1. New Approaches to Old Problems: how “guided pathways” can lead to student success Paul N. Markham Program Officer, Postsecondary Success TASS Conference March 16, 2015

2.  Use your smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc. Go to sli.do#TASS I ask you questions and you ask me questions (vote) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 2 GOALS FOR OUR TIME TOGETHER  Frame our shared problem of student progress and completion  Share what we (Gates) have learned  Offer a way forward  Discuss

3. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 3 WHO AM I?

4. Go to sli.do#TASS Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 4 WHO ARE YOU?

5. © 2014 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 5 A FEW NUMBERS Incoming Students 2,000 students* Entering Students Needs Remediation Completes Remediation Completes Gatekeeper Math & English Graduates 36% 24% 10%6% *Sample size of 1,000 students from 4 year institutions and 1,000 students from community colleges How can we reduce this… …and increasing this… …to dramatically change this… …while redesigning this…

6. A GUIDING NARRATIVE  Under-preparedness for higher education is not a new problem – in 1874 Harvard created its first “remedial” English course  Over many decades, “developmental education” evolved as higher education’s answer to under-prepared students  As college access grew as a national priority (e.g. the 1947 Truman Commission), the challenge of remediation became salient  Today, more than half of community college students are placed in developmental education and as few as 8% of these students complete a postsecondary credential  The time has come for the next evolution of developmental education

7.  Fixing the remediation problem will require we address “non-academic issues that may prevent students from succeeding, improve the quality of instruction at all levels, revise financial aid policies, provide better advising to students at risk, integrate instruction and support services, teach college success skills, investment in professional development and do all these things in a systematic manner integrated into the mainstream of the institution – Hunter Boylan, No Silver Bullet (IHE, April 18 2014)  “Reform efforts will never reach scale as long as the model of scale continues to ignore altering basic organizational structures – the implementation context.” – Adrianna Kezar, What is the best way to achieve broad reach of improved practices in higher education? (Innov High Educ, 2011) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 7 THE BREADTH AND DEPTH OF THE PROBLEM

8. GATES’ FOCUS The Postsecondary Success strategy focuses on four key problems to help reinvigorate our postsecondary system. © 2013 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 8 American higher education needs to become more… CLEAR FLEXIBLE PERSONALIZED AFFORDABLE Flexible “Pathways”

9. STRATEGIC ELEMENTS IDENTIFIED THROUGH FIELD RESEARCH AND PREVIOUS INVESTMENTS Big Gaps What to doHow to do it Common metrics and way to measure A way to view data and information to inform decision making Faculty and “frontline staff” (advisors) engagement High school to higher ed alignment (avoid remediation) College Assessment and Placement Curriculum and Instructional Redesign Student Supports Stronger network of national partners (research, services, products, etc.) State/system implementation and scaling hubs Specific guidance and consistent supports for “mutual adaptation”

10. WHAT CAN WE DO? HS to HE BridgeAssessment & PlacementFoundational Mastery Progress, Monitoring, and Feedback Support EdReady Multiple Measures New Mathways Project CUNY ASAP

11. HOW CAN WE DO IT? National Support Network State Hubs Institutions 2-way feedback w/ hub as focal point National partners providing supports through state hubs Examples of Key Supports Data and Change Management “Coaching” Communities of Practice for Faculty Engagement Hiring consultation for Boards/Trustees Student Success Leadership Development Focused on building Guided Pathways for student success 2-way feedback w/ hub as focal point E.g. Student Success Centers (Kresge)

12. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 12 FLEXIBLE (GUIDED) PATHWAYS AS A WAY FORWARD

13. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 13 ELEMENTS OF THE PATHWAYS APPROACH  Clarifying Pathways E.g. “meta-majors,” degree maps, predictable schedules  Helping Students Get on a Path E.g. co-req remediation, advising with the end in mind  Keeping Students on a Path E.g. teach-enabled advising, early alerts, predictive analytics  Ensuring Students are Learning E.g. faculty-defined learning outcomes for programs of study, PD to support effective teaching & learning practices

14. THE PERENNIAL QUESTION OF STUDENT FREEDOM (AND WHAT IT REVEALS) © 2013 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 14

15. LET’S TALK ABOUT IT © 2013 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 15 Go to sli.do#TASS  Form small groups  Select a sli.do rep from your group  Discuss the guided pathways concept and implementation strategy  What makes sense? What doesn’t? What are the advantages? What are the challenges?  Each group, determine *one* question you want to ask about what I’ve presented and ask that question in sli.do  Everyone vote on the question(s) you think are most critical to address  We have 10 minutes in small groups and then we come back together

16. Thank you!  Please visit us at  postsecondary.gatesfoundation.org