El Paso Community College
President’s Forum
April, 2006
What is Achieving the Dream?
• Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges
Count is a multiyear national initiative, funded by
the Lumina Foundation, to help community
college students succeed.
• Achieving the Dream (AtD) also includes
research, public engagement and public policy.
• AtD emphasizes the use of data to drive change.
AtD Participants
• Thirty-five colleges in seven states (Connecticut,
Florida, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio,
Texas and Virginia).
• Original 27 colleges will receive $400,000 over
four years to implement strategies for improving
the success rate of community college students.
EPCC Goals for Student Success
All EPCC students:
• Avoid/Complete Developmental Education courses*
• Complete gatekeeper courses
• Complete the credit hours they enroll in
• Re-enroll from one semester to the next
• Earn certificates and degrees
• Transfer to 4-year institutions
*Focus of AtD initiative at EPCC
Current Activities
for Achieving the Dream
Avoiding DE Courses
• Working with school districts
– College Readiness Consortium
– Sharing students data
– Improving transfer of College Knowledge
– Early testing
• Improving the student intake process
• Re-evaluating the placement testing process
Completing DE Courses
•
Re-examining DE programs
– Content
– Alignment
– Sequencing
•
•
•
Upgrading DE labs
Implementing supplemental support
systems
Expanding Title V services
Future Plans
for Achieving the Dream
Future Plans for AtD
• District-wide emphasis
– Self-examination
– Training for faculty and staff
– Best Practices importation/expansion
• General Session
• Math Summit
• Including ESL
• Establishing a culture of evidence
Establishing a Culture of Evidence
• Implementing SAS
– Sharing data with school districts & UTEP
– Providing performance data when & where
needed
• Using internal & national survey instruments to
measure performance
The Community College Student Report
CCSSE’s survey instrument, The Community
College Student Report, provides information on
student engagement, a key indicator of learning
and, therefore, of the quality of community
colleges.
Why is Student Engagement
Difficult in Community Colleges?
Most Students are Enrolled Part-time
60%
Source: IPEDS, Fall 2003.
Part-time Students
Most Students Work
57%
Source: CCSSE 2005 data.
Students who work
more than 20 hours
per week
Most Students Commute
93%
Source: CCSSE 2005 data.
Students
who commute.
Many Students Care for Dependents
36%
Source: CCSSE 2005 data.
Students who spend
11 hours or more
per week caring for
dependents.
The CCSSE Benchmarks
of Effective Educational Practice
•Active and Collaborative Learning
•Student Effort
•Academic Challenge
•Student and Faculty Interaction
•Support for Learners
Active and Collaborative Learning
Active and Collaborative Learning
Through collaborating with others to solve
problems or master challenging content,
students develop valuable skills that prepare
them to deal with the kinds of situations and
problems they will encounter in the workplace,
the community, and their personal lives.
How Did EPCC Rate?
What do you think?
Top Performers Within Their Size Category
Active and Collaborative Learning Benchmark
Chandler-Gilbert Community College (AZ)
El Paso Community College (TX)*+†
Guilford Technical Community College (NC)*†
North Harris Montgomery Community College District (TX)*†
Northwest Vista College (TX)*†
Skagit Valley College (WA)†
Southern University at Shreveport (LA)*+†
Vermilion Community College (MN)†
*denotes minority-serving institutions
+denotes institutions that serve high proportions of first-generation students
†denotes institutions that serve high proportions of academically under prepared students
Active and Collaborative Learning
Strategies at EPCC
•Service Learning
•Borderlands
•Chrysalis
•Learning Communities
Student Effort
Student Effort
“Time on task” is a key variable, and there are a
variety of settings and means through which
students may apply themselves to the learning
process.
How Did EPCC Rate?
What do you think?
Top Performers Within Their Size Category
Student Effort
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Community College of Denver (CO)*+†
El Centro College (TX)*+†
El Paso Community College (TX)*+†
Georgia Perimeter College (GA)*
LaGuardia Community College (NY)*+†
Paul D. Camp Community College (VA)*+†
Southern University at Shreveport (LA)*+†
Spokane Community College (WA)
*denotes minority-serving institutions
+denotes institutions that serve high proportions of first-generation students
†denotes institutions that serve high proportions of academically under prepared students
Student Effort Strategies
at EPCC
The Student Technology Services (STS)
organization at EL PASO COMMUNITY
COLLEGE (TX) delivers quality computer and
technology services to students, faculty, and staff
— and prepares its student employees with
professional and technical skills. STS, which is
staffed and managed by students, has grown from
four to 40 students since it began in April 2002.
Academic Challenge
Academic Challenge
• The nature and amount of assigned
academic work
• The complexity of cognitive tasks
presented to students
• The standards faculty members use to
evaluate student performance
How Did EPCC Rate?
What do you think?
Top Performers Within Their Size Category
Academic Challenge
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
El Paso Community College (TX)*+†
LaGuardia Community College (NY)*+†
Mercy College of Health Sciences (IA)
Sinclair Community College (OH)†
Southern University at Shreveport (LA)*+†
Spokane Community College (WA)
Tacoma Community College (WA)†
Wilbur Wright College (IL)*+†
*denotes minority-serving institutions
+denotes institutions that serve high proportions of first-generation students
†denotes institutions that serve high proportions of academically under prepared students
Academic Challenge Strategies
at EPCC
•The Honors program
•Phi Theta Kappa
•The RISE program
•The Technology Academies
•Service Learning programs
Student-Faculty Interaction
Student-Faculty Interaction
• Discussions with faculty outside of the
classroom
• Working with an instructor on a project
• Serving with faculty members on a college
committee
How Did EPCC Rate?
What do you think?
Top Performers Within Their Size Category
Student-Faculty Interaction
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Austin Community College (TX)*
Dona Ana Branch Community College - NMSU (NM)*+†
Gainesville College (GA)
Guilford Technical Community College (NC)*†
Parkland College (IL)
North Harris Montgomery Community College District (TX)*†
Northwest Indian College (WA)*+†
The Community and Technical College at WVU Tech (WV)+
*denotes minority-serving institutions
+denotes institutions that serve high proportions of first-generation students
†denotes institutions that serve high proportions of academically under prepared students
0
10
Interacted during
non-coursework
activities
total
Gave or received
prompt feedback
60
Discussed ideas
outside of class
Talked about
career plans
20
Discussed grades
or assignments
Used e-mail to
communicate
Student-Faculty Interaction:
epcc
50
40
30
Source: CCSSE 2005 data.
Interacted during
non-coursework
activities
Gave or received
prompt feedback
faculty
Discussed ideas
outside of class
90
Talked about
career plans
Discussed grades
or assignments
Used e-mail to
communicate
Student-Faculty Interaction:
Student Experiences / Faculty Perceptions
80
students
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Source: CCSSE 2005 data.
Support For Learners
Support for Learners
Services targeted to assist students with
• academic and career planning,
• academic skill development,
• and other areas that may affect learning and
retention.
How Did EPCC Rate?
What do you think?
Top Performers Within Their Size Category
Support for Learners
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
El Centro College (TX)*+†
El Paso Community College (TX)*+†
LaGuardia Community College (NY)*+†
Louisiana Delta Community College (LA)*†
Pueblo Community College (CO)*+†
St. Philip’s College (TX)*+†
Sinclair Community College (OH)†
Southern University at Shreveport (LA)*+†
*denotes minority-serving institutions
+denotes institutions that serve high proportions of first-generation students
†denotes institutions that serve high proportions of academically under prepared students
Support for Learner Strategies
at EPCC
• The RAP program
• The PASS program
• Title V Activities
• Center for Students with Disabilities
• The Transfer Center
• Reading/Writing/Math Centers
• Open Computer Labs
• Wireless support for internet use
EPCC
The only community college to rate “High
Performer” in 4 out of 5 benchmarks on
the 2005 CCSSE survey.
Mike Klimansky, a 20-year-old full-time
student, plans to transfer to the University
of Texas at El Paso. He started his work at
El Paso Community College with
developmental courses, and he now is doing
college-level work in all of his classes except
for mathematics.
Asked about his experience at El Paso
Community College, he says, “It is a
blessing to be there, to be able to get my
education.”
Mike Klimansky
El Paso Community College
Source: CCSSE 2006 National Report.
Klimansky credits his instructors and the
college’s writing center and other support
services for his success at the college.
“The way Mr. Casey taught [English]
helped me learn to write essays,” he
recalls. “I learned more from him in one
semester than in all my years of English in
high school.”
EPCC has
many Mike Klimanky’s
and many Tom Casey’s
Celebration
Time!!!!!!
The Best Place to Start