State of the CollegeGermanna 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• Curriculum and Outcomes

• Teaching strategies

• Outreach strategies

• Removal of barriers• 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 2021Student 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• 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• 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 VisitsSummary 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• 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 InitiativesProgress 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 SuccessContext 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 AmongAll Colleges

National Rank AmongMedium-sized Public Colleges

Trend

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.

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 SuccessThe next 5 years

Three Big Efforts

1.Guided Pathways (versus the shapeless river)

2.Starting right – The first 5 courses3.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 RiverImproving 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 PathwaysLessons from the Aspen Institute

Guiding Students Down the River into the Right Tributary

Broad Pathway

Program

Major Major

Career Career

ProgramProgram

Program

The Aspen Prize

Learning outcomesCompletion outcomesLabor market outcomesEquity in outcomes

High absolute performance

Improvement over

time

Four Measures of Community College Excellence

If our Goals followed the Aspen 4 Measures:1. COMPLETION: Triple the number of degrees, certificates and

industry-recognized 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

Completion/transfer rates that far surpass the national average

Outcomes of Prize Finalist Colleges

National Average Finalist Average Top 3 on This Metric

40%

51%

73%

The Aspen Prize

Exceptional improvements over time in completion

Outcomes of Prize Finalist Colleges

Increase in the number of credentials awarded at Valencia College, 2002-2011AA, AS/AAS Degrees and Certificates/Diplomas Awarded

2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-140

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

AA Degrees

Certificates and Diplomas

AS and AAS Degrees

84% increase over 6 years

46% increase over 6 years

66% increase over 6 years

The Aspen Prize

National Average Finalist Average Top 3 on This Metric

34%

44%

59%

Far greater equity in outcomes than the national average

Outcomes of Prize Finalist Colleges

Three-year completion and/or transfer rates for underrepresented minority students compared to the national average

• Brazosport College (TX)• Santa Barbara City College (CA)• Santa Fe College (FL)

The Aspen Prize

Exceptional short-term labor market outcomes for graduates

Outcomes of Prize Finalist Colleges

Average salaries of recent graduates compared to the average for all new-hiresin the region (top three performers)

Lake Area Technical Institute (SD)

$20,540

$28,756

Regional

average

Walla Walla Community College (WA)

$23,211

$41,548

Regional

average

Brazosport College (TX)

$31,086

$56,576

Regional

average

40% above avg.

79% above avg.

82% above avg.

The Aspen Prize

Exceptional long-term labor market outcomes

Outcomes of Prize Finalist Colleges

Average salaries of graduates 5 years after graduation compared to the average for all workers in the region (top three performers)

Walla Walla Community College (WA)

$36,803

$57,044

Miami-Dade College (FL)

$45,664

$63,016

Brazosport College (TX)

$46,832

$77,272

Regional

average

Regional

average

Regional

average

55% above avg.

38% above avg.

65% above avg.

VCCS

• 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%

Funding

Lessons from the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence

Themes characterizing the institutions that achieve exceptional outcomes for students:

12345

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

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).

Exceptional colleges have comprehensive strategies for student success centered on clear pathways:

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, block-schedule programs ensure students stay on

track.

Result: 76 percent graduation rate is among

the nation’s highest.

Structured “Metamajors” - Examples• Arizona State University• 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• 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• Arts & Humanities• Business & Industry• Health Science• Public & Consumer Service• STEM

Starting off RightThe 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• 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