The Summer XL Program: A new model of student success. Helping developmental students transition from high school to college and earn college credit with ALP: The Summer XL Program: A new model of student success.     Dr. Heather Jennings, Professor of Psychology Professor Laura Knight, Professor of English

Rates of in-coming college students in need of academic remediation are on the rise.

Summer XL Program College Readiness Now Grant The Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) provides funding for the College Readiness Now (CRN) grant and it is administered by the Center for Student Success at the New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC). Goal: To increase the number of incoming high school students who are college-ready To accomplish this goal, the Summer XL program was designed with a three-phase model that included: Accuplacer preparation online via Blackboard (Bb) A developmental seminar for English skills training Enrollment in a 3-credit ENG 101 (ALP) course. The mission of the Summer XL program was to provide academic and social support services designed to strengthen students’ college readiness. To accomplish this goal, the Summer XL program was designed with a three-phase model that included (1) Accuplacer preparation online via Blackboard (Bb), (2) a developmental seminar for English skills training and (3) enrollment in a 3-credit ENG 101 (ALP) course.

Recruitment Sample (n = 35) Current high school juniors and seniors were recruited from 11 different local high schools. 19 juniors(54%) 100% = 16-19 years old 16 seniors (45%) 47% female 53% male

80% of the participants represented minority groups

Accuplacer Preparation Module (Bb) Phase 1 The design of the Accuplacer preparation course resulted in an innovative instructional design that focused on student success for our most at-risk students. Track 1 students (non-college ready) Accuplacer Preparation Module (Bb)     Accuplacer Testing Sentence Skills Reading comprehension Writeplacer Student success modules (Welcome, Tips and practice, Help section/inspiration) Track 2 students (college ready)

Track 1 Students Track 1 (non-college ready) 25 students (72%) were identified as non-college ready based on their Accuplacer scores. Of these, almost all placed into two levels of English-remediation. Services provided: Received the Developmental Seminar (21 hours of remedial instruction) Mandatory success coaching sessions Additional in-class resources and support Three additional hours of instruction outside ENG 101 Accuplacer post-test MCCC orientation

Track 2 (college ready) 10 students from the sample(28%) were identified as college ready. This group received early registration, advisement, and an MCCC orientation.

Accuplacer Preparation Module (Bb) Summer XL Track 1 students (non-college ready) Accuplacer Preparation Module (Bb) Accuplacer testing ENG 101 (ALP) Summer B Session     Track 2 students (college ready) PHASE 1 PHASE 3 PHASE 2

Summer XL ENG 101 (ALP) Final Grades n = 35

Summer XL Distribution (ENG 101) Students who were not retained (25%) n = 9

77% of the students in ENG 101 (ALP) passed with a C or higher! 71% of the students who passed were not college ready according to Accuplacer results.

The purpose of the grant was to increase the number of students who are college ready. 72% of the students were identified as non-college ready (as determined by Accuplacer scores) Most needed multiple levels of remediation (ENG 023, ENG 024, ENG 033, ENG 034) 100% students who completed all phases of this program, are now deemed as college-ready according to the academic standards of MCCC.

Did the program work as expected? 77% of the cohort completed a college-level course BEFORE the start of the fall 2018 semester. Fall 2018: 54% of the cohort are enrolled at MCCC 17% are enrolled in ENG 102

Students credited these improvements to small group instruction, interesting curriculum and feeling that their instructors were invested in their success “My teacher actually cared about us and whether or not we did the work and since it was a small class it was more personal.” “I liked the class size. It was more personal, which allowed people to say how they really feel during discussions. ” “I liked my professor, she was fun and made me engage more in group discussions.”

Summer XL Student Survey Information 70% reported plans to complete 4-year degree (Bachelor's degree). 15% reported plans to complete 2-year degree (Associate’s degree). 63% reported plans to attend MCCC after completing the Summer XL program. 89% of the students agreed that the Summer Xl program helped them improve their English reading and writing skills to some degree.

Summer XL Student Survey Information 94% report increased confidence that the program has prepared them for college-level courses. 90% feel that they are more prepared for college success after completing the Summer XL program 4.2 out of 5 (stars)

What Did We Learn? The challenges highlighted the need for strong community partnerships with our local area high schools. The data created in this program has highlighted the importance of multiple-measures in the developmental education placement process. The results of this program indicate that many students who tested below college-level benchmarks on the Accuplacer are still capable of college-level learning and success, when the appropriate conditions are available. The challenges encountered during CRN IV highlighted the need for strong community partnerships with our local area high schools. Summer XL fell short of our recruitment goal of 50 students mostly due to the lack of existing partnerships. This will be an area that will be addressed early in the process of CRN V as we will capitalize on the relationships developed this year. The importance of additional training and communication with our success coaches and instructors was also well learned this year. As a result of this experience, additional training and communication efforts will be added to CRN V to help retain more student next year. Most importantly, the data created in this program has highlighted the importance of multiple-measures in the developmental education placement process. The results of this program indicate that many students who tested below college-level benchmarks on the Accuplacer are still capable of college-level learning and success, when the appropriate conditions are available.

Summer XL 2019 is underway with some changes! Saturday Academy (7 class meetings for 2 hrs/class) has replaced the Developmental Seminar Provided increased success coach training for staff members Less emphasis was placed on Accuplacer testing since the college is transitioning to a multiple measures approach

Thank you!