increasing completion – conferring degrees using project … win-win... · ·...
TRANSCRIPT
Increasing Completion – Conferring Degrees Using Project
Win Win Principles Student Success Summit, Sept. 18, 2014
Mott Community College Office of the Registrar • Dr. Chris Engle, Dean of Enrollment, Retention and Registrar • Allen Milostan, Grades and Compliance Specialist
Michigan Center for Student Success • Gail Ives, Project Coordinator/Consultant
The Completion Agenda – Terry O’Banion
The mission of the Completion Agenda is to double the number of students who by the year 2020 earn a certificate, associate’s degree, or transfer to a four-year college or university. “By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world...So tonight I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training...ever American will need to more than a high school diploma.”
President Barack Obama Address to Joint Session of Congress
February 24, 2009
The Completion Agenda – Terry O’Banion
Achieving the 2020 College Completion Goal
• Increase the U.S. College Degree Attainment Rate from 40% to 60%
10 million additional Americans ages 25-34 with an associate or baccalaureate degree (includes 8 million beyond projected growth)
• 3.7 million more high school graduates will become college graduates. • 6.3 million adult learners will become college graduates
The A B C D E’s of an Enrollment Management System • Access • Bridging • Credentials – Certificate Completion
• Degrees • Employment
• Conferring awards on degree completers • Identifying and engaging “near completers” • Reverse Transfer Agreements to fulfill degree
requirements
Project Win Win • Project Win Win is a grant funded initiative to
query “stop-out” students who have satisfied all degree requirements and are “eligible” completers, but had not filed for graduation OR students who obtained at least 50 credits and considered as “potential” for graduation.
• 9 Michigan colleges in Round 1 (2010-2013), 12 colleges in Round 2 (2014-2016)
Process Breakdown 1. Query college records to iden2fy ini2al Universe of Interest
and create master spreadsheet for tracking and notes 2. Submit list to NSC Student Tracker to iden2fy student
enrolled elsewhere, remove matches from Universe 3. Conduct beta Degree Audit, determine “Eligible” and
“Poten2al” groups 4. Communicate with “Eligibles” to award degrees
5. Communicate with “Poten2als” to create comple2on plans
Process Breakdown - Continued Ins2tu2onal decisions needed…. Ø College catalog years to be used Ø Opt-‐In/Opt-‐Out policies Ø Automated vs. manual degree audits Ø Default vs. declared major Ø Waivers, subs2tu2ons, excep2ons Ø Ins2tu2onal funds available for scholarships Ø Credit for prior learning policies Ø Communica2on -‐ Press release, radio, brochure/career focus, web/social media, faculty/staff awareness
Round 1 Project Outcomes 9 Michigan Community Colleges
Universe of Interest: 18,680 Na2onal Student Clearinghouse Match: 6,103 Eligible: 1,323 Poten2al: 6,935 Poten2als missing Math requirement: 1,666 Poten2als missing English requirement: 1,026 Could Not Contact: 2,682 Degrees Awarded (Eligible & Poten=al): 1,087
Lessons Learned • Collabora2on is key • Value of process review/revision • Outreach & advising is labor-‐intensive • Use of student records/reports for data management • Student reac2ons offer insights to college processes • Data can be “messy”, student behavior presents moving targets, staff need strong case management skills
Moving Forward • Target smaller cohorts of students. • Do more frequent reviews. • Conduct audit on most recent program. • Establish effec2ve on-‐going inter-‐departmental processes.
• Inves2gate reverse transfer opportuni2es. • Conduct ongoing student audits focused on comple2on.
• Con2nue address/contact updates • Update Prac2ce Guide -‐ MCCS
Issues To Consider • Why did your ins2tu2on choose to par2cipate in the Project Win-‐Win and what do you hope to achieve?
• What strategies will you use to organize the work at your ins2tu2on?
• What are the main challenges that may be encountered through this process?
• What policy and procedure review and changes need to made to ensure success of this project?
• Who will lead and par2cipate in your project team?
Mott Community College Project Win Win Summary
• Pool – Number of students queried (1229)
• Ineligible – Did not meet Project Win Win requirements (682)
• Eligible Completers – Awarded Degrees (50)
• Potentials – Contacted (497)
Method of Contact - Potentials • Mail – 497 ▫ Response 4 ▫ No Response 493
• Phone - 493 ▫ Response 77 ▫ No Response 416
• Email – 416 ▫ Response 0 ▫ No Response 416
Project Win Win Summary
• After successfully contacting 81 students, 61 students showed no interest for various reasons (Employed, Re-located, Personal, etc). However of the 20 remaining students who expressed interest, 2 enrolled in the Fall, and 2 transferred credits from another institution and have been awarded a degree. Overall 52 students were awarded degrees in the Project Win Win initiative.
Lessons Learned
Communication Limitation of Grant
The communication efforts were not very effective due to the length of time these students were away from the college. Phone calls were the most fruitful, but only yielded 15% of student contact. Lengthy enrollment gaps makes student contact much more difficult.
The largest limitation of the Project Win Win grant was the fact that students transferring to another institution were removed from the universe of interest. These students may have been ideal candidates for Reverse Transfer of university credits back to MCC to complete a degree. Additionally, MCC had no policy on record to award degrees to students who did not apply with a graduation application.
2010-2013
Backlog Initiative
• Upon completion of the Project Win Win grant, the Registrar’s Office applied principles and lessons learned to fill the gap between the grant requirements (2006-2009) through the current semesters (2010-2014). Using lessons learned from the limitations of the Project Win Win grant requirement, the Registrar’s Office included in their review, students that transferred out and reviewed reverse transfer opportunities for students that had at least 50 credits.
Backlog Summary • Pool – Amount of students in
backlog report. (4791) • Ineligible – Students that were
not within 12 credits after review. (983)
• Completer – Awarded degrees. (1117)
• Potentials (2691) ▫ Within 12 credits after review.
(1539) ▫ Reverse transfer – Students
that transferred and may be eligible for degree after credits are transferred back to MCC (1152)
23%
21%32%
24%
PoolCompletersIneligiblesPotentials - Within 12Potentials -Reverse Transfer
Method of Contact Completer Letter Potential Letter
• The completer letter is
congratulatory in nature, celebrating the awarding of the degree.
• The letter provides an opt-out option if the student does not want degree conferred.
• Their letter highlights higher earning potentials for degree holders.
• Two types of letters are sent to
potential students, 1) within 12 credits, or 2) reverse transfer candidates.
• Each letter provides specific instructions on steps to finish the degree, or steps to reverse transfer university credits.
• Both letters discuss the benefits of an associate degree.
Measuring Success - Potentials Potentials – 50+ credits • Send student communication
(2014/3) • Measure success by running
enrollment report to determine if the student has returned.
• Timeframe: ▫ Communication – 2014/3 ▫ Enrollment Report – 2015/3
Potentials -Reverse Transfer • Send student communication
(2014/3) • Measure success by running
degree report to determine if the student has graduated upon reverse transfer.
• Timeframe: ▫ Communication – 2014/3 ▫ Degree Report – 2015/3
Lessons Learned Communication Vastness of Backlog
Phone calls with these students was not a viable option. Therefore we default to letters for communication.
Additionally, MCC implemented a student acknowledgement statement on the Admissions application providing us with the opportunity to review and post degrees upon completion.
The largest limitation of working this backlog was the immense pool of students that was generated. Each student (4791) had to be manually reviewed to determine if they were eligible for a degree or a potential for a degree. We learned that a more routine cycle of review is necessary to avoid large backlog files.
2014 - Current
Ongoing Completion Audit Initiative
The ongoing completion audit initiative is a regular semester process. This process identifies students who have recently stopped attending MCC and their records are reviewed for completion or potential status. This process will be maintained on a semester basis to avoid the backlog cases as experienced previously. This will also assist in communication effectiveness due to up-to-date contact information (i.e. phone number, address, etc).
Ongoing Completion Audits
Semester Ends
Audit of Records
Completion or Potential Status
Communication / Degree Posting
Measurement
Ongoing Completion Audit Fall 2013 Summary
• Pool – Amount of students in backlog report. (363)
• Ineligible – Students that were not within 12 credits after review. (88)
• Completer – Awarded degrees. (99)
• Potentials (176) ▫ Within 12 credits – Within 12
credits after review. (176) ▫ Reverse transfer – Review
after Winter term
27%
49%
24%
PoolCompleters
Potentials
Ineligible
Lessons Learned Communication Manageable Pool
With a more manageable pool of students, the Registrar’s office can choose the most effective method of communication (i.e. mail, phone, email, etc).
With a manageable pool the Registrar’s office is also able to provide a more in-depth evaluation of the record and communicate the specifics of missing degree requirements.
New Policies that will streamline the process: Backlog Report 2010-2013 2014 - Current
Ongoing Completion Audits, done on a semester basis, greatly reduces the volume of degree audits and the workload.
Question and Answers
Contact Information
• Chris Engle – Dean of Enrollment Retention
and Registrar [email protected]
• Allen Milostan – Grades and Compliance Specialist [email protected]
• Gail Ives – Project Coordinator/Consultant