NSCC TITLE III FRAMEWORK
7/12/2016
IMPROVING STUDENT RETENTION AND PROGRESSION AT NSCC
Problems to be addressed
Low rates of retention and progression for
degree-seeking students.
Goal
Measurable Objective after five Years
Goal 1
Improve first to second quarter degree-seeking
student re-enrollment rates
First to second quarter re-enrollments of degree seeking students will
increase by 10 points from 50% to 60%
“Early Exiter” percentages will decrease by 10 points from 41% to
31%.
Low rates of retention and progression for
degree-seeking students.
Current instructional and student-services
support systems fail to reach adequate numbers
students.
Low rates of retention and progression for
degree-seeking students.
Current instructional and student-services
support systems fail to reach adequate numbers
students.
Goal 2
Improve instructional supports and student
services to promote Basic Skills students’
successful entry into college-level courses
The percentage of students progressing from basic skills to collegelevel course work will increase by:
 ESL rate will increase from 5% to 15 %
 ABE rate will increase from 20% to 30%
Goal 3
Improve instructional supports and student services
to promote degree-seeking students’ successful
completion of developmental-level pipeline and
other key gateway courses
Increase passage rates in developmental level math courses and
developmental-level student success rates in ‘next step’ college-level
courses. Developmental-level passage rates to increase from 64% to x
and corresponding college-level failure rates to be reduced from 23%
to 15%.
Increase passage rates in developmental level English courses and
improve developmental-level student success rates in ‘next step’
college-level courses. Developmental-level pass rates to increase from
77% to 80% and corresponding college-level failure rates to be
reduced from 19% to 15%.
Key gateway courses overall passage rates to improve from 2006
baseline of x to x over 5 years.
Low rates of retention and progression for
degree-seeking students.
Goal 4
Improve overall educational progression
rates for NSCC degree-seeking students
Current instructional and student-services
support systems fail to reach adequate numbers
students.
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The percentage of NSCC students making “substantial progress” shall
increase to 60%
NSCC TITLE III FRAMEWORK
7/12/2016
Component 1: First Quarter Success Initiative

Institute required college success workshops for incoming first quarter students.
o Workshops to be taught by teams of faculty and student services professionals to address
a number of topics relevant for first-quarter students such as study skills, introduction to
campus resources, educational planning, information literacy, visits to sample academic
classes, etc.
o Workshops would be required of identified groups of students such as (1) first-time
degree-seeking students, (2) basic skills students, (3) developmental students
o Other students select portions of the workshops based on a self-assessment instrument
o Workshops to be offered through a variety of modalities
o Criteria and procedures for exempting students from this requirement would also be
developed.
Component 2: Curriculum Development

Implement Instructional Bridging activities within ABE/ESL courses and across the transition
from ABE/ESL to college-level courses
o Establish a credit-bearing Open-Entry Skills Lab for ABE/ESL students. Lab to support
expansion of the Work Discoveries class and other ‘bridging’ activities.
o Expand offerings of well supported career and educational pathways designed to advance
students through progressive stages of employment and/or education.

Integrate access to student support resources within the curriculum
o Create new models for links with HDC classes or modules from those courses. HDC sections
or modules could be customized to support specific disciplines (e.g. math/science or
humanities) and offer a menu of options to support advancing students over multiple quarters.
o Infuse experiences that support student success into the curriculum. Concentrate on
developmental-level pipeline and key gatway courses taken by large numbers of students.
Examples of “infusion” might include an assignment to complete a career interest inventory,
writing an essay on job opportunities in a field of interest, earning course credit for completing
an academic plan with the assistance of an advisor, etc

Review instructional practice and curriculum in developmental-level pipeline and key gateway
courses to support:
o Alignment of outcomes within and across levels
o Alignment of curriculum within and across levels
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NSCC TITLE III FRAMEWORK
7/12/2016
Component 3: Instructional Support

Pilot the use of an academic early alert system.
o The system would proactively solicit information from faculty in pre-determined courses
regarding students’ performance (attendance, grades, participation, etc) early in the quarter.
o Students identify as needing assistance would be connected with specific interventions to be
identified/developed as part of the grant activity.

Establish a cross-campus transitions committee to design instructional and student activities
that enhance connections across ABE/ESL and College-level programs (e.g. curriculum alignment,
outcome “norming”, student ambassador program to connect advancing college-level students back
with the pre-college/ESL/ABE population)

Enhance tutoring services across programs
o Hire a director for the Math/Science Learning Center (comparable to positions already in place
for English tutoring through the LOFT)
o Through collaboration between faculty and tutoring personnel, develop tutoring “tools” or
modules to support specific class curriculum
o Increase tutor training
o Increase funding to provide additional tutoring hours and higher hourly rates for more
experienced tutors

Introduce the use of Supplemental Instruction (SI) in selected courses. SI provides a smallgroup environment led by a “TA” or “master student” who sits in on the class and then leads a
review section to reinforce learning, model study techniques, and facilitate group study sessions. SI
offers a more structured approach to complement the self-directed tutoring services already
available.
Component 4: Professional Development

Provide faculty development to increase the number of courses incorporating practices proven to
support student retention and progression. Professional development would be provided for such
practices as:
o Supporting multiple learning styles
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Incorporating active learning methodologies
Creating collaborative learning environments
Providing Service Learning (SL) and Undergraduate Research opportunities
Creating integrative learning assignments/experiences
Learning through seminar
Pedagogies supportive of students with learning disabilities
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NSCC TITLE III FRAMEWORK
7/12/2016
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