Department of Legislative Services Office of Policy Analysis Annapolis, Maryland Implementation of the College and Career Readiness and College Completion Act of 2013 (SB740) College Completion Initiatives December 1, 2015

College Completion Goal College Completion Goal: At least 55% of the State’s residents age 25 to 64 years old will hold at least an associate’s degree by The College and Career Readiness and College Completion Act of 2013 (SB740) codified this goal. This would be a 10.6 percentage point increase or 24% increase from 2009 when 44.4% of individuals between 25 to 64 years old held an associate’s degree or higher. Institutions will need to award approximately 51,000 degrees annually to meet the goal. 1

Progress Toward Maryland’s 55% College Completion Goal Note: Four-year institutions include Associates degrees awarded to active military by the University of Maryland University College. Source: Maryland Higher Education Commission, Data Book 2010 and

College Completion Goal (cont’d) Maryland ranks eighth in the nation for degree completion, with 46% of 25 to 64 year olds having at least an associate’s degree in However, four of Maryland’s ten competitor states (Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Virginia) have a higher rate. 3

Higher Education Elements of Senate Bill 740 Dual Enrollment Opportunities Degree Plans and Pathways and Academic Advising Statewide Transfer and Reverse Transfer Agreements Statewide Communication Plan for Near Completers 4

Dual Enrollment: Tuition and Costs The Act established tuition arrangements between county boards of education and public institutions of higher education; mainly community colleges. Tuition and fee requirements from the Act and MOU executed between each local school system and the local community college: −an institution may not charge a Dual Enrollment (DE) student tuition; −a local school system must pay the institution a percentage of tuition, based on the number of courses the student takes; −a local school system may charge a DE student a fee of up to 90% of covered costs, after consideration of a student’s ability to pay; and −a local school system may not charge a fee to students who are eligible to receive free and reduced-price meals (FRPM). Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) reports that many institutions have: −discounted tuition for DE students beyond the statutory requirements; and −sought private and community funding to pay for books and associated course fees for FRPM students. 5

6 Dually Enrolled Students at Community Colleges in the State CollegesFall 2013 Spring 2014 Fall 2014 Spring 2015 % Change Fall % Change Spring Allegany College of Maryland %158% Anne Arundel Community College %13% Baltimore City Community College NA27% Carroll Community College %2% Cecil College %57% Chesapeake College %15% College of Southern Maryland %28% Community College of Baltimore County % Frederick Community College %-11% Garrett College %-18% Hagerstown Community College %14% Harford Community College %-56% Howard Community College %20% Montgomery College %9% Prince George’s Community College % Wor-Wic Community College %51% Total4,3084,2095,1615,013 20%19% Source: Maryland Association of Community Colleges and Academic Years

Dual Enrollment: Challenges MHEC identified several challenges to be addressed: 1)coordination of a statewide dual enrollment outreach campaign to make all students and parents aware of dual enrollment opportunities; 2)determine whether college credit should be equivalent to high school advanced placement courses; 3)determine whether college courses taught on a high school campus should be accepted at other institutions for postsecondary credit; and 4)determine whether non-credit certification courses that are part of a Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculum should be included in a dual enrollment program. 7

Degree Plans and Pathways and Academic Advising Degree Plans Requirements: student enrolled in a public four-year institution must file a degree plan with the institution before earning 45 credits; transfer students with at least 45 credits must submit the plan during their first semester; degree-seeking student at community college must submit plan on entering the institution; and plans must be developed in consultation with an academic adviser in the student’s degree program, if available, or with any of the institution’s academic advisers. Implementation: All two- and four-year institutions have implemented advising practices and systems incorporating degree completion plans for all students. Most institutions are moving towards providing electronic degree planning systems that allow students to plan and maintain their plans with the college student information data system. 8

Degree Plans and Pathways and Academic Advising (cont’d) Degree Pathways Requirements: development of a pathway system with graduation progress benchmarks by institution; benchmarks specify the credit and course criteria that indicate satisfactory progress to a degree; first-time degree-seeking students required to take credit-bearing mathematics and English general education courses within the first 24 credit hours of study; and students in danger of falling behind required to consult with an academic adviser. Implementation: All institutions have developed degree pathways and a majority have implemented online systems for students, along with electronic degree audit systems that track and monitor student progress. Institutions providing training for faculty and staff advisors and use of tools. 9

Statewide Transfer Agreements The Act set a State goal that community college students earn an associate’s degree before transferring to a four- year institution: The Act requires MHEC to develop and implement a statewide transfer agreement by July 1, The statewide transfer agreement must allow for at least 60 credits of general education, elective, and major courses that a student earns at a community college in the State to be transferrable to any public four-year institution in the State toward a bachelor’s degree. 10

Articulation of Credits Maryland’s online articulation data system (ARTSYS), which currently communicates the transferability of courses among the segments of higher education, is owned and operated by the University System of Maryland (USM). Under the Act, the Segmental Advisory Council (SAC) of MHEC must review ARTSYS and report regarding potential improvements, the feasibility of other articulation data systems, and if recommending the adoption of an alternative system, the cost and schedule of implementation of an alternative system. In October, 2014, a report coordinated by MHEC (under the auspices of the Student Transfer Advisory Committee) and USM recommended that Maryland continue to use ARTSYS rather than an alternative system and that ARTSYS be expanded and enhanced. This same workgroup is currently examining: an analysis of gaps and deficiencies in the articulation of academic course equivalencies; and an expansion of policies and practices to maximize degree credit transferability in a cost- and time-efficient manner. 11

Community College Transfer Students Data Among 145,085 students enrolled in community colleges in 2012, 12,205 (8%) transferred the following year. Of these transfer students, 9,875 (81%) transferred to a public four-year institution in Maryland. 12

Transfers from Community Colleges to Public Four-year Institutions 2009 Compared To

Transfers Received by Public Four-year Institutions from Community Colleges 2009 Compared To Source: Maryland Higher Education Commission

Reverse Transfer Agreements Reverse transfer is available to a student in good academic standing who completes at least 15 credits at a community college, then transfers to a Maryland four-year institution prior to attaining a degree. Students may then transfer additional credits earned at the four-year institution back to the community college where the student was previously enrolled to earn the associate’s degree. The Act requires MHEC to develop and implement a statewide reverse transfer agreement, whereby at least 30 credits that a student earns at a public four-year institution toward a bachelor’s degree are transferrable to any community college in the State, by July 1,

Reverse Transfer Agreements (cont’d) Maryland’s reverse transfer program began in 2012, while being piloted as the Associate Degree Award for Pre-Degree Transfer Students and focused on community colleges. The program was expanded in 2013 with support through the national Credit When It’s Due (CWID) initiative to include four-year institutions. Since the initial pilot in 2012, over 800 reverse transfer degrees have been awarded. Twelve Maryland institutions currently have CWID sub- grants. 16

Financial Incentives for Transfer Students The Act requires MHEC and each public institution of higher education in the State to create incentives for students to obtain an associate’s degree before transferring. Chapter 339 of 2014 established the 2+2 Transfer Scholarship for those students who complete a degree before transferring to a four-year institution. The scholarship provides an annual award of $2,000 for students enrolled in a STEM major or nursing program, and $1,000 for other majors. The amount of scholarships made available during the Fall of 2015 will be $200,000. Other financial incentives are decentralized at institutions of higher education: Morgan State University (Parren J, Mitchell Honors Scholarship and Transfer Incentive Program); Coppin; Frostburg; UMUC (Completion Scholarship); UMBC (Transfer Student Alliance); and UMCP (Transfer Advantage Program). 17

Near Completers In collaboration with institutions of higher education, the Act required MHEC to create a statewide communication campaign to identify near completers and encourage them to reenroll to earn a degree. Further, MHEC is required to focus on near completers who earned a minimum GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale and earned at least 45 credits at a community college or at least 90 credits at a public four-year institution, before leaving the institution. The communication campaign is required to: –make use of a variety of marketing media, such as billboards, brochures, and electronic resources; –provide a centralized contact point for near completers to get information about and assistance with reenrolling; and –make contact information for each institution readily available. MHEC was also required to develop and implement a plan that would provide an incentive to near completers to reenroll and to institutions to identify and graduate near completers. 18

Near Completers: One Step Away Grant Program The One Step Away grant program, which predates the Act, authorizes MHEC, in collaboration with the Motor Vehicle Administration, to work with institutions to help identify and contact near completers. Through this program, MHEC provides sub-grants to institutions for targeted initiatives to encourage near completers to reenroll and graduate. The most recent round of grants was awarded in July 2014 for a 24 month period. Institutions may be awarded up to $75,000 and must provide in-kind or matching funds in an amount equal to at least one- third of the total project cost. Since fiscal 2013, grantees (15 institutions) identified 5,489 near completers, re-enrolled 452 of these individuals, and awarded 223 associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. 19

Near Completers (cont’d) In its December, 2013, report, MHEC suggested the following costs for implementation of the near completer communication campaign: 20 FY 2015FY 2016FY Contractual Grant Funded Positions Conversion to 2 Regular Positions* $120,000$123,600$127,308 Communication Campaign$750,000 Incentive (to include OSA)$1,000,000 OSA: One Step Away Grant Program *3% increase each year

Near Completers (cont’d) MHEC has received $250,000 annually in State funds to implement One Step Away, but has not received any funding to carry out other aspects of the near completer communication campaign. Therefore, the identification and outreach to near completers remains decentralized in Maryland, contrary to the legislative intent of the campaign. 21