Transforming Community Colleges to Accelerate Student Success Thomas Bailey Shanna Jaggars Davis Jenkins Community College Research Center June 2011

Project Description  In 2008, CCs were enthusiastic about several promising strategies that might improve student success: Improving developmental education (assessment & placement, acceleration programs, contextualization) Bolstering non-academic supports (e.g., student success courses, intensive advising) Streamlining program & institutional structures Expanding online learning Implementing organizational improvement processes  Our project (2009 – 2012) is gathering evidence to assess the evidence on the effectiveness and cost- efficiencies of these strategies, and provide guidance on how to best implement them © 2011 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 2 August 24, 2015

How are we exploring this issue?  Synthesizing Previous Evidence In spring 2011, released a series of 8 reports Each report synthesized the body of research on a specific strategy  Providing New Evidence 8 mixed-methods studies (both quantitative & qualitative) Each study addresses one or more strategies Conducted in VA, WA, CO, CA, & NYC Timeline: early reports already released; remaining reports to be released in 2011 and  Making the Reports Useful Ongoing partnerships with state systems, and discussions of methods and initial findings with CC leaders, allow us to include concrete and useful implications and recommendations in every report August 24, 2015© 2011 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 3

What are we learning?  Key recommendations thus far are: Colleges should work to simplify the programmatic structures and bureaucracies that students must navigate. Colleges should be encouraged to align course curricula and student supports, define common learning outcomes and assessments, and set high standards for those outcomes. To drive the processes above, colleges should broadly engage faculty and staff in re-thinking institutional, departmental, and classroom practices to forward the student success agenda at scale. Colleges should collect and use data to inform a continuous improvement process that operates at all levels of the organization.  See our “Assessment of the Evidence” series for specific suggestions on how to carry out these recommendations: August 24, 2015© 2011 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 4

Questions to guide faculty/staff re- thinking of practices to accelerate student success at scale CONNECTION From interest to enrollment ENTRY From enrollment to entry into program of study PROGRESS From program entry to completion of program requirements COMPLETION Completion of credential of value for further education and (for CTE) labor market advancement How can we increase the number of entering students who are motivated and prepared to choose a college-level program of study? How can we accelerate the rate at which new students choose and successfully enter a program? How can we accelerate rates at which program concentrators complete program requirements? How can we ensure that our programs prepare students for further education and (for CTE programs) for career advancement? Source: CCRC Assessment of Evidence series.

Examples of strategies that reflect effective practice CONNECTION From interest to enrollment ENTRY From enrollment to entry into program of study PROGRESS From program entry to 75% of program requirements completed COMPLETION From program completion to credential of value for further education and (for CTE) labor market advancement College readiness prep for hs students Early testing Strategic dual enrollment “Bridges” from ABE to college Recruitment materials with program streams clearly mapped out Program offerings / requirements clearly mapped out Consistent messages to new students Prescribed course sequence with required 3-credit college success course Dev ed contextualized to program streams Course learning outcomes/assessments tied to program outcomes Students required to declare major Students required to keep up-to-date program completion plan Revamped program review process to ensure that programs prepare for further education and career advancement Transfer agreements with universities that ensure junior standing Regular review of program learning outcomes by employers Survey of recent grads for suggestion of way to improve programs Source: CCRC Assessment of Evidence series.

How are we sharing our work?  Products Over 45 individual reports, briefs, and journal articles on specific strategies, their outcomes, and resulting recommendations. Practitioner toolkits on effective implementation for the most promising strategies A book that will integrate findings into broader themes and key recommendations for practitioners and policymakers  Dissemination Plan Publishing reports, toolkits, books; presenting at research, practitioner, and policy-oriented conferences; presenting at CC district and state business meetings A newly-hired communications specialist is developing media strategies to further spread our work August 24, 2015© 2011 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 7

Who will use the information we generate and how will they use it?  Practice & Policy Implications Concrete implications / recommendations have already generated much interest, positive feedback, and action from individual colleges and state systems  Examples Texas CCs (working with ATD-DEI & JFF) presented evidence from our Assessment of Evidence series to the state legislature, directly impacting four new bills on developmental education CUNY is using results of our work to re-think assessment policy, particularly replacing COMPASS developmental math exit exam with faculty-designed common exam Virginia used results of our work to help plan a statewide redesign of developmental education © 2011 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 8