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How we came together

Seamless Transfer for Education in Michigan : A STEM Partnership Model Between WSU and Southeastern Michigan Community Colleges 2013 AACRAO Transfer Conference. How we came together. Complexities of Michigan’s environment – competition, structure, lack of university system

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How we came together

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  1. Seamless Transfer for Education in Michigan: A STEM Partnership Model Between WSU and Southeastern Michigan Community Colleges2013 AACRAO Transfer Conference

  2. How we came together • Complexities of Michigan’s environment – competition, structure, lack of university system • Process of working together • Challenge of herding the initiatives that are active at the various institutions • Slow process of engaging faculty • Existing culture/perception of partnership • Project Kaleidoscope

  3. Gaps & Other Challenges • Gaps between CCs and 4-year for STEM students: • Flawed process for a 2+2 • Misalignment of talent to employment • Challenges • Talented students face structural and economic barriers • Diversity – ensuring appropriate representation of women and minorities

  4. Map of Southeast Michigan Wayne State University Henry Ford CC Macomb CC Oakland CC

  5. 13 Schools & Colleges Largest single campus medical school in U.S. Over 400 degree and certificate programs Carnegie Designation as “Very High Research” Research Expenditures peryear of over $254 M Partner in the University Research Corridor with University of Michigan & Michigan State University About Wayne State University:Academic Programs & Research

  6. 10th Largest Employer in Detroit with over 5,000 full-time faculty and staff Over 1,800 full-time faculty Providing great Undergraduate Research opportunities for students Faculty produce over $254 M of research each year! “The One-Minute Professor” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy6N3K8upqE&feature=relmfu About Wayne State University:Faculty & Staff

  7. HenryFord Community College Dearborn, MI • 20,000+ credit students/year • Comprehensive community college • Smallest community college district in Michigan • 1 campus, 2 satellites • Serves students from 5 county area • 80% of students out of district • 2 New Century Scholars • 4 USA Today All-Academic Team Awardees • 5 Jack Kent Cooke Scholars

  8. Macomb Community CollegeMacomb County, MI • Located northeast of Detroit, Macomb Community College serves the county of Macomb with a population of 850,000 • Provides learning experiences to more than 56,000 students annually • Nationally ranks in the top two percent in the number of associate degrees awarded and as the largest grantor of associate degrees in Michigan

  9. Oakland Community CollegeOakland County, MI • The largest of the Michigan community colleges and 21st largest in the nation • Enrolled more than 81,000 students, from more than 80 countries, in the four semesters of calendar year 2011 • Average class size is 24 • More than 100 associate degree programs and 45 one year certificate programs • Awarded more than 2400 associate degrees and more than 200 certificates in 2011

  10. High level commitment and mandate to develop these partnerships Focus on enhancing the transition of transfer students, creating opportunities for curriculum alignment, and engaging strategically and operationally across levels and among different stakeholders Enrollment Trends For Fall 2011 and Fall 2012 – double digit increases in transfer students WSU and Michigan Community Colleges: A Strategic Partnership

  11. Advantages in Multiple Partnerships • WSU worked with 3 cc’s at once • Issues are very similar • Solutions can be shared. • Permits us to get a model for solutions. • Long term relationship / conversation not a one-shot deal. • Reverse Transfer: avoided un-necessary competition

  12. Five Interdependent Areas • Students’ needs must be met in all areas • Institutions may have programs in individual areas but may not be communicating • Result – lack of intentionality. • e.g. our reverse transfer communications

  13. Student Success as Focal Point

  14. 1. ACCESS • Overcoming barriers to transfer: Changing university faculty perception • Creating dialogue opportunities– Scientific Teaching Forum • Removing institutional hurdles: streamlining general education requirements (signing the “MACRAO Agreement”)

  15. Before MACRAO

  16. After Signing MACRAO

  17. 2. SUCCESS • Scientific Teaching workshops for STEM disciplines • CC Counselor Day at WSU • Advising – what models work? • Joint advising – our advisor sits at CC, not just resource fair. • Co-located with CC advising. • Dialogue between faculty to identify /reduce barriers and shared learning outcomes. • Fallback planning – what if you don’t make it to medical school, pre-pharmacy, etc.

  18. 3. ENGAGEMENT • How do we partner to bring more students into STEM? • Faculty Engagement • STEM Certificate • Dialogue between faculty means that CC faculty can talk with credibility about what happens in WSU STEM related courses.

  19. STEM Certificate • Sample STEM Curriculum

  20. 4. COMPLETION • Curriculum Alignment/Articulation agreements • Michigan Transfer Agreement (MACRAO) • Reverse Transfer • WayneDirect

  21. Advantages of Articulation Agreements • For students: • Guarantee of a seamless educational experience • Associate degree completion adds value • Avoid challenges of piecing together a program via course by course transfer process • For community colleges: • Incentivize associate degree completion • Program value enhanced by ease of bachelor’s degree completion • Courses need not match one-for-one • For 4-year institutions: • Seamless program makes better prepared transfer students • Increased enrollment • Enhanced student success • Easier assessment of student learning across institutions

  22. Reverse Transfer • Allows students to earn a certificate or associate degree by combining their CC credits with those earned at WSU • Students can apply retroactively for a certificate or degree using their WSU credits • Allows students to earn a credential while pursuing their ultimate career goals

  23. Reverse Transfer (cont.) Students will automatically be notified of this opportunity, when they have met the following criteria: • Have transferred with at least 30 semester college credit hours from the CC • Have earned at least 35 semester college credit hours from WSU • Transferred to WSU with CC as the last school attended • Be in “good standing” at both CC and WSU

  24. WayneDirect • A concurrent enrollment program that allows the flexibility of taking courses at both institutions to facilitate completion of both the associate’s and bachelor’s degrees • Broadens course availability and location of courses  • Benefits include coordinated financial aid, joint transcripts, and access to student services and campus amenities at both institutions • Option to participate in WSU’s Irvin D. Reid Honors College as HonorsDirect students • DreamDirect program is under development • But, there are implementation challenges….

  25. 5. WORKFORCE • Chambers of commerce • Workforce Intelligence Network • Universities good at creating future professors • Could community college partners help inform us? • CC’s don’t have full range of expertise • e.g. chemistry but not chemical engineering • Career services interactions between CC/4 years. • Talent dividend – great interest in business community in educational outcomes.

  26. Our Progress • Signed several articulation agreements • Focus on curriculum alignment • Completed three faculty teaching forums • Science and “TEM” • Tackling joint advising • Developing a “transfer” orientation and Transfer Center concept • Seeking additional funding to support initiatives

  27. Lessons Learned • Well articulated programs require faculty involvement for curriculum review so that students are well prepared. • Faculty may not initially perceive the value in such programs. • Whole programs should be aligned, including general education. This may require support outside the major program faculty.

  28. Lessons Learned (cont.) • Not all community college courses need to transfer in order for programs to articulate. • However, students prefer for their credits to transfer. • Agreements may challenge limits in # of credits transferred. • Meeting cadence is important • Identifying champions at each institution to keep momentum

  29. Questions? Ahmad M. Ezzeddine - Wayne State University a.m.ezzeddine@wayne.edu Donna Petras – Macomb Community College petrasd@macomb.edu

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