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NC State College Unique Characteristics. Small city with some “urban issues”; outlying area is rural; co-located campus Low level of educational attainment in region Qualified for AtD consideration due to high % of student population being PELL eligible Self-financing our AtD work.
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NC State College Unique Characteristics • Small city with some “urban issues”; outlying area is rural; co-located campus • Low level of educational attainment in region • Qualified for AtD consideration due to high % of student population being PELL eligible • Self-financing our AtD work
Current Achieving the Dream work has two areas of focus: • Developmental courses • Gateway (or “gatekeeper”) courses
Why Developmental Education? • REACH: A large number (66%) of NC State students need at least one of these courses • TIMING: Most take these courses early
Developmental Education Impact on Student Persistence • SUCCESS = PERSISTENCE: 92% of NC State students who succeed in developmental courses go on to take more classes
Developmental Education Impact on Student Persistence • FAILURE = DEPARTURE: 47% of NC State students who do not succeed in developmental courses immediately leave the college.
Why Gateway Courses? • Courses must be passed in order to move on in a major – “weeder” courses • Typically taken early in academic career • Persistence statistics virtually identical to developmental courses
How Will We Improve Student Success In These Courses? • Improve curriculum and instruction • Strengthen the college advising system In NC State’s AtD Work Plan, virtually all action steps align with one of these two areas!
We’ve Worked In Stages • Developmental course interventions implemented in 06-07 • Gateway course interventions implemented in 07-08 • Early results look positive in many areas but too early to draw conclusions!
AtD Long-Term Impact (How Will We Know This Is Working?) • Tracking by AtD cohort • Performance indicators: • Developmental course completion • Gateway course completion • Credit completion • Persistence • Credential completion
AtD Long-Term Impact (How Will We Know This Is Working?) • We’ve set measures for every performance indicator • Long-Term Expectations: • Success rates for indicators will steadily increase • Reduction and eventual elimination of performance gaps for subgroups
Future AtD strategy possibilities: • Maximizing financial aid as a retention tool • Collaborating with Adult Basic Literacy Education partners to provide developmental education more efficiently • Collaborating with secondary education partners to align college readiness expectations • Offering a part-time continuing enrollment contract
Lessons Learned • To avoid “Project Overload” we integrate our initiatives (AQIP, AtD, Perkins, strategic planning) • Engage faculty early… and let them lead • Student voices MUST be heard – and have the power to move us from “what?” to “why?”
Lessons Learned, continued • Manageable number of interventions (3-5) • Be clear on the results we expect -- and how, when and by whom they will be measured • Learn from our mistakes, but celebrate progress!