College Connection: Removing Barriers, Improving Access

Innovations 2010

March 29, 2010

Presented by

• Mary Hensley, Ed.D.

Executive Vice President, College Operations 512-223-7618 [email protected]

• Melissa Richardson Curtis, Ph.D.

Director, College Connection 512-223-7088 [email protected]

Agenda

Closing the Gaps

• Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board effort to increase participation in higher education

College Connection Strategies

• Partnerships with school districts • One-on-one admissions assistance • Serving students on their high school campuses

Removing Barriers, Improving Access

• Results and impact • Interactive activity

ACC District Overview

• 1 of 50 Texas community colleges • 8-county service area • 7,100 square miles • 30 independent school districts • • 7 campuses (8 th construction) under 10 centers and 114 sites • 40,000 + credit students • 10,000 non-credit students

In-District Out-of-District

Closing the Gaps

Increasing College Participation

 If more Texans do not earn college degrees by 2030, Texas could lose up to $40 billion in annual household income.

 Unfunded initiative by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

The Texas Goal by 2015

 Increase student enrollment in higher education by 630,000

ACC’s Goal by 2015

 Increase student enrollment to 41,243  Make college attractive to traditionally under-represented students

ACC Has Met 2010 Goals

OVERALL AFRICAN AMERICAN HISPANIC WHITE Texas ACC Texas ACC Texas ACC Texas ACC Slightly Below Target Well Above Target 2010 Target: 35,374 Well Above Target Well Above Target 2010 Target: 3,000 Well Below Target Slightly Above Target 2010 Target: 9,105 Slightly Below Target Above Target 2010 Target: 20,115 Fall 2009: 40,248 Fall 2009: 3,543 Fall 2009: 10,065 Fall 2009: 23,043 *Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability, ACC, 2009 Fall Factbook Preview—Student Characteristics District-wide, Fall

2005-2009.

http://www.austincc.edu/oiepub/pubs/factbook/preview_fall09/full-preview.pdf

*THECB (2009, July). Closing the gaps by 2015: 2009 Progress Report. www.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/PDF/1852pdf .

College Connection

• • • Major element of

ACC’s response to Closing the Gaps

Keystone in ACC’s comprehensive

P-16 Initiative Partnerships

• with 25 area school districts and 57 high schools Memorandums of Understanding signed annually • Relationships with school districts continuously supported • District administrators/superintendents • High school principals/counselors • • Data sharing (FERPA compliant) Annual planning/strategy meetings

College Connection

• Strong

institutional commitment

brought growth in resources and partnerships • Initiated through existing institutional resources • 14 school districts, first 3 years • Growth funded through multiple

grants

• Two Mobile Go Centers • College Connection activities and community outreach • $300,000 + • Now

fully sustained

with institutional resources

College Connection

• ACC’s Executive Vice President for College Operations is

single-point-of contact

for district superintendents • ACC committed at the highest executive levels • No cost to the school district • ACC Foundation offers

$2,500 College Connection Scholarship

to incoming freshmen • One per school district, minimum

College Connection

 The college enrollment process

on the high school campuses



100 percent participation

of college seniors 

ACC expert staff

provide one-on-one support 

Letters of acceptance

given to seniors at graduation

Required

• Application • Admissions test • Pre-advising • Academic advising • Graduation letter

Optional

• Student life info • Teleconference • Campus tours • Registration • Other

Recommended

• Senior presentation • Financial aid application

Activity Grid Sample

Round Rock ISD Lead:

Rosemary Kelly Director, Guidance & Counseling 512-464-5075 [email protected]

McNeil HS Lead:

Alberto Perez Associate Principal 512-464-6302 [email protected]

ACC District Lead:

Mary Hensley Executive Vice President, College Operations 223-7618 [email protected]

College Connection Lead:

Melissa Richardson College Connection Director 223-7088 [email protected]

Administrative Assistant: Olivia Carreno 512-464-5100 [email protected]

Administrative Assistant: Terri Thompson 512-464-6302 [email protected]

Executive Assistant: Laurie Clark, 223-7618 [email protected]

Administrative Assistant: Robin Wanke, 223-7084 [email protected]

College Connection Online Calendar: http://www.austincc.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/calcium/Calcium.pl/Calcium.pl?Op=ShowIt&CookieParams=1&CalendarName=RRISD_McNeil

Senior Count: 630 ACTIVITY DATE TIME LOCATION/ EQUIPMENT COMMUNICATION MCNEIL HS CONTACT (*Lead Contact) name@roundrockisd.

org ACC CONTACT (*Lead Contact) [email protected]

High School Planning Committee Meeting

Friday, June 5, 2009 10:00 AM College Connection Agreement Prior to beginning fall semester McNeil HS 5720 McNeil Road Austin, TX 78729 Email Announcement *Sandra Dorn sandra_dorn *Jesus Chavez jesus_chavez *Melissa Richardson mrichard *Luanne Preston luanne

Student Data Rosters to ACC

No later than September 25, 2009 or date specified in Agreement Electronic data template (in EXCEL format) *Connie Wall cwall Anna Troukhanova atroukha

SHADE/BOLD

– Required

College Connection

Activities

College Connection Results

Growth Since Inception

College Connection Results

ACC Applications From High School Seniors Increased by 3,635% ACC Enrollments Directly after High School Increased by 56%

College Connection Impact

Area High School Graduation Increased by 11% College/University Enrollments Directly After High School Increased by 21%

College Connection Impact

College-Going Culture is Becoming the Norm

 91% report that they plan to attend college directly after high school graduation  Of the 9% who did plan to attend college, 65% of those said they planned to go to college at a later date  Completing a college application and meeting with a college representative were ranked the top two most helpful activities for preparing for further education

-- Central Texas Student Futures Project, Ray Marshall Center, The University of Texas (2009)

College Connection Access and Success

• College Connection enrollees are majority-minority • College Connection students persist at higher rates than ACC’s overall population • College Connection students withdraw from classes at same rate of overall population (17%) • College Connection students average 73% passing grades (C or better)

Diversity of Participants

College Connection Fall 2009 Enrollments by Ethnicity

Anglo 47.7% African American 9.7% Hispanic 35.0% Asian 3.5% Other 4.1%

Overall ACC Fall 2009 Enrollments by Ethnicity

Student Success

College Connection Cohort Persistence Enrolled Fall 2009 College Connection All ACC*

2,179 38,069 *Excludes College Connection Cohort

Enrolled Spring 2010

1,678 24,758

Return Rate

77.0% 65.0%

Student Success

Fall 2009 Student Grade Comparison (12 th Class Day Students) College Connection Students and All ACC Students Fall 2009 Grades

A B C D F I IP TOTAL

College Connection Students N

1,184 1,717 1,575 515 932 39 157 6,119 *Excludes College Connection Cohort

%

19.3% 28.1% 25.7% 8.4% 15.2% 0.6% 2.6% 100%

All ACC Students* N

28,680 22,322 14,806 3,781

%

35.9% 27.9% 18.5% 4.7% 8,539 756 1,093 79,977 10.7% 0.9% 1.4% 100%

Opening Doors

 “

Because of College Connection

and because of Austin Community College,

I have been able to make smart choices

about college and my future.” – LBJ High School Graduate, ACC Student  “

With the start that I got from College Connection

and the support that I got once I arrived at ACC, I have learned a lot about what it takes to go to college. I have learned so much that

I have been able to help my friends

know what to do. One of my best friends is finally going to start at Austin Community College in the fall because I shared with her that

if I can do it, she can do it, too

.” – Bastrop High School Graduate, ACC Student

College Connection 2+2+2

College Access Challenge Grant

•

$199,998

for 2009-11 •

University partnerships

• Texas State University (public) • Southwestern University (private) • Supports College Connection enrolled students’

transfer goals

• • Unique date

Transfer Academy

480 ACC students served to • Brings transfer advising to

5 underserved high schools

• Three urban, two rural • 503 high school students served to date

Impact on Other Programs and Partnerships

ACC Fall Enrollments

 26% increase from 2004-2009

Early College Start (Dual Credit) Enrollments

 167% increase from 2004-2009

Tech Prep Enrollments

 109% increase in students collecting credit from 2003-2008

Summer Bridge

 College Connection success leveraged for grant funding

Major Regional Initiatives

 Foundation for Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce’s push to increase area college applications and FAFSA completions

State and National Impact

• • 22 + Texas community colleges adopting College Connection Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board offering planning and implementation grants • ACC provided training • • Other states adopt College Connection models •

Florida Department of Education:

“Go Higher – Get Accepted” •

Maine:

Law requiring high school seniors to complete one college application Colleges from California to North Carolina consult with Austin Community College

Awards and Recognition

Awards

• 2009 League for Innovation “Innovation of the Year” • 2007 Bellwether Award Winner • 2006 THECB Star Award Winner • 2006 Excelencia in Education Semi-Finalist

Media

• Selections:

Best Practices and Tips

• Do away with thinking that school districts, schools, and students “have to come to the college” to complete college processes •

Customize

to meet school district needs • School districts differ from college • School districts differ from each other • Focus on what works for the school district • Start small – do what you can with

existing staff and resources

Best Practices and Tips

• Expand – ask the school district, “

What else can we do

for your students?” • A successful program leads to

additional success

• Additional resources • Grant opportunities • Community support • New requests for partnerships • Positive media • Foundation for additional programs

Best Practices and Tips

• Partnerships aren’t always perfect •

Tough times will happen

• Famous last words – right above the signature line: •

“The partnership agreement covers only the essential elements of a cooperative relationship

; unexpected events may arise that require mutual understanding, communication, and trust.”

Interactive Opportunity

• What school district partnerships does your college currently have in place?

• What stakeholders do you need to engage?

• What barriers do you need to overcome?

• What unique community characteristics will impact your school partnership strategies? In what way?

• What is one thing you can do in the next month to engage your area high school students in college planning?

For more information:

www.austincc.edu/collegeconnection For copies of this presentation: www.austincc.edu/collegeconnection/presentations/3-29-10, League for Innovations Conference