Do you ever have one of those weeks at work where a new concept/initiative is introduced on Monday and by Friday, that seems to be all you hear about? That is how my week was last week. I attended a national conference here in Denver hosted by the National Council on Student Development (NCSD). During the opening session, Dr. Rod Risley, Executive Director of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, spoke about Complete College America (CCA). While I had vaguely heard of CCA, it was not something that had been discussed at great length, but I jotted down some notes about looking into CCA a little further once was I got back to the office. When I returned to campus, I had an email from Tamara Johnson, Director of Admissions and Access Policy at the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE), and attached was a report outlining the Colorado statewide metrics completed by CCA. The email stated, “as you may know, we are a member of the Complete College America Alliance of States.” Oddly, enough, I did not already know. Tamara mentioned that we could request an institution specific report from CCA, which I did. As I looked over the first report, which contained staggering numbers on Colorado remediation, I received another email requesting I participate in a college-wide initiative to look at overhauling remediation at our college. I accepted the invitation, worked a while on another project, and then received the institution specific CCA report. The numbers were alarming, to say the best.
Complete College America, established in 2009, is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping states and is “…working to significantly increase the number of Americans with a college degree or credential of value and to close attainment gaps for traditionally underrepresented populations (www.completecollege.org).” CCA is funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and several other organization dedicated to funding education. States that participate in CCA are also competing for a 10$ million grant.
Per the website, 70% of jobs in Colorado will require that a person has a degree or certificate by 2020, but only 41% of Colorado adults currently have an associate’s degree or higher, which leaves a 29% gap between demand and supply. The data shows that at:
- 2-year colleges
o Part Time - of 20 part-time students, 6 will return as sophomores, 0 will graduate on time, and only 1 will actually graduate.
- At 4-year institutions
o Part Time - of 3 part-time students, 1 will return as sophomores, 0 will graduate on time, and only 1 will actually graduate.
While Colorado seems to be providing greater access to all students, the success rates of students needs significant work. Furthermore, students who start out in remediation are far less likely to succeed. At 2-year colleges, 35.3% of the students require remediation, of which only 9.2% will graduate within 3 years. At 4-year colleges, 9.3% of the students require remediation, of which 21.7% will graduate within 6 years.
At 2-year institutions, the argument has long been that part-time students, which makes up a large part of the student population, is not being counted towards community college success rates. The research done at CCA is not only focusing on the full-time student, but also on the part time student. The report released by CCA demonstrates that this can no longer be an argument at 2-year colleges. The retention and success rates of part-time students are staggering. While I would argue that these numbers do not show the original intent of part-time students (some part-time students come to community colleges just to take one course), I would argue that something needs to change.
At my current institution, change means we begin with remediation/developmental courses. An overwhelming number of our students start out in remediation and the success rates are low. There are so many challenges with how to “fix” this issue, but something must be done soon. States and federal government are looking for ways to include success measurements in the equation for funding allocations. Community colleges need to get on board quickly if they want to continue being funded.
The other issue, of course, are the students. Students are taking out larger amounts of debt and without earning a degree, paying that debt back will be even more challenging. On top of this, I suspect that the Pell grant will soon be reduced, which means students facing remediation must be able to get it done quickly.
It's fascinating how quickly information can travel initially, and then slow down once the actual work begins!
ReplyDeleteAs I read the statistics in your post, I thought about how we define success for community colleges. You said, "While I would argue that these numbers do not show the original intent of part-time students (some part-time students come to community colleges just to take one course), I would argue that something needs to change." I'm not an expert in community college retention and success - but should WE be defining what is successful for community college students, or let THEM tell us how they define success?
You mentioned students who want to take one class, what about students who want to transfer? Or students who just need a class for a certificate or for required professional development credits?
I don't think this is an excuse, but we should think about how we can assess this information of incoming students. Wouldn't this give us more data when we go back to the state to say, "our institutions do benefit the state because they are helping students accomplish their own goals." Thoughts?
Thanks Lori for your post. We actually talked a little bit about organizations like CCA in my finance class because of the private influence coming over public education. CCA is an example of that.
ReplyDeleteThe numbers for student completion are scary and at Metro are dealing with the same issues with remediation. We have started a program called quick start for students meeting certain accuplacer scores that get them through two remediation classes in one semester. This saves them some money and also gets them through it at a good pace. It also creates a learning community of sorts which has already been proven to help with retention. There has been strong success in the program for student with english remediation. Math is a whole other story and almost 90% of students starting at Metro need some sort of math remediation class.
This is an interesting issues, do you think your participation with CCA will produce any results or good programatic ideas?
Thanks for posting about this, Lori. During the NCSD conference, I found the statistics very interesting as well. I also felt that after that opening presentation about Complete College America, I saw it and heard about it everywhere. Since I am new to the Community College world, I am learning what the issues are which affect our students. The remediation issue, which I had never really considered has huge implications for the institution we work for as well as the students who attend. I am just beginning to learn how far reaching the implications are, but I appreciate you as a colleague being part of my education. As the Dean for Enrollment Services/Registrar, you have taught me a lot already about the Community College System.
ReplyDeleteSo, Thanks!