Poster – Assessed Programmatic Approaches Session
General Information:
Program Chair: Yes
Session Topic: Using assessment to explore first-year programs at community colleges
Session Title: Creating Bridges at the Community College in a New Economy
Institution: Oakland Community College
Institution Affiliation: Public
Institution Type: Two-year
Institution Enrollment: More than 20,000
Special Serving Institution: No
If other, please specify:
Position Title: Faculty and Department Chair
First Name: Christine
Last Name: Francis
Address: 27055 Orchard Lake Road K 114
City: Farmington Hills
State: MI
Zip: 48331
Country: United States
Phone: 248-522-3437
Fax: 248-522-3434
E-mail: ccfranci@oaklandcc.edu
Biographical Sketch of Program Chair:
Christine Francis has been a faculty member and department chair at Oakland Community College for 16
years. She has a B.A. in Speech/English and M.Ed. in Reading/English from Wayne State University. She
is actively involved in college wide committees, and first-year initiatives. She is a frequent conference
presenter.
Audio/Visual Equipment Needed:
No AV Needed
Session Abstract:
With 20% enrollment increase resulting from new economic challenges, a more diverse, broader range of
learners now attend Oakland Community College. Some pursue new careers or skills; others try to save
money otherwise spent at higher-priced institutions. Our first-year student population has clearly
changed.
This reality challenges us to look more closely at our first-year programs and services. Over ten years of
assessment results will be shared highlighting what we have learned and questions still unanswered.
Evidence of Assessment:
For over ten years we have systematically investigated and assessed programs and services offered to
students at our five-campus community college. In this session, qualitative and quantitative research
conducted at the Orchard Ridge Campus will be presented. Assessment measures were created to help
better understand the why and how of what we do so as to provide academic support for a new, broader
range of learners, many of whom are first-year students. The results obtained have been practical and
shared with the college community.
Many first-year initiatives are attached to Academic Support Centers whose programs provide a snapshot
of learners and their academic needs. As a result, programs were intentionally developed. Paired
courses have expanded, in-class literacy tutors are offered regularly in developmental courses, and SI
and content tutors have proliferated. FYE course options are now offered, and new student
orientation/ambassador programs have emerged.
Specific program data (e.g. SI) includes end-of-course surveys reflecting (on average) over 900 student
responses each semester. Collected data addresses relevance and usefulness of student participation in
campus programs. Specific questions relate to academic growth, learning confidence, connectedness to
peers and resources, and re-enrollment.
At Oakland Community College, we are deeply committed to provide excellent programs and understand
that action research and ongoing assessment must continue so as to create relevant, sustainable learning
opportunities for all students -- particularly this new diverse population of first-year students.
Detailed Summary:
Oakland Community College, a large five campus system, has had an 18% increase in enrollment this fall
for a total of 28,000 full and part-time students. Students have enrolled for 200,000 credit hours. This
increase has occurred in part because of new economic challenges in Michigan that have pushed
enrollees to our community college to train for new careers, retool skills, or save money that would
otherwise be spent at higher-priced four-year institutions.
At OCC there is an institution-wide commitment to student learning; in fact, the Mission Statement reads
“Learning is our only priority.” While this statement boldly speaks to institutional change and initiatives,
we are now addressing new questions about the learning support programs and services that must now
be made available for a more diverse, broader range of learners -- many of whom are first-year students.
Over the past ten years, both quantitative and qualitative assessments of our core programs including SI
and CRLA-trained tutors have provided invaluable insight into the effectiveness of our services for firstyear students. Emerging programs such as new student orientation, student ambassadors, along with
increased section offerings of paired courses continue to be developed and integrated into our college
culture.
However, new questions regarding learning support for a broader range of first-year students have
arisen. These questions still need to be addressed:
•
What more can be done institutionally to create an environment of student/instructional
readiness?
•
How can we know that cognitive and behavioral changes have occurred?
•
How can program effectiveness be gauged? Are current measures sufficient? Will more need to
be developed?
•
How can programs and services be modified to serve a wider range of first-year learners from
developmental to advanced?
•
What can be done to maximize outcomes of existing programs?
•
What are the missing links?
•
Which best practices should be put into place to create positive outcomes in future challenges?
In this poster session, over ten years of assessment results will be shared highlighting programs and
services unique to the environment of a community college. A model will be presented that showcases
Oakland Community College’s intent to create a bridge for a very diverse population of first-year students
from assessment to college success.
Implications for Institutional Improvement or Advancement:
When designing the components of our community college first-year programs, we relied on current
research to determine where we would put our emphasis. Specifically, we looked at active involvement,
social integration, and personal meaning – all challenges in the community college environment. With
core programs such as SI and CRLA-trained tutoring in place, we began our own action research to
determine what was working and what areas we need to continue developing especially with the
emergence of a more diverse, broader range of learners.
Our research has suggested the following:
•
Students that take advantage of Academic Support Center programs and services report greater
success in their first-year course work, feel more connected to the college, and are more likely to register
for second-year courses.
•
Students enrolled in paired courses in our developmental education math and English courses
show greater retention rates and higher grade-point averages than those attending non-paired courses.
•
Students enrolled in our traditional FYE courses and developmental paired courses report feeling
more connected to their faculty and peers than non-participating students.
•
Having current students involved in our new student orientation program greatly increases the
amount of positive feedback received from participants.
Additional Presenters:
Yes
Presenter 1
First Name: Lisa
Last Name: Nemitz
Title: Faculty
Institution: Oakland Community College
Address: 27055 Orchard Lake Road
City: Farmington Hills
State: MI
Zip Code: 48331
E-mail Address: ldnemitz@oaklandcc.edu
Phone: 248-522-3552
Country: United States