Strategies to IncreaseCollege and Career Success for

Community College Students

Illinois Board of Higher EducationAugust 10, 2010

Chicago, IL

Davis JenkinsCommunity College Research Center

CCs Key to Meeting National Goals

• Increasing individual and societal returns to postsecondary education and credentials

• Calls from Obama Administration, state policy makers, major foundations to dramatically increase college attainment

• As 4-years become more selective, burden for increasing attainment falls on community colleges

• From 1997-2007, cc awards increased 25%

• To meet goals for increased completion (with fewer $s per student) ccs must improve productivity

CC Student Achievement Gaps

Source: BPS (96/01).

6-Year Highest Educational Attainment of Students who Started at a Community College by Household Income

4%

14%10%

23%18%

31%

12% 13%9%

12%8%

47%

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%

Certificate AssociateDegree

Still Enrolled(No Degree)

Transfer(No Degree)

Bachelor'sDegree

Not Enrolled(No Degree)

Highest quartile

Lowest quartile

CC Student Achievement Gaps

Source: BPS (96/01).

6-Year Highest Educational Attainment of Students who Started at a Community College by Age at First Enrollment

8%

17%

9%14% 13%

39%

17%11%

6% 4% 2%

60%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Certificate AssociateDegree

Still Enrolled(No Degree)

Transfer (NoDegree)

Bachelor'sDegree

Not Enrolled(No Degree)

17-24

25-64

Semi-Skilled Jobs

Skilled Technicians

Managers/Technical

Professionals

Entry-LevelTechnicians

UnskilledLaborer Jobs

Entry-Level SkilledJobs

Disconnected Pathways to College and Career Success

WorkplaceLiteracyTraining

H.S./Adult VocSkills Training

Career-longLearning /

ProfessionalDevelopment

College Remedial /

Developmental

A.A. A.S.

B.A. B.S.

Advanced Certificate

Graduate /Professional Education

A.A.S

Key

= Weak connection between education levels

= Strong connection between education levels

= strong job connection to jobs

Community College Programs

High SchoolAcademicPrograms

ABE, GED, ESL

Questions for Local Stakeholders

1) What occupations in our region offer family-supporting jobs?

2) What is the demand for these jobs and how do workers get into and advance in them?

3) How effective are our education and workforce systems in preparing individuals to enter and advance in these fields?

4) What changes are needed to strengthen pathways to careers for individuals and the supply of qualified workers for employers?

IMPROVED EDUCATION/WORKFORCE OUTCOMES

Work with employers to identifyrequirements for family-supporting jobs

Convene faculty and staff across “silos” todiagnose leaks, design systemic solutions

Localleadership

for improvedoutcomes

Implement solutions, evaluateeffectiveness and improve further

Assess effectiveness of existing programs;identify “leakage points”, achievement gaps

Feedbackloop –

continuousmonitoring

Local Improvement Process

Demand-Supply Gap Analysis

Source: EMSI, based on IPEDS data from 2007 and state regional employment projections.

SOC Code Description

2009-2014 Avg Annual

Opening

2009 Median Hourly

Earnings

2007 Completers Community

College

2007 Completers

- Region 43-3031

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks 317 $14.49 0 11

43-4051

Customer service representatives 553 $13.28 0 0

43-5071

Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks 113 $12.68 12 12

29-2012

Medical and clinical laboratory technicians 19 $19.47 5 13

29-2034

Radiologic technologists and technicians 39 $27.29 34 34

29-2041

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics 52 $14.43 0 0

29-2061

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses 119 $21.38 62 133

Community College Student Milestones

• Took and passed college-level courses (for students starting in adult basic skills or remedial)

• Earned 12 college credits and still enrolled

• Completed college-level math and English

• Persisted term to term and year to year

• Earned 30 credits and still enrolled

• Earned occupational certificate

• Earned associate degree

• Transferred to a baccalaureate program

Community College Student Milestones5-Year Gatekeeper Course Attempt and Completion Rates

College-Ready Students vs Those Referred to Developmental

45%

37%

60%

52%

30%

24%

67%

55%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Attempted "gatekeeper"math course

Completed "gatekeeper"math course

Attempted "gatekeeper"English

Completed "gatekeeper"English course

College-ReadyDevelopmental

“Momentum Indicators”

• Took a college-success course

• Passed 80% or more of attempted hours in year 1

• Passed college math within 2 years

• Passed college English within 2 years

• Earned 12 college credits in year 1 (for part-time students); earned 24 credits in yr. 1 (for full-timers)

• Enrolled full-time

• Enrolled continuously

• Entered coherent program of study

“Momentum Indicators”

5-Year Success Rates for College-Ready Students

69%

78%

68%

19%

29% 27%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Earned 12 or more credits inyear 1 (p-t students)

Passed college math within 2years

Passed college Englishwithin 2 years

Yes

No

“Momentum Indicators”5-Year Success Rates for

Students Referred to Remediation

59%

72%

56%

17% 18%12%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Earned 12 or more credits inyear 1 (p-t students)

Passed college math within 2years

Passed college Englishwithin 2 years

Yes

No

Promising Practices• College readiness protocols (El Paso CC)• Bridge programs to connect adult basic skills

students to college (WA I-BEST)• Required college success courses (VA ccs)• Risk factor early alert systems (Purdue Signals,

Queensborough CC CUNY)• Accelerated dev ed (Baltimore County, Denver)• Accelerated programs (CUNY – Accelerated Study

in Associate Programs)• Aligned learning outcomes (Hillsborough CC, FL)• University centers (Macomb CC, MI) and applied

baccalaureates (WA ctcs)

Questions for State Policy Makers

1) What is the demand for family-supporting jobs by occupation, level of education and region?

2) How many credentials are awarded annually in demand fields by institution, credential type? Are these sufficient to meet the demand?

3) How many students are enrolled in programs that lead to demand jobs by institution, what are their demographics, where do they come from, and what is their likelihood of completion?

4) How can access to and completion of programs leading to career-path jobs be improved?

IMPROVED EDUCTION/WORKFORCE OUTCOMES

Analyze gap between job demand andcredential production by region

Engage practitioners to diagnose “leaks”,implement and evaluate systemic solutions

State-levelleadership

for improvedoutcomes

Set system performance measures andcreate policy incentives for innovation

Track progression within/across educationinstitutions and into the labor market

Feedbackloop –

continuousmonitoring

State Process forPromoting Continuous Improvement

WA Student Achievement Initiative• Performance funding for WA 2-year colleges based

on student achievement of key points across mission areas:– Remediation (basic skills gains, passing precollege writing or math)– First-year retention (earning 15 then 30 college level credits)– College-level math (passing math courses required for either

technical or academic associate degrees)– Program completion (degrees, certificates, apprenticeships)

• Initial funding ($1.8M in fall 2009) based on each college’s change in total points from baseline year

• Colleges receive quarterly performance data to help decide where to invest resources to accelerate student achievement

New OH Performance Funding Policy

• Performance funding for 2-year colleges based on student achievement of “success points”

• Colleges will receive increasing share of base-budget funding based on share of total success points (5% in 2011, increasing to 20% by 2015)

• Universities receive funding based on course completion, not just enrollment

Suggested Steps for IBHE• Strengthen longitudinal tracking of students within/

across education sectors and into labor market

• Report achievement of intermediate and “completion” milestones as well as “momentum indicators,” disaggregated by level of readiness, age, enrollment status, race/ethnicity and gender

• Report rates of progression and success by college

• Engage colleges in identifying areas for improvement and developing and evaluating strategies using local data

(More) Suggested Steps • Provide guidance and TA to colleges on using data

to improve programs and services

• Partner with ISBE and DCEO agencies to strengthen knowledge worker career pathway/ “supply chain” tracking and improvement

• Partner with outside researchers to answer questions critical to the state’s policy agenda

• Communicate research findings strategically to practitioner and policy audiences

For more information:

Please visit us on the web at http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu,where you can download presentations, reports,

CCRC Briefs, and sign up for news announcements.

CCRC funders include: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Lumina Foundation for Education, The Ford Foundation,

National Science Foundation (NSF), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

and Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education

Community College Research CenterInstitute on Education and the Economy, Teachers College, Columbia University

525 West 120th Street, Box 174, New York, NY 10027 E-mail: ccrc@columbia.eduTelephone: 212.678.3091