The Transition to College: Fact or Fiction, What do the Data Say…?

1. The Transition to College: Fact or Fiction, What do the Data Say…? Dr. Julie Phelps Project Director of Achieving the Dream and Professor of Mathematics From Valencia Community College, Orlando, FL Jackson County Math Education Summit

2. Overview of Presentation:Transition and Transformation Studies • Developmental Education Research • Carnegie Foundation - California • National Science Foundation and Community College Research Center • First Year Experience and Foundations of Excellence • MAA, NCTM, AMATYC and NADE • Achieving the Dream & Developmental Education Initiative – Lumina Foundation, Gates and several other partners • The Student Voice • Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) • Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE)

3. Developmental Education ResearchCarnegie Foundation Studies – California • Community Colleges are moving beyond access to examine success of students once they enter community colleges. • In California up to 90% of entering community college students require developmental mathematics. • Middle class status and competitiveness increasingly requires competency in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

4. Developmental Education Research .Recommendations for Strengthening Pre-collegiate Education in Community Colleges Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching • Success of underprepared students must be an institutional core responsibility • Professional development should be reinvented as an intellectually engaging, integral element of the educational institution. • Institutional research must be expanded to focus on core issues of teaching and learning.

5. Developmental Education Research .Recommendations for Strengthening Pre-collegiate Education in Community Colleges Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching • Community colleges should lead the way in developing richer, more revealing measures of student learning. • On-going larger scale improvement requires a wider network and infrastructure through which promising developments on individual colleges can be made visible, shared, and built upon.

6. Developmental Education Research – Ongoing Now • First Year Experience (FYE) • Foundations of Excellence (FOE) • Mathematics Association of America (MAA) • National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM ) • American Mathematics Association of Two Year Colleges (AMATYC ) • National Association for Developmental Education (NADE) • Journal of Developmental Education (Call for Manuscripts this Summer with Developmental Mathematics Focus)

7. Developmental Education Research .Columbia University Research Center: Study of Effectiveness of Practices in Increasing Persistence and Completion in Community Colleges • Learning communities ** • Advising, counseling, mentoring, and orientation programs & • Developmental education and other services for underprepared students & • College-wide reform & ** Most support grounded in research & Crucial, but most effective design and organization are not clear

8. Activity #1 Think, Pair, Share Directions: Jot Down • Other research you are aware of about transition to college and/or developmental mathematics. • Research you are interested in reading more about.

9. Achieving the Dream Initiative and Developmental Education Initiative • Committed Leadership • Documented Student Success Strategies • Broad Engagement Strategies • Use of Evidence to Improve Program, Policies and Practices • Systemic Institutional Improvement

10. Valencia Community College now has four major campuses, two academic and administrative centers, and two more major campuses in the planning stages. Criminal Justice Institute Osceola Campus East Campus Sand Lake Center Winter Park Campus West Campus

11. Focus

12. What did we discover? Valencia’s performance gaps: • Between college-ready & underprepared • Across racial and ethnic groups • Between math & other disciplines

13. What approaches did we choose? Strategies that are effective, ripe, scalable: • Supplemental Learning (SL) • Learning in Community (LinC) • Student Life Skills course (SLS) All help build “connection and direction.”

14. Bring to Scale

15. Climateof Innovation Level I Level II “Eye for Evidence”: More rigorous at each level. 1000’s of opportunties tried. Maintain a Research and Development Component. 100 are selected for support as Phase I Innovations. “Angel Capital Stage” Prototype 10 supported as Phase II Innovations. “Venture Capital Stage” Pilot Implementation (Limited Scale) Level III 1 or 2 are brought up to scale and Institutionalized. Innovation Management System Valencia’s challenge is in moving from Level II to Level III. Level II Innovations must be scalable and must show potential to bring systemic change and “business-changing results.” Standard of evidence increases at each level.

16. Meaningful Data and Systemic Improvement

18. Closing the Gaps • Overall, success in the 6 Gateway courses increased by 3% from 2004 to 2008. • Success gaps between African American and Caucasian students closed from 13.4% in 2004 to 3.6% in 2008. • Success gaps between Hispanic students and Caucasian students closed from 1.8% in 2004 to Hispanic students having higher success rates than Caucasian students by 4% in 2008.

22. Activity #2 • What questions do you have about Achieving the Dream and the Developmental Education Initiative?

23. The Students’ Voice – CCSSE and SENSEFocus on SENSE • Personal Connection • High Expectations and Aspirations • A Plan and a Pathway to Success • An Effective Track to College Readiness • Engaged Learning • In Integrated Network of Financial, Social, and Academic Support

24. CCSSE SENSE Focused snapshot of entering students’ experiences Sampling Frame: All developmental courses & first college-level English and math course(s) Drawn from Course Schedule File - Projected Enrollments Administration – 4th and 5th weeks Fall Semester • Broad overview of students’ experiences • Sampling Frame: All credit courses excluding ESL & Distance Learning • Drawn from Course Registration File – Actual Enrollments • Administration – Throughout Spring Semester The Center for Community College Student Engagement

25. 92% …of students responding to the SENSE survey say they believe they have the motivation to do what it takes to succeed in college. The Center for Community College Student Engagement

26. …of our students leave in their first year. 50% The Center for Community College Student Engagement

27. High Expectations and Aspirations Percentage of students who, at least once during their first three weeks of college: Source: 2008 SENSE field test data. The Center for Community College Student Engagement

28. 89% …of students responding to the SENSE survey say they’re academically prepared to succeed in college. The Center for Community College Student Engagement

29. An Effective Track to College Readiness In the SENSE survey… 48.5 % of students testing into three developmental courses say they are academically prepared to succeed in college. The Center for Community College Student Engagement

30. An Effective Track to College Readiness The Center for Community College Student Engagement

31. Students don’t know what they don’t know… but we think they should! The Center for Community College Student Engagement

32. An Integrated Network of Financial, Social, and Academic Support Entering students who are unaware of particular support services during their first three weeks of college: Source: 2008 SENSE field test data. The Center for Community College Student Engagement

33. Students don’t do optional!! The Center for Community College Student Engagement

34. Students use the word “mandatory” and want us to use it when we knowwhat they need. The Center for Community College Student Engagement

35. Activity #3 • Any surprises about the student voice?

36. Contact Information Dr. Julie Phelps Project Director, Achieving the Dream (AtD) & Professor, Mathematics Email: jphelps@valenciacc.edu • AtD web site:http://www.valenciacc.edu/dream/ • National AtD web site: http://www.achievingthedream.org