Kalamazoo Valley Community CollegeNoelLevitz Partnership Improvement Report February
Kalamazoo Valley Community College/Noel-Levitz Partnership Improvement Report February 27, 2015
Noel-Levitz by the numbers 2, 800 partners 1, 000 served 350, 000 visits to annually served www. noellevitz. com 40 years annually of service Noel-Levitz 1, 500 institutions participate in Noel-Levitz conferences 800 -900 downloads per week 600+ years of 130 full-time staff & experience 60+ part-time consultants
Six megatrends facing higher education Impact of technology on communicating with students Enrolment growth will slow Managing new learning modalities 5 6 4 1 2 3 Demographic shifts Retention and completion pressures will intensify Changing economic model
“The future ain’t what it used to be. ” Transferred from en. wikipedia Yogi Berra
Kalamazoo Valley Community College/Noel-Levitz Retention Partnership Components SRP Model & Variable Diagnostics Satisfaction Surveys 80% 69% 1 st choice 3 rd choice 51% 2 nd 66% choice 47% 31% 60% 26% 40% 20% 0% Community College Retention Planning . Career School Early Alert Surveys CSI MYSA SYSA
SRP model 2013 Relative Strength of Model Variables 7, 6% 8, 3% 25, 3% Years since HS Graduation (Optimal Binning) High School CEEB Code Total Income (Optimal Binning) ACT Reading Score 10, 3% 10, 7% 18, 9% 19, 0% Primary County Code of Student ACT Math Score Academic Major
KVCC Winter 2015 Distribution 92 165 292 128 14 1
Kalamazoo Valley Community College/Noel-Levitz. Retention Partnership Components SRP Model & Variable Diagnostics Satisfaction Surveys 80% 69% 1 st choice 3 rd choice 51% 2 nd 66% choice 47% 31% 60% 26% 40% 20% 0% Community College Retention Planning . Career School Early Alert Surveys CSI MYSA SYSA
Kalamazoo Valley Community College/Noel-Levitz. Retention Partnership Components SRP Model & Variable Diagnostics Satisfaction Surveys 80% 69% 1 st choice 3 rd choice 51% 2 nd 66% choice 47% 31% 60% 26% 40% 20% 0% Community College Retention Planning . Career School Early Alert Surveys CSI MYSA SYSA
Student Perceptions of their experience at KVCC
The SSI uses three scores for prioritizing findings
Captures three scores for prioritizing Importance Satisfaction Performance Gap Importance Satisfaction
Summary Scales SSI Summary KVCC Nat. CC Difference So far, how has your college experience met your expectations? 5. 14 4. 84 +0. 30** Rate your overall satisfaction with your experience here thus far. 5. 88 5. 47 +0. 41*** All in all, if you had to do it over, would you enroll here again? 6. 28 5. 72 +0. 56***
Kalamazoo Valley Community College/Noel-Levitz. Retention Partnership Components SRP Model & Variable Diagnostics Satisfaction Surveys 80% 69% 1 st choice 3 rd choice 51% 2 nd 66% choice 47% 31% 60% 26% 40% 20% 0% Community College Retention consulting . Career School Early Alert Surveys CSI MYSA SYSA
Retention Planning • Retention Discovery. • Retention Planning Priorities • Targets • Strategies • Action Plans • Deployment of Priorities
The Secret of Retention “The secret of successful retention programs is no secret at all, but a reaffirmation of some of the important foundations of higher education. In short, retention is no more than, but certainly no less than, successful education. ” Dr. Vincent Tinto, Syracuse University
Building Consensus on Strategic Priorities Centering on Student Expectations Finance Budget & Planning Humanities Academic Affairs Maintenance Sciences Student Affairs Retention Consulting Using Data/information to Inform Experience
“Never under-estimate what can happen when you bring people together to talk about things that are important to them. ” Meg Wheatley
Step 1: Define Current State
Step 2: Define Desired State
1. Overall goal: Achieve an overall retention rate of 44% for new freshmen intending to obtain an associate degree who enter the college fall 13 and 46% for new freshmen intending to obtain an associate degree who enter the college fall 2014. 2. Race: Achieve a retention rate of 28% percent for fall 13 entering Black or African American students and 30% for fall 14 entering Black or African American students. 3. Financial/Socioeconomic: Achieve a retention rate 38% for fall 13 entering Pell Eligible students and a retention rate 40% for fall 14 entering students. 4. First Generation Students: Achieve a retention rate 41% for first generation students who enter fall 13 and a retention rate 43% for students who enter fall 14. 5. ACT Scores: Achieve a retention rate of 35% percent for fall 2013 entering students who do not have an ACT score and 37% for fall 2014 entering students who do not have an ACT score. 6. Transfer Students: Achieve a fall-to-fall retention rate of 33% for fall 2013 entering transfer in students and 35% for fall 2014 entering transfer in students. 7. Age: Achieve a fall-to-fall retention rate of 40% percent for fall 2013 entering students ages 19. 1 to 21. 0 and 42% for fall 2014 entering students ages 19. 1 -21. 0.
Step 3: Select Strategies
Consensus targets and strategies
Noel-Levitz Student Retention Practices at Two-Year Institutions www. noellevitz. com/papers-research-higher-education/
Five most effective practices at two-year public institutions © 2013 Noel-Levitz, LLC 2013 Retention Practices at Four-Year and Two-Year Institutions
Create a comprehensive retention plan with detailed action plans for each strategy Learning Communities Part-time faculty First Year Experience Retention Plan Probation New Student Orientation Advising
Detailed Action Plans for each Strategy Additional Steps 1 2 3 Institutional Actions Course Development Review the 1 existing TRS attendance 105 College Strategies TRS Career Decision Making courses to avoid redundancy or Organize for Success key participants at the and annual FYE 100 conference overlapping curriculum that wouldwill have negative impactas onit new and existing course/s 2 of. Determine if the college allowathis to be required may impact credit limits Develop a potential committee organizational structure to ongoing measurement, and support for successful deployment Follow the 3 course and curriculum guidelines asprovide the course is coordination, built Develop a timeline and establish a budget for implementation of both the pilot on andcampus? the full scale roll-out Determine 4 who the targeted students are…should it only be for freshmen? Students How are dually enrolled students handled? 5 Determine where this course will be placed…in which division/s? departments? 6 Establish a well-balanced (and reasonable in numbers) FYE Committee to continue the planning work; this should consist of Responsibility Faculty Deans FYE Committee President’s Council Academic VP Exec. VP Counselors Academic Faculty VP Deans FYE Committee Learning Communities Academic VP/Deans Comm. Faculty Pres. Council Faculty Exec. VP Academic VP/Deans Completion Date Jan. Spring 2014 Spring Summer 201414 Spring 2014 Spring 2014 Sum. 2014 4 Determine the appropriate pedagogy class. Financial size Aid, Registration, and the faculty. representations from and the SSC, 5 Develop and implement a first-year experience seminar that provides all new KVCC students access to this national best practice Provide teamfor building andmentoring training to and support deployment ongoing effectiveness inclusive 7 of opportunities faculty topics such asand improving financial literacy, time management, career development, and successful life management skills FYE Committee Academic VP Deans FYE Committee Summer 2014 6 8 Measure and communicate the impact of FYE on the success of KVCC students including “return on investment” Develop the course objectives Academic VP Faculty Inst. Research Summer 2015 7 Faculty Sum. 2014 Determine the optimum credit load for the course FYE Committee Faculty Sum. 2014 8 Determine the length of the course… 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 15 weeks, late or early start in the semester Faculty Sum. 2014 9 Establish an engaging model; i. e. faculty mentoring; advocates assigned; service learning component; enrollment by a focus group Sum. 2014 10 Identify shared experiences to engage students; i. e. field trips; common readings; etc. Advocate Coord. Counselors Faculty 11 Determine instructor competencies Faculty Sum. 2014 12 Determine the role of the instructor as a mentor or additional responsibilities advising Faculty Sum. 2014 13 Identify resources and expertise to incorporate into curriculum; i. e. College Student Inventory, Career assessments, etc. Faculty FYE Committee Sum. 2014 14 Coordinate curriculum with initial orientation curriculum to reinforce important concepts without creating unintentional redundancy Sum. 2014 15 Offer several sections of the pilot course Director of SSC Faculty FYE Committee Faculty Sum. 2014 Fall 2015
Strategies: The six “vital few” strategies planning participants agreed should be implemented to attain the retention goals include: 1: Identify and develop additional learning community approaches that will expand access to the “power of the cohort” for students from targeted populations of KVCC students placed at risk. 2: Develop and implement a first-year experience (FYE) seminar that provides all new KVCC students access to this national best practice, inclusive of opportunities for mentoring and accepted “college knowledge” topics such as improving financial literacy, time management, and life skills. 3: Require all new and transfer students to participate in a required comprehensive orientation event designed to contribute to a seamless transition into the KVCC experience. 4: Develop more systematic, intentional, and seamless advising interactions for students, especially for new freshmen, that emphasize relationship building and high expectations. 5: Review and revise the academic probation policy to ensure consistency, fairness, and targeted support in order to increase the opportunity for more students to attain their academic goals. 6: Increase the opportunities for part-time faculty to make a full and unconstrained contribution to the quality of life and learning experienced by KVCC students.
Learning Communities Identify and develop additional learning community approaches that will expand access to the “power of the cohort” for students from targeted populations of KVCC students placed at risk.
First Year Experience Develop and implement a first-year experience (FYE) seminar that provides all new KVCC students access to this national best practice, inclusive of opportunities for mentoring and accepted “college knowledge” topics such as improving financial literacy, time management, and life skills.
New Student Orientation Require all new and transfer students to participate in a required comprehensive orientation event designed to contribute to a seamless transition into the KVCC experience
Advising Develop more systematic, intentional, and seamless advising interactions for students, especially for new freshmen, that emphasize relationship building and high expectations.
Advising Goals and Outcomes Require all students on academic probation (below 2. 0 PGA) to meet with a Counselor before registering for future semesters. Academic Probation is slated to take effect 2015 with “new to KVCC” students only. Counselors will work with the student to develop an individualized Academic Improvement Plan (AIP) that students will need to adhere to while on probation status.
Advising Goals and Outcomes Contact “Undecided” students with 30 or more credits. Require students to meet with Academic & Career Counseling before registering for future semesters. “Undecided” students with 30 or more credits will first be contacted for a Career Assessment and then scheduled for an Academic Counselor to declare a program. After the student has declared a program, a Counselor will assist the student in developing an academic plan to carry the student through, to graduation or transfer.
Advising Goals and Outcomes Implement a group advising format to accommodate more students in a timely manner. Group advising is now offered during peak times of the semester to make Counselors more accessible to students, while also accommodating more students.
Advising Goals and Outcomes Make Counseling accessible to students in multiple areas of the college. Counseling has established satellite locations in the faculty offices and the Tech Center.
Advising Goals and Outcomes Collaborate with Recruitment and Advocates to better accommodate new students. Students who haven’t applied to KVCC will first meet with Recruitment and/or an Advocate before meeting with a Counselor. Shifting students to these departments will allow Counselors to better serve currently enrolled KVCC students, and it will better prepare pre-enrolled students for a Counseling appointment.
Probation Review and revise the academic probation policy to ensure consistency, fairness, and targeted support in order to increase the opportunity for more students to attain their academic goals
Academic Probation Policy Goals • Review the possibility of combining financial aid and academic progress into one probation policy. • Determine the most appropriate group or categories (GPA, financial aid) of student to target for probationary support. • Research the impact of the probation policy on enrollment. • Develop a curriculum and model for a required course/intervention for probationary students that address their specific needs. • Develop and implement required interactions/communications with students that connect to the probation policy and reduce the number of probationary students. • Provide increased avenues for early feedback on academic progress (mid-semester and prior). • Identify research questions to inform programming for probationary students.
Academic Probation Policy Outcomes • Collected and reviewed academic probation policies from other community colleges. • Defined Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as meeting minimum academic standards to assure successful achievement of KVCC graduation requirements. • Developed a progressive Academic Probation Policy that addresses minimum academic standards. • Adopted a three step process for students placed on academic probation: o Academic Probation o Academic Warning o Academic Dismissal • Determined the need to stage implementation of the Academic Probation Policy to initially target FTIAC students. • Acknowledged the need to collaborate with the Student Success Center. • Developed a cross-walk for each step in the academic probation process that includes specific conditions and subsequent consequences.
Part-time Faculty Increase the opportunities for part-time faculty to make a full and unconstrained contribution to the quality of life and learning experienced by KVCC students
Progress Toward Goals
Noel Levitz Goal Development Goal: Overall Retention Fall 2012 Cohort Winter Fall Cohort 2013 Winter Fall 2013 Goal Fall 2014 Goal Winter Fall Reenrollment 71. 6% 43. 5% 72. 0% 46. 4% -- 44. 0% -- 46. 0% Graduated 0. 7% 0. 5% -- -- 1. 7% 1. 1%
Noel Levitz Goal Development Goal: Black or African American Students Fall 2012 Cohort Winter Fall Cohort 2013 Winter Fall 2013 Goal Fall 2014 Goal Winter Fall Reenrollment 61. 6% 28. 5% 60. 7% 29. 3% -- 28. 0% -- 30. 0% Graduated 0. 2% -- -- 0. 5% 0. 4%
Noel Levitz Goal Development Goal: Pell Eligible Students Fall 2012 Cohort Winter Fall Cohort 2013 Winter Fall 2013 Goal Fall 2014 Goal Winter Fall Reenrollment 70. 4% 37. 7% 71. 7% 41. 4% -- 38. 0% -- 40. 0% Graduated 0. 6% -- -- 1. 3% 1. 0%
Noel Levitz Goal Development Goal: Students Entering Without ACT Scores Fall 2012 Cohort Winter Fall Cohort 2013 Winter Fall 2013 Goal Fall 2014 Goal Winter Fall Reenrollment 64. 3% 34. 6% 63. 9% 35. 0% -- 37. 0% Graduated 0. 8% 0. 4% -- -- 2. 0% 1. 2%
Noel Levitz Goal Development Goal: First Generation Students Fall 2012 Cohort Winter Fall Cohort 2013 Winter Fall 2013 Goal Fall 2014 Goal Winter Fall Reenrollment 69. 7% 41. 0% 70. 8% 43. 3% -- 41. 0% -- 43. 0% Graduated 0. 4% 0. 5% -- -- 1. 3% 1. 0%
Noel Levitz Goal Development Goal: Students Transferring In Fall 2012 Cohort Winter Fall Cohort 2013 Winter Fall 2013 Goal Fall 2014 Goal Winter Fall Reenrollment 64. 8% 32. 4% 65. 7% 37. 7% -- 33. 0% -- 35. 0% Graduated 0. 9% 0. 6% -- -- 2. 6% 1. 4%
Noel Levitz Goal Development Goal: Students Age 19 - 21 Fall 2012 Cohort Winter Fall Cohort 2013 Winter Fall 2013 Goal Fall 2014 Goal Winter Fall Reenrollment 70. 4% 40. 0% 69. 0% 44. 9% -- 40. 0% -- 42. 0% Graduated 0. 5% 0. 6% -- -- 0. 9% 1. 3%
Questions
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