Redesigning America’s Community Colleges ACC Futures Institute - Fall 2015

The Community College Landscape • Community colleges enroll about 43% of all undergraduates nationally; 54% in Texas • Community colleges enroll a disproportionate number of lowincome, immigrant, first generation, and ethnic minority students • Nationally, fewer than 40% of cc students complete any type of degree/certificate within 6 years • The 6-year completion rates for Texas are 32.9% for FT students, 22.7% for PT students; the 6-year comp rates for ACC are 26.1% for FT and 12% for PT students. 2

A Critical Need for Greater Student Success • Most jobs today require some post-secondary education • Higher level education credentials lead to higher incomes • Increasing demand for HE, but decreasing state funding have driven costs up for students • Low completion rates have fueled greater demands for accountability • US has fallen to 12th in percentage of 25-34 year olds that have obtained a post-secondary credential • New Texas plan for HE calls for “60x30” – 60% of Texans to have a post-sec credential by 2030 3

Redesign Needed Redesigning America’s Community Colleges: a Clearer Path to Student Success Thomas R. Bailey Shanna Smith Jaggars Davis Jenkins Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015 4

Redesign Needed Present – Cafeteria-Style

Future – Guided Pathways

• Focus on Courses • Limited advising, focus on registration (enrollments), poor tracking of progress • Primary instructional technique one of “knowledge transmission” • Developmental ed with inadequate diagnosis, lengthy pre-requisites, noncontextualized, uninspiring

• Focus on Programs • Focus on early actions to help students identify and clarify goals; continuous tracking of progress • Primary instructional technique of “learning facilitation” • Developmental ed as “onramp” – contextualized, accelerated, personalized 5

Futures Institute Fall 2015 • Research/Discussion • Presentations/Gather feedback • Sept 25: Davis Jenkins • Advisory Committee • Visits: Miami-Dade, City Colleges of Chicago, Sinclair College • Report

Spring 2016 • Operationalize Pathways • Redesign Student Intake Processes • Contextualize student success course/activities • Improve tracking, early alert and support processes • Implementation: Fall 2016

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Feedback on Futures Institute? Please give us your feedback! How can our interactions with students be improved at the following stages? • Connection (recruitment, preparation) • Entry (application, testing, advising, registration) • Progress (helping students stay on track, make progress) • Completion (crossing the goal line!) Go to http://www.austincc.edu/Futures 7

Feedback on ACC Vision/Values • What is missing and needs to be added? • What might be out-of-date and in need of revision? • Other suggestions?

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