is
  central to student learning and collegiate
  quality.
• Do our perceptions match our students
  experiences?

20

• Academic Challenge
• Very much or quite a bit
• Analyzed the basic elements of an idea,
  experience or theory? 64
• Used information you have read or heard to
  perform a new skill? 58
• Worked harder than you thought you could to meet
  instructors expectations? 48

21

• Student-Faculty Interaction
• In general, the more interaction students have
  with their teachers, the more likely they are to
  learn effectively and persist toward achievement
  of their educational goals.
• Do our perceptions match our students
  experiences?

22

• Student-Faculty Interaction
• Often or very often
• Used email to communicate with instructor?
  40
• Talked about career plans with instructor or
  advisor? 24
• Received prompt feedback (written or oral) from
  instructors on your performance? 56

23

• Support for Learners
• Students perform better and are more satisfied at
  colleges that are committed to their success and
  cultivate positive working and social
  relationships among different groups on campus.
• Do our perceptions match our students
  experiences?

24

• Support for Learners
• Does the college
• Help you cope with non-academic responsibilities
  (work, family, etc.) 24
• Provide the financial support you need to afford
  your education? 44

25
CCSSE A Tool for Improvement

• Why those survey questions?
• See the 300 page annotated bibliography
• on the CCSSE Website!
• www.ccsse.org

26
CCSSE A Tool for Community Colleges

• About a quarter million community college
  students (representing 2.68 million students)
  from 447 community and technical colleges in 46
  states are part of the 2006 CCSSE cohort.
• 2006 Southern Maine
• 2007
• Central Maine
• Kennebec Valley
• Northern Maine

27
Creating a Culture of Evidence

• From decisions based on personal data with a few
  students
• From decisions based on our gut and our guesses
• Toward decisions based on data grounded in
  research and experiences of students, faculty and
  community colleges.

28
Creating a Culture of Evidence

• Students typical experience versus best
  experience
• How can more of our students have the best
  experience?

29
Creating a Culture of Evidence

• We are teaching our students to look at all
  sides of issues, conduct research, analyze data,
  consider options.
• Shouldnt we be doing the same thing doing what
  we teach, using our own learning?
• Gary Tollefson, President
  Skagit Valley
  College, Mt. Vernon. Washington

30

• Colleges Act on Fact
• Active Collaborative Learning Creating Time
  Space
• Learning Communities
• Designed and furnished informal learning spaces
• Established institutional focus on research in
  undergraduate education to promote
  student-faculty partnerships that encourage
  active and deep learning.
• Santa Fe Community College (FL)

31

• Colleges Act on Fact
• Student Effort - Too Many Students Coming to
  Class Unprepared!
• Faculty added
• Stricter reading requirements
• Activities and assessments tied to required
  reading and assignments
• Central Arizona College (AZ)

32

• Colleges Act on Fact
• Academic Challenge - ePortfolio
• Students share academic work and reflections on
  learning.
• Designed to deepen student engagement
• CCSSE data from 2003 and 2005 showed major gains
  for ePortfolio students around critical thinking,
  writing and collaborative learning.
• LaGuardia Community College (NY)

33

• Colleges Act on Fact
• Improving Student-Faculty Interaction
• Private meeting space for adjunct faculty to meet
  with students
• Faculty workshops on engagement strategies.
• Estrella Mountain Community College (AZ)

34
Support for Learners

• What are your Most Important Services?
• How often do students use them?

35
Support for Learners

• Most Important Services for developmental
  students
• 67 Academic Advising and Planning
• 66 Computer Labs
• 65 Financial Aid Advising
• 58 Career Counseling
• 57 Skills Lab
• 47 Tutoring

36
Support for Learners

• Use of Most Important Services by
  Developmental Students
• Very Important Frequency of Use
• Rarely/Never
• 
  
  
  
• 67 26 Academic Advising
• 66 19 Computer Labs
• 65 25 Financial Aid Advising
• 58 41 Career Counseling
• 57 26 Skill Labs
• 47 38 Tutoring

37

• Group Work Choose one of the following
• Your students arent using support services that
  they say are very important to them. How will
  you respond to this information? What will be
  your next steps?
• Your students report that they are engaged in
  relatively few active learning experiences such
  as class discussions, class projects and working
  with other students. What will you do with this
  information?

38

• Tips
• Collect and analyze data
• Involve people from across the college
• Look at research and high-performing colleges
• Build from your strengths

39
KEYS TO STUDENT SUCCESS
40
WHAT MATTERS MOST

• Engagement by Design
• 1. Engage students early and often.
• ...Coming soon the Entering Student Survey

41

• Sample strategies
• Required Orientation
• College Success Course
• Early and Frequent Feedback
• Early Alert Systems

42
Strategy in ActionFloridas Student Life Skills
Class

• 1999-2004
• 18 more of all students who took the SLS course
  achieved their goals.
• Among college-ready students, almost an
  additional 20 either graduated or transferred.
• Among those taking remedial courses, more than
  20 additional students achieved their academic
  goals.

43
Strategy in ActionCollege-Wide Referral System

• 1st three weeks of the semester, absent students
  receive personal phone call
• Naggy!
• Housatonic Community College (CT)

44
WHAT MATTERS MOST

• Engagement by Design
• 2. Stress Effective Developmental Education

45
Strategy in ActionAcademic Development Center

• Student Development Advocates
• Academic Developmental Specialists
• Facilitated Study Groups led by full-time
  mathematics faculty target difficult courses
  rather than difficult students.
• Parkland College, www.parkland.edu

46
WHAT MATTERS MOST

• Engagement by Design
• 3. Advise and support

47
Strategy in ActionAdvisors in Residence (AIR)

• 10 full-time academic advisors in large
  departments with retention difficulties
• Success!!! Expanding to other programs
• St. Philips College (TX)

48

• CCSSE Focus Question Academic Advising and
  Planning
• While attending this college, what has been your
  best source of academic advising?
• What are students telling us?

49

• While attending this college, what has been your
  best source of academic advising?
• Academic advisor (not faculty)
• Academic advisor (faculty)
• Friends, family or other students
• Online
• I have not received any academic advising

50

• While attending this college, what has been your
  best source of academic advising?
• Academic advisor (not faculty) 10
• Academic advisor (faculty) 43
• Friends, family or other students 26
• Online 7
• I have not received any academic advising 13

51
WHAT MATTERS MOST

• Engagement by Design
• 4. Redesign educational experiences

52
Strategy in ActionLearning Communities

• Established in professional/technical programs
  since early 90s
• Now expanding throughout general education
  program and developmental education courses.
• Skagit Valley College (WA)

53
Strategy in ActionLearning Communities

• Combine mathematics and student life skills (SLS)
  courses.
• Study skills
• Math Anxiety
• Test-taking
• Math retention and pass rates are consistently
  above the norm.
• Miami-Dade College (FL)

54
Strategy in ActionAdult Fast Track Degree

• For business people who want to earn a degree.
• Students earn full-time credit by attending class
  one night a week for four hours over a 24-month
  period.
• A full array of support services are provided for
  students at the facility where classes are held.
• Harper College (IL)

55
WHAT MATTERS MOST

• Engagement by Design
• 5. Promote Relationships
• Focus on Building Relationships
• The MetLife Initiative on Student Success

56

• High-Performing Colleges in Building
  Relationships
• Community College of Denver (CO)
• Maui Community College (HI)
• Northwest Vista College (TX)
• Skagit Valley College (WA)

57

• Lessons From High-Performing Colleges
• High expectations for students and themselves
• Coherence
• Student-centered RESPECT
• Focus on active teaching and learning - in class
  and outside of class

58

• Lessons From High-Performing Colleges
• Egalitarian culture
• Strong connections
• All types of diversity valued
• Risk-taking encouraged
• Hiring the right people
• Learning is for everyone.

59
Strategy in ActionTechnology Integrated
into the Fabric of the College

• E-mail -- the official means of communication
• Electronic bulletin boards
• On-line surveys
• Shared Class Folders
• Wireless hubs throughout the campus and a help
  desk system
• Gainesville State College (GA)

60
WHAT MATTERS MOST

• Engagement by Design
• 7. Professional Development for everyone!

61
Strategy in ActionFaculty Development

• 20 release time for new full-time instructors
• Full-time instructors mentor each adjunct.
• Focus -- active learning and ASK outcomes
• ASK (Attitudes, Skills, and Knowledge) is a
  college-wide initiative promoting specific
  critical thinking and collaboration skills.
• Northwest Vista College (TX)

62
Strategy in ActionFaculty Development

• 1 year of staff development in the contract for
  entering faculty.
• Focus -- learning styles, research-based
  approaches to engage students
• Chandler-Gilbert Community College (Arizona)

63

• Want more information?
• Please contact
• Arleen Arnsparger
• Project Manager
• MetLife Foundation Initiative on Student Success
• Community College Survey of Student
  Engagement/CCSSE
• (asarnsparger_at_comcast.net)