completion & pathways: moving from buzz-words - … conference presentations/completion... ·...

Dr. Rob JohnstoneThe Research and Planning (RP) Group

ACCCA 2013 Annual Conference

Monterey, CA

February 20. 2013

Completion & Pathways: Moving from Buzz -Words to a Student-Centered Approach

Acknowledgements• Much of the content in this presentation was developed

under the umbrella of Completion by Design by a host of national partners in addition to RP, including:• Community College Research Center (CCRC)• Completion by Design Assistance Team (CDAT)• JBL Associates• Public Agenda• WestEd

• The work is also informed by other RP national projects such as the Aspen Prize for CC Excellence and Bridging Research, Information & Cultures (BRIC)

• RP-specific infographics were primarily designed by Greg Stoup, Vice President, The RP Group

Irvine Valley Completion & Pathways Presentation

Agenda• Discuss the context of completion

• Outline the Completion by Design (CbD) initiative

• Visualize the Student Experience• Explore the Loss-Momentum Framework• Analyze relevant completion data• Engage with the principles for redesign


The Completion Agenda and the Completion by Design Initiative


A Brief Discussion on the Completion Agenda• National movement – White House, Aspen

Prize, Complete College America, Dept. of Ed, IPEDS, Access to Success, Foundations (Gates, Lumina)

• California angle: Student Success Task Force, ARCC

• Often takes a less “complete” view of completion

• Need for nuanced view


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

Completion By DesignSignature initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Postsecondary Success StrategyGoal: Significantly raise community college completion rates for most students (focus on low-income students under age 26)Three cadres selected to lead CBD implementation in Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio9 colleges/campuses: 5 in NC, 3 in OH, 1 in FL3 phases

• Planning (12 months)• Implementation (24 – 30 months)• Scaling and Adoption (24 months)

Redesign Systems & Practices for Student Success

� Analyze and understand the common barriers and momentum points that students experience

� Implement and integrate proven and promising practices to provide students with the quickest, straightest path to completion

� Create the conditions for change by empowering interdisciplinary, cross-campus delegations of faculty, staff and administrators

� Build infrastructure for continuous improvement

Intermediate Objectives

� Raise the number and percentage of students who enter a program of study, and shorten the period between when students first enroll and when they enter a program

� Increase completion rates for students who have entered a program of study, and shorten the period in which they achieve completion

� Ensure that academic programs prepare students for a 4-year college or university, and that career-technical programs help prepare students for entrance into and/or advancement in the labor market

The Planning Year (7 months)1. Reviewed analyses around completion data and

request additional ad hoc studies2. Built current pathways for student populations3. Built optimized pathways for student populations4. Identified the gaps between the two pathways5. Prioritized based on areas of highest leverage

and impact as well as integration with existing efforts

• Received ample time, space, and support• Engaged stakeholders through focus groups as

well as numerous planning efforts


The Student Experience


Exploring the Preventing Loss, Creating Momentum Framework


Loss & Momentum Framework

CONNECTION

Interest to

Application

CONNECTION

Interest to

Application

ENTRY

Enrollment to

Completion of

Gatekeeper

Courses

ENTRY

Enrollment to

Completion of

Gatekeeper

Courses

PROGRESS

Entry into Course

of Study to 75%

Requirements

Completed

PROGRESS

Entry into Course

of Study to 75%

Requirements

Completed

COMPLETION

Complete Course

of Study to

Credential with

Labor Market

Value

COMPLETION

Complete Course

of Study to

Credential with

Labor Market

Value

POLICIES

PRACTICES

PROGRAMS

PROCESSES

PROGRESSENTRY COMPLETIONCONNECTION

Students never

apply to college

Students delay

entry into

college

College counseling

patterns that lead

to:

- under enrollment

- little program-

specific guidance

- missed financial

aid opportunities

Unstructured

programs / too

many choices

Extended onramps

delay entry to

programs of study

Students fail to

enroll/pass

Gatekeeper

courses

Poor work-

school balance

Part-time

enrollment

forcing long

completion times

Progress not

monitored /

feedback given

Life events /

“Stop out or

drop out”

Transfer without

credential

Students

accumulate

credits (& debt)

not aligned with

completion

Never complete

college level math

Credential

doesn’t support

needed wage &

aren’t stackable

Completion by Design Framing Model

Some Known Loss Points

Poor academic

preparation

PROGRESSENTRY COMPLETIONCONNECTION

foster college-

going norms in

High School

expand awareness

of college programs

and requirements

dual enrollment

& AP credit

Completion by Design Framing Model

Momentum Strategies

take placement test

in high school

educational

planning in high

school

aggressive

financial aid

support

accelerate entry

to POS

shorter, faster,

cheaper course

design

effective academic

catch-up programs

mandatory intrusive

advising focused on

programs of study

programs to

incentivize optimal

attendance

student progress

to completion

monitored &

feedback provided

accelerated

competency-

based programs

emergency aid

for students

remove

barriers to

graduation

Learn & Earn and

Career Pathway

programs

incentives to

transfer with

credentials

mandatory

intrusive advising

toward certificates

degrees & transfer

First Time

StudentSuccessful

Completion

Discussion

• What are some of the key points of

interaction, either loss or

momentum points?

• Which pathways would you like to

strengthen for your students?

Exploring Completion Data

Based on the work of Community College

Research Center (CCRC) and Davis Jenkins


The Cohort

• First-time-in-college (FTIC) cohort• FTIC Broken Down By Starting Program Level:

– Non Credit Vocational– ESL– ABE– ASE / GED– Dual Enrollment– Developmental– College-Ready– No Placement Info– Other

• Example: FTIC for 2005-06: 3,094 students

2005-06 FTIC Cohort by Starting Program Level

CBD Performance Measures

• 5-year highest educational outcomes: – Certificate < 1 yr.– Certificate ≥ 1 yr.– Associate degree or bachelor’s degree at the

starting institution– Transferred to 4-year institution with award– Certificate, associate, or bachelor's (from

another inst.)– Transferred to 4-year institution with no award– Still enrolled at college in Year 5 with 30+ college

credits

Cohort Outcomes by Starting Program Level

Cohort Outcomes by Developmental Ed Status

Students Need to “Get with the Program”

• To earn a credential, students must first enter a coherent college-level program of study

• Many community college students enroll without clear goals for college and careers

• CCs offer lots of programs, but most offer little guidance to help students choose and enter a program

• Often not clear whether students are actually in a program

Key Intermediate Milestone: Entering a Program of Study

• Concentrator – completes at least 9 semester college credits (~3 courses) in a single CIP program area

• Non-concentrator – attempts but does not pass at least 9 college credits in a single program area

• Non-attempter – does not attempt at least 9 college credits in a single field

Outcomes by Concentrator Status

Outcomes for LAS Concentrators

Outcomes by CTE Concentrators

Discussion

• What do these graphs tell you about completion in the community colleges? What surprised you?

• Have you collected similar data at your college? If so, what have you found?

• Has the concept of programs of study been discussed at your college? If so, in what context?

The Case for Collecting Intermediate Milestones

• While ultimately completion rates are of critical importance, the long delay time to measure them (5 years) suggests a need for intermediate milestones to measure progress

• CBD uses a set of 9 cadre-wide KPIs to measure intermediate milestones

• KPIs are broken out by stage of the Loss-Momentum Framework

KPIs at the Entry Stage

• Percentage of students coming directly from high school that place below college level

• Percentage of students who start below college level and complete recommended remediation within 1 year

• Percentage of students who pass required entry-level math and English within 1 year and 2 years on first attempt

KPIs at the Progress Stage

• Percentage of students persisting fall term to fall term

• Percentage of students earning 12 college credits in 1 year, or 24 in 2 years

• Percentage of students who enter a program of study (concentrate) within 1 year and 2 years

KPIs at the Completion Stage

• Percentage of students who receive a positive outcome within 5 years

• Percentage of students earning excess college credits beyond 2-year degree requirements

• Average number of excess credits

Discussion

• Do you measure similar pathway-type intermediate milestones or KPIs at your college? If so, which ones and what have you found?

• What other pathway milestones / KPIs can you consider measuring?

CbD Design Principles

Extracted from presentations by

Johnstone and Davis Jenkins (CCRC) and

WestEd’s Changing Course

Program Pathway

CONNECTIONFrom interest to

enrollment

ENTRYFrom enrollment to entry

into program of study

PROGRESSFrom program entry to completion of program

requirements

COMPLETIONCompletion of credential of value for further education and (for CTE) labor market

advancement

Enter Program of Study

CompleteProgram of Study

ConsiderCollege

Education

Pathway Redesign Process

CONNECTIONFrom interest to

enrollment

ENTRYFrom enrollment to entry

into program of study

PROGRESSFrom program entry to completion of program

requirements

COMPLETIONCompletion of credential of value for further education and (for CTE) labor market

advancement

• Market program paths

• Build bridges from high school and adult ed. into program streams (e.g., strategic dual enrollment, I-BEST)

• Help students choose program pathway and track entry

• Build prescribed “on-ramps” customized to largest program streams

• Clearly define and prescribe program paths

• Monitor students’ progress and provide feedback and supports JIT

• Incentivize progress

• Align academic program outcomes with requirements for success in further education and (for CTE programs) in the labor market

START HERESTEP 2STEP 3STEP 4

Status Quo Pathway Design(example AA in LAS or Gen Studies)

• AA requirements not aligned with requirements for junior standing in a major at transfer institutions

• Lack of clear pathways to transfer in a major for cc students; many choices

• Students progress toward AA and transfer not tracked; little on-going guidance, support

• No mechanism to inform choice of major pathway

• Dev ed narrowly focused on math and English, not customized to particular paths

CBD Pathway Principles

1. Accelerate Entry into Coherent Programs of Study

� Provide a structured, efficient, and prescriptive student progression experience

� Clear sequence of courses that lead to completion

2. Ensure Students Know Requirements to Succeed

� Ensure students understand assessment & placement process and importance of preparation

� Clearly communicate requirements for degrees & certificates and the path to achieving them


3. Minimize Time Required to Get College Ready� Clearly map out program requirements and sequence

� Prescribe course of study for students based on goals and level of readiness

4. Customize and Contextualize Instruction� Use program-specific content to make developmental

education relevant and engaging

� Use of experiential learning


5. Integrate Student Support with Instruction� Embed student support within instruction where

appropriate

� Ensure student support serves students who most need it

6. Continually Monitor Student Progress and Proactively Provide Feedback� Monitor and celebrate student progress toward goals

and provide prompt and tailored feedback

� Use data on student progress to inform planning and creation of safety nets


7. Reward Behaviors that Contribute to Completion� Potential for monetary incentives to encourage

progress / completion

� Also consider non-monetary incentives such as recognition of progress

8. Leverage Technology to Improve Learning and Service Delivery� Use technology to monitor and celebrate progress

� Use of technology within curriculum

Ideal Pathway Design

• Program learning goals clearly defined and aligned with the requirements transfer with junior standing in major and (for CTE programs) career advancement

• Program pathway well structured and prescribed, with electives only as needed to achieve learning goals

• Students’ progress toward meeting requirements is monitored and feedback/support provided “just-in-time”

• “On-ramps” to help students choose a program of study and customized to accelerate entry into specific program streams

Discussion

• What are some of the key features of an coherent pathway for your students?

• As you think about the design principles, where might you start with action steps that lead you to a more coherent pathway for your students?

Find Out MoreCompletion by Designwww.completionbydesign.org

CONTACTS:

Rob Johnstone, Senior Research [email protected]

Priyadarshini Chaplot, Director of Professional Development and Senior [email protected]

completion & pathways: moving from buzz-words - … conference presentations/completion... ·...

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