Building a Comprehensive Strategy for Student Success

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Building a Comprehensive Strategy for Student
Success

• League for Innovation
• Reno, Nevada
• March 15-18, 2009
• Draft as of Jan 19
• Dot McGinnes (Florida)
• Debby Harmon (North Carolina)
• Gary Greer (Texas)

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• Dot (Florida)

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Americas Overlooked Asset

• American community colleges largest single
  sector of American higher education (1,200
  regionally accredited 2-year colleges)
• Enroll 6.5 million credit students a year
• Award more than 800,000 associate degrees and
  certificates annually
• The College Board, Center for Innovative Thought
  National Commission on Community Colleges

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American Community Colleges

• Certify 80 of first responders (police,
  firefighters, EMS)
• Produce 50 of nurses and other health-care
  workers
• Enroll 46 of all undergraduates
• 47 African-American
• 47 Asian/Pacific Islanders
• 55 Hispanic
• 57 Native American

The College Board, Center for Innovative Thought
National Commission on Community Colleges
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Underprepared Students

• Many of our students come to us underprepared.
  However, community colleges are critical to these
  underserved populations first generation in
  college, non-traditional, minority, and ESL
  students
• 80 of Floridas entering community college
  students need at least one remedial course.
• 65 incoming Santa Fe College students require
  at least one remedial course

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STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING STUDENT SUCCESS

• How can you, as an educator, help these student
  be successful?
• ACCUPLACER - Provide accurate placement testing
  make certain your student is correctly placed
  in courses!!
• Use your support team to create positive
  communication between your staff and students

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COLLEGE-LEVEL PLACEMENT SCORES FLORIDA STYLE

• The Florida Department of Education establishes
  placement cut-scores for all public community
  colleges in Florida.

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Santa Fe Colleges Academic Foundations Team

• ?Assessment Center
• ? Prep Advisors
• ? Instructional Faculty
• ? Instructional Labs
• Math, Writing, Reading
• ? Additional Tutoring Services Adult Education,
  ESL, and Vocational Success

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CHANGE THE CULTURE

• Take ACCUPLACER test results at face value
• Develop a college-wide positive attitude for your
  remedial/preparatory courses
• Help students and staff alike understand that
  prep courses are a Good thing

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COOPERATION-COMMUNICATION KEYS TO BRIDGING THE
ACADEMIC GAP

• Create a ListServe for front-end staff
• Remind Students of importance of attending
  Orientation - especially first-generation-in-colle
  ge and non-traditional students
• Refer students to your advisement, college
  resources, instructional labs, and other team
  members

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INSTRUCTIONAL FACULTY

• Advisors work closely with remedial instruction
  faculty located in same building
• Faculty refer students to prep advisors - send
  attendance reports
• Both faculty and the advisors refer students to
  instructional labs and other support services

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INSTRUCTIONAL LABS

• Math lab
• Reading lab
• Writing lab
• Adult Education lab

• All of the above services are located in same
  building as testing and prep advisement

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OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES

• Adult Education
• College Reach Out Program (CROP)
• Disability Resource Center
• Displaced Homemakers Program
• Office of Diversity
• English as a Second Language Programs/Labs
• Student Support Services
• Tech Prep Perkins Grant
• Upward Bound
• For more information www.sfcc.edu

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Our Success

• In Academic Year 2005
• Number of Students Enrolled 16,588
• Total Degrees Awarded 3,025
• 66 of completed an Associate of Arts degree.
• 34 graduated with an Associate of Science degree
  or Certificate (vocational)

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SUCCESS!!!

• Our goal and yours is to help our students
  achieve their academic and career goals.

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North Carolina

• Debby

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Clarity is Required
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CA Community College System Study Released 2007

• 60 of students entering CA schools as freshmen
  aspiring to transfer to a 4-yr. institution
  dropped out or lowered their goals after one
  semester
• The transition to the second semester is a
  critical one.

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Educational Persistence by Number of 1st Semester
Transfer-eligible Courses
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Developmental courses and educational supports
are important, but not sufficient.
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Self-belief does not necessarily ensure success,
but self-disbelief assuredly spawns failure.
Bandura
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How can we use assessment to bridge the gap?
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Placement is Critical

• Placement costs for students placed under their
  ability
• Placement costs for those placed beyond their
  ability

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Jills Additional Tuition Cost 44
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Even Higher costs. . .

• Frustration
• Lowered self-esteem
• Lowered expectations
• Lack of persistence

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It isnt only about course selection.

• Teaching more than the discipline.
• Learning style assessment
• Translating college culture
• Believing that students are capable of
  achievement
• Providing care

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Transfer Students

• A major motivator for community college students
  in North Carolina
• Comprehensive Articulation Agreement

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What is the CAA?

• Statewide agreement governing the transfer of
  credits between NC community colleges and NC
  public universities
• Objective smooth transfer of students
• What does it mean to the transfer student?

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• 45 credits (44 gen. ed. core ACA 115) for the
  diploma
• 20 Additional hours for the degree

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Transfer Assured Admissions Policy (TAAP)

• Assures admission to one of the 16 UNC
  institutions
• Admission not assured to a specific campus,
  program or major

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Helpful Resource

• CAA web sitehttp//www.northcarolina.edu/content.
  php/assessment/reports/student_info/caa.htm

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Success Theirs is Ours

• Our greatest accountability is to them.

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Texas

• Gary

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My Aim

• Illuminate the importance of valid cut scores.
• Show how to translate placement score into a
  probability of success.
• Link valid ACCUPLACER scores to student success.
• Show College Board care for Student Success.

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Setting Cut Scores

• NCME recommends that test users monitor validity
  of scores. (www.apa.org/science/fairtestcode.html)
  
• NCME recommends measurement of the relation
  between predictor and criterion that is, the
  relation between placement score and grade in the
  course.
• This is validation.

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Predictive Validity

• Validity means accurate prediction.
• An ACCUPLACER placement score is a predictor.
• An ACCUPLACER Score predicts the probability of
  success in a course.
• Success is a C or better in the course.

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How, for example

• Assemble ACCUPLACER scores and grades.
• Calculate probabilities and correlations.
• Grades can be predicted by placement scores.
• Grades can be correlated with placement scores.
• Generalize findings to future students.

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Validity questions, for example

• What is the probability that a student with
  placement score 80 will make a C or better? .87
• What is the probability that a student with
  placement score 70 will make a B or better? .76
• What is the correlation between ACCUPLACER scores
  and grades? .72

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ACCUPLACER scores and prediction

• ID Gend Grd ACC scr Cbet Bbet ProbB ProbC
• 101 F A 110 1 1 .96 .98
• 102 F A 100 1 1 .90 .97
• 103 M A 90 1 1 .79 .93
• 104 M F 90 0 0 .79 .93
• 105 F B 80 1 1 .61 .87
• 106 M B 80 1 1 .61 .87
• 107 M C 70 1 0 .39 .76

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Correlations and Correct Placements, for example

• CBet Bbet
• Correlations .44 .56
• Correct Placements
• (cut score 70) 90 60

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Valid decisions

• Goal is to Maximize correct decisions and
  Minimize incorrect decisions
• Choose a success target like .50 or .67 or .75
• .5 probability of success .66 p (success) .75
  p (success)

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Valid (accurate) decisions

• Valid decision
• Placing a student into a course who succeeds
  true positive Hit
• Denying placement to a student who would not
  succeed true negative Hit
• Invalid Decision
• Placing a student into a course who will not
  succeed false positive Miss
• Denying placement to a student who would succeed
  false negative Miss

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Student Success - Conclusions

• Examiners should report ACCUPLACER Validity
  statistics every three years.
• Examiners and students are satisfied with
  placements when faculty are satisfied.
• Validity relates to contemporary data-driven
  decisions and cultures of evidence.

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More Conclusions

• Valid ACCUPLACER placements link with
• Student and professor satisfaction
• Re-enrollment in next level
• Smooth transitions and robust articulation of CC
  courses at 4 yr college
• Transfer advice
• Career counseling
• Baccalaureate graduation

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Some Data about FTIC Grads

• An inspection of 4000 gaduates.
• 885 began First Time in College (FTIC) at my U.
• Of the 885 . . .
• 340 took Dev Math, 260 got C or better (76)
• 300 took Dev RDG, 280 got C or better (93)
• 230 took Dev Writing, 195 got C or better (85)
• (These percentages indicate Valid placement!)

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Questions?

• Dot
• dmcginnes_at_yahoo.com
• Debby
• DHarmon_at_abtech.edu
• Gary
• greerg_at_uhd.edu