Innovations Conference
Philadelphia, PA
March 6, 2012
» 2007: Admit 1,132 students at six CUNY community colleges
with support from the Mayor’s Center for Economic
Opportunity (CEO)
» 2010: Exceed 3-year graduation goal and funding made
permanent allocation to CUNY by the Mayor’s Office
» 2011: CUNY announces plans to expand ASAP to more
students at CUNY community colleges
» Fall 2007 enrollment across all six CUNY community colleges:
˃ Borough of Manhattan: 249
˃ Bronx: 118
˃ Hostos: 82
˃ Kingsborough: 247
˃ LaGuardia: 208
˃ Queensborough: 228
» Fall 2007 cohort was fully skills proficient at time of entry; 28% had
developmental need when recruited and addressed over summer
» Since Fall 2009, began to admit students with some developmental
need at time of entry
» At least 50% of ASAP students will complete an
Associate’s degree in no more than three years
ready to transfer to a baccalaureate program
and/or enter the workforce.
Support students with:
1.
Gaining and maintaining academic momentum
2.
Developing a connection to the college
3.
Accessing timely and relevant resources and services
Students are better engaged and graduate in a timely manner
˃ Required full-time study
˃ Consolidated class schedule
˃ Cohort design by major
˃ Winter and summer course taking
˃ Dedicated full-time staff at each college
» ASAP Financial Resources:
˃ Tuition waivers for financial aid-eligible students
˃ Free Use of Textbooks
˃ Monthly MTA MetroCards
» ASAP Services:
˃ Case management advisement
˃ Faculty engagement
˃ ASAP Seminar
˃ Academic support services
˃ Career development services
˃ Special programs
ASAP Evaluation
and Key Outcomes
QUANTITATIVE:
» Student-level data from the CUNY Office of
Institutional Research and Assessment and colleges
» Student Surveys
QUALITATIVE:
» Annual Student Focus Groups
» Constructed Comparison Group (using CUNY data)
˃ Entered one year prior to ASAP Cohort
˃ Met same criteria as ASAP students
• Full-time Associate students
• Begin program with 12 or fewer credits
• Not enrolled in College Discovery (program offering similar services as
ASAP)
• New York City residents
• Enrolled in majors offered to ASAP students
• Developmental Education
 Cohort 1: Fully skills proficient in reading, writing and math
 Cohort 2: Allowed up to two remedial courses (in any subject)
ASAP Cohort One
Three-Year Outcomes
Total Enrollment
Gender
Male
Female
Race/Ethnicity
American Indian/Native Alaskan
Asian/Pacific Islander
Black
Hispanic
White
Age Group
18 or younger
19 or 20
21 to 23
24 or older
Median Age
Mean Age
Receiving a Pell Grant*
Income
Admission Type
First-Time Freshmen
Transfer Students
Continuing Students
Fall 2007 ASAP
Fall 2006
Comparison Group
N
1,132
1,791
%
%
45.6
54.4
46.8
53.2
%
%
%
%
%
0.2
10.2
31.5
37.2
20.8
0.2
15.6
26.8
29.2
28.2
%
%
%
%
58.3
22.2
8.5
11.0
35.1
36.1
16.5
12.3
median
mean
%
median
19
20
57.9
$35,008
20
21
67.1
$29,231**
%
%
%
75.2
9.5
15.3
36.9
22.3
40.8
*Based on dependent students only .
**Based on 2007 comparison group's income because income data for 2006 comparison group was not av ailable. Fall
2007 comparison group students met the same criteria as ASAP students but chose not to enroll in ASAP.
Used one-to-one propensity score matching
»
˃
»
Led to large sample loss
Used optimal full matching as final procedure
˃ One-to-many matching procedure
˃ Maintained most of ASAP sample
˃ Conducted in partnership with Metis Associates (external evaluators)
ASAP (Fall 2007)
55.0%
Comparison group (Fall 2006)
54.6%
60%
50%
40%
26.9%
24.7%
30%
20%
10%
N=1,132
N=1,791
N=1,104
N=1,242
0%
Before Matching
After Matching
Statistical Mean Difference = 28.4 Percentage Points, p < 0.05
47.3
50
40.7
45
40
35
30
25
ASAP
(Fall N=1,100
2007)
Comparison group
(Fall 2006) N=1,247
Statistical Mean Difference = 6.6 Percentage Points, p < 0.05
˃ GPA Outcome – no statistically significant difference between groups
(ASAP GPA: 2.50 , Comparison GPA: 2.46)
Graduation Predictors Study
» Research Question
˃ Which variables are good predictors of two-year graduation
• studied cumulative GPA, credits earned in 1st semester, and advisement
meetings in 2nd year
˃ OUTCOME: Two-Year Graduation
» Sample
˃ ASAP students enrolled for four consecutive semesters (N=761)
» Control Variables
˃ Gender, Race, Age, Admission type, Parental education, Household income, High
school average, Regents’ scores
» Results
˃ All three predictor variables significant
• as predictor variable increases so does probability of graduating in two years
RESULT: probability of graduating in 2 years increases by 10 percentage points.
9 meet
16 meet
23 meet
1 SD = 7 meetings
 For every standard deviation increase in advisement meetings during the second year,
approximately 7 meetings above the mean of 16.3 meetings, the probability of graduating
increases by 10 percentage points.
ASAP Cohort Two
Two-Year Outcomes
T otal Enrollment
Gender
Male
Female
Ethnicity
American Indian/Native Alaskan
Asian/Pacific Islander
Black
Hispanic
White
Age Group
18 or younger
19
20 to 22
23 to 29
30 or older
Mean Age
Admission Type
First-time Freshmen
T ransfer Students
Continuing Students
Developmental Students 1
Pell Receipt
Household Income
Dependent Students2
Independent Students
Cohort 2 ASAP
Students
Fall 2008 Comparison
Group Students*
N
429
1,510
%
%
40.1
59.9
38.1
61.9
%
%
%
%
%
0.2
9.8
35.4
37.5
17.0
0.5
16.8
27.6
41.2
13.9
%
%
%
%
%
mean
41.0
18.2
18.4
13.1
9.3
22
33.2
17.8
25.8
15.7
7.5
21
%
%
%
69.5
7.0
23.5
50.5
17.5
32.0
%
%
76.7
84.6
75.8
90.5
mean
mean
26,103
13,050
26,042
11,832
ASAP (Fall 2009)
100%
90%
Comparison group (Fall 2008)
93.9%
85.8%
84.4%
77.6%
80%
66.9%
70%
59.1%
60%
50%
2nd Semester
3rd Semester
4th Semester
ASAP (Fall 2009)
Comparison group (Fall 2008)
76.0% 75.1%
80%
59.9%
70%
60%
43.5%
50%
39.7%
40%
30%
16.4%
20%
10%
0%
Dev. Need(s)
1st Sem
Dev. Need(s)
2nd Sem
Dev. Need(s)
3rd Sem
27.5%
30%
25%
20%
15%
7.2%
10%
5%
0%
ASAP
(Fall 2009)
Comparison group
(Fall 2008)
ASAP Student Survey
and Focus Group Results
ASAP cohort 1
(Fall 2007)
100%
80%
69%
ASAP cohort 2
(Fall 2009)
63%
60%
29%
40%
34%
20%
2%
3%
0%
Graduate/
professional degree
4-year degree
2-year degree
“I wouldn’t be in school (without ASAP)…I learned the sky is the limit.”
~ Cohort 2 student
ASAP cohort 1
(Fall 2007)
100%
80%
ASAP cohort 2
(Fall 2009)
70% 72%
60%
40%
20% 19%
20%
2%
3%
7%
6%
0%
Financial
Resources
Services - ASAP
Advisor
Early
Registration
All Other ASAP
Services
“Tuition and books being paid for really helps because there is less to worry about.”
~ Cohort 2 student
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
98%
Financial resources
Services - ASAP
Advisor
92%
85%
Early registration
64%
Services - ASAP CES
51%
Small class size
49%
ASAP tutoring
Block programming
42%
Multiple
responses
allowed
“Advisors track students academics; they play a huge role. If you have a problem,
you go to your advisor.”
~ Cohort 2 student
My ASAP Advisor Has:
0%
Emphasized the importance of time
management
Made sure they were attending class
regularly
Provided strategies to help deal with
academic problems
20%
40%
60%
80%
70%
28%
66%
30%
63%
Strongly Agree
100%
32%
Agree
“It would be dramatically different without advisors. They know what you need. Without
an advisor, the load would be on you to get what you need. It would not feel as personal.”
~ Cohort 2 student
As a Result of Being in the ASAP Program, I Have:
0%
Come closer to achieving my goals
Inspired by at least one of my
professors
Learned to ask for help
20%
40%
60%
80%
75%
100%
23%
67%
28%
65%
30%
Strongly Agree
Agree
“ASAP has done so many things to change my life…I am overwhelmed by the experience...”
“I’m involved more in college because of ASAP activities. It’s been a great experience.”
~ Cohort 2 students
100%
92%
94%
ASAP cohort 1
(Fall 2007)
ASAP cohort 2
(Fall 2009)
80%
Multiple
responses
allowed
60%
32%
40%
20%
39%
5%
3%
0%
Attend
4-yr college
Work
Other Plans
“ASAP plays a major role by helping me stay focused”.
~ Cohort 2 student
» ASAP provides connection to the program and between
classmates.
“ASAP has helped me to learn how to speak and interact with people. It has opened
doors for me to be free.”
» ASAP encourages success, provides direction, and keeps
students on track academically.
“ASAP provides a roadmap for what you should focus on.”
» ASAP gives students the skills to navigate the college experience
and utilize available resources.
“ASAP tells you where to go, how to contact them, and who you need to talk to.”
» $5 million in additional foundation funds raised to expand
ASAP program and evaluation capacity
˃ Transfer scholarship program for ASAP graduates at six CUNY senior colleges
˃ Random assignment study by MDRC at BMCC, Kingsborough, and LaGuardia
» Fall 2011: CUNY announce plans to expand ASAP to more
students at CUNY community colleges
» Expanding ASAP over the next three years at all
community colleges to 4,000 + students by fall 2014
» 1,500 will be recruited for fall 2012
» Central & college planning teams developing
expansion plans
» Citywide outreach & marketing campaign includes
ASAP graduates
www.cuny.edu/asap