Engagement by Design : Creating Conditions for Critical Early Student Engagement ICCCA Keynote November 16, 2012

Session Agenda Present rationale for focusing on entering students Provide brief overview of the Center’s work Present relevant findings from the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) describing students’ typical experiences with academic planning and advising Discuss role of policy in strengthening student engagement

The Context  A person born poor in America today is more likely to stay poor than at any time in U.S. history.  Per capita family income in the U.S. has declined 8% since  The U.S., long the leader, now ranks 16 th in the world in college completion rates for year-olds.  By 2018, nearly 2/3 of all American jobs will require a postsecondary certificate, associate or baccalaureate degree. *Source: 21 st Century Commission Report on Future of Community Colleges

The Context Community colleges serve as a gateway to higher education and thus to the American middle class.  In 2010, enrollment reached 13.3 million students in credit and non-credit courses*  Community colleges enroll almost half of U.S. undergraduate students*  Two-year public colleges also enroll disproportionately high numbers of our most vulnerable students* *Source: AACC 2010 Fast Facts

The Completion Challenge 5 The 21 st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges To increase by 50% the numbers of credentials – Diplomas and Certificates – earned by our nation’s community college students while preserving access, enhancing quality, and eradicating attainment gaps. By adding 20 million postsecondary-educated workers over the next 15 years, income inequality will decline, reversing the decline of the middle class.

The Completion Challenge 6 Illinois Community Colleges: State of Engagement

The Completion Challenge 7 The State of Engagement in Illinois Community Colleges BenchmarkP/TF/T Active & Collaborative Learning4553 Student Effort4553 Academic Challenge4554 Student-Faculty Interaction4554 Support for Learners4651

Why is it critically important to engage students early? Some Facts…

The Facts What is… The % of first-time full-time students nationally who are retained to their second fall term? What do you suppose it is for all entering students? Remember, majority of our students are enrolled part-time. What is fall-to-fall retention at your college? 9 53% *Source: ACT 2010 Report on Two-year College Retention

The Facts What is … Percent of entering students nationally who need at least one developmental (remedial) course? Percent of developmental students who enter developmental math and complete the developmental math sequence by three years later % 23%

Percent of new students who earned zero credits in their first term? ~ 20% According to a recent report, only 15% of students who earn no credits in their first term will persist to the second term. By contrast, 74% of students who earn credit in their first fall term will persist to the spring. Source: Clery & Topper 2008 The Facts

On the SENSE survey, entering students say… 79% want to obtain an associate degree. 73% want to transfer to a four-year institution. 59% want to complete a certificate program.

Only 45% … of students have completed a certificate or degree, transferred, or are still enrolled after 6 years. The Facts

Center for Community College Student Engagement National Surveys –CCSSE –CCFSSE –SENSE Related Initiatives –Initiative on Student Success –Identifying & Promoting High-Impact Practices –Initiative to Improve Outcomes for Men of Color

Why focus on student engagement? –Decades of research on undergraduate student learning, persistence, and success (Tinto, Astin, McClenney, et al.) –CCSSE Validation Study –Qualitative research INSTITUTIONS can use student engagement strategies to improve student retention and learning.

The Center Helps Colleges –Assess the quality of their work –Identify and grow successful educational practices –Identify areas in which to improve –Shift the focus to institutional locus of control Also… –Publicly reports data –Opposes ranking of community colleges ranking

SENSE student respondents are…  Enrolled in the fall semester (4 th and 5 th weeks)  Taking a developmental course or a first college-level English or math course  Sampled at the course level to be representative of the entire student population

One thing we KNOW about student engagement… It’s unlikely to happen by accident. It has to happen by design. Students Don’t Do Optional!

The Completion Challenge Can we meet the challenge of increasing by 50% the numbers of credentials – diplomas and certificates – if we continue to hemorrhage students during the first two academic terms? What role do administrators have in helping significantly more students achieve their educational goals? 19

The Survey of Entering Student Engagement: Listening to Entering Students When a student, with knowledgeable assistance, creates a road map — one that shows where he or she is headed, what academic path to follow, and how long it will take to reach the end goal— that student has a critical tool for staying on track.

Opportunities to Create Engagement by Design…Some Examples Major “Check Points” for Entering Students:  First face-to-face contact with college  Academic advising/registration  Orientation 21

First Contact with College: What Entering Students Say 22 Source: 2011 SENSE Cohort Data 72% of entering students strongly agree or agree they felt welcome the very first time they came to their colleges…. But, 25% of respondents said they were neutral. What does this mean?

23 Thinking about your experiences from the time of your decision to attend this college through the end of the first three weeks of your first academic term (Disagree or Strongly Disagree) Academic Advising Experiences: What Entering Students Say

First Contact with College: What Entering Students Say 24 Source: 2011 SENSE Cohort Data Just 24% of entering students report someone was assigned to them who they could go to obtain information they needed. Are there ways to assign students to faculty and staff so they “belong” to someone – especially, transfer students, right? Why?

Career Counseling What Entering Students Say 25 Source: 2011 SENSE Cohort Data Half (50%) of entering students report being unaware of career counseling; and, among those who are aware, just 18% say they have used the service… Do the math: for every 100 new students, just 9 use career counseling prior to or during the first 3 weeks.

26 Academic Advising: Digging Deeper What Entering Students Say A college staff member… …spent enough time with me to help me understand the process of enrolling and attending college—51% strongly agree or agree; 25% disagree or strongly disagree. …talked with me about the importance of completing a certificate or degree—49% strongly agree or agree; 36% disagree or strongly disagree. …explained core courses and other requirements for completing a certificate/degree, or transferring to another college/university—49% strongly agree or agree; 28% disagree or strongly disagree. Source: 2011 SENSE Academic Advising and Planning Special-Focus Module Data

27 Academic Advising Digging Deeper: What Entering Students Say A college staff member… …helped me to understand how much money I am likely to earn through a job in my selected major/career field—32% strongly agree or agree; 53% disagree or strongly disagree. …helped me to understand where (geographic location) I am likely to find employment in my selected major/career field—19% strongly agree or agree; 57% disagree or strongly disagree. …helped me to design a course sequence that showed how long it would take to attain my educational goals —38% strongly agree or agree; 37% disagree or strongly disagree. Source: 2011 SENSE Academic Advising and Planning Special-Focus Module Data

Student Success Courses: What Entering Students Say ItemEnrolled in Success Course Not Enrolled in Success Course Used academic advising: never 27%32% Used career counseling: never 69%63% An advisor helped me to select a course of study, program, or major: strongly agree or agree 63%58% An advisor helped me to set academic goals and create a plan for achieving them: : strongly agree or agree 42%37% An advisor helped me to identify the courses I needed to take during my first term: strongly agree or agree 74%68% A staff member talked with me about my outside commitments to help me figure out the number of courses to take: strongly agree or agree 31%24% 28

Policy: Does it Create the Conditions for Strengthening Student Engagement: A look at orientation and when students register….

What Entering Students Say About Orientation 30 Source: 2011 SENSE Cohort Data

When Do Students Register: What Entering Students Say  Percent of students who report registering during the week just before the first week of class: 12%  Percent of students who report registering during or after the first week of class: 3% 31

Policy: Does it Create the Conditions for Strengthening Student Engagement? What do you think? Is orientation important? Is it designed to connect students to each other and the college? What happens to the students who register just before classes begin? What do you know about them? Do they have the same chance at success or are they already behind?

Rules of the Universe: #1 Every college is perfectly designed to get precisely the results it is currently getting.

Rules of the Universe: #2 If nothing changes, nothing changes.

Redesigning Academic Advising & Planning: What Colleges are Beginning to Do Differently Eliminating late registration – “late” now means 2-3 weeks before classes begin Conducting group advising sessions – optimizing student-student and advisor-student engagement Mandating orientation Using students to help advise and “keep tabs” on students during their first term Bringing academic advising and planning into the classroom

Academic Advising & Planning: Suggestions for Redesigning Advising Systems & Processes Apply ingenuity in designing group approaches. Reality is fiscal constraints will not allow hiring large numbers of new advisors to implement traditional one-on-one model. Unpack advising into its crucial component parts. Design each of critical advising functions as a continuing chronological process. It is, a process, not an event. Design from students’ point of view. What advising is needed, at what point in time, available from whom and through what medium?

Academic Advising & Planning: Suggestions for Redesigning Advising Systems & Processes Analyze academic advising components to match delivery mode – online, face-to-face, both – and deploy human resources effectively. Understand this: Students don’t know what they don’t know. Help students understand why institution mandates certain experiences. Students enroll expecting to do well and they trust college staff and faculty are experts. Act on this axiom: “Students don’t do optional!” Data show the traditional referral model falls way short. Integrating a comprehensive, continuing, and inescapable advising experience into “what it means to go to college here” is essential.

Angela Oriano Associate Director, College Relations Center for Community College Student Engagement

Students Speak — Are We Listening? Bringing data alive through student voices…