1. Achieving the Dream Five Years Later: A Change in Culture
Baltimore, Maryland Innovations Conference March 30, 2010

2. Achieving the Dream is a national initiative dedicated to helping community college students succeed
ATD defines student success as earning degrees or certificates, or transferring to a four-year institution.
ATD focuses on student groups that have faced the most significant barriers to success, including low- income students and students of color.
ATD uses data to drive change within community colleges and in state and federal policy. ATD also seeks to augment knowledge about strategies that increase student success and to expand public support for raising post-secondary attainment levels.

3. Student Success Indicators
Completion of remedial instruction
Completion of “gatekeeper” math and English
Successful course completion
Persistence
Completion of credentials

4. ATD has built a national network
Over 100 institutions, 22 states Close to 1 million students enrolled in ATD colleges

5. ATD is made up of a coalition of national partners

6. Achieving the Dream Program Areas
Institutional change: Data facilitators and coaches work with colleges’ leadership and research departments to identify barriers to student success and ways to address them
Policy: State lead institutions work with stakeholders and policymakers to promote a state-wide student success agenda
Knowledge: ATD collects data from participating colleges and states, researches and evaluates change efforts, convenes learning events, and issues publications of findings

7. Achieving the Dream State Policy Work
Jobs for the Future (JFF) leads a major strand of the work which aims to influence state and national policy in support of efforts to increase community college student success
The goals of the state policy work are to:
Promote changes in state-level priorities, rules, regulations, and resource allocations that make it easier for participating colleges to improve outcomes
Move proven institutional practices of participating colleges statewide

8. Achieving the Dream States
16 states have participated in Achieving the Dream:
Round 1 states (2004): FL, NM, NC, TX, & VA
Round 2 states (2005): CT & OH
Round 3 states (2006): PA & WA
Round 4 states (2007): AR, HI, MA, MI, OK, SC
ATD 2.0 pilot state (2009): IN
In each state, the policy change efforts are managed by a lead organization such as a system or association
States make a five-year commitment to the initiative

9. State Policy Framework
Achieving the Dream’s state policy work is guided by a framework that specifies six high-leverage policy areas:
Clear public policy commitment to student success
Strong data-driven accountability systems
Aligned expectations, standards, and assessments across education sectors
Incentives for improving success for underprepared students
Financial aid policies that promote persistence
Public support

10. Outcomes for State Policy
By the conclusion of their five-year commitment to the initiative, participating states will:
Make success of underprepared community college students an explicit public policy goal
Routinely use student outcome data to inform decision making
Identify and implement specific policy changes that promote success of underprepared students

11. State Policy As Lever For Change
ATD State Policy Framework
State Policy Work Plans
Cross state data work group
Semi-annual learning forums
Knowledge development (briefs, newsletter, cross state policy research, etc.)

12. Building a Culture of Evidence

13. Goals of CSDWG Develop a set of indicators to:
More effectively track student performance
Evaluate the effectiveness of interventions
Learn from the strengths of other community college systems

14. Cross State Data Work Group
Initial States
Connecticut
Florida
North Carolina
Ohio
Texas
Virginia

15. Test Drive: Six States Pilot Better Ways to Measure and Compare Community College Performance

16. Outcome Measures Cohort-Expanded IPEDS
Ft and pt, first-time in college, program-placed
Success outcomes (6-year window)
Graduation
Transfer without an award to a four-year institution
Still enrolled with 30+ college credits
Disaggregations by ft/pt, age 16

17. Intermediate Measures
First year measures
Fall to spring retention
Completion of 12 college level credits
Earned 24+ credits
Passed 80% + of credits attempted

18. Intermediate Measures—Year 2 & 3
Persisted fall to fall
Achieved 2 year credit milestone (42+ for full-time and 24+ for part-time)
Passed gatekeeper English by year 3
Passed gatekeeper math by year 3

19. Data Issues Limited: data availability college ownership of data
use of data to inform decisions
Data consistency issues
Uneven capacity at the college level to support true institutional research efforts
Limited support by the System Office to grow the institutional research capacity
Scattered focus

20. Data Warehouse SAS BI Platform Two Data Marts
Awards and enrollment data
Retention—tracking to intermediate and final success outcomes
Faculty Productivity
Facilities/utilization module

21. Data Warehouse In the plans Predictive Modeling Dashboard
Placement data mart
Developmental education data mart

22. Elevating the Data Discussions
Vice Presidents—quarterly meetings
Presidents—bimonthly meetings
State Board—bimonthly meetings

23. Student Success Snapshots
Actionable

24. System-wide INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS COMMITTEES
Subcommittee of ASAC—VP Group
To study implications and provide guidance on measures that address college or system performance
To better understand implications of changing demographics as they relate to student success
To advise in development of data warehouse and associated tools
To support colleges in SACS reaffirmation of accreditation
To propose and review policies related to IE
IR Leaders
Assessment Coordinators

25. External Studies CCRC Quantitative and Qualitative
Developmental Education
Gatekeeper Courses
Online Courses
Student Success Courses

26. Capitalizing on a Culture of Evidence

27. Capitalizing on a Culture of Evidence
Leadership commitment to improving student outcomes, not just enrollments
Data-based decision making: decisions about program/service design, management and funding based on evidence of what works to improve student success
Broad engagement of faculty and staff with shared responsibility for student success
Systemic institutional improvement

28. Leveraging Data in State Policy Decision Making
Tangible results vs nebulous perception
Philosophical and cultural shifts
Synergy around data at college and system level
Desire for more data
Longitudinal data system
Wage data (UI records)
Predictive modeling
There’s no going back

29. System Benefits from AtD State Policy Work
Peer network
Access to national experts
Internal engagement with leadership around student success
External engagement around college readiness
State policy work supports innovation at the colleges
Communication between institutions and system raises policies needing review/revision

30. The Power of State Policy Change
Strategic Planning Process
Built upon Dateline 2009
Inclusive of internal and external stakeholders
Focus on student success
Data supported process
Task Forces
Placement
Student Development Course
Developmental Education

31. The Power of State Policy Change
College readiness partnerships
P-16 Council
American Diploma Project
Data sharing with school divisions
Policy manual review and revisions
Transfer Policy
Over 30 guaranteed admission agreements with 4-year partners
Transfer grant legislation
General education certificate

32. Current Student Success Endeavors
VCCS Developmental Math Redesign Team
VCCS Re-engineering Taskforce
Developmental Education Initiative (funded by the Gates and Lumina foundations)
SREB’s Strengthening State Colleges Readiness Initiative

33. State Policy can Drive Change and Set A Course for the Future

34. Trends and Accomplishments

35. Trends and Accomplishments: Public Commitment
Public Policy Commitment
CT: Council of Presidents’ Strategic Priority #1: Support for Student Success
HI: System Strategic Planning Council strategic outcomes for include Achieving the Dream student progression goals
VA: Academic and Student Services Vice Presidents recommend Achieving the Dream success goals for inclusion in new system-level strategic plan

36. Trends and Accomplishments: Stronger Data Systems
State Data Systems
Create statewide CC data system (PA, MI)
Link unconnected databases (NM, MA)
Strengthen college and system capacity to use data for improvement (CT,VA, NC, HI )
Analyze state data on institutional reform (FL, WA)

37. Trends and Accomplishments: Performance Measurement
New Measures--For Improvement
Design or revision of success-related performance measures (HI, MA, NC, OK, TX)
Continuing Interest in Performance Funding
WA Student Achievement
AR--legislative task force on performance funding
HI, VA, TX others actively considering incentives

38. Trends and Accomplishments: Cross-system Alignment
Cross sector collaboration to improve college readiness (CT, FL, HI,MA, NC,TX)
Including aligned expectations, early assessment, remediation in high school, and dual enrollment
Statewide standardization of placement test cut score (NC, CT, NM, VA)
Transfer (CT, MA, PA, VA)
Including scholarships, guaranteed admissions, statewide transfer core

39. Trends in State Policy: Financial Aid
Increasing need-based financial aid
Incenting full-time enrollment (CT)
Improving financial aid uptake (CT, VA)
VA learning from CT
Transfer scholarship (VA, CT)
CT learning from VA
Interest in Opening Doors model

40. THANK YOU! mcollins@jff.org djovanovich@vccs.edu gschmidt@vccs.edu