1. An Overview of Florida’s Student Success Center
Dr. Angela Long
October 25, 2018

2. Our Role and Vision
The role of the Florida Student Success Center is to support institutional initiatives that improve college completion rates and promote student success.
The vision of the Florida Student Success Center is to serve as a resource of evidence-based, innovative practices and timely information for colleges.
Earlier this year, the Florida College System launched the Florida Student Success Center in partnership with Jobs for the Future, Helios Education Foundation, and the Florida College System Foundation. The Florida Student Success Center joins the national Student Success Network in supporting Florida’s 28 state and community colleges in developing student-centered pathways and efforts to increase student completion rates.
Our role is to support institutional initiatives that improve college completion and promote student success. The vision is to serve as a resource of evidence-based, innovate practices and timely information to support our colleges and advance best practices.

3. What Are Student Success Centers
A statewide organization that supports community colleges’ efforts to develop student-centered pathways and increase student completion rates
Help colleges align priorities, integrate student success efforts, maximize resources and present a collective voice of practitioners in policy discussions
Part of a national network and learning community promoting best practices, peer collaboration and professional development
Student Success Centers are established to serve as a statewide organization that supports colleges’ efforts to develop student-centered pathways and increase student completion rates. Centers serve to help colleges align priorities and maximize resources to really help initiatives move beyond pilot to scale as well as to present the voice of practitioners in policy discussions. By establishing a Student Success Center, Florida joins 14 other states in a National Student Success Center Network, a learning community to promote best practices and collaboration.

4. National Student Success Center Network
15 States, each with a Student Success Center
Florida is joining states such as Texas, California, Washington, New York, North Carolina and Hawaii in the national network. The network supported by Jobs for the Future provides opportunities for Centers to learn from each other and also share information about innovations at institutions nationwide so more colleges can implement and scale promising practices.

5. Reach of the National Student Success Center Network
The Florida Student Success Center is the 15th center to join the National Student Success Center Network, which serves over 52 percent of public community colleges in the United States. Network members serve over 60 percent of community college students,70 percent are students of color and 59 percent are Pell Grant recipients.

6. The Role of Statewide Student Success Centers
Florida’s Student Success Center supports our colleges through five key functions: providing coherence, connecting policy and practice, efforts to convene, improving data capacity, and promoting research and knowledge development.
Coherence
Taking a look at coherence, we began by partnering with Achieving the Dream to conduct an environmental scan of colleges’ engagement in implementing guided pathways within the Florida College System. The results of the environmental scan will be used as a resource of information for colleges as they establish new initiatives and partnerships to increase student success. In addition to the environmental scan results, the success center will inform institutional practice and policy by identifying and disseminating evidence-based practices and strategies, while also supporting practices and policies at scale.
Connect Policy and Practice
Florida’s Student Success Center functions to connect policy and practice in our state by providing recommendations on how innovative practices can be supported or perhaps hindered by policy by bringing forward evidence based policy solutions around student success for our state, serving as a knowledge center on information related to student success and developing high-quality materials to share policies and best practices.
Convene
The success center will engage in cross sector discussions with groups such as the Higher Education Coordinating Council, Articulation Coordinating Council, Councils of Instructional and Student Affairs, foundations and organizations such as the Florida Philanthropic Network, Association of Florida Colleges and the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation to leverage the activities and knowledge within our own state. The Florida Success Center will engage in national convenings to learn from other states and share evidence-based practices that are making a difference in student success. Mathematics reform has been a key focus of the convenings this current year and more on mathematics convenings and workgroups will be shared later on in this presentation. The success center formally launched this September mathematics pathways workgroups, creating purpose driven workgroups that bring together practitioners from our k-12 system, Florida colleges, and state universities, to convene and discuss policies and practices that support student success around mathematics. Mathematics is an important and foundational subject for our students, but we are increasingly finding that mathematics has become a barrier for many postsecondary students.
Improve Data Capacity
By leveraging the Florida College System’s student-unit record database for data collection and analysis, the student success center will enhance the data shared with faculty and staff, looking at data outcomes across institutions to understand the impact of activities taken to scale. A minimum of six policy and practice papers will also be published in the three-year period, on innovative practices.
Promoting Research and Knowledge Development
The success center will serve as a communications hub, sharing and disseminating with colleges high-quality, evidence-based information through the work of our purpose-driven workgroups, as well as expertise outside of Florida and national networks. As new college activities around student success emerge, they will be added to the environmental scan keeping the resource as a living document and accurate representation of the work our colleges are engaged in. The success center will also develop original material, such as Data Snapshots that provide key facts about a timely and significant topic in higher education within Florida around issues like access, achievement & articulation, affordability, and workforce.

7. Advisory Board
The Florida Student Success Center’s advisory board champions the work of the Florida Student Success Center, provides opportunities for broader stakeholder input and provides input and feedback on the focus, strategic plan, and implementation efforts of the Florida Student Success Center. Members of the advisory board represent business and industry, all education sectors, the Florida College System Student Government Association, college faculty and philanthropic organizations.

8. First-Year Initiatives

9. First-Year Initiatives
Environmental Scan
Research Alliance
Florida Mathematics Re-Design

10. Environmental Scan

11. Conducting an Environmental Scan
Purpose:
To provide a scan of institutional, state, and national student success initiatives relevant to Florida and its 28 colleges. The scan provides a summary of student success initiatives for implementing guided pathways.
Findings:
The scan provides a mapping of institutional strategies across existing activities. As a living document, the scan is intended to be updated with the ongoing work of Florida’s colleges.
The scan also provides areas of opportunities to strengthen guided pathways implementation.
To inform the pillar of coherence, the Florida Student Success Center contracted with Achieving the Dream to conduct an environmental scan. Asking Achieving the Dream to examine our institutions to summarize the student success initiatives we are currently engaged in around guided pathways work. As well as to identify areas of opportunities to strengthen guided pathways implementation.
In August, the Florida Student Success Center hosted a webinar with Achieving the Dream, Dr. Julie Alexandar Chair of CIA and Dr. Marie DeSanctics, Chair of CSA to share the results of the scan with members of CIA/CSA.
A copy of the environmental scan is on the Florida Student Success Center webpage
A recording of the August 2, 2018, environmental scan webinar is available.

12. Framework
Achieving the Dream organized the scan in the four key areas of guided pathways work :
Clarifying paths to student end goals
Help students choose and enter a pathway
Help students stay on path
Ensure that students are learning

13. Florida Colleges Making Progress Implementing Pathways at Scale
Supporting on-boarding and first year for FTIC students
Mapping academic programs to meta-major career areas
Redesigning gateway courses
Providing career advising and coaching
Offering range of academic supports
Identifying achievement gaps and monitoring student success metrics
Providing financial supports for completion
Auto-graduating students
Achieving the Dream found Florida’s colleges making progress in implementing pathways in practices around: (see slide)

14. CLARIFY: Educational Pathways that Develop Skills and Talent to Match Labor Market Needs
Discussion of what's currently occurring across the FCS institutions and opportunities ATD identified to strengthen student-centered pathways implementation within Florida.

15. INTAKE: Help Students Choose and Get on Pathway
Discussion of what's currently occurring across the FCS institutions and opportunities ATD identified to strengthen student-centered pathways implementation within Florida.

16. SUPPORT: Help Students Stay on Track and Complete
Discussion of what's currently occurring across the FCS institutions and opportunities ATD identified to strengthen student-centered pathways implementation within Florida.

17. LEARN: Ensure Students Master Knowledge and Skills
Discussion of what's currently occurring across the FCS institutions and opportunities ATD identified to strengthen student-centered pathways implementation within Florida.

18. Research Alliance

19. Research Alliance Vision
Convening and Engagement
Strategy Alignment and Coherence
Data to Guide Priorities and Investments
Research and Knowledge Management
Policy Development and Advocacy
Within the five pillars to support student success center- the pillars of research and knowledge management and data to guide priorities and investments are key to the formation of a Research Alliance

20. Research Alliance Purpose
To build a research base that informs the field about evidence-based policies and practices in areas of guided pathways and student success work.
To support Florida College System institutions as they seek to make data-informed decisions in the implementation of guided pathways and other student success reforms.
Review Purpose of RA

21. Structure for Research Partnership
Advisory Board Research Working Group
Defines the research agenda, sets priorities and provides feedback on drafts
Research Alliance
Divides the work and produces research
Review Structure:
REL stands for Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast- housed at Florida State University
REL: Provides technical assistance in establishing the research agenda and leads forming the research alliance
Florida Student Success Center & Division of Florida Colleges: Serves as the convener and liaison for data requests with FLDOE

22. Research Alliance Members
REL Southeast at Florida State University
Florida Student Success Center
Center for Postsecondary Success at Florida State University
Florida College Access Network
Community College Research Center
Community College Research Initiatives at the University of Washington

23. Florida Mathematics Re-Design

24. Mathematics Re-Design
Nationally, hundreds of thousands of students fail higher education math courses each year.
Math is the most significant academic barrier to postsecondary attainment—particularly for students of color.
To ensure that all students achieve momentum to earn a college degree, we must work together to redesign pathways and courses, modernize content and instruction and eliminate barriers.
To that end, Florida high school, college and university faculty are collaborating on a statewide initiative to close achievement gaps and improve student success in mathematics.
Mathematics is an important and foundational subject for our students, but we are increasingly finding that mathematics has become a barrier for many postsecondary students.
Mathematics pathways redesign and content alignment is a primary initiative of the Florida Student Success Center under the leadership of Executive Vice Chancellor Dr. Carrie Henderson.
Source: Dana Center Mathematics Pathways

25. Mathematics Workgroups
High School to Postsecondary Alignment
FCS Mathematics Sequences
FCS to University Alignment
Explore how high school curriculum in mathematics aligns with postsecondary expectations
Clarify college entrance-requirements alignment with high school assessments and courses
Examine longitudinal student data on mathematics sequencing and student success rates
Engage high school and college mathematics faculty in dialogue about postsecondary expectations
Identify strategies that promote greater alignment
Examine multiple pathways for students to enter based on programs of study as well as the re-design of course structures to maximize support for students
Identify course and institutional structures that promote and deter success
Encourage the modernization of mathematics content
Review data on student success across algebra and non-algebra pathways
Identify a sequence of courses in the context of a student’s intended transfer major/meta-major
Examine how FCS curriculum in mathematics aligns with university expectations, particularly for students in transfer programs
Clarify university mathematics requirements
Examine the longitudinal student data on mathematics sequencing and student success rates
Engage FCS and SUS mathematics faculty in dialogue about postsecondary expectations
Identify strategies that promote greater alignment
Under the pillar of convene, the success center formally launched this September mathematics pathways workgroups, creating purpose driven workgroups that bring together practitioners from k-12, our colleges, and the state university system to convene and discuss policies and practices that support student success around mathematics. Mathematics and statistics faculty, administrators and key stakeholders will participate in three inter-connected workgroups to align mathematics content and pathways that best prepare students for their intended academic and career goals.
The three groups include the high school to postsecondary alignment, looking at math sequencing within the Florida college system, and then the alignment for our students who transfer from the Florida college system to the state university system. These workgroups will collaborate to identify current challenges in mathematics pathways and develop policy and practice recommendations to improve student achievement across education systems. Those policy and practice recommendations will be shared at a mathematics institute in June 2019.

26. Florida Mathematics Re-Design
Explore complex issues surrounding mathematics pathways to prepare: high school students for transition into postsecondary; Florida College System students for success in gateway courses aligned to their programs; and Florida College System students for transition into four-year universities.
Charge
Transparency, collaboration, respect, diversity, evidence-based inquiry
Guiding Values
1) Cataloging evidence-based practices designed for scale
2) Developing recommendations for state policy and institutional policy and practice around mathematics re-design
Deliverables
Review charge, guiding values, and deliverables of mathematics workgroups

27. Members
~28 faculty and administrators per workgroup representing K-12, Florida College System and State University System
~40 members at-large who will engage through newsletters and webinars and submit feedback in the collection of evidence-based practices and policy recommendations
Tremendous response to participate in the work and key participation from partners in K-12 and SUS

28. Professor Cynthia McGinnis
Workgroup Chairs
Important that the work is lead by our practitioners in the field, faculty and college leaders in mathematics.
High School to Postsecondary Alignment-From Northwest Florida State College-professor Cynthia McGinnis
Florida College System Mathematics Sequences- Dr. Julie Phelps- Valencia College
College to University Alignment- Dr. Tommy Minton Seminole State College of Florida
Like to thank Dr. Tonjua Williams and the team at SPC for supporting our kick-off meeting held September 18th- gathering over 80 of our mathematics workgroup members to begin our work around mathematics re-design in Florida.
Professor Cynthia McGinnis
Northwest Florida State College
Chair: High School to Postsecondary Alignment
Dr. Julie Phelps
Valencia College
Chair: FCS Mathematics Sequences
Dr. Tommy Minton
Seminole State College of Florida
Chair: College to University Alignment

29. Workgroup Structure High School Workgroup Chair Huddle Staff Liaisons
FCS Math Sequences Workgroup Chair
University Workgroup Chair
Structure of workgroups:
Staff Liaisons from the Department of Education K12 Office, Florida College System, and Board of Governors to support the chairs in the work, and small huddle groups to really dig deeply into the challenges.

30. Milestones & Next Steps
Defining the Challenges
Prioritizing the Challenges
Gathering Information
Linking Challenges & Solutions
Prioritizing Solutions
Policy Recommendatio-ns & Evidence-Based Practices
Administer survey to on key challenges & synthesize findings
Milestone 1
Complete
Milestone 2
Complete
Milestone 3
Nov. 2018
Milestone 4
Jan. 2019
Milestone 5
Feb. 2019
Milestone 6
April 2019
Prioritize the challenges and assign members to huddles— smaller working groups
Identify factors contributing to challenges, evidence & drivers or root causes
Brainstorm & evaluate potential solutions to the challenges previously identified
Propose and prioritize formal recommen- dations
Identify policy recommend- ations and evidence- based practices
As we think of the work of the three mathematics workgroups- we developed a toolkit- a series of milestones for the work modeled off of the Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin- who are deeply involved in national work on mathematics pathways and re-design- having our working groups examine over the next 8-9 months challenges to implementing pathways, prioritize those challenges, gather information on why they exist and then linking them to solutions that include recommendation on policy and practices

31. Defining the Challenges- Identifying Commonalities
Prior to the September kick-off event, we administered a survey to identify key challenges & synthesize findings:
The survey was looking to gain perspectives about the challenges with implementing mathematics re-design and pathways across:
high school to postsecondary
FCS mathematics sequences
college to university alignment
To inform the work of the Florida Mathematics Re-Design Workgroups
Methodology: Open-Ended Survey asking respondents to respond to questions :
What are the challenges with implementing mathematics pathways as it relates to 1) high school to postsecondary alignment, 2) FCS mathematics sequences, and 3) college to university alignment? 4) Comments
Coding: Responses were inductively coded using sampling and re-coding (manually) Independent-coder method & peer debriefing/checking were used to validate codes
The survey was sent to members of Florida Mathematics Re-Design Workgroups (n=117)
at large
Response rate of 47.9%
The survey found challenges unique to a system as well as many shared commonalitites

32. Prioritization Exercise Objective
To identify the top challenges related to mathematics pathways re-design implementation the workgroup will focus on throughout the year
For each challenge identified, the workgroup created huddles
Huddles are small working groups that will do the deeper dive of gathering information about the challenges and identifying potential solutions

33. Huddles High School to Postsecondary Alignment
FCS Mathematics Sequences
FCS to University Alignment
Content alignment from elementary to college
Professional development for math teachers
Advising students into math sequences & career paths
Improving fundamental math skills & concepts
Assessment of students
Foundation preparedness
Multiple sequences/pathways
Ambiguity of math sequencing resulting in content overlap
Placement, advising misplacement & single measure of college readiness
Revisit prerequisites for commonality
Communication about desired math outcomes for degree programs
Alignment of course content
Advising of math pathways
Aligning prerequisites for courses between institutions
The next step after identifying challenges was to really prioritize and identify the top challenges the workgroups want to focus on through out the year. The challenges each workgroup have defined are shown, with the highlighted challenges indicating overlap in the work.
Each workgroup formed huddles for the key challenges identified. Huddles are small working groups that will do the deeper dive of gathering information about the challenges and identifying potential solutions
Highlighted = overlap

34. Student Success Center Website
Please visit our website at for more information on the Florida Student Success Center. There you can find additional information on the work of the Florida Student Success Center as well as resources pertaining to guided pathways and mathematics reform.