A Matter
of
Degrees
Promising
Practices for
Community
College Student
Success
I Have a Goal!
On the SENSE survey, entering students say…
79% want to obtain an associate degree.
73% want to transfer to a four-year institution.
59% want to complete a certificate program.
2
Students Speak
Bringing data alive through
student voices…
3
What did you hear?
 About “front door” experiences?
 About learning and teaching?
 About support for students?
 About what makes a difference for students?
5
Not all orientations…or learning
communities…or student success
classes…or whatever the practice…
are created equal!
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Design Principles for Effective Practice




A strong start
Clear, coherent pathways
Integrated support
High expectations and high
support
 Intensive student
engagement
 Design for scale
 Professional Development
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The College with the Most Innovations…
…doesn’t necessarily win!
This is NOT a checklist!
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The effectiveness of educational
practice depends on…
 Specific design of the practice
 Quality of implementation
Integration of the combination of practices
the college intentionally employs…
at scale!
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Promising Practices for Community
College Student Success
Planning for Success
– Assessment and Placement
– Orientation
– Academic Goal Setting and Planning
– Registration before Classes Begin
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Discussion Questions
What practices are in place at your college?
What is mandatory? For whom? What have
you brought to scale?




Registration before classes begin?
Academic goal-setting and planning?
Orientation?
Assessment and placement?
11
Promising Practices for Community
College Student Success
Initiating Success
– Accelerated or Fast-Track Developmental
Education
– First-Year Experience
– Student Success Course
– Learning Community
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Discussion Questions
What practices are in place at your college?
What is mandatory? For whom? What have
you brought to scale?




Accelerated or fast-track dev ed
Student success course?
First-year experience?
Learning communities?
13
Promising Practices for Community
College Student Success
Sustaining Success
– Class Attendance
– Early Alert and Intervention
– Experiential Learning beyond the Classroom
– Tutoring
– Supplemental Instruction
15
Discussion Questions
What practices are in place at your college?
What is mandatory? For whom? What have
you brought to scale?
 Class attendance (as in “it’s important to show
up.”)
 Early alert and intervention?
 Experiential learning beyond the classroom?
 Tutoring? Supplemental instruction?
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Center for Community College
Student Engagement – CCCSE
Collecting Data from Many Perspectives
 Quantitative data – 4 surveys – the “what”
 Qualitative data – focus groups – the “why”
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Four surveys
 CCSSE
 CCFSSE
 SENSE
 CCIS
Focus groups
 Initiative on Student Success – Starting Right
 High-Impact Practices Initiative
 Improving Outcomes for Men of Color
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Structured Group Learning Experiences –
Promising Practices
 Orientation
 Accelerated / Fast-track developmental
education
 First-year experience
 Student success course
 Learning community
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Structured Group Learning Experiences
Percentage of colleges that report they implement each practice (N=288)
96%
Orientation
Accelerated or fast-track
developmental education
42%
58%
First-year experience
83%
Student success course
56%
Learning community
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Source: 2011 CCIS data.
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CCIS, CCSSE, CCFSSE Promising Practices
Promising
Practice
Colleges
That Report
Having It
Students
Who Report
Doing It
Full-Time Faculty
Who Teach or
Facilitate
Orientation
96%
58%
13%
Student Success
Course
83%
24%
12%
First-Year
Experience
58%
26%
17%
Learning
Community
56%
13%
16%
Accelerated
Developmental
Education
42%
26%
14%
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Structured Group Learning Experiences
Among responding colleges using each practice, the percentage that require the
experience for all first-time students (part-time and full-time)
Accelerated or fast-track
developmental education*
Orientation
Yes
(105 of
276)
13%
First-year experience
Yes
(15 of 120)
27%
38%
Student success course
15%
Yes
(35 of 238)
Yes
(45 of 166)
Learning community
1% Yes
(2 of 160)
*Required for first-time developmental students only (part-time and full-time)
Source: 2011 CCIS data.
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Students don’t do
optional!!
Orientation
…leads to higher student satisfaction, greater use of
support services and improved retention of at-risk
students.
However…
19% of entering students are unaware of it.
38% of colleges require it for all students – full-time
and part-time.
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Orientation
Percentage of CCSSE respondents who report participating
Yes (N=237,325)
58%
Source: 2011 CCSSE Promising Practices data.
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2011 CCSSE Benchmark Scores by Orientation –
52.3
52.8
52.3
47.8
47.2
53.4
52.7
47.8
47.7
45.7
Active and
Collaborative
Learning
Student Effort
Participated in
Orientation
Academic
Challenge
Student-Faculty
Interaction
Support for
Learners
Did not
Participate in
Orientation
Sources: 2011 CCSSE data
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Student Success Course
Student success courses improve students’ study
skills, time management, note-taking and testtaking skills
However,
Only 15% of CCIS colleges (35/238) require it for all
first-time students.
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Student Success Course
Percentage of CCSSE respondents
who report participating
Yes (N=229,696)
24%
Source: 2011 CCSSE Promising Practices data.
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2011 CCSSE Benchmark Scores by
Student Success Course
57.8
56.1
54.9
55.9
53.9
48.9
Active and
Collaborative
Learning
48.5
Student Effort
Participated in
Student Success
Course
Sources: 2011 CCSSE data
49.7
Academic
Challenge
48.8
Student-Faculty
Interaction
47.7
Support for
Learners
Did not
Participate in
Student Success
Course
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Late Registration?
 11% of CCSSE respondents reported that they
registered for class after the first class session had
started.
 Yet, 62% of faculty responders (CCFSSE) say that
at least one student registered late for a class.
2011 Data - CCFSSE (Faculty) Promising Practice Items combined with
Student CCSSE responses
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2011 CCSSE Benchmark Scores by Registration
50.5
49.6
51.1
50.1
47.9
Active and
Collaborative
Learning
Sources: 2011 CCSSE data
Student Effort
Registered for all
courses before
the first day of
class
50.1 49.2
47.1
Academic
Challenge
Student-Faculty
Interaction
50.0
48.1
Support for
Learners
Registered late
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 What are the challenges that get in the way
of implementing promising practices?
Bringing them to scale?
 What could you implement tomorrow – lowhanging fruit?
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If I Ran the Zoo…
One improvement that you believe
would have a significant impact on
improving student success…


for the college or my department
in my role
High Performing Colleges
…make student engagement
inescapable!
Learning College
Summit 2012
Arleen Arnsparger,
Project Manager
Initiative on Student
Success
arnsparger@cccse.org
www.cccse.org