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Dr. Mary Gene Ryan Title III Grant Project Director

Improving Academic Success for At-Risk Two Year College Students Title III and Title V Project Directors Conference April 2011 Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Washington, DC. Dr. Mary Gene Ryan Title III Grant Project Director. About Midlands Technical College.

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Dr. Mary Gene Ryan Title III Grant Project Director

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  1. Improving Academic Success for At-Risk Two Year College StudentsTitle III and Title V Project Directors Conference April 2011Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Washington, DC Dr. Mary Gene Ryan Title III Grant Project Director

  2. About Midlands Technical College Established in 1974 as one of 16 Technical Colleges in South Carolina Enrolls approximately 15,000 students annually Offers over 100 associate degree, diploma and certificate programs

  3. About Midlands Technical College Programs are mostly geared toward career programs, but MTC also has a strong college transfer program (MTC is the single largest source of transfer students to the University of South Carolina)

  4. GRANT FOCUS:DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES Improve academic success for DVS students Improve graduation and retention rates for DVS students Improve graduation and retention rates for ALL MTC students

  5. What do we already know about RETENTION? • Students who develop a personal relationship with at least one faculty or staff member are more likely to graduate than those who do not. “Quality and Frequency of Faculty-Student Interaction as Predictors of Learning: An Analysis by Student Race/Ethnicity” in the Journal of College Student Development (2004)

  6. What do we already know about RETENTION? • Students who develop personal relationships with other students are more likely to graduate than those who do not. “Quality and Frequency of Faculty-Student Interaction as Predictors of Learning: An Analysis by Student Race/Ethnicity” in the Journal of College Student Development (2004)

  7. What do we already know about RETENTION? • Students whose parents graduated from college have a higher likelihood of graduating. “Quality and Frequency of Faculty-Student Interaction as Predictors of Learning: An Analysis by Student Race/Ethnicity” in the Journal of College Student Development (2004)

  8. What do we already know about RETENTION? • Students who enter college with good math, reading and English skills earn higher grades and are more likely to graduate on schedule. “Quality and Frequency of Faculty-Student Interaction as Predictors of Learning: An Analysis by Student Race/Ethnicity” in the Journal of College Student Development (2004)

  9. What do we already know about RETENTION? • “Clearly, being placed with the same students in at least two classes with integration and reinforcement of material from both classes in both classes provided an environment of support and success for these students.” “Effects of a First-Semester Learning Community on Nontraditional Technical Students” Barbara Goldberg and Martin Finkelstein In Innovative Higher Education, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Summer 2002)

  10. What do we already know about RETENTION? • “… it is important for learning assistance professionals to approach the topic of academic procrastination from a perspective that recognizes its continual nature. Students must learn and vigilantly practice goal-setting and self-monitoring in order to effectively regulate their time and academic performance.” “Academic Procrastination Prevention/Intervention: Strategies and Recommendations” M.M. Kachgal, L.S. Hansen and K.J. Nutter In Journal of Developmental Education, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Fall 2001)

  11. Problem in Fall 2005: Students come to MTC from the public schools of South Carolina underprepared for college level work. South Carolina students continue to rank among the lowest of the 50 states in high school graduation rates and SAT scores. DVS (Developmental Studies) course failure rates were high - 41.4% of DVS Reading students failed or withdrew from their courses in Fall 2005. Retention rates for DVS students were low – only 9.4% were still enrolled after 3 years Enrollment in DVS courses has increased over 20 percent in the past four years, and this trend is expected to continue.

  12. MTC’s SOAR Program • The SOAR (Success through Occupational and Academic Resources) Program was designed to address academic and personal needs of students who enter the college requiring remediation based on their performance on the COMPASS-R.

  13. MTC’s SOAR Program • Advantages to students: • Cohort members attend most of their classes together for the first semester, allowing them to establish friendships with other students and good relationships with faculty members • Students receive at least 3 hours of Read Right® tutoring per week. Improved reading skills enable students to comprehend more complex texts in their regular curriculum courses. • SOAR students establish a personal relationship with their Academic Advisor from the first day they attend MTC. • SOAR students are focused on career-related skills from the beginning of their college experience through the use of KeyTrain® remediation in preparation for the WorkKeys® assessment.

  14. MTC’s SOAR Program Four-pronged approach • Address students’ reading skills • Provide a more “personal touch” for DVS students • Assist DVS students in setting an appropriate career goal AND doing what is necessary to achieve that goal • Provide additional learning opportunities

  15. 1. Address students’ reading skills Task: • Revise the current DVS Reading curriculum to include an emphasis on improving students’ reading ability … Enter READ RIGHT®!

  16. 1. Address students’ reading skills • Read Right® program • Started in Spring 2007 on two campuses • Was integrated into the SOAR curriculum as a requirement for SOAR students only in Fall 2007 • Also became part of the grade (10 percent) in RDG 032 for all DVS students beginning in Fall 2007 • Became a Reading Skills Laboratory course (RDG 013) beginning in Spring 2009 as a co-requisite for RDG 032, Developmental Reading, and is now taken by ALL DVS Reading students

  17. 1. Address students’ reading skills RESULTS:

  18. 1. Address students’ reading skills RESULTS:

  19. 2. Provide a more “personal touch” for DVS students • “Retention Advocates” • One person hired on each campus (Beltline and Airport) • Serve as the SOAR students’ academic advisor throughout their first year • Teach the College Skills course during students’ first semester • Meet with DVS students individually throughout each semester • Track DVS students’ progress • Contact DVS instructors regularly regarding student progress, difficulties, etc.

  20. 2. Provide a more “personal touch” for DVS students

  21. 3. Assist DVS students in setting an appropriate career goal AND doing what is necessary to achieve that goal • DVS students use the KeyTrainonline system to help them choose a career goal and address their individual remediation needs • KeyTrain is part of the curriculum • College Skills – “Reading for Information” and “Locating Information” modules • Developmental Reading – “Applied Mathematics” and “Listening” modules

  22. 3. Assist DVS students in setting an appropriate career goal AND doing what is necessary to achieve that goal DVS students take the WorkKeysassessment at the end of their College Skills class

  23. KeyTrain/WorkKeysResults WorkKeys™ Career Readiness Certificates provide students with a credential they can bring with them to employers indicating their job-readiness. • 208 students have enrolled in KeyTrain since Fall 2007. • 113 of those students have earned a Silver or Bronze WorkKeys™ certificate at the end of their first semester. • No SOAR student has failed the “Reading for Information” portion of the WorkKeys assessment since Fall 2007.

  24. 4. Provide additional learning opportunities • Supplemental Instruction – “SI” • Began in Spring 2007 with MAT 100 and BIO 210 classes • Instructor recommends a good student to serve as the “SI Leader” in each section • SI Leader receives special training from Academic Success Center personnel • SI Leader attends class with the students and sets up additional sessions during the week to assist students with the material covered in class • Great response from students! • An average of 7 students attend each SI session for MAT 100 AND • An average of 11 students attend each SI session for BIO 210 • Will continue to add SI sessions for courses as needed

  25. FACULTY COMMENTS ABOUT SI: • [STUDENT] served as my SI for several semesters.  When we began the hybrid Math 100 classes in Fall 2009, she was invaluable.  She not only knew the way I taught, but also the MyMathLab software that we required. • I am usually a pretty good judge of who will and will not do well in my classes.  I can name 3 students that would tell you, if it were not for [STUDENT SI LEADER] and the SI program, that they would not have passed the course.

  26. Early Alert http://www.midlandstech.edu/dvs/alert/ • “Early Alert” System • Electronic mechanism by which instructors are able to notify the Retention Advocates about any issues concerning DVS students Advantage to students: Retention Advocates are able to intervene and assist students in solving their problems BEFORE they become insurmountable.

  27. Problems encountered in Year 1 Reluctance on the part of faculty Uneasiness about how Read Right®would impact the existing curriculum – Would some reading courses be eliminated? Faculty reluctance translated into student apathy

  28. So we tried… Spring 2007: Make RR available to students but not required • Result: Very few students attended, although the ones who did experienced significant gains in reading

  29. So we tried… Fall 2007: Making RR count for 10 percent of students’ final grades in their first Reading course • Result: Some students attended regularly, but many waited until the end of the term to begin RR and so did not experience significant gains in reading Building RR into the curriculum for only the students in the SOAR program • Result: SOAR students’ reading skills improved by 3.13 grade levels (as measured by the TABE), while other DVS students improved by only .62 grade levels.

  30. So we tried… Spring 2008 - Faculty decided to “require” students to attend Read Right tutoring and count attendance there as 10 percent of the student’s grade in RDG 032 • Results: Students attended sporadically if at all. Those who did attend experienced significant gains in reading. • In Fall 2009, SOAR students gained an average of 2.37 grade levels and all other DVS students gained an average of 1.86 grade levels in reading as measured by the TABE.

  31. So we tried… Spring 2009 - The Reading faculty established a 1-credit hour (3 contact hours per week) “Developmental Reading Lab” course as a co-requisite for RDG 032 beginning in Spring 2009 Results: • In Spring 2010, the gap in reading gain between SOAR and all other DVS students was eliminated – all students attended an average of 20 hours of tutoring and improved an average of 1.5 grade levels

  32. Results from Spring 2009 • On the SOAR Student Evaluation conducted at the end of the Spring 2010 semester, students “Strongly Agreed” (4.88/5.0) that they would recommend the program to other students.

  33. Results from Fall 2010 • A total of 127 students were enrolled in Read Right tutoring in Fall 2010 • Students did 2 hours of tutoring and 40 minutes of independent reading per week • 94 percent (110 students) succeeded in improving their reading skills by the end of the term • 66 percent “graduated” from Read Right by the end of the term • 28 percent attended Read Right regularly and made progress, but did not “graduate” • 6 percent did not attend or make progress

  34. PROJECT EVALUATION *For first-time, full-time DVS students

  35. PROJECT EVALUATION

  36. PROJECT EVALUATION

  37. HOW ARE WE DOING IN MEETING THE GOALS ESTABLISHED FOR THE GRANT?

  38. GRANT GOALS • By September 2011, 100 percent of DVS RDG students will have completed WorkKeys assessment, and if necessary, completed KeyTrain remediation. RESULTS AS OF 3/25/11: WorkKeys/KeyTrain Completion Total # of DVS students: 208 # completing KeyTrain/WorkKeys: 208 % Complete 100%

  39. GRANT GOALS • By September 2011, overall retention rate for DVS students will increase 2 percent per year from the college’s baseline 2005 results of 46 percent. RESULTS AS OF 3/25/11: Fall-to-Fall Retention Rate 2009-10* All DVS: 58% SOAR only: 61% *For first-time, full-time students

  40. GRANT GOALS • By September 2011, 75 percent of DVS SOAR students will have an individual advisement plan for career/educational development. RESULTS AS OF 3/25/11: INDIVIDUAL ADVISEMENT PLANS Total # of students: 116 # Individual Advisement Plans: 95 Percent 82%

  41. GRANT GOALS • By September 2011, DVS student course withdrawal rate will decrease from 30.6 percent to 25.6 percent. RESULTS AS OF 3/25/11: Withdrawal Rates for 2007-10 All DVS: 25% SOAR only: 17%

  42. GRANT GOALS • By September 2009, COL 106 (College Skills) and COL 102 (Intro to College) will be redesigned to incorporate the concepts of a learning community and strategic changes to enhance retention. RESULTS AS OF 3/25/11: COL 106 and COL 102 have been redesigned to enhance learning community and retention.

  43. Students’ Comments on RR Survey

  44. “Talk to me about your reading now that you have been going to READ RIGHT. How is it different for you?” • I know that I have improved a lot in reading. I didn’t think I needed as much, but I realized my weakness in reading. Read Right has been very helpful and has got me more involved in reading on a daily basis. • Due to Mrs. X, she taught me a lot about reading. Reading is natural & conversational. • It is different now because I take my time at reading. Also, I am understanding what I am reading. • Now my vocabulary is richer and the people understand me much better. • I read at a steady pace now. • As of now my reading is more natural and conversational.

  45. “Talk to me about your reading now that you have been going to READ RIGHT. How is it different for you?” (continued) • I can read more without stopping. • I can read a whole paragraph with understanding and without stumbling over words. • I can tell that my reading has improved. I take more time to read and learned how to slow down • I was used to reading fast and not understanding what I read. I was taught to read slowly and stop at every period. • I read more clearly and smoother. • My reading is better because I now stop at periods, commas and I’m focused and much more relaxed.

  46. “Is there anything else you want to tell me about your reading or about being a student in READ RIGHT?” • It’s perfect the way it is to me, because it definitely improved my reading skills. • It’s GREAT!!!! • It is a challenge, but in so many ways it makes you better at speaking and defining the words you are reading. • I’m very thankful with Read Right at Midlands Tech (Beltline), because with that tutor I could improve my English reading and become more comfortable with that language. Thanks so much, Ms. X.

  47. “Is there anything else you want to tell me about your reading or about being a student in READ RIGHT?” (continued) • I’m glad I actually took my time to take this class. It helped me a lot. I had lots of fun with Mrs. X. She’s so cool and Ms. XX. They helped me with my reading but most importantly in school. I took a lot of tips from this class and then used them in my other classes. So I just want to thank them the most for helping me… you’ll always have a special place in my heart! • I would like to say thanks for helping me become an excellent reader. • Thanks for taking the time to help me read.

  48. “Is there anything else you want to tell me about your reading or about being a student in READ RIGHT?” (continued) • I have enjoyed my time in Read Right along with all the teacher help. Thank you. • Thank you for showing and teaching me how to read to understand what I read in passages. • Ms. X really helped me a lot and I appreciate her so much. Thanks, Read Right!

  49. Lessons Learned Using the “learning community” approach (as in the SOAR program) appears to be having a positive impact on DVS students: • “My classmates influence me a bunch. The reason is at my high school they didn't give us homework and I didn't study for my classes. When I look at them [classmates], I see that they are always doing their homework and making me to think I need to do stuff to pass this year. Also, I really like all my classmates this year too and I think that is a big part of this year.” • “I strongly agree that my classmates have influenced me daily because they make sure I’m on task and it is good to know that someone is worried when I’m late or not there.” Journal comments from students in COL 106.

  50. Lessons Learned The Retention Advocates are using “intrusive” academic advising techniques with the SOAR students, which appear to be having a positive impact on student retention and academic progress.

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