1. SUMMER
POLICY
INSTITUTE

2. Risa Dickson Jonathan Hull Teri Longacre
Vice President for Academic Planning and Policy
University of Hawai’i System
Jonathan Hull
Assistant Director – Policy and Partnership Development
University System of Georgia
Teri Longacre
Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Student Success
University of Houston

3. Launching COMPLETE COLLEGE AMERICA Dr. Risa E. Dickson
Vice President for Academic Planning and Policy
University of Hawai‘i System

4. 4

5. Strategies to Promote Completion
2010 CCA Completion Academy
Reduce time and accelerate success
Take 15 credits a semester
Transform remediation
Restructure delivery
Shift to performance funding 5

6. The Beginning of a Campaign
In 2012, UH embarked on the Hawai‘i Graduation Initiative (HGI), a systemwide effort to promote student success and reduce time to degree
A key strategy was the 15 to Finish campaign:
Used data and media campaigns to share key messages to students, parents, and the community
Formed the basis for policy and procedure changes to remove barriers to taking 15
Brought focus to campus initiatives around student success
Shifted the norm from 12 to 15 credits 6

7. Initial Questions about 15 Credits
What was our current situation?
Would taking 15 credits a semester make a difference in retention and graduation rates?
Would it work for all students, including at risk populations?
Could we shift to a culture where taking 15 credits was the norm, not 12?
Could we remove existing barriers to taking 15 credits? 7

8. What was Our Current Situation and Would Taking 15 Make a Difference?
Studied fall first-time freshmen cohorts
55-78% took 12 to 14 credits, including those at the community colleges
Those who completed at least 30 credit hours within their 1st academic year had better grades and retention and graduation rates 8

9. Will 15 Work for All Students: Conducted an In Depth Analysis
Analyzed various measures of success of first-time freshmen taking <15 credits and ≥15 credits per semester by:
Academic preparation – Created a score of 1 to 4 (with 4 being the highest) based on SAT/ACT, HS GPA/rank, etc.
Demographics (gender, ethnicity, Pell) 9

10. Measures of Academic Success
1st semester grade point average
1st semester GPA “B” or better
Credit completion ≥ 80%
Course withdrawals ≥ 20%
Persistence 10

11. Results of Our Analysis
Students who took 15 or more credits tended to be better prepared and to have greater academic success.
More importantly, at all but the lowest levels of academic preparation, students who took 15 or more credits generally had greater academic success.
This held for Pell and URM students as well. 11

12. Post-Campaign Results12

13. First-Time Freshmen Fall Cohorts
% ≥15 Credits Attempted
First-Time Freshmen Fall Cohorts 13

14. First-Time Freshmen Cohort, Fall 2012
Fall Retention
First-Time Freshmen Cohort, Fall 2012 14

15. First-Time Freshmen Cohort, Fall 2012
Fall Retention
First-Time Freshmen Cohort, Fall 2012 15

16. First-Time Freshmen Cohort, Fall 2012
Fall Retention
First-Time Freshmen Cohort, Fall 2012 16

17. % of Students Who Earned 30 Credits / Year
First-Time Freshmen Cohorts 17

18. % of Students Who Earned 30 Credits / Year
First-Time Freshmen Cohorts 18

19. % of Students Who Earned 30 Credits / Year
First-Time Freshmen Cohorts 19

20. 4-Year Graduation Rates, 2013-15
First-Time Freshmen Cohorts, 20

21. 4-Year Graduation Rates, 2013-15
First-Time Freshmen Cohorts, 21

22. 4-Year Graduation Rates, 2013-15
First-Time Freshmen Cohorts, 22

23. Summary
The campaign was successful in getting students to take 15 or more credits
First-time freshmen benefited most
Pell and URM students who took 15 credits did better than those who took fewer credits
Next steps are to focus on “The Right 15” using our homegrown STAR Guided Pathway System (GPS) 23

24. SUMMER
POLICY
INSTITUTE

25. Early Results and Lessons from Implementation
15 to Finish in Georgia
Early Results and Lessons from Implementation

26. University System of Georgia
29 Institutions*
Fall 2015 Enrollment: 318,164 (260,988 undergraduates-82%)
Range in size from 2,401 (Bainbridge State College) to 36,160* (University of Georgia)
*In Spring 2016, Georgia State University and Georgia Perimeter College consolidated; the combined Fall 2015 enrollment of these institutions is 51,146, making it not only the largest school in the state, but one of the largest institutions in the country.

27. Overall Increase in Credit Intensity
The system has experienced general growth in the percentage of students attempting 15 or more credits in the fall term. This is not coming at the expense of students taking fewer than 12 credits, however.
Indeed, almost all of the growth can be shown to come from students “on the cusp” with declines in coursetaking at the credit hour level matching gains at the 15+ level.

28. Overall Increase in Credit Intensity
State University Sector Changes
These differences become apparent within each sector

29. Overall Increase in Credit Intensity
State College Sector Changes
These differences become apparent within each sector

30. Beyond Marketing

31. Changes at specific institutions
Georiga “All Stars”
Institutions that have implemented 15 to finish, most especially in conjunction with default scheduling, have experienced the greatest gains.
Augusta University is a Research institution that has a tuition structure that caps tuition at 10 hours, incentivizing students taking additional credits. Augusta has also had a very highly coordinated marketing campaign, 4forU, that has been integrated across its two campuses.
Georgia Southwest is a story that has a number of interesting features, all of which will have to wait for Helen Tate to tell it this afternoon. Consider this a coming attraction.
Clayton State is a 7,000 student institution just outside of Metro Atlanta serving a diverse student body, including a high number of non-traditional and part time students. They have had significant success with increasing their credit intensity and maintaining that momentum. The key to success in Clayton was having the data to back up the assertion that students would struggle and fail at 15 credit hours or more. When presented with the outcomes of students who were pursuing truly full time studies, the faculty advisors were largely convinced of the efficacy of the strategy and remain key to the schools ongoing work. While they clearly have room to improve compared to these institutions, their success is significant.

32. Changes at specific institutions
State Colleges above 30 percent FTF Fall Term 15+ Credits
At the state college level, the success of a 15 to Finish program is clear.
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has moved to centralized professional advisors for freshmen and defaults them into 15 credit schedules. They report a lack of urgency among students to finish on-time, which they are combatting with a financial message at registration.
The other campuses noted here have conducted information campaigns with freshmen, generally at orientation. These campaigns are largely promoted across faculty advisors, but one of the lessons here is that there is a limit to the amount of participation an information campaign can achieve.

33. Changes at specific institutions
Context matters
Not all institutions are created equal, however. East Georgia, with a well established 15 to Finish program, has struggled to make significant gains, in part due to structural challenges on campus, including a limited number of advisors to support the effort. Still, their progress is evident.
Georgia Perimeter, with a very large population of truly part time students, has struggled to have much impact on their credit intensity.
Atlanta Metropolitan State College faces similar challenges with its student body, although they have experience increases in the percentage that are on the cusp of being on time. How large populations of students who are truly part time affects credit intensity efforts is an area that may need more research.
At each of these institutions, the struggle may be compounded by a reliance on a faculty advising system that hasn’t fully “bought in” to the strategy, and it shows with very large numbers of students in the full time, but not on-time range.
So what are the takeaways from a system trying to implement this across a diverse set of institutions? The first is to marshal your data. Convince your faculty and advisors (if needed) that students can, and do, succeed taking fuller schedules. And follow up on that data. One of the more convincing bit of evidence from South Georgia is not just their enrollment progress, but their success in increasing the number of students who earn more credits each semester. Pairing enrollment and success data builds a strong case for promoting the strategy across your faculty. Second: marketing and communications only gets you so far. Campuses that see the greatest gains tend to do something more, either in the form of clear, concrete financial incentives, default schedules, or other intrusive means to force the conversation with students. Finally, target the likely candidates. The students who are going to respond to a 15 to Finish message are those students who already think they are full time, but they won’t be on-time. Change the conversation to one of “when do you want to graduate” for these students and underscore it with the benevolent defaults that makes is harder for them to not be on-time.

34. Jonathan Watts Hull jonathan.hull@usg.edu completega.org
Thank you.
Jonathan Watts Hull
completega.org

35. SUMMER
POLICY
INSTITUTE

36. Undergraduate Student Success
UHin4
Teri Elkins Longacre
Vice Provost and Dean,
Undergraduate Student Success

37. Student success is a top priority and UHin4 represents our commitment to support and guide students in their quest to graduate within 4 years.

38. program components Graduation Plan Fixed Tuition Plan
Four-year Graduation for Eligible Students
Academic Performance and Progress Determines Eligibility
No Tuition Beyond 4 Years if UH is Responsible for Graduation Delay
Fixed Tuition Plan
Same Tuition Rate for 4 Academic Years
Unlimited Credit Hours Fall and Spring
Reduced Summer Tuition Rate

39. student eligibility Begin as Freshman in Eligible Major
15+ Hours Toward Degree First Fall Semester
30+ Hours Toward Degree Annually
Maintain Good Academic Standing

40. resources and tools 4-Year Academic Maps Academic Advising
Degree Planning and Audit Tools
Priority Registration
Course Unavailability Notification

41. Degree progress and performance outcomes
Fall 2014 Cohort
UH in 4
Non UH in 4
Total
Prior 3-Year Average
(Fall 2009-Fall 2013 Cohorts)
1-Year Retention
88.1%
84.6%
86.3%
84.7%
Percent Completing 30 Hours in First Year
67.8%
43.5%
55.3%
37.7%
First Year Average Cumulative GPA
3.010
2.818
2.911
2.83
Percent on Warning or Probation in First Year
13.7%
20.4%
17.1%
18.4%

42. Progress in traditionally Underserved populations

43. 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.
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