1. CAU and the National Landscape of College Completion
Dhanfu E. Elston, Ph.D. (dah-nee-foo)
Vice President for Alliance State Relations
Honored and humbled
@CompleteCollege
@DrElston

2. Having been on the other side of this audience, I have often wondered, “Who is this and what qualifies them?”
So how does this young man end up in front of you today?
Knucklehead who thought he was too cool for school

3. My story is very similar to some of the students that we serve
My story is very similar to some of the students that we serve. So I see our work through that lens.

4. Working with states to significantly increase the number of Americans with quality career certificates or college degrees and to close attainment gaps for traditionally underrepresented populations.
Thank you for the work that you have been doing
Solution-oriented
We are here because university leaders, higher education administrators, and legislators have agreed that there are opportunities to build on our existing work to ensure that more Mississippi students receive quality higher education and graduate

5. 41 The Alliance COMPLETE COLLEGE AMERICA DC
Central Valley Higher Education Consortium
Houston
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
Thurgood Marshall College Fund Consortium

7. Alliance Commitments Establish State and Campus Completion Goals
Measure and Annually Report Student Progress and Success
Work Toward Implementation of Game Changer Strategies

8. public four-year institutions
50 of 580+
public four-year institutions
Narrative has evolved from one of strictly access to a complementary approach of completion

9. CCA has several resources available for you to use which dig deeply into the game changers and examine results by state.

10. On-Time Graduation Rates
2-Year
4-Year
4-Year
(non-flagship)
(flagship/
very high research) 5%
19%
36%

11. 13% 43% 68% 150% Graduation Rates 2-Year 4-Year 4-Year (non-flagship)
very high research)
13%
43%
68%

12. Excess Credits 80.9 134.6 133.5 2-Year 4-Year 4-Year 60 Credits
(non-flagship)
(flagship/
very high research)
80.9
134.6
133.5
60 Credits
120 Credits
120 Credits

17. MONEY & METRICS

18. Metrics: Data Drives Change!
Rates and number of degrees
Momentum points (remediation, gateway courses, first-year credits, time to degree)
By race, age, gender, income
Adopted by National Governors Association

19. * Not collected in IPEDS
CCA Data Metrics
Context
Enrollment
Completion ratio *
Progress
Remediation*
Success in 1st yr college English and math*
Credit accumulation *
Retention rates
Course completion *
Outcomes
Degrees awarded annually and change over time
Graduation rates
Transfer rates
Credit and time to degree*
* Not collected in IPEDS

21. Behavioral Economics: Default
Organ Donation Rates
Austria (OPT-OUT)
99%
Germany (OPT-IN)
12%

22. 1. Structured Schedules
2. Corequisite Remediation
3. Math Pathways
4. GPS Direct
5. #15ToFinish

23. GAME CHANGER
Structured Schedules
#StructuredSchedules

24.  GAME CHANGER Structured Schedules
Block schedules of classes Cohorts of students Students choose programs or majors, not courses Attendance required

25. Baltimore City Community College

26. Where there is structure, there are significant results.
TENNESSEE COLLEGES OF APPLIED TECHNOLOGY
75%
avg. on-time graduate rate
TENNESSEE COMMUNITY COLLEGES
14%
avg. on-time graduate rate

27. Texas Legislation HB 1583
Facilitate timely degree completion at public junior colleges
Morning, full-day, afternoon, or evening blocks
allied health
nursing
career and technology
Does sharing successful policy serve more harm than good? For an extended presentation, should we include some of the best policy for each Game Changer?

28. GAME CHANGER
Corequisite Remediation
#CoreqWorks

29. African Americans, Hispanics and Pell Students are Over Represented
2-year Students
4-year Non-Flagship Students

30. The System Does Not Work, Particularly for African Americans
Gateway Course Completion in 2 years
2-year college remedial students

31. Student attrition is at the heart of the matter.

33. Corequisite Remediation
Provide academic support as a Corequisite not as a prerequisite

34. One Semester Redesigned Gateway
Extra Time
45 minutes after class
Additional class periods
Mandatory Tutoring
Paired proctored labs
Gateway
Sequenced
5 weeks prep plus 10 weeks gateway content

35. One Semester Corequisite Results
State
Subject
Traditional Model
(2years)
Corequisite Model
(One Semester)
West Virginia
Math
14%
62%
English
37%
68%
Tennessee
12%
63%
31%
67%
Indiana
29% (3yr)
64%
37% (3yr)
55%
Georgia
21%
71%

36. GAME CHANGER
Math Pathways
#MathPathways

37. College Algebra’s Only Purpose Preparation for Calculus
STEM

38. Math Is Aligned with Majors
Quantitative Reasoning/
Statistics

39. GAME CHANGER
GPS: Direct
#GPSDirect

40. Having a direct route is important, but you first have to know where you are going

41. Choose your path.
Start your path.
Stay on your path.
Graduate.

42. GPS: Essential Components
DO THIS
Purpose First: Informed Choice
Academic Maps
Meta-Majors
Default Registration
Critical Path / Milestone Courses
Intrusive Advising

43. Questions for a Potential Nursing Student
Are you prepared for Chemistry 101?
Do you like working with people?
“Real-Life Questions”
How do you feel about working with BLOOD and BEDPANS?

44. What Research (And Common Sense) Suggests Would Be Better
Before
At Enrollment
During College
Last Semester
Integrate career advising early advising – creating a single advising system
Advising includes labor market information and ROI
Success
We’ve asked experts and advisers and students over the course of a year and distilled what we learned into five strategies that we believe should be part of a coherent system of structured supports that would help students discern, develop, and work towards a realistic sense of purpose.
All colleges have some of these elements in place; but few have them meaningfully linked together so that students experience a seamless process of career and academic development. Institutions that are currently working towards building GPS structures and practices are particularly well positioned to leverage those structures to build a purpose-enhancing system.
Career exploration and skills built into curriculum
…a coherent system of tools and practices

45. Default Degree Maps

46. Meta Majors

47. 1 counselor : 400 students
Why GPS?

48. INTRUSIVE (PROACTIVE) ADVISING
Culture Shift: No longer wait for students to come to us!
Transition from Schedulers to “True” advising
Review Existing Model: Professional vs. Faculty Advisors
Advisor Training & Retreats
Solution-oriented Meetings
Advising Syllabus – Common, shared outcomes

49. GAME CHANGER
15 To Finish
#15ToFinish

50. The Power of 15 Credits: More students graduate when they complete 30+ credits in their first year.

51. Full-time Students Taking 15+ Credits Per Semester
Most students DON’T take the credit hours necessary to graduate on time
Full-time Students Taking 15+ Credits Per Semester

53. % First-Time, Full-Time Students Enrolled in 15+ Credit Hours (1st semester)

54. % First-Time, Full-Time Students Enrolled in 15+ Credit Hours (1st semester)

55. Completecollege.org/15ToFinishMaterials

56. TECHNOLOGY | DATA METRICS
MOMENTUM
Create Path
Choose Path
Start Path
Stay On Path / Graduate
Meta-Majors
Academic Maps
Math Pathways
15-To-Finish
Purpose First (Onboarding)
Structured Schedules
Corequisite Remediation
Default Pathways
Critical Path Courses
Intrusive Advising
TECHNOLOGY | DATA METRICS

57. As we close, I’d like to draw your attention to a newly-released resource which serves as a great jumping off point for the game changers regardless of your role. It’s called New Rules: Policies to Strengthen and Scale the Game Changers. This provides overview information about the game changers, model policies/practices for both state and institutional leaders, and the tools needed to put the policies and practices in place. It’s written to be accessible so even if you are new to game changers or higher education generally, you can start right away using this playbook. You can find the report, and its companion piece containing detailed policy language, on the resources page of the CCA website.

58. We’ve shown a bunch of numbers and data, but ultimately these are the individuals matter most

59. Vice President for Alliance State Relations
Dhanfu E. Elston, Ph.D.
Vice President for Alliance State Relations
Variety of reasons:
Value liberal arts education for personal uplift
National economic outlook
State workforce demands
JUST DO IT! And we are here to assist. Ultimately the work that gets done will be a result of the State of Mississippi. We are here to support you on that journey. Our hope is that our conversation over the next few days will serve as the catalyst for state-wide effort. If that is the case, we can provide all of our existing resources of content experts, webinars, in-state academies where we can jump-start these initiatives. Legislation that is innovative, flexible, and progressive.
/ CompleteCollege
/ CompleteCollege