Transcript Part 1 - Texas Association of Community Colleges

Reimagining our Model to
Really Focus on Student
Completion:
Exploring Texas Completes’
Framework & Key Design
Principles
Dr. Rob Johnstone
Texas Pathways to Progress Institute
Dallas, TX
September 22, 2014
www.inquiry2improvement.com
1
Acknowledgements
• The content in this presentation was primarily developed by
Dr. Davis Jenkins of the Community College Research Center &
Dr. Rob Johnstone of the National Center for Inquiry &
Improvement
• Other partners whose thought capital contributed to its
development include:






The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Completion by Design Assistance Team (CDAT)
Jobs for the Future (JFF)
Public Agenda
The RP Group
WestEd
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
www.inquiry2improvement.com
2
Agenda
•
Demonstrate the problem: a student’s
journey
•
Visualize the Student Experience
•
Discuss the context of completion
•
Explore the Texas Completes Framework
•
Engage with the Texas Completes Design
principles
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
www.inquiry2improvement.com
Walking Through a Student’s
Exploratory Process:
A Website Journey
www.inquiry2improvement.com
Demonstration: A Student Interested in
Psychology
•
Institution was selected at random
•
If you think it’s different at your college /
within your system, click on a couple of pages
of your college’s website
•
Yes this is the website and we have advising –
but it’s still the primary source for most
students – and the face of the college
•
http://www.sc.edu/ - see appendix for
screenshots
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
www.inquiry2improvement.com
Post-Mortem…
•
Can’t stress this enough – this is but one
example of hundreds at 2/4-year colleges…
•
Also important to keep in mind that for CC
students – this is a huge simplification over what
they need to navigate, as the 4-year student has
a single goal – graduating with a BA / BS…
•
CC students have with the options of short term
certificates, long term certificates, “terminal” AA
degrees, transfer + AA degree, and transfer
without AA degree all as options
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
www.inquiry2improvement.com
Student Experience of Transfer
• Confusion about programs, requirements
• Transfer credits count only as electives
Problems
• Many decide on majors too late
• Students take excess credits, lose time
and money
• Information inaccurate, inaccessible
Recurring
Themes
• Well-meaning but overwhelmed advisors
• Dysfunctional communication within/
among 2- and 4-years
• Students blame themselves
The Student Experience
www.inquiry2improvement.com
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
www.inquiry2improvement.com
Redesign for Completion:
Overview & The Big Ideas
www.inquiry2improvement.com
A Brief Discussion on the
Completion Agenda
• National movement – White House, Aspen
Prize, American Association of Community
College’s Voluntary Framework for
Accountability, Complete College America,
Department of Education, IPEDS Access to
Success, Foundations (Gates, Lumina, Kresge)
• Often takes a less “complete” view of
completion
• Need for nuanced view
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
www.inquiry2improvement.com
The Challenge of Completion
For Colleges:
• Financial
Under-resourced
Incentives aligned with
access, not completion
• Innovations tend to be
isolated
• Change is hard, even
when the will is there
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
For Students:
• Easy to enroll, easy to
drop out
• Many enter without a
clear plan, and are placed
into developmental
education
• Lack of confidence,
financial resources and
social capital
www.inquiry2improvement.com
Redesign Systems & Practices
for Student Success
• Analyze and understand the common barriers and momentum
points that students experience
• Implement and integrate proven and promising practices to provide
students with the quickest, straightest path to completion
• Use data & information to customize support, monitor progress,
and provide feedback to students.
• Create the conditions for change by empowering interdisciplinary,
cross-campus delegations of faculty, staff and administrators
• Build infrastructure for continuous improvement
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
www.inquiry2improvement.com
Status Quo Pathways
• Little upfront career and college planning
• Paths unclear, poorly aligned with end goals
• Too many choices; requirements confusing
• Developmental dead-end
• Students’ progress not monitored
• Limited on-going feedback and support
• Poor alignment with hs and other feeders
Guided Pathways
 Clear maps to end goals
 Default plans tied to predictable schedules
 “Exploratory” majors for undecided
 Integrated academic support for program
gatekeeper courses
 Progress tracking, feedback and support
 Bridges to college programs from high
school, ABE and other feeders
Four Big Ideas for Redesign
1. Structured Pathways / Programs of Study
2. Better On-ramps into POS
 Accelerated / co-curricular Dev Ed, First Year Experience
3. Intentional Student Support Structures
 Intake system, onboarding, advising
4. Monitoring Progress / Customized Feedback
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
www.inquiry2improvement.com
Exploring the Texas Completes
Framework
www.inquiry2improvement.com
Texas Completes Framework
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
www.inquiry2improvement.com
Discussion
 What are some key loss points you have
observed for your students at each stage?
 What are some key momentum points
that you have identified that accelerate
progress and lead to higher outcomes?
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
www.inquiry2improvement.com
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
Connection/Entry: Findings
• Many students undecided
• Defaulted into “gen ed” (and thus “dev ed”)
• Dev ed students diverted, not building skills
• Many students drop out after 1-2 terms
• CTE program students older, clearer goals
• “Concentrators” more likely to complete
• Math & English 101 not only “gatekeepers”
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
Progress: Findings
• Students very confused by transfer process
• Many don’t follow “catalogue” curriculum
• Low rate of gen ed core completion
• Enrollment continuity may be as important
as intensity
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
Completion: Findings
• Most transfer without associate degree
• Many graduates earn “excess” credits
• Many students “linger”
• Relatively few “stacking” credentials
Student Experience of Transfer
• Confusion about programs, requirements
• Transfer credits count only as electives
Problems
• Many decide on majors too late
• Students take excess credits, lose time
and money
• Information inaccurate, inaccessible
Recurring
Themes
• Well-meaning but overwhelmed advisors
• Dysfunctional communication within/
among 2- and 4-years
• Students blame themselves