State of the
College
Germanna Community College – Fall 2015
From Access to Success
• Germanna and Community Colleges
have focused on the Open Door
• The under-represented are
increasingly well-represented
• But for many students & especially
the traditionally under-represented,
the door is a revolving door or a door
that leads nowhere.
• Focus now must be on SUCCESS
• Degrees & Credentials Leading to
Productive Employment
• Degree attainment after Transfer
• Equity in Success
Increased Diversity in Learners Demands Diversity
in Teaching and Outreach
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Curriculum and Outcomes
Teaching strategies
Outreach strategies
Removal of barriers
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Institutional
Facility design
Technological
Financial
College culture
• Adequate diversity of faculty and Staff
• Role models
• World view
• Individualization
Therefore
• Focus on competencies and outcomes-based design and evaluation
• Use technology to both individualize learning and transform how we teach
and learn
• Close the gap between students’ learning/degrees and needs of society
• Redesign structures to more network-based organization
• Align college roles to future expectations
• Evolve a sustainable financial model
• Assess everything in terms of Equity of Outcomes and Success
• Steal from the Best
Planning 2021
Student Success and Usable Credentials
Planning for 2021 – Context
• VCCS Goal of tripling the number of credentials
• Governor’s emphasis on industry-recognized credentials and workforce
development
• Germanna one of 4 colleges plus one consortium to receive government grant
to produce more industry-recognized credentials
• 100 plus achieved in 2014-15
• 2015-16 Virginia Legislative initiative to fund noncredit credentialing
• National focus on community college student success
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Gates Foundation
Lumina Foundation
Complete College
Federal and State Governments
Review of Planning History
• 2007-08 Mission, Vision, Values & 5 Strategic Initiatives revised or created
• 2009 – Reviewed for Achieve 2015
• 2014 – Public Visioning Sessions
• Culpeper
• Orange
• Stafford
• 2015 February Learning Day
• College faculty and staff visioning sessions
• Mission session
• 2015 Mission review
• Led by College Council
• Approved by College Board in May
Strategic Initiatives
• Developed in 2007-08
• Revised in 2009
• VCCS Goal of tripling credential attainment between 2015 and 2021
• Progress reviewed quarterly at College Council and College Board
• Progress reported to Chancellor
• Next steps
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Presidents Listening Visits up to 50 faculty and staff (begun in August)
Fall Learning Day All-College discussions
College Council reviews and recommends
President’s Council reviews and decides
College Board reviews and approves (January 2016)
Climate Survey 2015
Listening Visits
Summary of what I have heard
What We Are Proud About
• Our mission and how we help the less fortunate
• Our work gives us purpose and creativity
• Of our students and graduates
• Overcoming odds
• Making a difference in our communities and for our students
• Of each other
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Caring faculty and staff – passion for student success
We go the extra mile to help students succeed
We are problem solvers and innovators
The quality of the people here
All the resources and services we offer our students
The right mix of career and transfer programs
We partner with other organizations
“Working at Germanna has been the hardest job I have ever had but has given me the most
satisfaction.”
• “Germanna changed my life when I came here as a student.”
What We’d Like to See Changed
• More staff in certain areas
• More training and cross-training
• Less turfism and fewer organizational siloes
• Some feel we have lost a sense of close community
• Improve communication
• More events that bring all of us together
• Better articulation of military training and industry certifications to credits
• More student activities, especially in the arts
• Find a way to advertise to the under 40s
What We Think Will Help Students Succeed
• One-on-one caring
• Help more students to succeed in developmental math
• More weekend and evening hours for support services
• The team approach works
• Student success coaches
• Have a more diverse faculty
• A class schedule planned further in advance and better coordinated across
disciplines and locations
• General Education woven throughout curriculum: Faculty as a whole take
ownership of gen. ed. outcomes and assessment
Strategic Initiatives
Progress and Review
Become a Learning-Centered college, where quality
teaching and support services foster student learning
and success.
• Student success coaches have improved success rates for at-risk cohorts to be
equivalent to that of “mainstream” students
• Student success rates improving slowly (discussed more later)
• Gladys P. Todd Academy for Underserved Students
• 72% completion for SAILS progress surveys
• New Career and Transfer Center with 2 new FT Counselors and 1 staff
Develop outreach efforts, programs, and services that
fulfill the promise of affordable access to educational
opportunities and workforce development for all the
constituents of our service area
• Signed lease for training space in Caroline County (partially supported by
Caroline County 3 year appropriation)
• Added 6th high school career coach
• Gladys Todd Academy funded by $2,000,000 Doris Buffet donation
• Workforce Development achieving 115% of “employers served” goal
• College Recruiter at Churches and events
• Student Services working with Culpeper Regional Adult Education
• Implementing DoL Veterans Service Demonstration Project
• Diversity Council has developed a diversity plan which has been sent to VCCS
for approval
Develop partnerships and alternative resources to
better enable the College to achieve its mission.
• University of Mary Washington
• Nursing program
• Co-enrollment program
• Caroline County 3 year appropriation for Center
• Gladys Todd Academy funded by $2,000,000 Doris Buffet donation
• Workforce received Federal Grant to reward industry recognized certificate
production
Develop systems of continuous improvement and a
culture of accountability to be better stewards of the
resources and mission in our care
• Successfully implemented new Compliance Assist software for tracking
assessment data and strategic plan progress
• Completed Civil Rights review
• College received several commendations
• College addressed directly or developed a plan to address areas of concern
Invest in people through professional development,
recognitions and rewards systems
• All employee groups received raises of 2 to 4% beginning this month
• Adjunct faculty promotion plan budgeted for $125,000 per year beginning
2015-16
• VCCS task force on planning-based evaluation for administrative faculty
• Implemented pilot for redesigned New Employee Orientation
• Assessment completed for New Faculty Academy with improvements
recommended and being implemented
Student Success
Context and Report Cards
Germanna’s Report Cards (WalletHub)
• 2015’s Best & Worst Community
Colleges Germanna number 217 out
of 670
• Cost & Financing (Cost per student and
faculty salaries) – Germanna number 641
• Classroom Experience (CCSSE) – Number
525
• Education Outcomes (Success and
graduation rates) – Number 105
• Career Outcomes (Return on educational
investment) – Number 23
• CCSSE says their results should not
be used for comparing colleges
• But they are and will be used to
compare
Germanna’s Report Card (CollegeMeasures.org)
Strategic
Measure
Outcome
National Rank
Among
All Colleges
National Rank
Among
Medium-sized
Public Colleges
Percentile
Percentile
Graduation +
transfer rate
34.0 %
28th
36th
First-year
retention rate
85.2 %
67th
76th
Cost per student
(FTE)
$7,248
17th
19th
Cost per
completion
$33,360
20th
8th
Completions per
100 FTE students
22
53rd
79th
Cost of attrition * $0.8m
N/A
N/A
Student loan
default rate
0.0 %
11th
10th
Salary to Cost
Ratio
115.1 %
93rd
96th
* Amount spent by the college to educate first-year degree-seeking students (first-time, full-time) who did not
begin a second year.
Trend
Germanna Report Card
(National Center for Education Statistics)
Germanna Report Card
(National Center for Education Statistics)
Germanna Report Card
(National Center for Education Statistics)
Germanna Report Card
(National Center for Education Statistics)
Germanna Report Card
(National Center for Education Statistics)
Germanna Report Card
(National Center for Education Statistics)
Students Receiving Veterans’
Benefits
College Completion – Chronicle of Higher Education
We have since
moved into the
middle
College Completion – Chronicle of Higher Education
College Completion – Chronicle of Higher Education
Planning for
Success
The next 5 years
Three Big Efforts
1. Guided Pathways (versus the shapeless river)
2. Starting right – The first 5 courses
3. Incentives to success
- Combined with other efforts in a system of integrated
processes and practices and supported by a culture
devoted to student achievement and success
- Three concurrent sessions to explore further and develop task forces
How do we know?
• Community College Research Center
• Aspen Institute
• Complete College America
• Indiana Commission for Higher
Education
• Center for Community College Student
Engagement
• Completion by Design
• Lumina Foundation
• Achieving the Dream
• Carnegie Foundation
• Learning Works
Impatient Optimists –
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Four Solutions We Believe In:
1. Financial aid that makes college affordable for students with the most need
and promotes both access and success.
2. Pathways that guide all students to a certificate or degree, regardless of
how or where they began their education.
3. Technology that personalizes learning and helps students navigate the path
to a certificate or degree. We believe that technology cannot replace the
human element of higher education but can enrich it.
4. Information that empowers students to make decisions about where and
how they attend college, educators to identify students who need help and
gauge how best to support them, and policymakers to determine how to
target limited public resources toward student success.
Among Germanna’s Many Strengths
- Dedicated faculty and staff devoted to student success
- Germanna is already more focused course selection
- Excellent Tutoring and Support Services
- Student Success Coaches
- SAILS Early warning System
- Improved SDV & Orientation Program
The Essential Challenge – Not Either/Or
• Help more students attain a useful degree or credential in a reasonable time
without a significant student loan debt
AND
• Help more students find their way to a career that pays well and enables them
to live a good life
AND
• Help more students to transformative and deep learning that leads to a
fulfilling and richer life
AND
• Help more students be productive and involved citizens
Noncredit
Credentials
Efforts to Triple Noncredit Credentials
• Better recording of the credentials already earned by our noncredit and credit
students
• Obtain results from testers or test-takers
• Monies from Federal grant used to build capacity
• Faculty training for now credential
• Expanded Apprenticeships
Navigating the
Shapeless River
Improving Student Success at Germanna
Undecided = At-Risk
• Too many of our students
• Major in I Don’t Know
• Graduate in I Don’t Know
• Transfer in I Don’t Know
• General studies (often undecided)
• 2,163 of our students are classified as AA&S General Studies out of 6,149 total. 35.2% of our
student population (Fall 2014)
Success rates
• Retention Rates (Fall to Spring as well as Fall to Fall) have been steady for last
5 years
• Within 10 years of enrolling at GCC—for both first time in college and transfer
students:
• 34.1% of students will have completed their associates degree
• 22.7% of students will have completed their associates degree at GCC
• 11.4% of students will have completed their associates degree somewhere else
What will be easier with Structured Pathways
• Guaranteed schedule
• Course scheduling
• Faculty advising
The Challenge Ahead
The Challenge Ahead
• Increase student success with no more state resources than we have now
• Assure Equity in student access, success and employee diversity
• Improve our ability to work across department lines AND our sense of being a
community
• Demonstrate with data what we have done and need to do
• Continue to treat our students as people we care enough about to both
challenge and support them as individuals
• Triple useful and usable credentials by 2021
• Hold each other mutually accountable while respecting our differences
Guided Pathways
Lessons from the Aspen Institute
Guiding Students Down the River into the Right
Tributary
Career
Major Major
Career
Program
Program
Program
Broad Pathway
Program
The Aspen Prize
Four Measures of Community College Excellence
High absolute
performance
Learning outcomes
Completion outcomes
Labor market outcomes
Equity in outcomes
Improvement
over time
If our Goals followed the Aspen 4 Measures:
1. COMPLETION: Triple the number of degrees, certificates and industryrecognized credentials by 2012 (VCCS State Goal)
2. LEARNING: Continue to develop as a Learning Centered College so that
students learn what they should and we measure ourselves by what they
learn
3. LABOR MARKET: Improve the success of our graduates in their short- and
long-term employment and in their bachelor-degree attainment
4. EQUITY: Ensure equitable outcomes for all learners regardless of gender,
ethnicity, socio-economic status, and better support the underserved
towards their success
The Aspen Prize
Outcomes of Prize Finalist Colleges
Completion/transfer rates that far surpass the national average
73%
51%
40%
National Average
Finalist Average
Top 3 on This Metric
The Aspen Prize
Outcomes of Prize Finalist Colleges
Exceptional improvements over time in completion
Increase in the number of credentials awarded at Valencia College, 2002-2011
AA, AS/AAS Degrees and Certificates/Diplomas Awarded
7,000
84% increase
over 6 years
AA Degrees
6,000
5,000
Certificates and Diplomas
46% increase
over 6 years
AS and AAS Degrees
4,000
3,000
66% increase
over 6 years
2,000
1,000
0
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
The Aspen Prize
Outcomes of Prize Finalist Colleges
Far greater equity in outcomes than the national average
Three-year completion and/or transfer rates for underrepresented
minority students compared to the national average
59%
44%
34%
National Average
Finalist Average
Top 3 on This Metric
• Brazosport College (TX)
• Santa Barbara City College (CA)
• Santa Fe College (FL)
The Aspen Prize
Outcomes of Prize Finalist Colleges
Exceptional short-term labor market outcomes for graduates
Average salaries of recent graduates compared to the average for all new-hires
in the region (top three performers)
$56,576
$41,548
$31,086
$28,756
$23,211
$20,540
Regional
average
40%
above
avg.
Lake Area Technical Institute (SD)
Regional
average
79%
above
avg.
Walla Walla Community College (WA)
Regional
average
82%
above
avg.
Brazosport College (TX)
The Aspen Prize
Outcomes of Prize Finalist Colleges
Exceptional long-term labor market outcomes
Average salaries of graduates 5 years after graduation compared
to the average for all workers in the region (top three performers)
$77,272
$63,016
$57,044
$46,832
Regional
average
$45,664
$36,803
Regional
average
55%
above
avg.
Walla Walla Community College (WA)
Regional
average
38%
above
avg.
Miami-Dade College (FL)
65%
above
avg.
Brazosport College (TX)
VCCS
Funding
• Annual 2% increase of budget allocation to student
success by self-designed system-wide performance
funding formula
• By 2019-2020 the allocation should be between 12-20%
Lessons from the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence
Themes characterizing the institutions that achieve
exceptional outcomes for students:
1
2
3
4
5
Strong Leadership and Organizational Culture
Guided Pathways to Continuing Education and Well-Paying Jobs
Intentional Focus on Improving Teaching and Learning
Strategic Data Use to Improve Practice and Close Equity Gaps
Partnerships and Structures Aligned to Defined Student Outcomes
Exceptional colleges have comprehensive
strategies for student success centered on clear
pathways:
Build new pathways to
success, including narrowly
defined course sequences,
aligned to what comes next:
workforce and four-year
transfer.
Exceptional colleges have comprehensive
strategies for student success centered on clear
pathways:
Focus support services on
pathways goals
(e.g. career/major counseling,
early alerts, intrusive advising).
Lessons from the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence
Miami Dade
College
Faculty and advisors were engaged to
create new simple degree pathways
for 60% of incoming students.
Result: New default curricula for
five degree pathways that,
together, serve 60 percent of all
new students.
Lessons from the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence
Lake Area
Technical Institute
Structured, cohort-based, blockschedule programs ensure
students stay on track.
Result: 76 percent
graduation rate is among the
nation’s highest.
Structured “Metamajors” - Examples
• Arizona State University
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Engineering, Math, Technology & Physical Sciences
Arts/Humanities/Design
Heath & Life Sciences
Social/Behavioral Sciences
• Georgia State University
• Florida state university
• Austin Peay State University
Structured “Metamajors” - Examples
• Florida Colleges
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•
•
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Arts, humanities, communication and design
Business
Education
Health sciences
Industry/manufacturing and construction
Public Safety
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
Social and behavioral sciences and human services
• Odessa College – Texas
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Arts & Humanities
Business & Industry
Health Science
Public & Consumer Service
STEM
Starting off Right
The First 5 Courses
Valencia Community College
• Valencia’s highest student attrition occurs in the first fifteen credit hours
• “Starting right” will produce significant increases in long-term student
achievement:
•
•
•
•
focusing key resources
thoughtfully designed learning experiences
plenty of good energy
support at the “front door”
• Valencia looked at the “gatekeeper courses” that most students take in their
first 15 credit hours
• Improving success here is critical
Incentives to Success
Financial Incentives
• “Financial aid incentives have many benefits. They simultaneously reduce the
cost of attending college while rewarding positive academic performance.”
• Our Piece of the Pie®, Inc.
• Attending part-time is one of the top 7 risk factors
Truckee Meadows Community College (Nevada)
• Incentive grants to encourage students to attend full-time and graduate
within three years
• Graduation Incentive Grant
• The Graduation Incentive Grant is offered to help students close to graduating, but needing a
little extra help to complete
• Freshman Incentive Grant
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•
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Apply for financial aid and be shown as needy
Must enroll full time, at 12 or 15 Fall, and 12 or 15 Spring Semester credits
Must enroll in math and English during Fall Semester
Have to complete more than two-thirds of their classes each semester
Maintain a 2.0 grade point average (GPA)
The Challenge Ahead
• Increase student success with no more state resources than we have now
• Assure Equity in student access, success and employee diversity
• Improve our ability to work across department lines AND our sense of being a
community
• Demonstrate with data what we have done and need to do
• Continue to treat our students as people we care enough about to both
challenge and support them as individuals
• Triple useful and usable credentials by 2021
• Hold each other mutually accountable while respecting our differences