1. Our Changing and Challenging Role on the Road to Student Success
Dr. Kevin Pollock
President
St. Clair County Community College

3. How do you connect:
Response to outside “drivers” (federal, state, community);
Internal “drivers” (staff, students, faculty);
Institutional change and its challenges;
Accountability issues;
Academic mobility;
Our role in retention and student success;
Redefining our role?

4. The Perfect Recipe…
Utilizes main ingredients that compliment each other
Allows room for seasonings to taste
Has a desired end result

5. Historically we: Were the Gatekeepers;
Were told how many students we needed to enroll;
Were told to fix and maintain transfer guides we couldn’t control;
Be in charge of “enrollment management”, whatever that meant.

6. We were also: Major student advocates
The ones who saw gaps and problems but didn’t really have a big enough voice;
Keepers of obvious knowledge that others didn’t want to hear
Down-to-Earth
Common Sense

7. We were dealing with (and may still be dealing with):
Chronic versus (and) Crisis Situations

8. Crazy times in the world around us:
What is our past?
What is our future?
What happened to common sense?
Where do we fall in all of this?
How does this affect us and our evolving role?

9. Today:

10. Let’s start with the “Basics”:
National Issues
P-20 Concept
U.S. Dept. of Ed Action Plan for Improving Measures of Postsecondary Student Success (Obama Initiative)
AACC Completion Agenda
State Issues
The “Basics” of Enrollment Management: create a plan, work with faculty, increase retention, connect students to the campus, etc.
A lot of information available based on “four- year” models; tougher for “two-year” colleges
What does this mean for us?
Let’s take it step by step

11. For example: “Keeping America’s Promise: Challenges for Community College Leaders”
The “Open Door” and its ramifications;
Needs of nontraditional students;
Needs of the employed student;
Accountability;
The opportunities and attainment gap;
Remediation and basic skills;
Transfer and articulation;
Noncredit and workforce development;
Financial aid;
Supportive learning environments.

12. Startling statistics:
“Four out of every ten college students are part- time”
“Seventy-five percent of today’s students are juggling some combination of families, jobs, and school while commuting to class”
“Only one quarter go full-time, attend residential colleges, and have most of their bills paid by their parents”
“Part-time students rarely graduate; only a quarter ever make it to graduation day”
“Students are taking too many credits and take too much time to graduate”
“Remediation is broken, producing few students who ultimately graduate”
Startling statistics:
Time is the Enemy
Complete College America

13. Students are wasting time on excess credits
Copyright © 2011 Complete College America. All rights reserved.

14. ... and taking too much time to earn a degree.
Copyright © 2011 Complete College America. All rights reserved.

15. Remediation: Too many students need it, and too few succeed when they get it.
Copyright © 2011 Complete College America. All rights reserved.

16. Remedial students are much less likely to graduate.
Copyright © 2011 Complete College America. All rights reserved.

17. FALL SEMESTER CAMPUS UPDATE
Accountability – Coming Attractions:
Voluntary Framework of Accountability
College Readiness Measures Report of % of students referred to developmental education (DE) who: -attempt first math or English/reading DE course; -complete highest level math/English/reading DE course; -complete first college-level course in math/English/reading -complete all DE courses
Progress Measures Report of % of students who: -successfully complete in term one; -reach credit threshold by end of year two -are retained from fall of term one to next academic term; -who reach year two outcomes; -who successfully complete at end of year two
St. Clair County Community College September 9, 2011

18. FALL SEMESTER CAMPUS UPDATE
Accountability – Coming Attractions:
Voluntary Framework of Accountability
Outcomes and Success Measures Report on students who: -earn an associate’s degree – without transfer and with transfer; -who earn a certificate – without transfer and with transfer; -who transfer to a 4-year with no degree or certificate; -who laterally transfer.
St. Clair County Community College September 9, 2011

19. The landscape is changing:
Pennsylvania community colleges have become the first statewide system in the country to adopt the Voluntary Framework of Accountability created by the American Association of Community Colleges.

20. FALL SEMESTER CAMPUS UPDATE
Accountability – Coming Attractions
National Community College Benchmark Project 12 Colleges in Michigan currently reporting on 130 metrics including the following
Student and Student Outcomes -Fall to Spring and Fall to Fall persistence rates -Educational goal attainment -Institution-wide grade information -Developmental course retention and success rates
Institutional Effectiveness -Average credit section size -Student/faculty ratio -Instructional faculty load -Cost per credit hour and FTE student
Community and Workforce Development -Market penetration rates -Business and industry productivity
St. Clair County Community College September 9, 2011

21. From Time is the Enemy Complete College America
Outcome measures
Degrees awarded annually (number and change over time)
Graduation rates
Transfer rates
Progress measures
Remediation (entry and success)
Success in first-year math and English
Credit accumulation
Retention rates
Course completion
Time and credits to degree

22. In God we trust, all others bring data.
Or as Deming said:
In God we trust, all others bring data.

23. Don’t forget the state involvement:
Indiana’s State Commission for Higher Education’s goals
Double the number of graduates by 2025
Increase on-time grad rates to at least 50% at four-year schools and 25% at two-year schools by 2018.
Community College Week April 2, 2012

24. The Michigan funding merry-go-round:
Governor proposal on degrees in STEM
Senate proposal based on contact hours, local strategic value, administrative costs, 4 of 5 goals certified by board
House proposal helps pay down retirement

25. Other state issues: Block transfer Reverse transfer Virtual Learning
Mandated Transfer Network (Michigan)
Funding problems
Governmental intervention (or insert your own word) local, state, feds
Who gets credit for a graduate?

27. What does this mean to us?
We are in the middle;
We are hearing things we have been saying for years;
We are experts in many ways;
We need to inform our co-workers why these issues are important and how this affects them
We need to adjust what we do as well as take a stronger leadership role

28. Transfer Students:
One-third of all students transferred at least once within five years;
Most prevalent destination was public two- year institutions;
Most common time of first transfer was in the student’s second year;
Transfer rates were similar for part- and full-time students;
Over one quarter of all transfers crossed state lines.
Transfer & Mobility: A National View of Pre-Degree Student Movement in Postsecondary Institutions (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center) February, 2012

29. Simple Summary: More data
A greater focus on students and their success
Less funding
More rules
Questions like, “Who gets credit for graduates”?
Transfer issues
What can we do about all of this?
Does this mean change?
We are in the middle. Sometimes we feel like this…

31. What we are talking about is change and our roles

32. “Students Finish What They Start”
Mission Statement
“Students Finish What They Start”
Tallahassee Community College

33. Student Access to Student Success
Move from…
Student Access to Student Success

34. Roles What roles could change? What affect does this have on staff?
What will you do about it?

35. Getting People on Board
Why would we want to change?
Financial situation
Reorganization
Expansion
New opportunities
New challenges
Better service to students?
We are being forced to do it.

36. What are the advantages for change?
For students
For the college
For the staff
How can you cut through the red tape?

37. Challenges to Institutional Change Building a Culture of Student Success
Resistance to change
Power issues/governance issues/multi-unit systems issues
Project mentality
Institutional silos
Lack of stakeholder involvement (and accountability)

38. Challenges to Institutional Change Creating a Culture of Evidence
Lack of institutional research capacity
Aversion to data
Unreliable data
Lots of data but nobody actually using it
(Should IR be in Student Services?)

39. Challenges to Institutional Change Effective Planning and Resource Allocation
Absence of strategic planning (…that anyone uses)
Overload, “initiative fatigue.” competing or unclear priorities
Failure of focus
Reluctance to reallocate

40. Challenges to Institutional Change Policy Conditions
Lack of governing board awareness/support
Inappropriate governing board involvement
Legislative mandates
Conflicting state policies

41. FALL SEMESTER CAMPUS UPDATE
Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies ~Robert Kennedy
St. Clair County Community College September 9, 2011

42. “Better is Possible…” “…It does not take genius. It takes diligence.
It takes moral clarity.
It takes ingenuity.
And above all, it takes a willingness to try.”
Atul Gawande, Better: A Surgeon’s Note on Performance

43. What are the roadblocks?
Finances
Transformation questions: process changes, type of building, what do we value, etc.
People and staff
Always did it this way
We can’t work together
It’s not my job
Simple difficulty of handling change STRESS!

44. Change is good…
You go first!

45. FALL SEMESTER CAMPUS UPDATE
One-fifth of the people are against everything all of the time ~Robert Kennedy
St. Clair County Community College September 9, 2011

47. A Simple Motto:
“Do the right thing for the right reason and when in doubt, lean toward the student”

48. What can we do? Take the lead Stand up and speak Utilize data;
Keep the focus on student success;
Realize you have to help others understand what student success is all about;
Ask, “who can we help”?

49. Focus on transfer issues as an example:
Classes that don’t transfer
Dual enrollment credits that don’t transfer
Programs that don’t align so students transfer before completing a degree
Transcript issues – should they be standardized?
UIC – Unique Identification Codes
Portability
How agreements are maintained
Direct credit issues
Clean agreements
Seamless transfers
Advising issues

50. Help the Executive: Understand SEM (or student success)
What is the potential for your campus?
Define the reasons for pursuing student success?
What are the issues?
Is the rationale cogent and clear?
What are we facing: high school decline, student satisfaction, large retention issues, financial?
Define a role in transfer issues (president to president)

51. What is the faculty role?
Recruiting?
Advising?
Mentoring?
Attending programs?
Learning outcomes and assessment of classes and programs?
Developmental Education?
Working with K-12?
A student friendly class schedule?
Working with peer faculty from other institutions on transfer agreements
Program Review
Accountability
What else?

52. Think about this:
Every course, every program, every college is perfectly designed to get the results it is currently getting.

53. We can’t get better at what we’re not willing to look at.
Or think of this:
We can’t get better at what we’re not willing to look at.

54. Building a Culture of Evidence
“Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There’s no better rule.”
Charles Dickens ( )
- Great Expectations

55. We need to put our house in order first:
How is our customer service?
How well do our students get through our maze?
Are we looking at all the things that affect students?
How well do we work with our partners?
How well do we work with our colleagues?
Are we trying to be great at what we do?

57. Customer Service is more than just words
“Some folks make you feel at home, while others make you wish you were there”

58. 10 Steps to Customer Service
Have a winning attitude
Make a commitment to the customer
Use proper grammar and enunciate
Work on oral communication skills
Increase your phone ability
Develop stronger listening skills
Use different problem-solving techniques
Have the confidence to deal with difficult customers
Manage job stress
Exceed customer expectations

59. The Student Maze: Recruitment Application Admission
Orientation (mandatory?)
Testing and course placement
Scheduling
Registration
Bill payment
Book purchases
Advising
Financial aid
Mentoring
Online issues

60. The Schedule Examine course availability Correct course placement
Do courses “line up”?
Ask yourself honestly, “Is the schedule done in the best interest of the students or the faculty”?
Identify high risk courses
Identify killer combinations of courses and ask why we allow students to take them
Create and enforce a campus attendance policy

61. Student Issues: Advising – the volume of students, bad advice
Do you track success through data and interviews?
Do you have a student success class?
One or three hours long?
Required or not?
Time management issues
Related to study time
Related to family time

62. Students: May have difficulty in assessing the value of an education;
May regard public education as a form of entitlement rather than a good or service;
May not have as much of a choice in public education compared to most goods and services;
May lack access to third-party ratings of public education services;
May not realize that the burden of success lies with them;
May not recognize that classmates can affect their individual level of benefit.

63. We have probably overrated student’s abilities in the following areas:
Learning the norms of campus culture
Finding a niche
Putting down roots
Transferring successful behaviors from other settings
Developing focus
Resisting peer pressures
Compartmentalizing family and work pressures
Exhibiting classroom habits of successful students
Building relationships with teachers
Asking for help
Levitz, R. S., Noel, L., & Richter, B. J. (1999). Strategic moves for retention success. New Directions for Higher Education (108),

64. Question: Who are your partners?
K-12
Two-Year or Four- Year Institutions
Community
Businesses
Faculty
Staff
STUDENTS!

66. Putting Students First:
Create a culture of responsibility, high standards, and clear expectations;
Provide a deep and broad array of student support services;
When in doubt lean in the direction of the student;
Recognize that students are much more than customers, but recognize that they are also customers;
Create a student processes taskforce.

67. And: Use data to help, not to hurt Have a passion for your work
Be tenacious
Stay Strong

68. The Importance of Execution

70. Take Care of Each Other:
Be supportive
Take a more active role in the direction of the institution
Use data
Be a team
Work in harmony
Listen to what is going on around you
We can all be right separately but wrong together
Remind everybody that it is all about the students

71. Remember, when you feel like this:

76. Dr. Kevin Pollock President St. Clair County Community College