Transcript Slide 1

Rethinking the Beginning Student
Experience at Casper College:
On Becoming an Institution of
Excellence
John N. Gardner
Executive Director
Policy Center on the First Year of College
Brevard, N.C.
Casper College
Casper, Wyoming
January 10, 2008
A New Year: A Time for
Reflection and Resolutions
Anyone want to share one—
especially related to work at the
College?
All I ever needed to know about success
as a higher educator, I learned in my first
year of college






Example: Speech 101—need to identify with an
audience
My first semester’s grades: 3F’s, 2D’s, 1A—what’s
the moral of that story for teaching in open
admissions settings?
The importance of other students as exemplars
Don’t settle for anything less than outstanding
academic advising
The importance of out-of-class student faculty
interaction
The importance of joining at least one cocurricular activity
All I ever needed to know about the
gratifications of college teaching I learned in my
first teaching in a two-year college: the Four
Things I Most Love (what are yours?)
1.
Reading
2.
Writing
3.
Talking
4.
Helping people
My first campus in contrast to
yours








Was a two year constituent unit of a public,
flagship, university
The University of South Carolina at Lancaster
Rural, southern textile mill town
Open admissions
Non-residential
Many non traditional students
Different student demographics
Also during an unpopular poor man’s war
My big take away lessons as both adjunct
faculty member and Vice Chancellor for
Academic Affairs: (cont.)



For faculty it can be a grind teaching a steady
diet over a career of just beginning college
courses – so faculty development is even
more important
New students’ ACT/SAT scores do NOT
predict their motivation and basic intelligence
Those scores also do not predict campus
personnel’s motivation and abilities to help
those students
It Takes A Whole Village
(College) to Raise………..
 New students………………….

It takes:





Admissions officers to recruit them
Financial aid professionals to make college
possible
Counselors and advisors and placement
officers to get them in the appropriate classes
Maintenance and custodial staff to make this
an inviting environment
Technical support colleagues who maintain
our technology infrastructure






Career planning staff who help clarify student
purpose
Student services professionals who attend to
the critical out of class experience
Administrative assistants who staff the front
lines and offer informal advice
Registrar and business office staffs who make
the place work
IR and assessment staff who provide critical
information for decision making and planning
Security personnel who maintain a secure
environment






Public relations, marketing personnel who
help get our good story(ies) out
The academic division and department chairs
who make such critical decisions that effect
new student success
The Chief Academic Officer who provides
overall academic direction with the faculty
AND the faculty who deliver the core business
of the organization
The President and Cabinet who provide
overall vision for the College
The Board of Trustees who provide overall
governance and win support for new students
The Current Status of
America’s two year colleges:






the darling of public policy
growth, growth and more growth
therefore job security
but sort of like the model of running a low
cost airline
the tuition and enrollment decompression
factor
so the question is: what should/who should
our priorities be?
In the two-year college,
who/what should be our models?



The secondary school
The university (where most of you got your
degrees)
The community college
Consider the secondary school
model








high rates of attrition
undervalued by society as reflected in compensation and
recruitment patterns for teachers
teaching is bifurcated from “guidance”
paternalistic management styles
less faculty autonomy
no money for faculty travel and hence the in-service
training model
governing boards operate on the local school board
model, very frequent meetings, possibility of micro
management, less autonomy for the CEO, instability of
the CEO’s
and at their worst: bells, lockers, separate toilets for
students, and much of the ambiance of high schools
The university







large classes for intro courses
cheap labor for intro courses
first-year as “cash cow”
the publish or perish model
the lecture as primary medium for
communication between instructor and
student
the weed out model
low status of the beginning college
experience
The community college






being all things to all people
newer, younger, more flexible, more
responsive
non residential
generation spanning
the learning college model (Terry O’Banion
and John Tagg)
Key questions: who/what should our
priorities be? Who gets in the life boat?
College parallel vs occupational?
Problem of much of the literature about
community college being written by those
outside the culture


Main problem is the negative
perceptions of community college
students
And those doing the writing don’t work
in this college sector and never have!
Is the glass half empty or half full? Stated
differently, do you see the modal
characteristics of community college students
as being, on balance, a plus or minus…?
Leads to the danger of the self fulfilling
prophecy: if you build it they will come; if you
don’t, they surely won’t (what are the
pedagogical corollaries?)
The Grade 13 syndrome: Otherwise
known as “the College on the
Corner”

translated into the national context: the
challenges of raising and meeting
student expectations
Let’s turn to the beginning college experience and
let’s start with the obvious:
Why is the beginning college experience
important?
It is the FOUNDATION for:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
the undergraduate curriculum
choosing a major
establishing a good GPA
learning good study habits
developing “economies of time”
developing positive attitudes toward faculty
getting in the habit of interacting with faculty outside of
class
The Foundation for . . .







developing positive attitudes toward the College
developing long term relationships that will last
through and beyond college
deciding on which groups to affiliate with
acquiring behaviors that may carry over beyond
college
redefining roles between students and family
members, and employers
introducing students to civic engagement
providing a baseline for assessment of student
characteristics, behaviors, and learning outcomes
Defining & Measuring First-Year Excellence
A Project of the
Policy Center on the First Year
of College
www.brevard.edu/fyc/instofexcellence/data.htm
Institutions of Excellence
Selection Process

Open to all accredited 2- & 4-year institutions






130 nominations received
54 semi-finalists
13 finalists
Selections made by national panel of experts
Each portfolio read & ranked by 4 reviewers
Not a ranking system!
Criterion # 1
Evidence of an intentional, comprehensive approach
to improving the first year that is appropriate to an
institution’s type and mission.
Spans curriculum
& co-curriculum
Relationship to mission
& student characteristics
Central & systemic
Attention to curriculum
Criterion # 2
Evidence of assessment of the various
initiatives that constitute this approach.
Data-driven
continuous improvement
Assessment reported
& used for decision-making
Attention to learning
outcomes
Methods vary;
Findings are published
Criterion # 3
Evidence of broad impact on significant numbers
of first-year students, including, but not
limited to, special student sub-populations.
A “reasonable” level of
participation
Initiatives address needs of “average”
students as well as the best and worst
Criterion # 4
Strong administrative support for first-year initiatives,
evidence of institutionalization, & durability over time.
Initiatives institutionalized
& enjoy high status
Initiatives receive equitable
share of resources
Effective organization
& coordination
Criterion # 5
Involvement of a wide range of faculty, student affairs
professionals, academic administrators, &
other constituent groups.
Involvement in design,
implementation, & maintenance
Partnerships cross divisional lines
Institutions of Excellence







Comm College of
Denver
LaGuardia Comm C
Kalamazoo College
Eckerd College
Drury University
US Military Academy
Elon University






Lehman CollegeCUNY
Texas A&M-Corpus
Christi
Appalachian State U
Ball State University
IUPUI
University of South
Carolina
Community College of Denver







exceptionally high expectations for students
no differences by ethnicity and gender
extraordinary success in Developmental
Education
array of innovative educational practices
steadfast and innovative leadership
success in acquiring external funds
commitment to accountability and continuous
improvement
Community College of Denver







intentional focus on student success as evident
in institutional mission, goal setting and planning
basic skills placement
3 level integrated advising
Educational Case Management System
learning communities linked to professional
development
high utilization of technology
overcoming lack of physical identity
Laguardia Community College







exceptionally diverse and proudly so-“The
World’s Community College”
an “industrial” beginning
aware and proud of its history
intentional emphasis on traditions and rituals
a unique culture emphasizing a spirit of
innovation
leadership stability and leadership at all levels
a “calling” for faculty teaching
Laguardia Community College






built in assessment
success in attracting philanthropic support
high expectations
if we build it they will come
powerful learning communities with multiple
models
many, many initiatives: first-year seminar,
mentoring, convocation, common readings,
Honors, summer abroad, critical thinking, special
linkages/pipelines to elite colleges, middle college
What We Learned











Valuing the first year and being accountable
Leadership on multiple levels
Cultures that encourage ideas and innovation
Achieving a critical mass of student participation
Direct involvement of faculty
Attention to pedagogy in first-year courses
Clarity of mission; respect for students
Improving continuously through assessment
Creative acquisition & judicious use of resources
Willingness to learn from and share with others
Valuing partnerships
Now, let’s look at
Redesigning the New Student
Experience in the Two-Year
College



First of all, responsibility: institutions of
higher learning have to take more
responsibility for student learning,
success, and retention.
Versus the alternative paradigm: blame
the student (victim)
Means reducing our tolerance for failure
(best example is math)



No, things don’t have to be the way they
are. We created things this way, and we
can uncreate.
So, it all comes down to a matter of what
you value, what you deem is important
and hence a matter of institutional priority.
As our buttons say: “The First Year
Matters”




Focus needs to be on aspirational
standards (excellence) as opposed to
minimum standards (retention)
So, as in the Foundations process, you
have to start with a philosophy
(Philosophy Dimension)
Need an alternative set of purposes to the
“cash cow” model
And “philosophy” has to be connected with
institutional mission, as approved by
governance levels and HLC



“Roles and Purposes” have to be articulated
to all (Roles and Purposes Dimension)
Have to have an organizational structure
that provides responsibility and ownership
for the beginning college experience
(Organization Dimension)
First year needs to be designed for the
students you actually have (as opposed to
ones you would prefer to have, or think you
used to have, or you used to be like) (All
Students Dimension)



Have to have learning objectives for the
first year and its courses, and assessment
related thereto (Learning Dimension)
Pay attention to five highest enrollment
courses, and those with 30% + DWFI
grades
Redesign of the first year must engage the
faculty who are often left out of
“retention” work (Campus Culture
Dimension)




Calls for attention to faculty development,
support, rewards
Institution has to focus on supporting
student transitions (Transitions Dimension)
First year needs to be a focus for campuswide improvement focus (Improvement
Dimension)
Need a standing advocacy group of
stakeholders for the continuous
improvement of the first year




Focus on what you control, your
institutional and individual practices,
policies, attitudes and behaviors
ALL students need orientation prior to
matriculation
Restrict late registration
ALL students need academic advising
(focus on selection, training, evaluation,
rewards)




Raise expectations before classes begin
(convocations, summer common
readings, influence of peer leaders)
Offer Summer Bridge (and emphasize
importance of subsequent summer
school opportunities)
Redesign high enrollment courses
Provide academic support for ALL
students (consider SI)




Offer, refine, strengthen first-year seminar
(best practices include more credits,
integration in Learning Communities, use
of peer leaders, and engaging pedagogies)
Co enroll students in linked courses
(Learning Communities)
Reaffirm the historic importance and
dignity of developmental education
Declare war on math failure


The first year cries out for better
understanding, self study, and action (the
Foundations of Excellence self study
process)
You need a “plan”, a gestalt, a grand
design for the all important beginnings,
the foundation. And most colleges don’t
yet have one. They just have “programs”.
It’s time to move to the next level, We
salute them for showing the way.
To Promote early student success, faculty
(and staff as applicable) should:











teach students how to use your syllabus
set high expectations immediately
require and take attendance
utilize an “early alert system”
if you don’t have “early alert”, create your own—be
intrusive
like voting in Chicago, test/measure early and often
gift prompt and explicit feedback
motivate with praise
let students know you notice them
assume you are a developmental educator even though
you aren’t and teach them how to study in your course
have each student come visit you during office hours early
in the term
To promote student self-responsibility,
faculty and staff should:





encourage students to set very specific goals for your
course and share them with you (introduces public
accountability)
consider using contract grading where students have
greater choice about what they do and earn
reward students for engaging in optional responsible
behavior (e.g. getting help/joining groups)
create opportunities for volunteering for certain
learning opportunities (e.g. classroom presentation)
provide opportunities for student self reflection,
sharing that, and receiving feedback
What Can Faculty and Staff Do To Promote
Student Retention?
To promote retention, take more responsibility
for helping students do the following:






Making friends
Building institutional commitment
Interacting with faculty especially outside of class
Studying in groups
Joining other groups
Balancing work with studies






Finding a significant other
Engaging in assistance seeking behaviors
Spending more time on campus—the antithesis of
the “PCP syndrome”
Becoming actively involved in the classroom using
active learning strategies
Raising their expectations
Emulating other successful students (e.g. peer
leaders)
A few more of Gardner’s principles
about influencing student success in
college:






focus on the things you control, not on the ones you
don’t—means being smart enough and willing enough
to recognize the difference (e.g. how you teach vs SES)
number one variable influencing student success in
college: the influence of other students. How can I
translate this insight into action?
number two variable is influence of faculty/student
contact/interaction. How can I act on this insight?
you must teach the study skills students need to be
successful in your class; can’t assume they will get
them any other way
connect course content to other courses/disciplines
(“connectedness”)
best way to do this is to teach in a learning community





require attendance and take it
talk less and get students to do more of the work,
including the talking
consider PHIL Gardner’s “3 I’s”: what employers most
want now from college gradates: innovation,
integrity, and initiative: how can you design a course
content, delivery, and student performance
expectations that teach these outcomes?
decide what matters to be successful in your course
and in general in college and be INTENTIONAL about
delivering on that
so the question is: what would you like students to
remember you for: your behavior, attitudes, values,
skills, knowledge, course content, pedagogy?
A few concluding suggestions:








aspire to be an “institution of excellence in the first
college year”
respect your students
high commitment to DE
celebrate student success
pay attention to students needs for ritual and
tradition
educate the whole student
provide stable leadership at whatever levels you can
control
assess performance: yours, your students, your
campus and confirm what is working, and address
what isn’t
Announcing
Achieving and Sustaining Institutional
Excellence for the First Year of College
(Barefoot, Gardner, Cutright, Morris, Schroeder,
Schwartz, Siegel, & Swing, Jossey-Bass, 2005)
Challenging and Supporting the First-Year
Student: A Handbook for the First Year of
College
(Upcraft, Gardner, & Barefoot, Jossey-Bass, 2005)
Contact Information
John N. Gardner, 828-966-5309
[email protected]
www.fyfoundations.org
www.firstyear.org