College Spark/SBCTC Guided Pathways Request for Application
Application Narrative Questions
Please provide a written response to the following questions. While there is no need to limit your responses
to a certain number of pages, answers should be complete and concise.
1: Student success is often measured by retention rates, SAI point accumulation, completion of
gatekeeper courses, completion rates, and other metrics. Give two specific examples of how clearly
defined metrics for monitoring student progress and success have been used for decision-making within
the campus community. In your response, include a description of the type of data that is regularly
presented to the executive team leadership, including the board of trustees.
2. Provide two examples of instances when student outcome data was disaggregated by selected
student characteristics, and how and by whom the disaggregated data were used and initiatives enacted
as a result of the analysis:
3: How does your institution align program outcomes with requirements for success in post-program
education and employment? Please provide specific examples.
4. Please indicate which of the following best reflect your current advising model (select all that apply):
a) Advising resides in student services alone
b) Advising resides with faculty alone
c) Advising resides with students services and shifts to faculty after a program is selected
d) New student orientation is required
e) New students are required to meet with an advisor prior to registration
f) One full day each quarter is dedicated to advising (no classes are scheduled)
g) Please describe other aspects of your current advising model not reflected above:
What percent of your new students participate in your advising model(s) within their first year?
5. Provide an example of how your current advising practices are designed to help students explore,
select and stay on a) a career pathway to completion, or b) transfer into a specific bachelor’s degree
program at a subsequent institution, and/or the changes to your advising model that you anticipate in
preparation to make Guided Pathways work:
6. Describe your current placement practices for math and English. Please describe any changes to
placement policy or practice you have made in past 5 years, and provide data to describe their
effectiveness:
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7. Over the past 5 years, has there been a change in the percentage of students that earn college level
math and English credit within one year of enrollment? Please describe any reforms implemented to
this point, and any changes you anticipate are needed:
8. Which of the following models does your college currently follow for pre-college reform? (check all
that apply):
a) Academic I-BEST
b) Modularized/competency-based
c) Co-requisite
d) Emporium
e) Computer mediated learning
f) Flipped classroom
g) Accelerated outcomes (bucket model)
h) Others
9. If you are not currently doing any of the above, what are you plans for future reform:
10. Does your college currently offer an alternative math pathway to pre-calculus? If so, is it offered at
scale? Please describe.
11. Describe a time when your institution enacted a significant policy change that was mandatory or
prescriptive for students, provide any relevant data that showed the impact of such a change. Also
describe the strengths and challenges associated with the policy shift:
12. Provide an example of a time when your college reallocated resources based on data findings to
promote better student outcomes. What amount of resources were allocated and where was it reallocated:
13. Provide an example of a large scale student success initiative that your institution pursued, based on
evidence. Describe the process of change that occurred, how you managed the challenges that came
with it, and how you achieved scale.
14. Please refer to the work plan template [link]of the application that summarizes the scope of work in
this plan. What have you already accomplished, what are you prepared to tackle, and what presents the
biggest challenge? Why is this the right time for your college to implement Guided Pathways?
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