1. Ever Upward: Streamlined Pathways to Completion
Presented By:
Joshua Shaffer
Academic Partnership Manager

2. Agenda Overview Current State Concurrent Enrollment 90+30
Prior Learning Assessment
Q+A

3. Excelsior College Founded in 1971 Regionally accredited Private
Not-for-profit
Online
Geared towards the adult learner

4. What you know is more important than where or how you learned it.®

5. Please Set Up Live Polling
Create a text message to the number 37607
Text JOSHUASHAFFE876 to the above number

6. Current State Why streamlined pathways are important

7. CC Student Population 80% intend to earn a bachelor’s degree
25% transfer to a 4-year institution
62% earn a bachelor’s degree
16% of all CC students earn a bachelor’s degree
Horn & Skomsvold (2011); Hossler et al. (2012); Shapiro et al. (2013)
Handel & Williams (2012)
CRCC (2015)

8. Baccalaureate Attainment Gap
Native 4-year student success
59% graduation rate
52 months to completion
CC transfer student success
16% graduation rate
63 months to completion
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011)
Horn & Skomsvold (2011); Hossler et al. (2012); Shapiro et al. (2013)
CRCC (2015)

9. Barriers to Completion
Loss of transfer credits
Lack of transparency in transfer
Limited access
Lack of transitional support
Lack of assimilation into the baccalaureate environment
Increased barriers for first generation and under represented populations
AACC, 2012; Lannan, 2007; Gardner, as cited in Schreiner & Pattengale, 2000; Graunke & Woosley, 2005

11. Transfer Credit Challenge
Less than 60% of CC Students could transfer most of their credits
15% transferred almost no credits
2.5 times more likely to earn a BA if students transferred almost all, vs. less than half of their credits
Monaghan & Attewell (2014)
CRCC (2015)

12. Concurrent Enrollment

13. Concurrent Enrollment: What is it?
Academic progression model
Collaboration between CC and transfer partner
Simultaneously working towards both degrees
Associate
Degree
Bachelor’s
Degree

15. Concurrent Enrollment: An Example
Streamlined pathway where:
Students need as few as 22 cr. hrs. or 1 year to complete BS after Associate degree
Concurrently enrolled at 2-year and 4-year school
Guaranteed credit
Financial Aid Consortium recommended

16. Concurrent Enrollment: Benefits
Commitment to education
Academic progression
Flexible online delivery
Reduced student costs
Shortened pathway to bachelor’s degree
Proven successful - Arizona
13 CC’s participating
More than 50% of Maricopa nursing students participate

18. 90 + 30 (3+1): What is it? 3rd year of BA/BS completed at CC
Upper Level coursework completed at 4-year school
Potential for concurrent enrollment
Financial Aid Consortium recommended

21. 90 + 30: An Example - Excelsior
Associate degree completion required
Reduced cost – 20% reduction on tuition
Complete a bachelor’s in 1 year to 18 months
Tentative transcript evaluations prior to application
Community College Win-Back campaign
Financial Aid Consortium established

22. 90 + 30: Benefits Minimizes cost Guaranteed admission
Shortened pathway to bachelor’s degree
Increases transfer transparency
Removes administrative barriers
Increased graduation and persistence rate
Welcoming environment for transfer students

23. Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)

24. PLA: What is It?
Evaluation of non-collegiate training/instruction for college credit
Examples
Portfolio Assessment
Credit by Exam
Workplace Training
Licenses/Certifications
Military Credit
Why PLA is important:
2 out of 3 jobs will require postsecondary education this decade yet only 40% of adults in the U.S. have achieved this
Endless opportunity:
3.5 million H.S. students will graduate in
There are over 36 million adults with some college and no degree
87% of Americans believe credit should be given for PLA and 75% said they would be much more likely to go back to college if they could earn PLA credit

26. PLA: Portfolio Assessment (CAEL)

27. PLA: Credit by Exam Advanced Placement (AP) Examination Program
College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
UExcel and Excelsior College Exams
The DANTES Subject Standard Tests, or DSST Exams

28. PLA: Workplace and Educational Training
Excelsior’s CAPITAL (Center for Assessment of Post-Traditional Instruction, Training, and Learning)
Evaluates workplace training programs for credit
Examples
Pizza Hut – 63 credits
Taco Bell – 44 credits
McDonalds – 23 credits
American Council on Education (ACE)
BOCES of New York
WE ALSO EVALUATION ACADEMICS. CAN WE INPUT INFORMATION IN HERE AS AN EXAMPLE? WE SHOULD HAVE THE INFORMATION TO INCLUDE BOCES IF WE WISH.
The Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) of New York State current work with 2-year and 4-year institutions to provide their students with credit for the training they have completed. BOCES provides shared educational programs and services to school districts within the state and offers career and technical programs as well as adult programs such as LPN/LVN programs. Based upon current articulation agreements and assessment of these programs, students may earn 3 credits or more of transfer credit to earning an association and/or bachelor’s degree.

29. PLA: Licenses/Certifications
Technology
CISCO
CompTIA
Microsoft, etc.
Healthcare RN
Licensed Radiologic Technologist
Massage Therapy, etc.

30. PLA: Military Credit
Joint Services Transcript (JST) – ACE recommended coursework
CCAF
Defense Language Institute (DLI)
Evaluations by other schools
Faculty evaluation of military training programs
Expert military advisors (Center for Military and Veteran Education)
Example: Excelsior College
Faculty evaluation of select military training programs - These include Navy Nuclear Power School, US Army Sergeants Major Academy, US Army Acquisition Center of Excellence, Joint Special Operations University, Marine Corps Special Operations Command, and Military Medical Education Training Campus (METC) currently in process.    

31. Challenges to PLA No PLA policy at their institution
Lack of awareness of existing PLA policy
Advising
Admissions
Faculty
Policy that limits acceptance
Skepticism
Seat time definition of learning or credit
Generalized limits of transfer credit

32. PLA: Benefits
Adults who earn credit for prior learning are 2.5x more likely to enroll, persist, and complete a degree program.
This is true regardless of age, gender, race/ethnicity, academic ability, and financial aid status.
CAEL
Persistence
Institutional coursework earned
PLA students: 53.7 credits
Non-PLA students: 43.8 credits
Those who didn’t graduate still earned more credits
PLA: 56% earned more than 80% required for degree
Non-PLA: 22% earned more than 80% required for degree
Time
months of college coursework saved
Awarding cr. hrs. of PLA saved 6.6 months of work

33. Set a Policy Keep in mind that your goal is to make it easier for your
students to complete without sacrificing the integrity of your
institution.

34. Summary www.excelsior.edu High level overview.
Lot of other avenues to explore:
OER, MOOCS, non-accredited sources (Straighter line)

35. Questions?