A Multidimensional Approach to Student Success

Career Academic

CAPS Career, Academic and Personal Success

Personal

Success

Colleen R. Doherty cdoherty@qcc.mass.edu Quinsigamond Community College Worcester, Massachusetts International Conference on FYE Vancouver, BC July, 2003

Title III
The purpose of the Strengthening Institutions Program is to provide grants to eligible institutions of higher education to improve their academic programs, institutional management, and fiscal stability in order to increase their self-sufficiency and strengthen their capacity to make a substantial contribution to the higher education resources of the Nation. Funds may be used for faculty development, funds and administrative management, development and improvement of academic programs, joint use of facilities, and student services. (US Dept. of Ed. Web site) Additional information may be found at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/HEP/idues/titl e3a.html.

Title III Team

Cathy Livingston, Vice President of Academic Affairs; Project Manager of Title III Grant Pat Toney, Dean of Instruction for Humanities and Social Sciences Jim Rice, Professor of English/Coordinator of Communication Felix Rizvanov, Director of Instructional Design Colleen Doherty, Director of Career Development Anne Shull, Instructor of English as a Second Language Sheila Booth, Assistant Professor of English Steve Rayshick, Assistant Professor of English Betsy Zuegg, Assistant Professor of Developmental English Elaine Previte, Coordinator of Learning Resources Virginia Asadoorian, Professor of Mathematics Steve Zona, Professor of Mathematics

QCC Identified Needs

limited success of developmental students

large % of undeclared majors who do not persist to graduation

clear need to improve academic advising course content and delivery methods for developmental courses

5 Major Target Areas

College Orientation Course Curriculum Redesign Research Success of Pilot Courses Developmental Advising Model Professional Development Program for Faculty

Successes Challenges Suggestions

1. College Orientation Course

3 Major Themes Career Development College Connection and Knowledge Learning and Study Skills

Final Project CAPS Plan

Active Instructional Methodologies Nearly 90 % of students returned the second semester

Community College Focus

Commuter Campus Busy, Competing Agendas Minimal Connection to College Large Immigrant Population (Worcester) High Percentage of Students beginning in Developmental Courses Age Difference

CAPS PLAN: Career, Academic and Personal Success

Career Academic

Personal

Success

QCC CAPS PLAN

Career, Academic, and Personal Success ORT 110 & PSY 115

LEARNING PROFILE

(complete 2) Index of Learning Styles Results _____________________ Modality Questionnaire Results _____________________ MBTI (Meyers-Briggs) Results _____________________ GEFT (Embedded Figures) Results______________________

Summarizing Comments: ____________________________________ __________________________________________________________

CAREER PLANNING (complete 3)

*Self-Assessment Self-Directed Search Results _____________________ Strong-Campbell Results _____________________ Kuder Results _____________________ Career Link Inventory Results _____________________ MBTI (Meyers-Briggs) Results _____________________ Career Key Results _____________________ *Values (complete 1) Your Values Test Results ____________________ COPES Results ____________________ *Careers Researched (research 2 to 5 careers) ________________________ ________________________ *Career Options Exploring further Short-term Options Long -term Options coursework/Other

Summarizing Comments:______________________________________

QCC Course Selection Planning Chart

QCC Course Selection Planning Chart Plan to Course # Offered Grade Credits Prerequisites
Take Fall _____

Spring _____

Summer/Intersession _____

Fall _____

Spring _____

Institutional Benefits of CAPS Plan

Advising -Comprehensive view of student, including career plan and course selection Transfer -Plan, contact schools General Studies- Administrative Mechanism -Provide direction to large % of undecided students

Challenges

&

Suggestions

Faculty Selection Critical Start up of New Course, Registering Appropriate Students Faculty Training and Compensation Technology Usage

2. Curriculum Re-Design
Faculty Release Time Valuable Dialogue Across Disciplines Uniformity within course sections Improved Sequences from course to course Customized Texts Course Matrix

Matrix Categories

Week

Topics/ Description

Instructional Strategies

Learning Outcomes

Faculty Resources/ Materials

Assessment

Challenges

&

Suggestions

Academic Freedom Pilot /Field Test Sections Faculty Use of Technology Adjuncts and Late Notification of Teaching Support for Faculty Changing Instructional Methodologies

3. Research Attrition and Persistence

Fall, 2001 baseline cohort shows that within one semester QCC lost 30% of all students enrolled in developmental courses.
Within One year QCC lost 48.2% of the above students.

Retention and Grades from Fall 2002 to Spring 2003 Title III Pilot Results

78.6% for ENG (10.5% increase over Fall, 01). 80.5% for MATH (13.2% increase over Fall, 01). 89.7% for ORT (College Orientation) (26% increase over Fall, 01). -------------------------------------------------------GRADES- % of students with C+ or higher 9.8% higher in Title III Pilot Sections of Math and English than in Non-pilot Sections.

ORT 110 College Orientation Course

Developmental Pilots with ORT 110= 75.4% of students in Dev. Pilots received grades of C+ or higher in Pilots.

Dev. Pilots without ORT 110= 60.7% of students in Dev. Pilots received grades of C+ or higher in Pilots.
ORT 110 influence resulted in 24.4% increase in student success.

Challenges

&

Suggestions

Integrating Data from Various Sources Community College Enrollment Patterns differ from 4-year colleges Define and Measure Student Success from both Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches

4. Developmental Advising

GoalDesign a Campus-wide, Comprehensive, Developmental Advising Program that addresses all Offices or Departments Involved in Advising.

External Resources and Models

Valencia Community College- Life Map NACADA Work of Virginia Gordon (Undecided Students) Work of Joe Cuseo (Advising, Retention and First-Year Initiatives) Work of Terry OBanion

OBanion

Academic Advising is much larger than

assisting someone in course selection. One has to go through different stages of development in order to ultimately select which courses are most appropriate. Stages include (1) exploration of life goals; (2) exploration of career goals; (3) selection of a program major; (4) identification of course choices; and (5) creation of course schedule.

Developmental Advising Task Force

Stage Model -0-15 credits- Stage One
-15-30 credits- Stage Two -30-45 credits- Stage Three -45-60+- Stage Four -gradual shift of responsibilities to student as they move through the stages

Specific Performance Indicators at Each Stage Existing Campus Resources and Solutions

Challenges

&

Suggestions

Differing Perspectives and Approaches of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs

New Campus-wide Initiatives need Presidential Endorsement

Allow Ample TIME for Process and Results

5. Faculty Professional Development

Developmental Course Content Revised

Improving Instructional Methodologies Inclusive Strategies Reaching ALL Students Use/Integration of Technology
On-going Improvement and Updating of Course Content

Develop and Sustain Faculty Professional Development

Expand to All Faculty -Those teaching Title III courses and others -Include existing training initiatives at college

Train-the-Trainer Model
Resources -Reflective Practice -Universal Design -Accelerated Learning

Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age, D. Rose & A. Meyer

The Courage to Teach, Creating Significant Learning Experiences, Dee Fink Parker Palmer

Challenges
Resources

&

Suggestions

Technology Availability & Comfort Level Measuring Change and Improvement

Sustaining Momentum