Student Success at the Beach Update Nov 15,

CSULB’s Academic Purpose “To graduate students with highly-valued degrees” = Our degrees are valued by faculty, students, graduate schools, employers, the community We support students all the way to completion and

Value of CSULB degrees is increasingly recognized

Access to Success and Graduation Initiative National: Access to Success – Natl. Assn. of System Heads &The Education Trust – 24 public higher education systems CSU: Graduation Rates Initiative – Goals: Raise freshmen 6-year grad rates 8% by 2016 Cut in half achievement gaps for under-represented minority (URM) students CSULB: Highly Valued Degrees

Why Focus on Completion? I: Global Competitiveness US – ranks 14 th in college completion with about 42% of year olds (OECD, Table A1.3a, Education at a Glance, 2012) Korea – ranks 1 st with about 65%, up from 12% in older generation (OECD, Table A1.3a, Education at a Glance, 2012) US demographic trends add to challenges in meeting skilled employment needs US cannot meet baccalaureate degree goals without the CSU President Obama: In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity -- it is a prerequisite.

Why Focus on Completion? II: Delays cost current students Additional Tuition and Fees – 3,369 to 4,062 per semester! Loss of financial aid – Limits: Pell, 12 semesters (new); Cal Grant, 4 yrs; SUG 150 units (new) Additional financial aid debt after completion Delay entering graduate school = delayed career Delay in entering jobs = lost earnings

Why Focus on Completion? III: Delays deny opportunities We cannot admit new students while current students are taking spaces Delays impact prospective student opportunities Budget crisis has made this much worse

The Great News! Highest Ever CSULB Grad Rate

CSULB Freshman Continuation and Graduation Rates

More Great News: Highest Ever Transfer Grad Rate

CSULB Transfer Continuation and Graduation Rates

CSULB’s Graduation Rate Exceeds Predictions Actual current rate 56.6% Comparison and Predicted rates: – 42% (2010 Ed Trust data, 2004 freshman cohort, 43 institutions >10,000 UG FTE, >35% Pell, <$21,000 E&G (CSULB E&G = 11.5k; average of 43 E&G = $15k) – 46% (Predicted using linear multiple regression, 2010 Ed Trust data, 2004 freshman cohort, predicted from institutional SAT, In-State Tuition & Fees, %Pell, %Underrepresented Minority, Student Related Expenditures/FTE, N=442 institutions, r=.87, r^2=.76) – 49% (IPEDS comparison cohort, 33 institutions)

IPEDS 2012 Data Comparison CSULB outperforms 33 IPEDS comparison institutions in all student success categories…

IPEDS 2012 Data Comparison …except time to degree

HVDI Project Examples I Faculty Learning Communities 40 faculty members Designed to improve student learning and course completion rates Historically low completion rate courses Reaching more than 8,000 CSULB students Supplemental learning Course redesign efforts Results: Significant changes in completion rates and course GPAs Recognitions: – AASCU: Innovation Award Winner, Faculty Development for Student Success – AAC&U PKAL: Innovation in STEM Teaching and Learning – NSF STEM Transforming Teaching & Learning Grant Proposal (under review)

HVDI Project Examples II Model Advising in COE Engineering Student Success Center – Student Progress Tracking Semester by semester tracking of progress to guide students to majors they are appropriately qualified within the first year. – Of the 547 students in Fall 2011 cohort, 209 students were not making degree progress in the first-year. Early identification of at risk students in the major via Five GPA analysis, including Term, Upper-Division, and Major GPAs. – Strategic Advising Mandatory freshmen advising in the first two semesters by staff. Mandatory transfer advising in the first semester by faculty. Moving toward annual mandatory advising by faculty starting in the sophomore year.

HVDI Project Examples III Unit Reductions in HHS 14 of the academic programs in CHHS were able to reduce their units an average of 5% (1- 12%) All but three of the academic programs in CHHS are at or under 120 units (with double counting)

Future Challenges Sustaining gains in face of budget challenges Improving 4 year graduation rates Reducing actual units to degree – not just nominal units Reducing time to degree at least to IPEDS comparable institution average Improving STEM rates Closing achievement gaps that remain

Student Success at the Beach Update Nov 15,