Update on Lumina Foundation Initiatives

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Update on Lumina Foundation Initiatives

• Inservice Presentation
• January 7, 2008

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Update on Lumina Foundation Initiatives

• Dreamkeepers Emergency Assistance Program
• Achieving the Dream

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Dreamkeepers Emergency Assistance Fund

• MECC has been involved in the Dreamkeepers
  national demonstration project for 3 years
• Total funds awarded to students, as of 12/1/2007
  25,241
• Number of students assisted 62
• Average award 409
• 3 loans, other awards grants

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Dreamkeepers Emergency Assistance Fund

• Funding has helped with tuition, books, housing,
  meals, medical expenses transportation/gas, other
• Student Services welcomes referrals of students
  needing emergency assistance.

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Dreamkeepers Emergency Assistance Fund

• Outcomes/Interesting facts
• 20 of the recipients have graduated each of
  these students had 28 credit hours or more
  completed before receiving financial assistance.
• Only 3 of the 36 recipients with 3 credit hours
  or more had less than a 2.0 GPA most had a GPA
  of 3.0 or higher.
• 15 recipients (all) who had completed no courses
  prior to receiving assistance had a 0.0 GPA at
  the end of the semester after receiving
  assistance.

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Dreamkeepers Emergency Assistance Fund

• Conclusions based on data
• If program is primarily to support retention,
  data supports current practice of giving
  preference to students who have a minimum of 3
  credit hours, and preferably a semester of
  coursework completed.

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Dreamkeepers Emergency Assistance Fund

• MECC utilized 70,000 of the 100,000 grant for
  endowment and raised over 80,000 as match, with
  your support.
• The 150,000 endowment should permanently support
  7,500 in annual grant assistance.

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OVERVIEW AND UPDATEAchieving the
Dream Focus Areas

• Developmental Education
• First Year Experience
• Active and Collaborative Learning

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Achieving the Dream Method Employed by All
Committees

• Utilized data and looked at
• successful practices at other colleges.
• For Developmental Education and Active and
  Cooperative Learning
• - Developed menu of possibilities to fit
  multiple needs.
• - Encouraged greater interactivity.

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Achieving the Dream

• Developmental Education Committees
• Rhoda Bliese, Committee Chair
• Developmental Education Committee members
  Bridgette
• Casteel, Jake Gilly, Sue Graham, Bill Harris,
  Yvonne Jessee,
• Beth Snodgrass, Gena Massey, student
  representative
• Developmental Faculty Committee Rhoda Bliese,
  Jim Burns,
• Joel Bailey, Chris Allgyer, Sylvia Brown, Yvonne
  Jessee, Gary
• Jessee, Will Galliher

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Achieving the Dream Goals for Developmental
Education

• To improve overall success in developmental
  courses by 5.
• To reduce disparity in success in developmental
  courses for students with an EFC of 0 by 10.

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Achieving the Dream Strategies for Developmental
Education (6)

• Fast Track Math (MTH 2 and 3) - to address needs
  of students who need review course.
• Peer Led Team Learning (MTH 3) to provide peer
  out-of-class instructional support.

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Achieving the Dream Strategies for Developmental
Education (6)

• 3. SmartStart to encourage students to begin
  developmental English in summer and to aid in
  development of career goals (linked SDV 107-to
  ENG 3) unfortunately, only 4 students needed
  linked course in summer 07.

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Achieving the Dream Strategies for Developmental
Education

• 4. Cooperative Learning in
• ENG 1, 3, MTH 3,
• and MTH 4.
• 5. Using Manipulatives in
• MTH 3.
• 6. Using Navigator in MTH 3.

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Achieving the Dream Help for Students Preparing
for Compass Testing

• Academic Resource Center (ARC) for
• students who wish to review before Compass test
  OR who test near the cut score and want to review
  before retaking the test.
• Developed presentation explaining purpose of
  Compass testing.

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Achieving the Dream Developmental Education
Pilots Being Evaluated

• Pilots are set for all 6 strategies. Pilots being
  evaluated through case studies, qualitative data,
  comparison of data on student success using pre
  and post-test measures, course success rates,
  subsequent impact on success.

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Achieving the Dream Goals for First Year
Experience

• To increase fall-to-spring and fall-to-fall
  retention rates for first-time students by 10
  over 4 year period, 80 of all first year
  students will utilize 2 or more support services
  other than financial aid.

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Achieving the Dream

• First Year Experience Committee
• Lisa Butcher, FOX Committee Chair
• FOX Committee members Carolyn Reynolds, Pat
  Brown,
• Gary Bumgarner, Jackie Hill, Norma Calhoun,
  Robert
• England, Ross Santel, Sharon Fisher, Stephanie
  Dean, Vickie
• Ratliff
• Richard Phillips, Committee Chair, Student
  Advocacy Task
• Force
• Committee members Richard Phillips, Mary
  Phillips,

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Achieving the Dream Strategies for First Year
Experience

• Student Advocacy Project (Fall 06, Fall 07)
• Improvement of Advising
• FOX (presentation to follow by Lisa Butcher)

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Achieving the Dream Strategies for First Year
Experience

• Student Advocacy Project Fall 07
• In the first Student Advocate Pilot, a
  relationship was noted between grades in
  orientation and grades in other classes.

• The Student Advocate Project was changed to
  engage all SDV instructors in identifying student
  problems and making referrals to appropriate
  offices on campus, including Academic Advisors
  (after 2 SDV 100 class absences) or the Student
  Advocate (Kevin Helms) when absences or other
  problems with assignments persisted, or after a
  student was withdrawn from SDV 100.

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Achieving the Dream Strategies for First Year
Experience

• Student Advocacy Project Fall 07
• To facilitate contacts between advisees and
  Academic Advisors, Student Services provided
  Academic Advisors a list of their current
  advisees and new advisees prior to the first day
  of class.

• New advisees taking orientation were to meet with
  Academic Advisors in first 3 weeks.

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Achieving the Dream Evaluating the Fall 07
Student Advocacy Pilot

• Comparison of Fall 2007 College Success Skills
  (CSS) student outcomes with pre-2007 data and
  Fall 2007 non-CSS student outcomes.

• Analysis of class attendance and relationship to
  outcomes.
• Analysis of requests for assistance and
  follow-up services.
• Interview of Student Advocate on what worked and
  didnt work.

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Achieving the Dream Strategies for First Year
Experience

• Improvement of
• Advising
• The 2005-2006 Advising Committee recommended
  creating case managers.
• In fall 2006,Student Advocates, a version of
  case managers, was piloted.
• The 2006-2007 Advising Committee recommended
  addressing summer advising needs FOX pilot
  developed.

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Achieving the Dream Strategies for First Year
Experience

• Improvement of
• Advising
• In November 2007, a plan was presented to the
  Core Team recommending ways to address remaining
  advising issues, such as faculty training,
  updating materials, making clear best practice
  expectations for advisors.

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Achieving the Dream Strategies for First Year
Experience

• Improvement of
• Advising
• Plan calls for development of a comprehensive
  advising website that will compile current web
  materials on one site update flowcharts for new
  student/returning student processes, include
  materials for division-specific advising, and an
  outline for new faculty advising orientation.

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Achieving the Dream Strategies for First Year
Experience

• Improvement of
• Advising
• Plan calls for completion of advising materials
  on website by May 2008.

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Achieving the Dream

• Active and Cooperative Learning Committee
• Jim Burns, Committee Chair
• Committee members Chris Allgyer, Karen Carter,
  Nick
• Edwards, Jessica Genco, Roger Greene, Rita
  Quillen

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Achieving the Dream Goals for Active and
Cooperative Learning

• MECC will have conducted at least 3 learning
  communities. Learning communities or active
  learning strategies will have been piloted in 6
  gatekeeper courses with low success. Nine
  courses/groups of courses will be improved.

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Achieving the Dream Strategies for Active and
Cooperative Learning

• Training faculty to organize learning communities
  and use collaborative learning.
• Planning/marketing new learning communities two
  were to be piloted last semester (cancelled due
  to low enrollment) one additional learning
  community being planned this semester.
• Enhancing out-of-class support for students in
  gatekeeper courses with low success rates.

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Achieving the Dream Strategies for Active and
Cooperative Learning

• 14 faculty members have been trained to conduct
  learning communities and 12 faculty members have
  been trained in leading cooperative learning.
• No additional training is currently scheduled,
  but Jim Burns is willing to provide additional
  faculty training. The data that he has shared
  should stimulate additional interest.

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Achieving the Dream Evaluation of Active and
Cooperative Learning

• 124 students responded to surveys about the use
  of Cooperative Learning in their classes.
• 90 indicated that they enjoyed the use of CL.
• 93 felt that CL helped them to better get to
  know their classmates.

• 83 felt that CL helped them to better understand
  course material.
• 68 felt that CL was a more effective way to
  learn than listening to lectures.
• 75 responded favorably to questions about
  specific CL activities their instructors used.

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Achieving the Dream Evaluation of Active and
Cooperative Learning

• Supplemental Instruction in BIO 101, as well as
  website study materials developed.
• Results from student surveys for supplemental
  instruction in BIO 101 have been very positive
  grades have improved.

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Achieving the Dream Ongoing Activities

• Achieving the Dream now includes 83 colleges in
  15 states.
• Evaluation of Achieving the Dream is on-going.
  MECC had the highest overall response rate (76)
  to the evaluation survey. MECCs faculty
  response rate was also the highest (74). THANK
  YOU.

• Rhoda Bliese and Chris Allgyer will be presenting
  our work in developmental education at the
  Achieving the Dream Institute in Atlanta in
  February.

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Achieving the Dream Its time to express thanks
and celebrate!

• Our work is showing positive results. Many
  employees are to be thanked for their leadership
  with this initiative.
• Stay tuned - opportunities for faculty to
  formally and informally present the results of
  the many pilot projects will follow later this
  semester.