1. Starfish – A Journey of Success Elizabeth A. Stearns Sims, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs/CSAO 95 th AACC Annual Convention San Antonio, TX

2. An Overview ~ The MUS Driving Force for Change Implementation – Theory of Change A Success Story!

3. The “MUS”

4. Helena College University of Montana NWCCD Accreditation Headcount 1600 FTE 949 Degrees and certificates 35 General Education, 34% Technical Education, 22% Trades, 12% Average Class Size, 14 Student Faculty Ratio, 12:1 Full time faculty, 39 AY 2015 Tuition/Fee = $3,061.20 Retention Rate 49.9% FTFT – Fall 2012 Retention Rate 81.7% MUS – Fall 2012 National Average^ 55.5% Graduation Rate* 26% National Average** 20% *2009 Cohort**NCES, 2014 ^ACT, 2012

5. Student Characteristics Helena College Average Age: 25 18-24 63% 25 and above37% Attendance Type Full Time48% Part Time52% Pell GrantEligible 58% First Generation 38% National Average Average Age: 28 Traditional39% 22-39 45% Attendance Type Full Time58% Part Time42% Pell Grant Eligible 56.3% First Generation 36% AACC, 2014 Fact Sheet

6. Driving Force for Change Change in National and Montana economies Shift in program offerings Rising default rate Legislation Mandate…aka Performance Based Funding Montana Home Facts, 2012

7. Starfish Implementation ~ The Process for Change Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation: Innovation Communication Time Social System 2013 –Spring Development Faculty Selection; Communication Development; Email Communication; Trainings AY 2014 Full Implementation Survey Timing; Faculty Feedback; CONSTANT ‘tweaking’

8. Starfish – Our Success Story Institutional Changes Advising Structure ~ Result Retention Rate = 55.5 % ( 5.6) MUS Rate= 83.2% (.5) Tuition dollars = $88,802.35 Delayed and Split disbursement

9. Questions ? References AACC (2014). 2014 Fact Sheet. Washington, DC. Retrieved from: http://www.aacc.nche.edu/AboutCC/Pages/fastfactsfactsheet.aspxhttp://www.aacc.nche.edu/AboutCC/Pages/fastfactsfactsheet.aspx March 15, 2015 ACT (2012). Policy and Research Papers. Iowa City, IA. Retrieved from: http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/retain_2012.pdf March 12, 2015http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/retain_2012.pdf Montana Home Facts. Retrieved from http://www.homefacts.com/unemployment/Montana.html. March 31, 2015 http://www.homefacts.com/unemployment/Montana.html National Center for Educational Statistics (2014). Institutional Retention and Graduation Rates for Undergraduate Students. Washington, DC. Retrieved from: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cva.asp March 1, 2015https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cva.asp March 1 Rogers, Everett M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations, 5 th Ed. Free Press, New York, NY