1. Launching COMPLETE COLLEGE AMERICA Dr. Risa E. Dickson
Vice President for Academic Planning and Policy
University of Hawai‘i System

2. 2

3. Strategies to Promote Completion
2010 CCA Completion Academy
Reduce time and accelerate success
Take 15 credits a semester
Transform remediation
Restructure delivery
Shift to performance funding 3

4. The Beginning of a Campaign
In 2012, UH embarked on the Hawai‘i Graduation Initiative (HGI), a systemwide effort to promote student success and reduce time to degree
A key strategy was the 15 to Finish campaign:
Used data and media campaigns to share key messages to students, parents, and the community
Formed the basis for policy and procedure changes to remove barriers to taking 15
Brought focus to campus initiatives around student success
Shifted the norm from 12 to 15 credits 4

5. Initial Questions about 15 Credits
What was our current situation?
Would taking 15 credits a semester make a difference in retention and graduation rates?
Would it work for all students, including at risk populations?
Could we shift to a culture where taking 15 credits was the norm, not 12?
Could we remove existing barriers to taking 15 credits? 5

6. What was Our Current Situation and Would Taking 15 Make a Difference?
Studied fall first-time freshmen cohorts
55-78% took 12 to 14 credits, including those at the community colleges
Those who completed at least 30 credit hours within their 1st academic year had better grades and retention and graduation rates 6

7. Will 15 Work for All Students: Conducted an In Depth Analysis
Analyzed various measures of success of first-time freshmen taking <15 credits and ≥15 credits per semester by:
Academic preparation – Created a score of 1 to 4 (with 4 being the highest) based on SAT/ACT, HS GPA/rank, etc.
Demographics (gender, ethnicity, Pell) 7

8. Measures of Academic Success
1st semester grade point average
1st semester GPA “B” or better
Credit completion ≥ 80%
Course withdrawals ≥ 20%
Persistence 8

9. Results of Our Analysis
Students who took 15 or more credits tended to be better prepared and to have greater academic success.
More importantly, at all but the lowest levels of academic preparation, students who took 15 or more credits generally had greater academic success.
This held for Pell and URM students as well. 9

10. Post-Campaign Results10

11. First-Time Freshmen Fall Cohorts
% ≥15 Credits Attempted
First-Time Freshmen Fall Cohorts 11

12. First-Time Freshmen Cohort, Fall 2012
Fall Retention
First-Time Freshmen Cohort, Fall 2012 12

13. First-Time Freshmen Cohort, Fall 2012
Fall Retention
First-Time Freshmen Cohort, Fall 2012 13

14. First-Time Freshmen Cohort, Fall 2012
Fall Retention
First-Time Freshmen Cohort, Fall 2012 14

15. % of Students Who Earned 30 Credits / Year
First-Time Freshmen Cohorts 15

16. % of Students Who Earned 30 Credits / Year
First-Time Freshmen Cohorts 16

17. % of Students Who Earned 30 Credits / Year
First-Time Freshmen Cohorts 17

18. 4-Year Graduation Rates, 2013-15
First-Time Freshmen Cohorts, 18

19. 4-Year Graduation Rates, 2013-15
First-Time Freshmen Cohorts, 19

20. 4-Year Graduation Rates, 2013-15
First-Time Freshmen Cohorts, 20

21. Summary
The campaign was successful in getting students to take 15 or more credits
First-time freshmen benefited most
Pell and URM students who took 15 credits did better than those who took fewer credits
Next steps are to focus on “The Right 15” using our homegrown STAR Guided Pathway System (GPS) 21