1. The Voluntary Framework of Accountability
for community colleges,
by community colleges

2. VFA Cohorts & Measures VFA New User Training – Part 2
Dawn Cullity, User Support Specialist, VFA
Kent Phillippe, AVP Research & Student Success, AACC
We will cover:
VFA Timeframes, Cohorts, and Measures
Student Progress & Outcomes
Career & Technical Education
Adult Basic Education
Discussion / Questions
Questions? Feedback:

3. VFA Reporting Timeframes and Cohorts Overview
Six Year
Two Year
Cohort Types
Main Cohort
Credential Seeking Cohort
First Time In College Cohort
Measures: SPO
Six-Year Outcomes
Two-Year Progress
Developmental Education Progress

4. Career & Technical Education Measures Adult Basic Education Measures
VFA Reporting Timeframes and Cohorts Overview, cont.
Career & Technical Education Measures
Adult Basic Education Measures
CTE Cohort
ABE Cohort

5. Student Progress & Outcomes: Cohorts
VFA will report outcomes for two Reporting Timeframes:
Six Year Cohort: students who entered the college six years ago (2010)
Two Year Cohort: students who entered the college two years ago (2014)
Each of these cohort years are broken into three Cohort Types:
Main Cohort: fall entering, first time at the reporting institution; all students
Credential Seeking: of the main cohort, students that completed 12 credits by the end of year two
First Time in College: of the main cohort, first-time at any post-secondary institution
All three cohort types are disaggregated by:
Race/Ethnicity; Gender; Age; College Ready/Not College Ready; Full-time/Part-time; Awarded/Not Awarded Pell Grant
[CTE and ABE are separate cohorts]

6. Student Progress & Outcomes: Measures
Developmental Education Progress Measures
Determining Developmental Need
By referral
Based on testing or institutional practice, students are referred to developmental education or remedial education course.
By course-taking behavior
Based on student behavior, students enroll in at least one developmental education or remedial education course within the reporting timeframe.
By a combination of placement/referral and course-taking behavior

7. Student Progress & Outcomes: Measures
Developmental Education Progress Measures
Developmental Subjects: math, English, reading
Distribution of Need (Development Need by Subject)
Students referred to 1, 2, or 3 levels below college-level in subject
Of the students with a developmental need, those that:
Attempted Any Developmental Education*
Students who attempted a developmental education course in subject referred
Became College Ready in Dev Subject
Students who successfully completed highest level developmental education course in subject
Completed College-Level Course
Students who successfully completed any college-level course in math or English
* updated

8. Student Progress & Outcomes: Referred to Dev Ed
Referred Count is reported based on selected Referral Method
Referral Referred = Dev Need
Course-taking behavior Referred = Null
Combination Referred ≤ Dev Need

9. Student Progress & Outcomes: Measures
Developmental Education Progress Measures
Any Developmental: math, English, reading or any combination of these subjects
Enrolled in Any Developmental Course*
Students who enrolled in at least one developmental education course to which they were referred
Became College Ready in All Developmental Subjects
Students who successfully completed all developmental education and are college ready in all subjects in which they had a need
* updated

10. Student Progress & Outcomes: Measures
Progress & Attainment at the end of Two Years
No Success in First Term NEW
Students who failed to successfully complete at least one credit in first term
Retention: Fall to Next Term
Students who were retained from fall to their next full academic term or completed a formal award
Successful Completion of Credits
Successful completion rate of all credits attempted by cohort after first term & after two years
Reach Credit Threshold
Students who reached credit thresholds (24=part-time; 42=full-time) by end of two years
Two-Year Persistence/Attainment Outcomes
Snapshot of student outcomes after two years:
Completed certificate or degree
Transferred to a 2-year or 4-year institution
Still enrolled at initial institution

11. Student Progress & Outcomes: Measures
Successful Completion
For credits to count as “successfully” completed, a student must earn at least a “C-”(or a “passing” grade for courses without letter grades) and, according to institutional practices, be considered to have passed the course.
If, based on institutional practice, a grade of “C-” cannot be applied toward earning a credential, the course should not be counted as successfully completed.
All credits included in the metrics that use “successfully completed” must be taken at your institution.
During Set-up Data Input college will indicate what letter grade their college considers “successful completion”.

12. Hierarchical; Mutually Exclusive; 100% of Cohort
Student Progress & Outcomes: Measures
Student Outcomes at the end of Six Years
Bachelor’s Degree: reporting college awarded bachelor’s degree
Associate Degree: reporting college awarded associate degree
Transfer after receipt of degree
No Transfer after receipt of degree
Certificate: reporting college awarded a formal award (certificate)
Transfer after receipt of award
No Transfer after receipt of award
Transfer: transferred to another post-secondary institution
Still Enrolled: still enrolled during the sixth academic year
Left, No Award: not enrolled during the sixth academic year
earned ≥ 30 college-level credits at reporting institution
earned < 30 college-level credits at reporting institution
Hierarchical; Mutually Exclusive; 100% of Cohort

13. Student Progress & Outcomes: Six-Year Outcomes

14. Career & Technical Education Measures Adult Basic Education Measures
Career & Technical Education (CTE)
Career & Technical Education Measures
Adult Basic Education Measures
CTE Cohort
ABE Cohort

15. Career & Technical Education (CTE) Profile
CTE Profile: contextual information on CTE activities at your college
Credit CTE
Change in Credit Enrollment (unduplicated headcount)
Change in Credit Completions
Bachelor’s Degree
Associates Degree
Certificate (1 year or more)
Certificate (less than 1 year)
Non-Credit CTE
Change in Non-Credit Enrollment (duplicated seat count)
Change in Non-Credit Completions

16. Career & Technical Education (CTE): Cohort
CTE Completer/Leaver Cohort
Credit Cohort
Students who achieved a credit CTE award or left the institution with 7 credit hours or more in CTE
The credit cohort is disaggregated by type of award:
Awarded Associate Degree in CTE
Completed Certificate in CTE
Left with No Award
Non-Credit Cohort
Students who completed a non-credit CTE program or left the institution with 180 contact hours or more in CTE

17. Career & Technical Education (CTE): Measures
CTE Measures Outcomes that examine what happens upon leaving the institution
Students with Prior Awards
Earned bachelor’s degree prior to entering into CTE program
Earned associate degree prior to entering into CTE program
Licensure Exam Passing Rate
Industry-Recognized Credentials
Median Wage Growth of CTE students
Median wages of students prior and post CTE experience
Education & Earnings Outcomes
Students enrolled in education or employed with a wage
Non-Credit Students Transitioning to Credit

18. Career & Technical Education (CTE): Education & Earnings

19. Career & Technical Education Measures Adult Basic Education Measures
Adult Basic Education (ABE)
Career & Technical Education Measures
Adult Basic Education Measures
CTE Cohort
ABE Cohort

20. Adult Basic Education (ABE): Cohort & Measures
Adult Basic Education Cohort
Students enrolled in Adult Basic Education (ABE) or high school equivalency courses offered by your institution during the cohort year
Cohort is disaggregated:
Race / Ethnicity; Age; Gender
Adult Basic Education Measures
Outcomes that examine what happens upon leaving the institution
Students who Completed ABE
Of the students that completed ABE
Students who Enrolled in More Education post ABE
Students who Gained Employment post ABE

21. Thank you for joining us.
Questions & Answers
VFA Metrics Manual
Raw Upload Guide
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Part 1: VFA Overview - Reporting VFA Data
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