Advancing Student Success in theCalifornia Community Colleges

Presentation to the American Association of Community CollegesApril 2013

OurCommunity

• Serving 2.4 Million Students

• 20% of all U.S. Community College Students

• 112 Colleges and 72 Off-Campus Centers

Keep you safe ~80% of firefighters, EMTs and police officers are trained at our colleges

Fueling California’s WorkforceOur graduates and certificate earners:

Keep you healthy ~70% of California nurses are educated at community colleges

Innovate ~48% of UC bachelor’s degree holders in STEM majors transferred from a community college

• 28% of UC graduates and 55% of CSU graduates start at a community college.

Transfer Mission

High Returnon Investment

• Californians with a degree will earn $1.3M more than with a high school diploma.

• For every $1 California invests in a college graduate, it receives a net return of $4.50.

• Californians with an associate degree nearly double their earnings in three years.

California and the U.S. Need More College-Educated

Workers

• Business leaders say hiring and retaining a qualified workforce is a daunting task.

• In 2009, the Public Policy Institute of California estimated that by 2025 California will be short 1 million college degree and certificate holders.

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that jobs requiring an associate degree will grow by 19% through 2018 – twice the rate of jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree.

Shrinking Budget vs. Growing Demand

• Funding for community colleges has been cut $1.5 billion

• Enrollment has decreased by more than 600,000 students (more students than currently attend all CSU campuses)

• Demand has soared, with workers seeking retraining, record numbers of high school graduates, veterans returning and students being shut out from UC and CSU

Over the past four years…

• Recession substantially reduced resources. 47% of students cannot enroll in needed classes, compared to 28% nationwide

• Low completion rates. Of the 77% of students who begin below transfer-level, only 41% ever achieve a certificate, degree, or transfer preparation

• If we are forced to ration education, shouldn’t we do it rationally?

Need for policies and practices that ensure student success

Student Success Task Force

• In January 2011, the California Community Colleges Board of Governors established the Student Success Task Force

• Task Force Goal: Examine best practices and models for accomplishing student success and present recommendations

• Task Force Composition: 20 members from diverse internal and external stakeholders groups

• Improve educational outcomes and workforce preparedness and close achievement gaps for historically underrepresented students

• Decrease time it takes students to earn a degree, certificate and/or transfer

• Save students and taxpayers money through efficiencies

The Student Success Initiative will…

A Bold Plan for Refocusing on Student Success

Task Force Recommendations Overview

Comprehensive plan to improve the System’s capacity to serve students:

• Rebalance priorities within the community college system to better focus on the core missions of workforce preparation and transfer, while protecting access

• Make community colleges more responsive to the needs of students and the economy

• Increase student success rates for certificate and degree completion and transfer to four-year institutions

Re-Thinking How We Serve Students toPromote Success for All

• Identify and close equity & achievement gaps: • Scorecard & Student Equity Planning

• Triage services based on student needs• Broader approach to service delivery:

• Pre- and post-enrollment services & supports, “just in time,” and intrusive services

• Supports for at-risk students• Re-thinking student assessment– moving towards

a more holistic approach based on a multiple measures & assessment of college readiness

Re-Thinking How We Serve Students toPromote Success for All

• Improving communication to students on college expectations and strategies for student success in college

• Early career and education goal planning – exploration of career interests (pre-application, pre-enrollment, and post-enrollment)

• Declaring program of study and creating student education plan (initial & comprehensive)

• Strengthen links with community groups and other partners: K-12, local workforce agencies, etc.

Eight Areas of Focus

1. Increase college and career readiness2. Strengthen support for entering students3. Incentivize successful student behaviors4. Align course offerings to meet student needs5. Improve education of basic skills students6. Revitalize and re-envision professional development7. Enable efficient statewide leadership and increase

coordination among colleges8. Align resources with student success recommendations

Putting Recommendations into Action

• Task Force made 22 specific recommendations• Action has been taken on 20 of the

recommendations• Mix of implementation methods: Statutory

and regulatory changes, adoption of best practices

Student Success Act of 2012

• The Student Success Act of 2012, Senate Bill 1456, signed into law in September 2012

• Targets funding to core services of orientation, assessment, counseling/advising to assist students with development of education plans

• Focuses on helping new students define goals and get on track to achievement

• Mandates assessment, orientation, and education planning

• Requires students to declare a course of study• Targets student support services funding

model• Sets minimum academic standards for state

financial aid• Establishes Student Success Scorecard at all

colleges

Key Provisions

Other Approaches to Incentivize and Support Goal Completion

• Statewide enrollment priorities that reward students for use of services and academic progress

• More creative approach to service delivery to improve effectiveness and efficiency

• Integrating institutional student success and student equity planning to address achievement gaps

Student Success Scorecard

• Builds on previous accountability system and continues to measure “high-order” outcomes: Degree, Certificate, Transfer• Also measures “momentum points”• Focuses on institutional progress, rather

than comparison with other colleges• Expands populations measured• Data broken down by race, ethnicity,

gender, age group, and level of college preparation

Implementing the Scorecard

• Accountability Advisory committee met January through June 2012

• Created new and expanded data definitions• Refined focus on final outcomes and

significant momentum points• Simplified levels of reporting and identified

proper reports for different audiences

The Reporting Triangle

The Scorecard

• Went live second week of April• 30,000 clicks in first two days• http://scorecard.cccco.edu

Student Success Scorecard homepagehttp://scorecard.cccco.edu/scorecard.aspx

Statewide tab

Student Success Initiative homepagehttp://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/PolicyInAction/StudentSuccessInitiative.aspx

Thank you.