Kingsborough
Community College
Kingsborough –
College Profile
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A unit of The City
University of New York
Brooklyn’s only
community college
Over 19,000 students
in credit programs
Approx. 20,000
students in Continuing
Education
Kingsborough –
College Profile
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1,000+ Faculty and
Staff
Operating budget
approx. $92 million
Campus
atmosphere
Kingsborough –
College Profile
Offers both
 Liberal Arts &
Sciences
and
 Career oriented
programs
Kingsborough –
Student Profile
The Economics
42% of students from families with
< $20,000 household annual income
KCC – Student Profile
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Approximately 58% full-time / 42% part-time
70% of students receive financial aid
Student Profile
36%
34%
16%
13%
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
142 Countries
73 Languages
56% Female
Challenges for the Institution
Low retention rate and persistence
 Low graduation rates
 Underprepared students
 Students face financial and personal
roadblocks
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Roadblocks to Success
-- Under-preparation
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Freshman Basic Skills Test Performance
31.3% Failed Reading
45.9% Failed Writing
60.4% Failed Mathematics
Only 26.1% of entering freshmen passed all 3
Student Success Initiatives
Learning Communities
 Single Stop
 Advisement
 Culture of Evidence
 Integrated Teams
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Learning
Communities
The Kingsborough Model
for Learning Communities
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Groups of 25 students take first semester
courses together
3 linked – themed – courses:
• English (usually developmental)
• Student development (taught by case
manager)
• One standard college course, such as
history, psychology, sociology, health
Learning Communities –
The 1-Year Impact
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Improved academic performance
More likely to take critical
developmental courses and more likely
to pass those courses
Progress more rapidly through
sequence of developmental English
courses
Learning Communities –
The Long Term Impact
1.
Improved Graduation Rate
15% more students in Opening Doors
Learning Communities earned a degree than
students in the control group after 6 years
(35.9% vs. 31.3%)
Learning Communities –
The Long Term Impact
2.
More credits accumulated
Learning Communities students continue to
earn more credits than those students in the
control group (totaling 4 more after 6 years)
Learning Communities –
The Long Term Impact
3.
Cost effective
Cost per degree for Learning Communities
students was 2.5% less than for the degrees
of students in the control group
Single Stop
Single Stop
Benefits Secured 2009-2012
Benefit / Service
Food Stamps
Medicaid
Food Vouchers
MetroCards
Public Assistance
Tax Returns
Totals
Total
Students
Receiving
Benefits
304
129
70
147
53
2191
2,894
Total Value
Annualized
$747,256
$2,048,000
$11,500
$4,279
$203,081
$3,484,790
$6,498,906
Advisement
 Immediate
upon entry
 Connected to discipline
 Intrusive
Culture of
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Evidence
English in first semester mandated
Special biology course for Nursing
students
Curriculum modifications (e.g. more
allied health programs)
Integrated Teams
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Reduced barriers between
departments
Direct involvement of decision makers
“Change Just Doesn’t
Happen”
Institutions are people
Institutions have a culture
Institutions have leaders
Institutions have a history
Change Takes Time
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Be thoughtful
Gather information
Find the right path
Choose Wisely
Publicize Widely
Change Involves Action
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Mix it up
The table is for everyone
Set up Structures
Praise and Publicly Thank
Work and Play
Don’t Forget the small stuff
It’s Not about You
Change Requires
Risk Taking
“You’ve got to want to connect the dots, Mr. Michaelson.”
Danny Shanahan, The New Yorker © 2009
For more information,
contact…
President@kbcc.cuny.edu