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Goals and Strategies. Overarching Long-Term Goal: By 2020 increase the number of adults who hold college degrees to between 23.6% and 29.7% of Arkansas adults Strategies: 1) Improve remediation rate Keep definition of college-ready at 19 on the ACT in English. mathematics, and reading
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Goals and Strategies • Overarching Long-Term Goal: By 2020 increase the number of adults who hold college degrees to between 23.6% and 29.7% of Arkansas adults Strategies: • 1) Improve remediation rate • Keep definition of college-ready at 19 on the ACT in English. mathematics, and reading • Encourage a secondary assessment correlated with the ACT for placement in all three areas (a “second opinion,” like CPT or Compass) • Mandate that all high school juniors take the ACT for an indication of college-readiness; develop courses to address remedial needs during students’ senior year in high school
Goals and Strategies • 2) Improve transferability of both courses and financial aid among colleges • By current law, students who move from 2-year to 4-year colleges have their entire 60-hour associate’s degree to transfer. What is needed is for four-year colleges and universities to develop transfer plans with each other. • Consider awarding a general education core certificate to encourage students to continue with their education • Arkansas Department of Higher Education is requested to coordinate a statewide financial aid transfer plan so that students moving into a four-year school from a two-year school will not have a gap in their aid
Goals and Strategies • 3) Improve retention by mandating that each college and university develop a benchmarked retention and graduation plan to increase the numbers of students retained and graduated. • This plan will form the basis for biannual assessment and possible incentive funding. • Also have a mechanism, such as an annual workshop through which colleges and universities can share strategies for retaining students. UCA provided a list of best practices on that campus
Goals and Strategies • 4) Improve graduation rates by mandating that each college develop a program to reach out and help graduate college stop-outs. Provide incentive funding for the increase in numbers graduated. • Also create graduation-in-place programs for place-bound students: baccalaureate degrees taken to the student either by delivery on a two-year campus by four-year faculty or by delivery via distance mode.
5. Assessment: • Every two years during their budget hearings each college and university will report the gains they have made in retaining and graduating students.