What’s Up With DEI: Sinclair Community College

Over the next several weeks, we’ll be sharing some of the DEI state policy team and college accomplishments from the last year of work. We’re making our way (alphabetically!) through the six DEI states, profiling the DEI colleges in those states as we go. Earlier this week, we introduced Ohio’s state policy work; now it’s time to learn a bit more about Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.

Sinclair Community College serves more than 26,000 students in Ohio’s Miami Valley. We’ve selected some highlights from their last year of DEI work in three main categories: scaling, institutional policy change, and academic and supportive service innovations.

Scaling

• Sinclair has set a goal to increase the number of students served in self-paced modular math courses. There are now 10 math module classes offered on the main campus and 12 – 15 classes will be offered during fall 2011. The successful completion rate for modular courses was 56 percent compared to 50 percent success rate in the counterpart conventional sections developmental math. Almost 60 percent of these successful completers went on to take the next course in their sequence. (Some students needed only the developmental courses as a pre-requisite for a technical program.) Sixty-eight percent of those continuing were successful in the next course in the sequence. Of the students who persist and take the final exam, approximately 96 percent pass with a 75 percent or better.
• The college is expanding the number of students served in basic skills boot camps, a one-week intensive developmental education review intended to accelerate students’ progression through the developmental sequence. First offered in math, the college added English and reading boot camps last year. They will expand beyond the main campus to satellite and learning center sites in fall 2011. Summer and fall success rates were 84 percent and 75 percent, compared to traditional developmental course success rates during those quarters, ranging from 51 percent to 63 percent.

Institutional Policy

• Sinclair’s DEI work is closely aligned the college’s AQIP Action Item project, “Improving the First Year Experience.” Additionally, DEI efforts support three of the college’s eight strategic priorities, which have been identified by the Board of Trustees: success for a wide range and variety of students; expand P-20 school linkages; and develop partnerships for efficiency and effectiveness.

Academic and Supportive Service Innovations

• Eight faculty, staff, and administrators were able to take advantage of invaluable best practices campus visits, observing and assessing the developmental education practices at institutions recognized for having excellent programs. Site visits were to Jackson Community College in Tennessee, Eastern Gateway Community College in Ohio, and Virginia Tech.

What’s Up With DEI: North Central State College

In July and August, we’re sharing some of the DEI state policy team and college accomplishments from the last year of work. We’re making our way (alphabetically!) through the six DEI states, profiling the DEI colleges in those states as we go. Yesterday, we introduced Ohio’s state policy work; now it’s time to learn a bit more about North Central State College in Mansfield, Ohio.

North Central State College (NC State) serves more than 3,500 students in north central Ohio. We’ve selected some highlights from their last year of DEI work in three main categories: scaling, institutional policy change, and academic and supportive service innovations.

Scaling

• NC State’s adult transition program, Solutions, has already exceeded targets set for number of students served. Relocating the Solutions program next to the tutoring center to share tutoring services has increased the program’s service capacity. The college compared the performance of Solutions students enrolling at NC State with the ATD fall 2009 cohort on developmental course/sequence completion, English gateway completion, and persistence. The performance of the Solutions students far exceeded cohort averages. The college calculated almost $20,000 in savings to students from acceleration through at least one level of developmental course work.
• The student success workshop, part of the Solutions program, is now offered on a quarterly basis year-round, and the college has received a grant through the Ohio Learning Network to expand this program to other locations.
• NC State has also set a target to increase the number of developmental students served in the tutoring center. In 2007-2008, the baseline year, 6 percent of developmental students participated. In 2010-2011, the center served 18 percent of the student group. (Both figures represent duplicated headcount.)

Institutional Policy

• NC State is considering a mandatory referral to Solutions for students under a certain COMPASS math threshold; a similar policy is already in place for low reading scores. The college has also recently eliminated late registration and plans to add a computer literacy assessment for entering students.

Academic and Supportive Service Innovations

• NC State’s Assessment/Placement and Case Management Advising work groups are engaged in work that has the potential to affect every developmental student on the campus. The college’s pre-registration process now more effectively prepares potential students for success by breaking out advising sessions rather than conducting placement testing, results debrief, advising, and registration in one visit. While all developmental students had long been required to meet quarterly with an advisor, the switch to a case management process allows for more effective service.

What’s Up With DEI: Eastern Gateway Community College

In July and August, we’re sharing some of the DEI state policy team and college accomplishments from the last year of work. We’re making our way (alphabetically!) through the six DEI states, profiling the DEI colleges in those states as we go. Yesterday, we introduced Ohio’s state policy work; now it’s time to learn a bit more about Eastern Gateway Community College in Steubenville, Ohio.

Eastern Gateway Community College (EGCC) serves students in Columbiana, Jefferson, Mahoning, and Trumbull Counties in Ohio. We’ve selected some highlights from their last year of DEI work in three main categories: scaling, institutional policy change, and academic and supportive service innovations.

Scaling

• EGCC has implemented their redesigned developmental math curriculum in all sections at the college’s main campus. After the first semester of implementation (fall 2010), students in the lowest level of developmental math had higher completion rates, pass rates, and grades.
• The redesigned developmental language courses will be implemented in all course sections on the main campus in fall 2011.
• EGCC’s service area is expanding from one to four counties. The college intends to implement the redesigned courses at satellite campuses.

Institutional Policy

• With the expansion of EGCC’s service area, a new board of trustees was appointed. The board has elevated student success as a strategic focus, due in part to the Ohio Board of Regents’ Success Points, outlined in the University System of Ohio community college system strategic plan. DEI interventions at EGCC directly support the plan.

Academic and Supportive Service Innovations

• Under the guidance of Rose Asera, DEI technical assistance provider, EGCC has launched a faculty inquiry group (FIG). Faculty are investigating interventions that could improve student attendance. The FIG conducted student and faculty interviews and data analysis regarding attendance in the redesigned developmental education math courses. In the fall, the FIG group will reconvene to build an action plan based on the analysis.

What’s Up With DEI: Cuyahoga Community College

Over the next several weeks, we’ll be sharing some of the DEI state policy team and college accomplishments from the last year of work. We’re making our way (alphabetically!) through the six DEI states, profiling the DEI colleges in those states as we go. Earlier today, we introduced Ohio’s state policy work; now it’s time to learn a bit more about Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, OH.

Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) serves more than 55,000 students in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. We’ve selected some highlights from their last year of DEI work in three main categories: scaling, institutional policy change, and academic and supportive service innovations.

Scaling

• Tri-C has exceeded its goal for increasing the number of students in a course pairing a developmental math course (Algebra I) with a math success course. Of the students who participated from fall 2006 through fall 2010, 63 percent successfully completed their Algebra I course in the semester in which they took the paired course, compared to a 60 percent success rate for students in matched comparison groups. The college will continue to gradually increase the number of sections offered; they are conducting analyses to determine which students benefit most from this approach.
• Tri-C has exceeded its goal for increasing the number of students enrolled in supplemental instruction (SI) sections; the college increased the number of SI sections from 10 in the first year to 35 in the second year. The college has created a very strong faculty and student development program for SI and they are implementing scheduling and marketing changes in response to student feedback.

Institutional Policy

• The college made a critical policy decision to eliminate late registration, effective fall 2011. The new registration policy will facilitate Tri-C’s ability to enforce the orientation attendance policy. College-wide data show that students who entered in fall 2010 and participated in an on-campus orientation were retained in spring 2011 at a rate of 15 percentage points higher than those who did not participate. 

Academic and Supportive Service Innovations

• Faculty and staff involved with the SI program created a course for SI student leaders, designed to provide ongoing support and training for the leaders. The new leader course was taught for the first time on all three campuses in spring 2011.
• After two years of emphasis on cooperative learning training for faculty, a team of 11 Tri-C faculty will be certified as “in-house” trainers. The team of certified faculty trainers will design a cooperative learning training for the third year of the grant.  In addition, faculty who have already been trained are pairing up to observe each other’s classes and provide feedback. The faculty members will receive a small stipend to participate.

What’s Up with DEI: Ohio

During July and August, we’re sharing some of the DEI state policy team and college accomplishments from the last year of work. We’re making our way (alphabetically!) through the six DEI states, profiling the DEI colleges in those states as we go. This week, we’re focusing on Ohio, the Buckeye State!

The Ohio Board of Regents serves as the state team lead for Ohio’s ATD/DEI state policy work. Five of the state’s 23 community colleges participate in DEI: Cuyahoga, Eastern Gateway, North Central State, Sinclair, and Zane State. In the last year, Ohio has moved forward on all three DEI State Policy Framework levers:

Data-Driven Improvement

• One Board of Regents effort will identify levels of developmental education classes offered at all 23 community colleges; this information will be added to the Higher Education Information system to determine outcomes for students who enter developmental education at various levels. Such analysis will enable them to identify what type of innovations work with particular subsets of students.
• The Board of Regents has produced college-level reports of outcome data and convened meetings with Institutional Research and other college staff to explain the reports. These meetings predated a series of regional data workshops in which the five DEI colleges facilitated meetings with community colleges in their region. 
• The Board of Regents will also fund a second study aimed at compiling results of research on effective developmental interventions that have been implemented by Ohio’s DEI colleges and other Ohio community colleges and disseminating that information throughout the state.

Investment in Innovation

• Twenty-two of Ohio’s 23 community colleges and their local ABLE program partners are participating in a pilot program to identify the practices and procedures most likely to lead to stable college-ABLE agreements. This alignment project is ultimately aimed at increasing student postsecondary success and to inform the Board of Regents as it develops recommendations for determining when a student is not yet ready to be enrolled in any college course, including developmental education. This pilot also will provide data to satisfy a commitment made to the Ohio legislature to better align the state’s ABE, adult workforce, and community college systems.

Policy Supports

• The Board of Regents has completed the first phase of a survey of Ohio community college assessment and placement practices. The second phase will dig deeper into some of the trends reported by colleges related to when placement tests are administered, how much information is provided to students about the test, and what type of test preparation is offered or suggested.  Results of this study will inform recommendations for appropriate testing and placement procedures.
• The state of Ohio has implemented a performance funding system based on these Success Points. Under this system, the community college funding formula will distribute 95 percent based on traditional enrollment calculations, and 5 percent based on success points. The percentage based on success points will increase, with 7.5 percent for next fiscal year and 10 percent the following.

For more details on DEI state policy accomplishments, check out Jobs For the Future’s latest DEI publication Driving Innovation: How Six States Are Organizing to Improve Outcomes in Developmental Education Outcomes.