Cultivating Inquiry and Completion for Student Success

1. How a Culture of Inquiry & A Focus on Completion Can Help You Move the Needle on Student Success Dr. Rob Johnstone Texas CC Instructional Administrators Fredericksburg, TX May 31, 2015

2. Acknowledgements • Much of the content in this presentation in conjunction with national projects such as Completion by Design, the Aspen Prize for CC Excellence, and Bridging Research, Information & Cultures (BRIC) • Content has also been developed by and with a host of national partners, including: • Community College Research Center (CCRC) • Jobs for the Future • JBL Associates • Public Agenda • The Research & Planning (RP) Group • Infographics were primarily designed by Greg Stoup

3. Formalistic Doublespeak… • Give your 1st reaction to the following list of words: • Accountability • Accreditation • Assessment • Continuous Improvement • Data-Driven Decision Making • Evaluation • Institutional Effectiveness • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) • Learning Outcomes Assessment • Performance-based Funding • Program Review • Strategic planning

4. Recapturing the Movement… • Vivid imagery from previous slide • Faculty, Student Services folks & leaders have been beaten over the head with these phrases • they are correct to analyze that they too often haven’t led to authentic improvement • and the more formal the process, often… • There is good news for our improvement efforts – you can do all of the things captured by those words in more authentic and less formalistic ways

5. Changing the Conversations… • We have to make the conversation about things faculty, staff & administrators care about – students, their learning, and improving their outcomes and lives • Not everybody will come along – but we don’t need everybody • Org Change Thought: Red light / Yellow light / Green light • People need to see their expertise acknowledged and integrated – and the effect of their efforts on outcomes

6. April 2014 A Culture of Inquiry & Action A RESOURCE for INSTITUTIONAL change

7. An Applied Inquiry Framework for Student Completion (CBD) • Stage 1 – Explore how to improve outcomes • Stage 2 – Gather meaningful evidence • Stage 3 – Discuss evidence broadly • Stage 4 – Use evidence to inform change • Stage 5 – Measure the impact of change

8. What is a Culture of Inquiry? Institutional capacity for supporting open, honest and collaborative dialogfocused on strengtheningthe institution and the outcomesof its students.

9. STAGE 1 Explore how to improve student outcomes Focus inquiry on designing approaches that improve student outcomes

10. How We Spend Our Time Matters… • When was the last time you sat in a standing committee meeting on your campus that used evidence to explore a key student outcome for more than 20 minutes? • What types of questions do we spend most of our organizational resources answering?

11. Malcolm Gladwell talks about the right question… • Link to full video: http://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce

12. The Right Question in the CC World… Placement Tests & Cut Scores • What was the problem we were trying to solve? • I’d posit it was something like: • “Can we find a short instrument that will help us assign incoming students to various levels of math & English?” Or… • “How do we ensure higher levels of course success in transfer-level math & English courses? • Are these the best questions? Why or why not? • Note: current system of placement tests may not even be the best solution for this question: LBCC / CCRC

13. What if we tried to solve… • What placement process is the most predictive of transfer-level course success? Or…. • What is the optimal curricular structure to ensure that the greatest number of students pass transfer-level math / English courses with appropriate rigor? Or….

14. More questions… • What is the optimal math curriculum that produces computational learning outcomes that most students will need in the real world? Or… • Is writing about literature the optimal way to teach students the writing skills they need in their general education courses? What about in the real world?

15. Organizing Question of Improvement Science: What problem are you trying to solve?

16. An Example from AB Tech in Asheville, NC… • We have to make sure our improvement efforts to trying to solve the right problem • “Right” is slippery – the problem at hand may be important, but it might detract us from a larger problem that is of much higher impact to improving student outcomes • AB Tech’s “One Stop” Onboarding process • Original problem they were trying to solve: “How do we address the chaotic and disconnected nature of the onboarding of our new students?

17. One Stop Address the Chaotic Onboarding Problem, but… • As the AB Tech folks reflected on their efforts, they realized they might unintentionally communicate to students that it’s possible in four hours or one day to: • assess interests • match interests to careers • pick a program • register for classes • figure out financial stability issues • be ready for opening day • be prepared for any bump in the road that might occur

18. Perhaps… • A better question / problem to solve might be: “How do we ensure that students get the services they need – when they need them – as they move through their educational trajectory at our college?” • Note that this still covers having a more streamlined onboarding experience – but recognizes that it sits in a larger context to be addressed

19. To sum up the starting line stage… • More focus on asking the right question, and ensuring we know what problem we are trying to solve – actually less focus on the data per se • Sometimes exploring the data can help you realize you’ve been asking the wrong question - The Right Pepsi vs. The Right Pepsis • Traditional questions: enrollment, course success, material covered • Emerging questions: improving outcomes - completion, progress, learning, labor market, equity

20. STAGE 2 Gather meaningful evidence Collect high-quality, meaningful evidence at the student support, classroom, program, and institutional levels

21. When gathering evidence, make sure you are focusing on the right data…

22. Progress Example: Look for Examples from Four-Year Schools: Retention & Progress at Georgia State http://www.edtrust.org/higher_ed_practice_guide for more examples

23. A Mystery… • The graduation rate at Georgia State University was 31% in the early 2000s • Not unusual for an urban, regional 4-year state university • As they evolved their culture of inquiry, they asked a range of questions designed to identify factors they could work on changing to move the needle and improve this outcome • So they looked at a common metric – Fall-to-Fall retention, but didn’t stop there…

24. First Year to Second Year Retention, Georgia State University

25. First Year Retention & Progression Rates - Georgia State University

26. Ten Years later… • GSU has implemented a wide range of targeted strategies – such as strong freshmen LCs, more structured programs of study, monitoring progress and customizing interventions / support strategies, accelerated deved • The culture at GSU has continued to evolve into a deep culture of inquiry, action & improvement • The graduation rate at Georgia State University is now 54% - a 75 percent increase in the last decade – with the same student population they started with

27. STAGE 3 Discuss evidence broadly Engage a variety of campus stakeholders in evidence-based discussions about improvements in practice

28. Key Concept: Data do not speak for themselves Time & Space Needed to Explore Data, Make Meaning & Generate Insight

29. Exploring Data Example: English & Math Preparedness & Success in GE Courses

30. Success in Psychology 101 for students simultaneously enrolled in an English course English 826 (Two Below) English 836 (One Below) English 100 (Transfer A) English 110 (Transfer B) Success Rate of those same students in Psychology 101 English course taking profile for students in Psychology 101 100% 90% 75% 80% Not in an English course 68% 70% 64% 60% 48% 50% 40% 31% 33% 67% 30% 20% 10% 0% Note: Enrollments from Summer 2000 to Spring 2009; Success is defined as A/B/C/CR grade

31. Success in Psychology 101 for students simultaneously enrolled in an Math course Fundamentals Beginning Algebra Intermediate Algebra Transfer Level Math Math course taking profile for students in Psychology 101 Success Rate of those same students in Psychology 101 100% 90% Not in an Math course 76% 80% 70% 64% 63% 60% 51% 50% 43% 40% 37% 63% 30% 20% 10% 0% Note: Enrollments from Summer 2000 to Spring 2009; Success is defined as A/B/C/CR grade

32. Success in five highly enrolled GE courses by English enrollment level English 826 (Two Below) English 836 (One Below) English 100 (Transfer A) English 110 (Transfer B) Speech 101 Psychology 101 Economics 101 History 101 HSCI 101 100% 90% 88% 82% 82% 80% 79% 75% 74% 73% 73% 70% 68% 64% 60% 60% 57% 56% 54% 51% 48% 50% 48% 43% 40% 31% 27% 30% 20% 10% 0% Note: Enrollments from Summer 2000 to Spring 2009; Success is defined as A/B/C/CR grade

33. Success in five highly enrolled GE courses by English enrollment level English 826 (Two Below) English 836 (One Below) English 100 (Transfer A) English 110 (Transfer B) Accounting 101 Fitness 334 Music 202 Biology 250 Sociology 101 100% 90% 80% 80% 76% 74% 74% 73% 70% 68% 66% 65% 64% 60% 60% 59% 58% 50% 50% 50% 48% 40% 40% 37% 40% 31% 30% 20% 10% 0% N/A Note: Enrollments from Summer 2000 to Spring 2009; Success is defined as A/B/C/CR grade

34. STAGE 4 Use evidence to inform change Implement changes in practice and policy based on analyses and discussion of college evidence

35. Use evidence to guide innovation • In this context, research and applied inquiry are fundamentally interventionist in nature. • We are not seeking absolute truths; rather we are looking for patterns of evidence that inform action-oriented decisions. • Failure can be seen as an opportunity for learning, especially when outcomes are shared and used to inform further improvements in practice.

36. And what do we do when the evidence is ambiguous? What to do when you reach the limits of your research and yet still face multiple choices? Domain of possible solutions The process of inquiry is not a search for an absolute truth Trust your expertise & choose ! We answer the questions that eliminate dead end solutions Gregory M Stoup, Cañada College

37. STAGE 5 Measure the impact of change Evaluate the impact of practice changes on student outcomes

38. Final Thoughts on a Culture of Inquiry & Improvement

39. Final Reflections • Creating or evolving your culture of inquiry isn’t magic; there are clear steps and resulting artefacts of such a culture • Don’t focus too much on the data – the questions you ask are exponentially more important • Remind yourself and your team to constantly ask: “What problem are we trying to solve?”

40. What we are shooting for… • Great statement of the desired end state from a CC President at the Aspen / ATD Leadership Symposium: “A wider range of people on a campus ask a better set of questions about outcomes & act on their reflections to improve them.”

41. Walking Through a Student’s Exploratory Process: A Website Journey

42. Demonstration: A Student Interested in Psychology Institution was selected at random If you think it’s different at your college / within your system, click on a couple of pages of your college’s website Yes this is the website and we have advising – but it’s still the primary source for most students – and the face of the college http://www.sc.edu/- see appendix for screenshots

43. Post-Mortem… Can’t stress this enough – this is but one example of hundreds at 2/4-year colleges… Also important to keep in mind that for CC students – this is a huge simplification over what they need to navigate, as the 4-year student has a single goal – graduating with a BA / BS… CC students have with the options of short term certificates, long term certificates, “terminal” AA degrees, transfer + AA degree, and transfer without AA degree all as options

44. Redesign for Completion:A Guided Pathways Overview

45. Status Quo Pathways • Little upfront career and college planning • Paths unclear, poorly aligned with end goals • Too many choices; requirements confusing • Developmental dead-end • Students’ progress not monitored • Limited on-going feedback and support • Poor alignment with hs and other feeders

46. GPS Design Principles • Help students with goal-setting from the start • Simplify their choices with clear roadmaps • Redesign intake with goal of helping students choose and successfully enter a POS • Monitor students’ progress, giving frequent feedback and support as needed • Empower faculty and staff to lead the redesign process

47. Four Big Ideas for Redesign Mapping Paths to Student End Goals Helping Students Get on a Path Keeping Students on a Path Ensuring that Students are Learning *Based on the work of Davis Jenkins & Rob Johnstone

48. Clarifying Curricular Paths Are our programs well-designed to prepare students to enter further education and employment in fields of importance to our region? How clearly are programs mapped for our students – especially to the common transfer institutions? Do students know what courses they should take in what sequence? Are the courses critical for success in each program clearly identified?

49. Helping Students Get on a Path • What do we do to help new students choose a program of study? • Do we integrate the exploration of career options as part of their onboarding experience? • How well do we help students succeed in gatekeeper courses not only in Math or English but in the main program areas (e.g. A&P, ACTG 101)? • Do we ensure that required math courses are aligned with the students field of study? • What do we do for students unlikely to get into limited access programs such as nursing?

50. Keeping the Students on Path Do students know exactly how far along they are in their programs – and what they have left to do to complete? How effective are we in ensuring that students are following their plans and staying on track? Are we able to identify when students are at risk of falling of their path? How effective are we at intervening when this happens? Do we ensure that students can take the courses they need when they need them?