AQIP Action Projects at Wright College 2014 -2015 Kevin Li, Dean of Instruction

1. AQIP Action Projects at Wright College 2014 -2015 • Kevin Li, Dean of Instruction • FDW, August 12, 2014

2. Current Action Projects • College Completion (to be retired in December 2015) • Skills Connection (to be retried in December 2014) • Service Learning (to be retired in December 2014) • Two new Action Projects by January 2015

3. College Completion • Peer mentor program: To increase retention by connecting committed student mentors with incoming students to alleviate initial isolation, increase student involvement and interaction, and improve academic achievement (implemented Fall 2014). • Extended orientation: Organized through the Wright in Your Corner (WIYC) Student Center, extended orientation helps to ensure that students have a successful transition to college, connect to resources and skills that build a solid academic and social foundation, and engage in the Wright College community (implemented Summer 2014). • Embedded tutoring: In Summer 2013, the Tutoring Center piloted 13 course sections with embedded tutors, followed by 23 course sections embedded in the Fall 2013 pilot and 40 course sections in Spring 2014.

4. College Completion • College Success courses were implemented in Spring 2014; the College Success course is designed to enhance the student experience at City Colleges by providing critical information about academic and career planning, college resources, study and research skills, and opportunities to become engaged in college life outside of the classroom. • Co-requisite offerings: Maintained and improved quality of pre-credit and credit courses linked as co-requisite learning communities to accelerate developmental education student progress in Fall 2013 and Spring 2014. • College advisor meet-and-greet and tutor meet-and-greet sessions were held in Spring 2013 with 70 and 149 students participating, respectively. The college advisor meet-and-greet was repeated in Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 with 229 and 195 students participating, respectively.

5. College Completion • Student Support Services website: In Fall 2014, the College launched a new, comprehensive website featuring links to important academic services and other essential services. • College Completion website: New site (in development Fall 2014) to house relevant completion materials, like the “Commit to Complete” handout published in Fall 2013, with links to important completion information, support services videos, and video testimonials featuring recent college completers. With the implementation of these projects, Wright College was able to attain an 18.6% increase in degree completion for FY 2014. The official degree numbers for FY 2013 and FY 2014 were 869 and 1031, respectively.

6. Skills Connection • Sixteen (16) workshops have been held since the launch of the program in Fall 2013, with 105 students in attendance. The workshops covered topics such as professionalism, communication, teamwork, conflict resolution, organizational skills and time management, presentation skills, assertiveness and self-confidence, networking and online professionalism, and goal setting. • 245 students have taken WorkKeys tests. • 217 students earned NCRCs, which translates into a 89% success rate for Wright College test takers. • 201 Fit Assessments aiding student career exploration have been administered in either a classroom setting or on a walk –in basis in office settings. In both settings, counseling sessions were provided with the assessments so that students understood the assessment results.

7. Skills Connection • 153 Talent Assessments (soft skills inventory) were administered in either classrooms or on a walk-in basis in office settings and counseling sessions were provided so that students understood the assessment results. • Nine (9) career programs - Computerized Numerical Control, Environmental Technology, Licensed Practical Nurse, Medical Assistant, Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA), Paralegal, Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Radiography, and Registered Nurse Completion - have integrated Skills Connection tools. • The Occupational Therapy Program has developed Talent Action Plans by using Skills Connection tools to help students who may need remediation with challenges encountered at internship sites. In such cases, the Skills Connection coordinator works with OTA staff and administers Fit and Talent Assessments, develops an action plan for any soft skills deficiencies, and meets with students to monitor progress.

8. Skills Connection • Career Exploration support has been provided by combining Fit and Talent assessments, along with debriefing sessions, students on a walk-in basis. Career Exploration workshops were provided in six (6) Foundational Studies Math courses for approximately 300 students. Career exploration workshops have also been provided for at-risk students in the Level Up summer program and to one section of College Success course students. • The Behavioral Monitoring Scales were used to assess students’ soft skills proficiency and develop interventions for improvement in both a Psychiatric Rehabilitation class and an Occupational Therapy Assistant class. • Faculty training sessions on Skills Connection tools and how to effectively integrate them into curriculum have also been provided.

9. Service Learning The college involved people in work on this action project through the creation of a committee and three subcommittees. The inclusion of administrators, full-time faculty, adjunct faculty, and program coordinators served to target various stakeholders across the college. In addition to the original committee, during the spring 2013 semester, two other college staff members were added, the Skills Connection Coordinator and the Director of Community Relationships.The committee has also reached out to the larger college community by presenting on service learning during Faculty Development Week in August 2012, 2013, and 2014. These presentations serve not only to inform and remind faculty that service learning is a current AQIP action project, but also serve to share best practices, and encourage faculty participation in service learning.

10. Service Learning In the original proposal, the college had planned to submit an application for the 2015 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification. However, once the application was obtained and work began on it, the college felt that it was not at a mature enough stage to ultimately submit the application for consideration. Although the service learning component is healthy, the college is lacking in a general commitment to volunteerism. It is hoped that the application can be revisited in the near future.

11. Service Learning Shift in Goals:In October of 2013, this action project committee found an additional way to provide students an opportunity for service learning while at the same time providing other students with much needed daily resources. The committee began discussions with the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD). The GCFD is a nonprofit food distribution and training center that provides food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in our community. The college recognized the need to serve both our students at the college and our community neighbors. With the help of GCFD, the committee worked for the past year to prepare for the introduction of a food pantry at the college. This preparation involved collaborative efforts from faculty to the chief engineer at the college. In July 2014, members of the committee underwent training with GCFD and the food pantry is scheduled to open at the college in September 2014. We hope this is the beginning to a lasting commitment to helping students meet the basic necessities of life. In addition, the food pantry will provide other students opportunities for service learning.

12. HLC’s Action Project Requirement The Commission’s AQIP Action Project requirement is central to an institution’s success in the program because it compels the institution to develop the structure(s) necessary to organize and oversee a quality initiative. This process requires broad engagement of faculty and staff in the selection of projects and also through participation on project teams. Moreover the frequency of Action Projects ensures that the institution completes a continuous series of initiatives as opposed to getting mired in lengthy strategic planning processes that are often delayed and never completed. For many institutions, the specific choice of project is less critical than the communication of a shared sense of activity, movement, and purpose. An important result of early Action Projects is a demonstration that shared efforts can improve institutional performance.

13. Overview of targets for Wright 1600 1600 1600 AFSCME 1600 1600 AFSCME AFSCME AFSCME 1600 * Targets, not actuals Full-time Faculty and Professional(1600) Contract Metrics Adult Educators/Coordinators Contract Metrics 1600 AFSCME DRAFT - for discussion purposes

14. Ideas for the two new Action Projects in 2015…. • FYE • Space planning What other ideas you may have?

15. AQIP Action Projects at Wright College 2014 -2015 Correspondence regarding this presentationshould be addressed to: Kevin Li, Dean of Instruction/Accreditation Liaison Officer Wilbur Wright CollegeOne of the City Colleges of Chicago kli@ccc.edu