Make It Personal:
College Completion
Faculty Webinar
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Presenters
• Bianca Bennett, Student, Georgia Perimeter College
• Mike Flores, Vice President, Student Affairs, Palo Alto College (TX)
• Tamra Ortgies-Young, Political Science Instructor, Georgia
Perimeter College
• Jodie Vangrov, Division Chair, Social Sciences, Chattahoochee
Technical College (GA)
Moderators
• Andrea Kane, Senior Director, Public Policy, The National
Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
• Gail Robinson, Director, Service Learning, American Association of
Community Colleges
Sixty-one percent (61%)
of women who have children
while enrolled in community
college drop out and do not
return to school.
About The National Campaign
• Who we are
• Why community colleges
Unplanned Pregnancy Is
High among Young Adults
• 1.3 million unplanned pregnancies to unmarried
women in their 20s.
• 7 in 10 pregnancies to unmarried women ages 18–
29 are unplanned.
• 72% of unplanned pregnancies to unmarried
women in their 20s are to women who have been
pregnant before.
• Unplanned pregnancy is on the rise, and is growing
most steeply among those ages 20-24.
More than 90% of young adults say they
don’t want to get pregnant right now…but
• 1 in 5 say it is likely they will have sex in the
next 3 months without using birth control.
• 4 in 10 believe “It doesn’t matter whether you
use contraception or not; when it is your time
to get pregnant it will happen.”
• 1/3 of unmarried women believe there is a
“great birth control option for me; I just don’t
know what it is.”
What Is MIPCC?
• Three-year national demonstration project
• Improve community college student retention
and success by addressing pregnancy planning,
prevention, and healthy relationships
• Funded by The National Campaign to Prevent
Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
• Managed by the American Association of
Community Colleges
What Is MIPCC?
• MIPCC Colleges
Chattahoochee Technical College, GA
Georgia Perimeter College, GA
Mesa Community College, AZ
Montgomery College, MD
Palo Alto College, TX
• Curriculum-based strategy: service learning
• Replicable curricular content and materials developed for
use by other community colleges
• Pre/post-course surveys to track knowledge, attitudes,
behavioral intent, retention
MIPCC Course Objectives
• Understand how unplanned pregnancy can affect
college completion
• Understand the importance of healthy relationships
• Know what campus and community resources are
available to pregnant and parenting college students
and their partners
• Be familiar with a variety of birth control options
and where to get them in the community (e.g.,
www.bedsider.org)
• Be exposed to various online information sources
(e.g., www.studentsexlife.org)
MIPCC Courses
•
•
•
•
•
•
College 101
Communications
Counseling
Education
English
English for
Speakers of
Other Languages
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ethics
Health
Kinesiology
Mental Health
Political Science
Sociology
Statistics
Women’s History
MIPCC College Stories
Mike Flores
Vice President, Student Services
Palo Alto College
San Antonio, Texas
Palo Alto College’s
MIPCC Project
• Communications
• Counseling
• Kinesiology
• Personal Health
Communications Course
• Focus on news reporting and writing
• Students researched unplanned pregnancy via
www.bedsider.org, www.studentsexlife.org, and
other sources
• Students wrote press releases for communitybased organizations
• Students presented to high school students
about preventing teen pregnancy
What Did Students Learn?
• Elements of news writing and public relations
• Familiarity with a wide variety of contraceptives
• Knowledge about where to go for help should
they become pregnant or get someone pregnant
• Familiarity with resources to which they can
direct others
• Determination to make informed decisions
about pregnancy and staying in school
MIPCC College Stories
Jodie Vangrov
Division Chair, Social Sciences
Chattahoochee Technical College
Marietta, Georgia
Chattahoochee Technical College’s
MIPCC Project
• Introduction to
Sociology
• Introduction to
Literature
• Introduction to
College
• Introduction to
Public Speaking
CTC Intro to Sociology
Academic Learning Objectives
Objective #1: Learn about socialization through the life cycle, especially
events in teenage years and young adulthood that revolve around
pregnancy planning, prevention, and healthy relationships
Objective #2: Learn about marriage and the family patterns in our
culture, specifically including unwed motherhood, blended families,
one-parent families, families with children, and issues regarding
pregnancy planning, prevention, and healthy relationships
Both objectives met via textbook readings, lectures, videos, movies
▫ “The Baby Borrowers”
▫ “16 and Pregnant”
▫ The Pregnancy Pact
▫ Juno, Push/Precious, “Glee” episodes
CTC Intro to Sociology
Academic Learning Objectives
Objective #3: Research appropriate websites related to the topic
Met via reporting on and using online resources
▫ www.thenationalcampaign.org
▫ www.bedsider.org
▫ www.studentsexlife.org
▫ www.stayteen.org
▫ The Fog Zone quiz
Objective #4: Engage in service learning activities related to the topic
Met via creating public service posters, college-wide student event
Objective #5: Learn what resources are available in our local communities
to assist young adults with pregnancy planning, prevention, and healthy
relationships
Met via class lectures, community partners at college-wide event
Service Learning Component
• Students worked in groups to
create public service posters
• College-wide student event to share
information on pregnancy planning,
prevention, and healthy relationships
▫ Posters from previous classes on display
▫ Community partners shared information
on planned and unplanned pregnancy
• Reflection exercises included in each
course and the college-wide event
What Did Students Learn?
• Socialization, marriage, and the family through the life
cycle
• Specific events relating to teenagers and young adults
regarding pregnancy planning, prevention, and healthy
relationships
• Resources in their communities
▫ Where to go and where to refer others
• Online resources sponsored by The National Campaign
to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
▫ www.bedsider.org
▫ www.studentsexlife.org
MIPCC College Stories
Tamra Ortgies-Young
Political Science Instructor
Georgia Perimeter College
Dunwoody, Georgia
Georgia Perimeter College’s
MIPCC Project
• Intro to Public
Administration
• Intro to American
Government
• English Composition
• History of Women
• Personal and
Community Health
GPC Intro to Public Administration
Academic Learning Objectives
Objective #1: Learn how to apply core course concepts including
leadership, communication, and budgeting on a personal level to
challenges in young adulthood that revolve around pregnancy planning,
prevention, and healthy relationships
Objective #2: Learn about the impact of unplanned pregnancy on
educational outcomes
Course objectives met via
▫ textbook readings, lectures, Internet research, group projects, and journaling
▫ assignments designed to require students to investigate the Bedsider.org and
StudentSexLife.org websites
GPC Intro to Public Administration
Academic Learning Objectives
Objective #3: Learn how to research a public policy issue using reputable
sources to discover the various approaches to the social problem of teen
and unplanned pregnancy from both governmental and nonprofit
programs
Objective #4: Learn core competencies in group work and media skills
with an overlay of pregnancy prevention as the content
Course objectives met via
▫ textbook readings, lectures, Internet research, group projects, and journaling
▫ assignments designed to require students to investigate the Bedsider.org and
TheNationalCampaign.org websites
Service Learning Component
• Students worked in groups to
create short videos designed to spread
the message about the consequences of
unplanned pregnancy
• Public dissemination of the work:
• Videos are hosted on GPC’s YouTube channel
• One class video was selected to be posted on the
National Campaign’s website
• Reflection exercises included a weekly
journal to connect course content to the
project and a final group class reflection
GPC Student Videos
• “9 Months”
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gUZU1I5BSU
• “Think Smart”
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iOusnwVNOg
• “The Talk”
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSTC2wn8S1c
What Did Students Learn?
• An introduction to public policy (one of five key course
content areas)
• Group and media skills that can be applied to future
courses and the workplace
• Specific information regarding pregnancy planning,
prevention, and healthy relationships
• Online resources sponsored by The National Campaign
to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
▫ www.bedsider.org
▫ www.studentsexlife.org
MIPCC College Stories
Bianca Bennett
Student
Georgia Perimeter College
Clarkston, Georgia
Georgia Perimeter College
Quality Enhancement Plan Office
The impact of MIPCC on students
Co-Curricular Integration
• Student leadership
programming
▫ Students hosted four
discussion panels connected
to a viewing of an episode
from “16 and Pregnant” and
video clips from Bedsider.org
▫ Students hosted three more
intimate conversations with
smaller groups of their peers
What Did We Learn?
• Better understanding of academic course
objectives
• Familiarity with a wide variety of contraceptives
• Knowledge about where to go for help should
they become pregnant or get someone pregnant
• Familiarity with resources to which they could
direct others
• Determination to make informed decisions
about pregnancy
National Campaign Resources
• Research and background
• Videos of students and faculty
• Student success curriculum
• Quarterly Community Colleges Update
• StudentSexLife.org
• Bedsider.org
• Online lessons
• www.thenationalcampaign.org/colleges
StudentSexLife.org
Bedsider.org
Preventing Unplanned Pregnancy and
Completing College: Online Lessons
• Lesson 1: Why should you care about preventing
unplanned pregnancy?
• Lesson 2: How much do you know about sex
and birth control?
• Lesson 3: Make a plan and take action
Available free at
www.thenationalcampaign.org/onlinelessons/facultypage.aspx
MIPCC Course Templates
• Several different courses and disciplines
• Pick and choose what will work for you
• Focus on learning objectives and outcomes for
students
• Available online at www.aacc.nche.edu/mipcc
MIPCC Faculty Reflection
• “I found that having a topic to work toward enhanced my
class and was well worth any extra time on my part. My
goals for this project were for students to learn the
pitfalls and benefits of survey research. Each student
contributed to our knowledge base. I could not have
asked for better collaboration. I would strongly suggest
to all stats instructors to incorporate service learning
into your course. It brings the course to life so much
more than having students gather data on random
topics.”
- Kari Taylor, Mesa CC Statistics Instructor
MIPCC Student Reflections
• “I now have resources to help someone who
has issues or questions.”
• “[The project] helped bring real-life events
into our learning.”
• “The survey really made me think about how
making the choice of using or not using birth
control can affect my life in a huge way.”
Replication Tips
• Use popular culture to get students excited about
the topic in their course work
• Encourage students to present in a variety of
formats (posters, videos, music, blogs, skits)
• Don’t reinvent the wheel—use National Campaign
websites for videos, contraception information,
and links to local resources
• Plan a college-wide event for information
dissemination, including student stories
Lessons Learned
• Know your facts up front so that you can present
accurate information to potentially skeptical
administrators, faculty, and students
• Start with faculty who already use service learning
in their courses; expand to others later
• Start with existing service learning partners;
expand after a pilot period
• Be prepared to get embarrassed occasionally
Questions?
Contact Us
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bianca Bennett – bennet63@student.gpc.edu
Mike Flores - r.flores@accd.edu
Andrea Kane - akane@thenc.org
Tamra Ortgies-Young – tamra.ortgies-young@gpc.edu
Gail Robinson - grobinson@aacc.nche.edu
Jodie Vangrov – jvangrov@chattahoocheetech.edu
• Resources and data
www.thenc.org / www.studentsexlife.org
www.bedsider.org
• Course templates and information
www.aacc.nche.edu/mipcc