Texas Completion by Design
June 2012
Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
CBD Panel
Alamo Colleges – Dr. Jo-Carol Fabianke
Dallas Co. Community College District – Audra Barrett
El Paso Community College – Steve Smith
Lone Star College System – Juanita Chrysanthou
South Texas College – Kristina Wilson
What is CBD?
Five year community college reform effort aimed
to help more low-income young adults complete
more quickly and with greater rates of success
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide
nearly $40 million over five years to four states
The largest investment to date in higher
education for the Foundation
Who is CBD
After a rigorous application process, only four grants
were awarded in the nation:
Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas
Lone Star College System is the Managing
Partner for the Texas cadre
Texas CBD Cadre
Alamo Colleges
Dallas County Community College District
El Paso Community College
Lone Star College System
South Texas College
Collective Impact
289,000 Students = 1/3 of
all TX community college
students
State Partners
State Advisory
Board - Policy
Dr. Richard Rhodes, Council Chair
Dr. Armando Aguirre
Austin Community College
University of Texas at El Paso
David Anthony
Raise Your Hand Texas
Rose Benavides
Starr Co. Industrial Foundation
Jo Ann Brumit
Dr. Richard Carpenter
David Crouch
KARLEE Manufacturing Solutions Provider
Lone Star College System
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas
Dr. Curtis Culwell
Garland ISD
Martha Ellis
UT System
Bruce Esterline
The Meadows Foundation
Dr. Rey Garcia
TACC
George Grainger
Bill Hammond
Jack Jones
Houston Endowment
Texas Association of Business
Temple College / Jones & Harrell, P.C.
Dr. Daniel P. King
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo School District
Sandy Kress
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Adair Margo
Adair Margo Art Gallery
Kay McClenney
Richard Moore
Jeff Moseley
Dr. Wynn Rosser
Jeanne Russell
CCLP
TCCTA
Greater Houston Partnership
Greater Texas Foundation
San Antonio Mayor's Office
Ex Officio Members
Dan Branch
Texas House
Judith Zaffirini
Texas Senate
Raymund Paredes
Andre Alcantar
THECB
TWC
•
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Transfer and Articulation
Outcomes Based Funding
Developmental Education
Financial Aid
Assessment/Diagnostics
Progress and Completion Best Practices
The Challenge of
Completion
For Colleges:
Financial


Incentives aligned with
access, not completion
Under-resourced
Innovations tend to be
isolated
Change is hard, even
when the will is there
For Students:
Easy to enroll, easy to
drop out
Many enter without a
clear plan, and need
developmental
education
Lack of confidence,
financial resources and
family support
Question
How can a community
college raise completion
rates for large numbers
of students while
containing costs,
maintaining open
access and ensuring
quality?
Answer
Develop strong completion
pathways, defined as
integrated policies,
practices and programs
designed to maximize
students’ progress
from start to finish.
Gates Foundation
Pathway Principles
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Accelerate Entry into Programs of Study
Minimize Time to College-Ready
Ensure Students know Requirements
Customize/Contextualize Instruction
Integrated Student Supports with Instruction
Monitor Student Progress and Provide Feedback
Reward Completion Focused Behaviors
Leverage Technology to Improve Learning
Supporting Student Success:
PREVENTING LOSS, CREATING MOMENTUM
a system designed for student completion
CONNECTION
Interest to Application
ENTRY
PROGRESS
COMPLETION
Enrollment to Completion
of Gatekeepr Courses
Entry into Course Study
To 75% Requirements
Completed
Complete Course of
Study to Credential
with Labor Market Value
JOBS
How?
Analyze and understand the common
barriers and milestones that students
experience
Implement and integrate proven and
promising practices to provide students
with the quickest, straightest path to a
degree
Create the conditions for change by
empowering interdisciplinary, crosscampus delegations of faculty, staff and
administrators
Build infrastructure for continuous
improvement
Planning Phase
Interdisciplinary, cross-functional
teams
Data Analysis
Target Student Groups
Applied Inquiry Framework
Engagement
Faculty, Staff, Students
Inventory of Promising Practices
Bubble Charts
Priority Strategies
Model Pathways
CCRC Pathway
Analyses
1) College “scoreboard” student completion rates
2) Program of study entry/completion patterns
-Characteristics of concentrators vs. non-concentrators
-Program entry/completion rates by field
-Timing of program entry
3) Pathways of program completers
-Courses most frequently taken by program completers
-“Stacking” of credentials
4) Trends in awards by field (IPEDS)
Student Groups
Target Student Groups
Alamo
DCCCD
EPCC
LSCS
STC
First Time In College (sub-groups)
15,785
9,000
10,432
7,063
2,790
30+ Credit Hours (currently enrolled)
1,843
6,585
1,451
21,829
n/a
Dual Enrollment
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
10,458
Business Concentrators
n/a
n/a
n/a
6,130
n/a
Applied Inquiry
Framework
CYCLE OF EVIDENCE-BASED IMPROVEMENT
Stage 1 – Explore how to improve outcomes
Stage 2 – Gather meaningful evidence
Stage 3 – Discuss evidence broadly
Stage 4 – Use evidence to inform change
Stage 5 – Measure the impact of change
Sample Bubble
Connection
Early Placement
Testing, Prep
and
Remediation
K-12
curriculum
alignment
College-going
culture
Dual
enrollment
Entry
Getting Students
into a program of
study
Mandatory
Orientation
Mandatory
Student
success
course
Aligning programs
and services with
workforce, career
and transfer
pathways
Progress
Mandatory
Education
Plan
Completion
Student monitoring
system (milestones,
early alert, audits)
Accelerating
Students through
Developmental
Education
Streamlining
programs, course
options and core
curriculum
Accelerated
learning
Student
Engagement:
faculty
advising, etc.
Priority
registration;
automatic
scheduling
Automatic
Graduation
Reverse
Transfer
University
curriculum
alignment
Alumni
Development
Packaged
degrees aligned
with transfer,
dual enrollment,
career
Using technology for a comprehensive advising, tracking and degree planning system (dashboard)
Incentivizing completion at institutional and state level: engagement, communication and messaging
Financial Planning and Incentives
Institutional alignment of completion strategies and resources
Top 5 Priorities
Program of Study
(P1, P2, P8)
Alamo
DCCCD
EPCC
LSCS
STC
Cadre Top Five Priorities and Alignment with CBD Principles
Mandatory Advisement & PreEnhanced
Curriculum Alignment &
Assessment Prep (P3, P6)
Engagement
Coordination
Strategies (P3, P7)
(P4, P5)
Auto Degree &
Reverse
Transfer (P6, P7,
P8)
Success course;
Career Pathways
Early student alerts; preassessment/orientation; Mandatory
declaration of a major in the first
semester; intrusive/proactive advising and
monitoring
Professional Development
Ongoing faculty, staff and
student engagement
Accelerated courses; flexible
scheduling; integrated basic skills;
sequencing of core curriculum
Learner Relationship
Management (LRM) system;
Acceptance letter link to
orientation; success course
Faculty Advising
Professional Development;
Use of existing / enhanced
technology
Streamline Core Curriculum
Career; Exploration; LRM;
success course; Informed
Intent
Early student alerts; case management
system; Intrusive/proactive advising
Professional development
Clarifying Core; Streamlining
selections

Success course; Default
Schedule; Core; Guided
pathways
Mandatory Advising; Early Alert; Degree
Audit; pre-assessment orientation
Use of technology;
professional development;
faculty mentoring/advising
Accelerated courses; stackable
credentials; workforce alignment

LRM; Career Skills Interest
Inventory
Redesign Advising; Degree Plans; Career
Skills Inventory; Dual Enrollment
Professional Development;
Use of Technology
Accelerated DE; Integrated
Curriculum Module



Model Pathway
Underprepared,
underfunded, enrolled
part-time
Terry’s
Current
Journey
Stop-out risk
Lucky to cross the finish
line after 5-years
• College placement test
requirements force 3 semesters of
developmental education courses
• Lack of advising leads to
unstructured, part-time enrollment
• Lecture-based gatekeeper courses
create disengagement , boredom,
and surface-level learning at best
• Self Advising leads to extra
courses/excessive credits and
inability to access needed college
supports
• Semester-based learning model
constrains accelerated progression
• Over-enrolled courses and heavy
workload lead her to “stop out” for
a semester
• Loses job and re-enrolls, continues
to struggle
• Graduation fees present financial
and administrative barrier to
graduation
• Lack of career advising leads to lowwage retail work again even after
obtaining a credential
CONNECTION
ENTRY
PROGRESS
• Attends a PS aligned HS with
college prep curriculum
• HS supports student to complete
FAFSA before graduation
• Financial aid enables her to enroll
full-time
• Chooses to begin at a high-quality
community college close to home
at significantly lower cost
• Diagnostic assessment allows for
targeted developmental education
during the summer and
supplemental instruction during the
first semester
• High-quality digital courseware in
gatekeeper courses provides more
diverse and deeper learning
opportunities; results in higher
student engagement and improved
learning outcomes
• Intrusive advising steers her into a
coherent program of study
• Learner Relationship Management
system alerts her when at academic
risk so she can course correct and
enables a useful social network of
support
• Innovative competency-based
learning options allow her to
complete many courses at her own
pace
• Attends a HS without college
prep curriculum
• Confused by FAFSA; family &
school don’t help; doesn’t
complete FAFSA
• Graduates HS and gets a lowwage retail job; delays
enrollment for a year; finally
enrolls in local community
college, but part-time
Undirected and barely
“college ready”
Tale of Two Terrys
• 10th grade
• B-student
• Low-income family
• Dreams of becoming
a teacher
• Starts at a community
college
Terry’s
Future
Journey
Prepared, supported,
enrolled full-time
Academically caught up and
ready to roll
On track in an accelerated
program of study
COMPLETION
• Contextual learning supports career
relevant work experience
• Degree audit system automatically
confers credentials, including a
certificate along the way to the
degree
• Intrusive advising helps her “match”
to the right 4-year institution
A well-connected graduate
in
2-years ready to continue
learning
Panel Discussion
1. What is different about Completion by Design, as compared
to other completion initiatives you have been doing in Texas?
How is it building on previous initiatives/successes?
2. How did you look at the data differently for CBD?
3. How difficult will it be to create a culture where all faculty
and staff see themselves as Completion Advocates? What have
you learned so far from the planning work?
4. What will be the main features of your pathways? How will
the student experience be different as a results of the CBD
work?
Inquiries
Amy Welch
State Director, Texas Completion by Design
Government Affairs & Institutional Advancement
Lone Star College System
amy.m.welch@lonestar.edu
www.texascompletion.com
www.completionbydesign.org