# 84.031A, Strengthening Institutions Program, FY 2014 New Awards’ Abstracts

# FY 2014 Project Abstracts for New Awards:  Title III Part A Strengthening Institutions Program

# Kentucky Wesleyan College

# Owensboro, KY

Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a small, liberal arts college located in Owensboro, Kentucky. KWC’s current enrollment is 668, full time enrollment—an unsustainable size. We have sharpened our marketing and are recruiting students more likely to succeed; still, we project a fall 2013 enrollment of only 625 full-time students. It is clear that we cannot grow by just recruiting more students. Our only recourse is to improve retention and graduation rates, and thereby increase total enrollment. Our first-to-second year retention rate is currently 54 percent; our six-year graduation rate is 50 percent. Therefore we have set one objective for the Title III project: **Improve retention of first-year students from 54 percent to 75 percent; improve our six-year graduation rate from 50 percent to 60 percent; and thereby increase full-time enrollment from 625 to 1,000 by September 30, 2018**. An enrollment of 1,000 will bring us to sustainability. Our strategic plan projects eventual enrollments of 1,200 an even more sustainable level.

In pursuit of that objective we will employ two strategies:

1. **Provide faculty, staff, and students with the information they need to make data-driven decisions.**Since 1999, our student information system has been a Jenzabar product that is obsolete, dysfunctional, and no longer supported by the manufacturer. We will replace it with Ellucian, a state-of-the-art, web-based student information system that will provide all users with the information they need in a usable form. We will train all users, including faculty academic advisers. As we introduce advisers to Ellucian as an academic-advising tool, we will also train them to use it as a tool for ***pro-active and intrusive advising***.

2. **Increase active-learning experiences throughout the KWC curriculum and co- curricular activities.**Most of our faculty teach the way they were taught—by lecturing. Consequently, our students are not deeply engaged in their coursework. We will create the Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning (CETL) to provide leadership and support for faculty, staff, and students as we infuse high-impact, active-learning pedagogies throughout our curriculum, including ***undergraduate research, scholarly, and creative activity; problem/inquiry-based instruction; small group/guided discussion;***and ***collaborative/ cooperative learning.***CETL staff will also help faculty, staff, and students create and manage co-curricular active-learning activities: ***international programs/study abroad; internships and other field experiences***; and ***service learning***, including a campus-wide clearing house for active-learning opportunities.

We will assess every component of this project continuously so that we can improve it, and evaluate the degree to which we have met our objectives at the completion of each project year.

This proposal includes five pages devoted to the two **Competitive Priorities—Increasing Postsecondary Success: College Completion**and **Improving Productivity.**

**Contact:**Dr. Paula Dehn, Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Kentucky Wesleyan College, 3000 Frederica Street, Owensboro, KY 42301

270-852-3117, pdehn@kwc.edu

# North Iowa Area Community College

# Mason City, IA 

Located in Mason City, Iowa, North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) serves almost 4,000 square miles covering nine rural counties of North Iowa with an aggregate population of over 138,000. On average, the College serves over 3,500 degree students each year. NIACC operates on the premise that student success is paramount, and the question “Is it what is best for our students?” guides the decision making process. The leadership at NIACC has implemented a philosophy of continuous improvement, which is intrinsic to every department across campus.

This premise and philosophy provided the foundation for the development of the *Keeping NIACC First in Student Success and Completion*Title III project.

**CDP Problems Addressed.**Although NIACC strives to make data-driven decisions, data and analytics related to student learning and engagement are not accessible due to limited Institutional Research resources and expertise. The College continues to be challenged with low completion and retention rates, particularly for part-time students. Additionally, a high percentage (53 percent) of first-time, full-time students place into at least one developmental education course, and three developmental education courses were identified as having high DFWI percentages in the institutional Self-Study. NIACC also identified that there is inadequate focus on mastery of content and student learning outcomes, and that too few faculty integrate current instructional strategies and technologies into curriculum and teaching. Both of which reflect the need for more faculty development opportunities. Finally, NIACC lags behind Iowa peer institutions in the number of courses delivered via alternative methods, including online/hybrid courses, accelerated courses, and courses that integrate learning communities for increased engagement and academic support.

**Project Description***.*The proposed project focuses on improving institutional resources and services to increase student success and completion. Strategies and activities are evidence based, aligned to the NIACC institutional plan, and address both *Competitive Preference Priorities*.

NIACC proposes to: redesign three developmental education courses to a competency-based instructional model and enhance student support in these courses via computer-based instruction; increase the number of courses delivered via online, hybrid, and accelerated formats as well as increase the number of courses that integrate learning communities; increase opportunities for faculty development with concentrations in *Teaching & Learning, Academic Research & Technology, and Student Development*; implement a strong student engagement program for part-time students; increase the level of use of technology tools including deploying a student response system, enhancing tools for lecture capture, and installing classroom technology.

**Project Outcomes.**As a result of the proposed project, NIACC anticipates achieving the following outcomes: increased student success in developmental education; increased focus on content mastery and student assessment; increased use of learning analytics and data; increased retention and completion for full-time and part-time students; increased opportunities for student participation in online courses, hybrid courses, accelerated courses, and learning communities; and improved instruction as a result of faculty completion of professional development activities. 

**Budget.**The budget request of $2,245,576 is reasonable and necessary to achieve project outcomes and contribute to the institutionalization of project activities. The total request reflects 39 percent for Personnel; 19 percent for Fringe; 19 percent for supplies; 18 percent for Contractual; one 1 percent for Travel; and; four percent for Other. NIACC will contribute resources, facilities, and staffing throughout the project to ensure institutionalization and increase self-sufficiency.

# Queens University of Charlotte

# Charlotte, NC

Queens University of Charlotte is a four-year independent, comprehensive master's university and Presbyterian Church affiliate. Queens has an enrollment of 2,386 students (headcount) of which 1,869 are undergraduates. The university has an operating budget of $54 million.

Contact Person:  Chandler Barrett, Director, OSRP E-Mail Address: barrettc@gueens.edu

Phone: (704) 337-2582, FAX (704)337-2503

As Queens has emerged from a small, liberal arts college to a comprehensive University, dramatic growth in the diversity of its students and academic programs has occurred without development of its academic support services, general education curriculum, or educational technology. Fragmented programs and services are in need of revision and integration to provide continuous and meaningful degree pathways for students. Key effectiveness indicators are:

· A 32 percent increase in the percentage of full-time, degree-seeking , undergraduate students enrolled, or 400 students over the five-year period;

· An increase in retention of our first-time, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates to the third semester a minimum of 10 percent, or from 70 percent to 80 percent, and

· An increase in the percentage of first-time, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students that graduate within six years of enrollment by a minimum of 10 percent.

Activity I- $784,465 (35 percent) Strengthening of Academic Support Services through Queens' Center for Student Success will improve student academic performance, persistence and degree completion. The Center will integrate academic support services and provide a central location for their coordination. A Student Success Coordinator (about $236,000) will coordinate academic services for the project and will be incrementally institutionalized. Expansion of our research­ based peer mentoring ($94,000) and peer tutoring programs ($216,000) will support high-need students in attaining academic success. The Excel Institute ($116,000) will provide services for provisionally admitted students. Technology for the Coordinator, tutoring program ($26,000) and retention effectiveness software ($75,000) will enable monitoring of early alert, referral and the effectiveness of our support services. Funding for travel ($20,000) will support attendance at Title III Director's meetings and for professional development.

Activity II- $602,400 (27 percent) Increasing Academic Program Quality will be accomplished through an annual Teaching and Learning Institute ($188,000) increasing faculty expertise in instructional methodologies, e.g. inquiry-based learning, use of digital learning technologies; Integration of undergraduate research projects into academic courses ($136,000); Revision of the General Education curriculum ($121,000) to improve integrative and interdisciplinary learning, and incorporation of First-Year Seminars into the general education curriculum ($24,000). Digital learning technologies ($113,000) will be made available in classrooms, and ($20,000) will support travel for faculty development.

Endowment Funding - $370,523 (17 percent) Sustaining Student Success. Funds raised through Queens' fundraising team efforts will be matched with federal funds establishing a $740,000 endowment sustaining student success initiatives for high-need students.

Project Administration - $465,750 (21 percent). Our Associate Provost/Dean of University Programs (10 percent time commitment) and a Title III Project Coordinator (100 percent time) will oversee project activities. An IT Specialist at 50 percent ($50,000) will oversee technological improvements and trainings during the first two years of the project, and an external evaluator ($50,000) will oversee and report on project effectiveness. 

# Northeastern Junior College

# Sterling, CO

Northeastern Junior College (NJC) is an open-enrollment, public, two-year college in northeastern Colorado that enrolls approximately 2,000 students (headcount) in 51 transfer programs and 15 career/technical programs. The College’s expansive and largely rural service area covers approximately 8,000 square miles and median household income levels are 32 percent below the state average. NJC is unique in that it is Colorado’s largest public residential two-year college, with over 600 of its approximately 1,100 full-time students living on-campus. While NJC has historically attracted high-achieving high school students with clear goals to transfer to a four-year college, the incoming student population is rapidly shifting toward lower high school achievement and less goal-orientation. More than 60 percent of full-time students are underprepared to succeed in college-level courses and require developmental coursework.

Based on a thorough analysis of institutional strengths, weaknesses and problems, the College is proposing a single, comprehensive activity with three components to resolve its key problems:

· Redesign developmental education to improve the success of students with developmental needs through: a) an improved developmental curriculum based on the Accelerated Learning Program model; b) online self-paced remediation; c) learning communities that link developmental and gateway courses; d) peer-led tutoring; and e) faculty development.

· Strengthen retention and transfer rates through: a) an expanded orientation and new family outreach program; b) a series of initiatives to foster student career and goal development, including special interest learning communities, focus groups for undeclared majors, transfer events and a four-year college visit program; c) college-wide faculty/staff workshops to provide insight about the changing student body and strategies for student success.

· Strengthen technology use to increase student success and improve responsiveness to changing student needs through: a) expanded availability of technology-supported classrooms; b) a consultant and outside presenters to help faculty develop instruction that utilizes technology to improve learning; c) the redesign of a minimum of 30 courses to utilize technology to improve learning, and d) the purchase and implementation of a data dashboard to provide real-time insight into key metrics that are crucial for student success.

Key measures of success will be to: a) increase retention of first-time, full-time students with developmental needs by 10 percent; b) decrease the percentage of developmental students who do not succeed in “gatekeeper” college-level courses by eight percent; c) increase retention of first-time, full-time, first-generation students by 10 percent; d) increase transfer rates into four-year colleges by eight percent; e) increase success rates in courses redesigned to take advantage of current technology by five percent; and f) increase the College's national ranking for student response to "college experience met expectations" by 10 percent.

# California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

# Pomona, CA

The purpose of this proposed Title III Strengthening Institutions Program is to build institutional capacity, strengthen academic quality, enhance institutional management, and strengthen fiscal stability through engaging students, faculty, and the administration in a culture of undergraduate research. Undergraduate research is a thoroughly documented evidence-based practice for improving the retention and graduation of high need students. Although this project will focus on low income, minority, and first generation STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students, the quasi-experimental evaluation design will help disseminate these practices to all students at California State Polytechnic University Pomona and will position the project to serve as a credible model for other higher education institutions.

The following activities form the core of this effort: a two-year, for credit, team-taught Early Career Research Training course focusing on lower division students; placement of trained upper division students in scientific research laboratories during summer and the academic year both on and off campus; a wealth of support services designed to supplement and enhance those already offered by the institution including Peer Mentors, access to training workshops, scholarships, participation in an annual campus-wide Undergraduate Research Conference, and development of an electronic repository of information on undergraduate research designed to inspire and inform students and faculty interested in pursuing this option. Faculty will be trained and supported in mentoring undergraduate students and employing them as research assistants.

A permanent Undergraduate Research Office will be established to oversee expansion and institutionalization of these efforts once Title III funding ends.

Wilson College

Chambersburg, PA

Wilson College (Wilson) is a private, residential, four-year liberal arts institution located in Chambersburg in south central Pennsylvania. Historically a college for women, Wilson currently has an enrollment of 695 undergraduate and graduate students, 88 percent of whom are female; by fall 2014, the college will enroll its first completely co-educational freshmen class.

*The goal of the proposed Title III project*is to improve enrollment, retention, persistence, and graduation rates for Wilson College students through strengthened academic programs, academic support services, academic and institutional technology, and professional development.

*Projected Outcomes and Results*:  Undergraduate enrollment will increase from 621 to 1,185. The fall to fall retention rate will increase from 69 percent to 85 percent. The percentage of students graduating within six years with a Bachelor’s degree will increase from 53 percent to 65 percent. More alarming is the fact that currently only 5 percent of our academically underprepared students graduate within six years with a Bachelor’s degree from Wilson; our goal is to increase that rate to 57 percent. The percentage of entering students who are academically underprepared in at least one academic competency who re-enroll the following fall semester after taking at least one developmental course will increase from 45 percent to 65 percent. The College also will have a strengthened technology infrastructure, strengthened data-driven decision-making capability, and a comprehensive professional development program to enable achievement of these results and outcomes. The project has five objectives and 20 key tasks.

**Objective 1: To increase enrollment through strengthening academic programs that will increase student retention:** (1) Develop and implement a developmental reading lab; (2) Strengthen developmental mathematics courses; and (3) Develop and implement an Information Fluency Program.

**Objective 2: To increase retention and graduation rates for underprepared students:**  (4)**Implement best practices that support at-risk students (including comprehensive assessment, academic and career planning, and a strengthened early alert system); (5) First-Year Experience revitalization; (6) Establish the Learning Commons within the Library Building; (7) Establish the Academic Support Center within the Learning Commons; (8) Strengthen and link academic, career, and personal advising; and (9) Develop a Learning Community for Underprepared Students.

**Objective 3: To strengthen academic technology infrastructure, leadership, and applications of technology to instruction and academic support:** (10) Create a Chief Information Officer position; (11) Provide expanded academic technology assistance in the Learning Commons; (12) Develop online and hybrid courses; (13) Acquire Data Warehouse software; and (14) Improve the Academic Technology Infrastructure.

**Objective 4: To build capacity for data-driven academic and institutional decision-making:****(15) Develop and maintain a data warehouse as a resource for data-driven academic and institutional decision-making, and (16) Establish and regularly update a comprehensive plan for data collection, analysis, and reporting to inform academic and institutional decision-making.

**Objective 5: To provide a professional development program for faculty, administrators, and staff:**  Create and deliver a professional development program that enables accomplishment of the Objectives 1 – 4 and associated Tasks.

Competitive Preference Priorities one and two also are addressed.

# University of Charleston

# Charleston, WV

**The University:**

Founded in 1888 as Barboursville Seminary, the University of Charleston (UC) is a private, not-for-profit institution based in Charleston, West Virginia. Charleston is the state’s capital city and is located in the central part of the state. West Virginia is highly rural with mountainous terrain. The state suffers from high poverty rate (17.5 percent). The state lacks racial or cultural diversity, with 94.1 percent of its population reporting as White on the 2010 U.S. census. West Virginia has low educational attainment, with only 17.6 percent of the population age 25 or older having obtained a postsecondary degree. UC offers degrees in the liberal arts, business and health sciences at the associate, baccalaureate, master’s level, and the PharmD. There are 72 undergraduate and 36 graduate full-time faculty members. The number of part-time faculty varies by semester. In fall 2012 there were 33 adjunct faculty. Enrollment fall 2012 was 1,427, with 1,026 undergraduate and 401 graduate students. 97 percent of undergraduate students are full- time. The student population is 61 percent white, 10 percent Black or African American, 2 percent Hispanic/Latino, 2 percent Asian, 1 percent Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 1 percent two or more races, and 15 percent Unknown. The student: faculty ratio in fall 2012 was 15:1. On January 1, 2013 UC expanded to new locations in Beckley and Martinsburg, West Virginia to expand its regional presence and gain the physical space necessary to expand programs and enrollment.

# The Project: Increasing Postsecondary Success through Support for Distance Learning: $1,999,727

UC proposes one activity to provide support for distance learning. The activity is built around best practices as noted in the. The University of Charleston project will:  1) hire two 100 percent time Academic Advisors to provide advising services to online learners; 2) fund stipends and provide updated laptops for fifteen (15) faculty each year to develop online or hybrid versions of existing face-to-face courses or design new courses; 3) hire a 100 percent time faculty member to teach online versions of courses critical to delivery of the institution’s unique curriculum and successful student achievement of institutional outcomes; 4) expand tutoring and career development services to online learners through web-based, commercial services; 5) hire a 100 percent time Educational Technology Specialist to create online training modules, provide training using existing Cisco WebEx conference software, and present in-seat workshops for faculty and students enrolled in all modalities of learning; and 6) hire a 100 percent time Help Desk Administrator and a 100 percent time Technology Support Specialist to serve as core personnel for an extended hours Help Desk that will also use University-paid student workers to provide hardware and software support for students and faculty at all University of Charleston locations.

# North Central State College

# Mansfield, Ohio

**Institutional Information:**North Central State College (NCSC) is located in Richland County, a north central Ohio county with Mansfield as the county seat. Mansfield, with a population of 47,767 according to the 2010 Census, has been characterized as a small city with its share of “big-city issues.”  A public two-year community-based institution, NCSC offers high quality, technical education in more than 60 associate degree and certificate programs in Health, Business, Public Service and Engineering Technologies, as well as customized workforce training programs. Chartered in 1961, NCSC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is a National Achieving the Dream Leader College.

**Faculty Characteristics:**The College employs 200 full-time employees of whom 61 are full-time faculty. An additional 134 adjunct faculty members serve NCSC. The student to faculty ratio is 17:1.

**Student Body Characteristics:**NCSC’s head count enrollment for fall 2010 was 3,236, calculated FTE of 2,472. Details of the student body show, 65 percent of the students enrolled part time, 65 percent female, 301 (9 percent) minorities Among all students, 29 percent are under age 20; 27 percent are ages 20-24, and 13 percent are ages 25-29 and 19 percent ages 30-39, with 13 percent age 40 and older. Among all undergraduates, 87 percent are white/non-Hispanic; six percent are black/non-Hispanic; one percent are Hispanic, and the remainder are other races or ethnic groups. Approximately 50 percent of first-time, full-time students are first-generation college attendees.

**Project Description**: *Advising Across the Continuum*. NCSC seeks to improve retention through enhancement of its advising capabilities. The project seeks to institute intrusive advising and advising support to all students, beginning with new applicants to the College, and including college-ready students in their second semesters, supporting students with career and transfer advising as they near completion of their intended academic plan. The project seeks to improve the number of full-time degree-seeking undergraduates enrolled, the percentage of full-time degree-seeking students who are retained for a second year and the percentage of first-time, full-time degree-seeking undergraduate students completing their coursework and/or graduating within three years of enrollment. The project will invest in personnel and technology in order to strengthen the institution and provide needed advising support to help students achieve academic success.

**Funding Request**: Total funding requested for the five-year grant period is $2,008,509.

# Oklahoma City Community College

# Oklahoma City, OK

Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) is a comprehensive, public, two-year institution serving a region with a population in excess of one million. While the College's service area extends over five counties, the majority (71 percent) of students reside within the region's largest cities- Oklahoma City (population 562,461), Norman (population 109,821) and Moore (population 55,081).

Oklahoma City (OKC) will forever be known as the target of the 1995 terrorist attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The events of that day and the extraordinary response of area citizens who flocked to the site to lend aid to those in need would in many ways define the region and lend voice to what would become the state creed - *The Oklahoma Standard.*

Adherence to that standard remains in the hearts of area residents and it is what we rely on in times of need. It is how we endured, and even thrived amidst, the nation's recent economic downturn, how we rebuilt OKC following the terrorist attack, how we are now helping residents recover from an EF5 tornado that ravaged Moore on May 20, 2013, and how we will do what is necessary to turn the tide of low academic performance, persistence, and degree completion for the neediest of students.

OCCC students are primarily residents of the OKC Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) inner core. Removed from the region's prosperous industries due to lack of education and training, these residents grapple with extreme poverty (31 percent) and low levels of bachelor degree completion (as few as 15.9 percent). In response to high failure in basic skills courses, OCCC recently underwent a major redesign of its developmental education program.

As a result, we have experienced significant improvement in basic skills and now face an equally alarming trend of extremely low success in college-level gateway courses - up to 58 percent below college level in key 1000 level math courses. Unsurprisingly, fall to fall retention for first-time students and cohort graduation rates remain low (44 percent and seven percent respectively).

Comprehensive analysis has shed light on major institutional problems related to instructional strategies, limited faculty development, ineffective advising processes, and non- existent degree planning mechanisms. In response to these identified weaknesses, OCCC has designed a comprehensive Title III project. We propose a single activity to create **A Model for Improved Student Experiences: Strengthening Academic Programs and Student Services.****We request a **total of $2,249,652**over five years to: 1) Strengthen Student Learning via Gateway Course Redesign grounded in established learning theory, facilitated by extensive faculty development, and incorporating best practices for teaching the at-risk community college student; and 2) Strengthening Student Learning via Comprehensive Advisement and Degree Planningincluding analysis and formalizing of all degree plans and implementation of Academic Planning software to improve student persistence and degree completion.

Our proposed project addresses both **Competitive Preference Priorities**:

1 *Increasing Postsecondary Success: College Completion*of high-need (low-income, academically underprepared, high attrition, low graduation) students.

2 *Improving Productivity*via effective and efficient utilization of time, staff, money and other resources to maximize positive impact of project initiatives.

**OCCC Student Characteristics, Fall 2012**

*(OCCC Institutional Research, 2013)*

# Forsyth Technical Community College

# Winston-Salem, NC

**Overview:** Forsyth Technical Community College is fifth-largest of North Carolina’s 58 community colleges, primarily serving Forsyth (population 358,137) and Stokes (population 46,783) counties. Forsyth Tech has had 49 percent enrollment growth since 2007; it served 13,907 credit students from fall 2011 to summer 2012. Full-time faculty taught 47 percent of curriculum courses in fall 2011, ranging from 39.2 percent of courses in the Math Science Technologies Division to 93 percent of courses in the Health Sciences Division. The College had 238 full-time and 824 part-time faculty in fall 2012. The College serves curriculum students on its main campus and five other locations in Forsyth and Stokes counties. Part-time faculty taught 53 percent of courses in fall 2011. About 28 percent of the College’s curriculum courses were offered online-only in fall 2012.

**Problem:** Our comprehensive analysis reveals two overarching problems at Forsyth Tech that contribute to academic, institutional and fiscal weaknesses: (1) limited faculty professional development opportunities in content, delivery, technology and other aspects of instruction; and (2) inability to identify and provide resources for at-risk students. Among other factors, these problems likely contribute to low course completion, retention, and graduation rates. In 2011, three of every 10 students failed to complete a course in a given semester.

**Solution:** Forsyth Tech will use Title III funding to: (1) establish and sustain a Center for Transformative Learning (CTL) as a cornerstone of faculty development; and (2) institutionalize an academic early-warning system and coaching support processes to identify and assist students at risk of failing gateway courses. The CTL will advance faculty development through faculty learning communities (FLC) and training centered on the tenets of adult learning theory. The installation of wireless networking capacity, the addition of learning technologies and the dedication of classroom space at the five off-campus centers will ensure that the CTL will be a resource for improved faculty development and student achievement across the institution. An endowment will provide sustaining support.

**Academic Goal:** Student learning gains will be realized as a result of faculty engagement in purposeful education and training on innovative, effective instructional methodologies.

**Institutional Goal:** New systems and processes will support faculty with purposeful education in innovative, effective instructional methodologies to benefit learners.

**Fiscal Goal:** The Forsyth Tech Foundation will establish an endowment to support the CTL.

**Activity:** Our proposed Title III Activity seeks to improve student achievement through faculty development built on the principles of adult learning. The Activity has two major components: (1) promoting student achievement through faculty development that incorporates research-based educational technologies and instructional methodologies; and (2) promoting college completion through faculty adoption of early-alert software and targeted training in coaching strategies to identify and support students at risk of failing key gateway courses.

**Budget:** $2,249,343, of which the College will match $225,000 for endowment.

**Competitive Preference:**  Forsyth Tech will address Priority 1 (completion) by implementing its early-alert, student retention plan, and through faculty learning communities; and Priority 2 (productivity) by establishing the CTL to better leverage resources and workflow structure, and by using software and success coaches to boost passing rates in high-risk gateway courses.

# University of Pikeville

# Pikeville, KY

**Institutional Profile:**The University of Pikeville (UPIKE) is an independent institution in Pikeville, Kentucky, founded by Presbyterians in 1889. The University stands as an opportunity for quality higher education in the heart of Appalachia; 97 percent of students receive some type of financial assistance and nearly 45 percent are first-generation students. UPIKE is comprised of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (KYCOM). UPIKE retains its position as “the leading university of Central Appalachia” by offering varied academic programs relevant to the specific needs of the region, including 5 associate degrees, 26 bachelor degrees, 2 master’s degrees, and a doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine. The University’s fall 2012 enrollment was 2,032. The student-faculty ratio is 16.5:1.

**Project Title:**Creating a Student Success Center to Increase Retention and Degree Persistence in Central Appalachia

**Problems:**The retention rates of students between the freshmen and sophomore years fall significantly below state and national levels; the majority of students entering as first-time freshmen fail to graduate within four to six years; too many students make inappropriate course selections; academic advising is disconnected from other student services functions; faculty members are unprepared to provide adequate academic advising; UPIKE does not have the resources to keep pace with increased enrollment of underprepared students; poor retention rates limit institutional funding dedicated for student support services; and the total institutional endowment is significantly lower than other institutions serving the Appalachian region.

**Strategies:**(1) Create a Student Success Center to assist undergraduate students and improve undergraduate retention rates; (2) Install student tracking software that is connected to the main database system to measure student progress and evaluation results; (3) Create a centralized advising process coordinated by the Student Success Center; and (4) Implement regular training for faculty and staff in the areas of student advising, retention, and degree persistence.

**Goals:**(1) Enhance support programs to assist students with academic success and achieving degree requirements; (2) Establish new facilities, student tracking technology, and training for advising, coordinated student success functions, and student service functions; and (3) Sustain the long-term fiscal stability of the University. 

**Outcomes:**(1) Increased fall-to-fall retention of first-time entering students from 52 percent to 58 percent; (2) Increased percentage of first-time entering students who are evaluated for strengths and deficiencies from zero percent to 95 percent; (3) Increased percentage of faculty/student success staff trained in best practices for student retention and academic advising from 10 percent to 85 percent; (4) Increased percentage of first-time entering students who receive academic advising by student success staff from 10 percent to 95 percent; (5) Increased percentage of first-time entering students who are tracked through a web-based application from zero percent to 95 percent; (6) Increased functional student success and student services space from 1,090 sq. ft. to 2,980 sq. ft.; and (7) Increased UPIKE endowment from $17,956,141 to $18,588,141.

**Competitive Preference Priorities:**This project addresses Competitive Preference Priorities 1 and 2 for increased postsecondary success, college completion and improved productivity.

**Funds Requested:**$2,204,631

# Olympic College

# Bremerton, WA

Olympic College (OC) is an open admission community college located in Bremerton, Washington and surrounded by the Puget Sound to the east and the Hood Canal to the west. Small satellite campuses are located in Shelton (Mason County) and Poulsbo (Kitsap County). These three campuses serve an annualized head count of more than 12,000 students.

Students typically arrive at Olympic College under prepared for a college education. Seventy-one percent are first-generation college students. At least 75 percent of entering students place below college level in mathematics, reading, and/or writing. Forty-eight percent of new students receive some form of financial aid. Among all OC students, 35 percent receive grant or scholarship aid and another 10 percent receive federal student loans. Olympic College fails to meet state averages for both retention and completion and there are significant retention and completion gaps among the varied groups that make up the general student population.

As with most colleges and universities across the nation, Olympic College has suffered repeated and substantial state funding reductions. From 2008-2011, the state of Washington reduced per student funding by 38 percent, placing Washington among the top 10 states in overall postsecondary education reductions.

**Key Activity:**Improve Student Success and Strengthen the Institution by Resolving Academic, Management and Fiscal Restraints through the Application of Professional Development, Proven Practices and Technology.

# Project Goals:

· Strengthen Student Achievement by identifying key barriers and applying systems and techniques to improve retention, graduation and transfer rates.

· Expand educational opportunity through increased access to essential classes and through professional development of college personnel.

· Improve classroom assessment and instructional effectiveness by developing and implementing a data-driven comprehensive assessment plan.

· Overcome institutional inefficiencies and significantly increase data driven decision making across the institution including the key areas of academic programs, institutional management and fiscal stability.

· Eliminate redundancies and silos that strain institutional effectiveness and further exacerbate declining state support.

**Outcomes:**(a) Faculty and staff capable of addressing a range of academic issues; (b) improved retention and completion rates and a narrowing of gaps among varied student populations; (c) greater access to gateway courses; (d) expanded teaching and learning opportunities to meet varied academic needs; (e) enhanced assessment processes that align with accreditation recommendations; (f) data-driven decision making across all aspects of the institution; and (g) a reduction of inefficiencies and development of cost-saving processes that will better secure OC for long-term sustainability.

**Higher Education Impacts:**The objectives will support OC’s progress toward improving SIP identified performance indicators: an increase in the number of full-time degree seeking students enrolled at OC; a five percent increase in fall to fall retention and a five percent increase in first time, full time degree-seeking graduation within three years of enrollment. Effective processes and practices will be documented and disseminated for long-term benefits.

# University of Colorado

# Colorado Springs, CO 

The University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS) respectfully submits to the Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) a five-year proposal for $2,070,612 to intensify transitional and academic student support and re-design key math and science courses to support the retention and success of high-need students. We respond to Competitive Preference Priorities 1 (Increasing Postsecondary Success: College Completion) and 2 (Improving Productivity).

**Institutional Profile:**UCCS, one of four campuses in the University of Colorado system, is one of the fastest growing universities in the state and nation. Approximately 40 percent of current students are first-generation and 24 percent are minority. In fall 2012, 76 percent of first-time, full-time students received financial aid, with 33 percent of degree-seeking students being Pell-eligible.

**Problems/Weaknesses:**Compounding the base challenges facing many of our students, are three additional well-defined risk categories. Students classified as “window-admitted,” pre-major, or undecided have consistently lower retention rates and lower academic performance. For example, despite a robust Freshman Seminar Program, the retention rate for “window-admitted” students was 55 percent vs. 65.5 percent for the entire freshmen cohort. Furthermore, while the four-year graduation rate for the 2008 entering freshmen cohort was 24.5 percent, the four-year graduation rate for 2008 window-admitted students was seven and a half percent, for 2008 pre-majors was 13.6 percent and for 2008 undecided students was 18.7 percent. Pre-major students are often derailed by poor academic performance in “gatekeeper” math and science courses. These courses can be roadblocks to success for high-need students, reducing their likelihood of moving into and completing a major.

**Project Description:**The **Gateways to Success**proposal is designed to respond holistically to the compounding risk factors detailed above, thereby driving quantifiable improvements in rates of academic success, retention and graduation. Both proposed activities build on demonstrate strengths of the university and respond specifically to weaknesses identified during our recent university-wide strategic planning process.

**Activity I:**(Extended Learning Communities) focuses on strengthening transitional support and enhancing academic skill development and career exploration for freshmen students. 

**Activity II:**(“Gatekeeper” Course Redesign) focuses on math and science curricular re-design and the leveraging of technology to improve the likelihood of success for at-risk students in roadblock courses.

**Key Project Goals:**(1) Increase the freshmen retention rate for window-admitted, pre-major and undecided students by at least two percent each year until the retention rate is comparable to or exceeds the rate for the larger freshmen cohort; (2) Increase the graduation rates for window-admitted students from seven and a half percent to 12.5 percent, for pre-major students from 13.6 percent to 18.6 percent; and for undecided students from 18.7 percent to 23.7 percent; (3) Have 75 percent of undeclared freshmen in a designated major by the end of their freshman year; (4) Reduce the drop, failure, and withdrawal (DFW) rate by 20 percent for pre-major students in “gatekeeper” courses (College Algebra and Anatomy & Physiology); and (5) Achieve a 25 percent reduction in the per student cost of instruction through use of the math emporium model.

# San José State University

# San José, CA

San José State University (SJSU), located in San José, California, is the oldest campus in the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. SJSU is a fully-accredited, public, comprehensive university serving a diverse student body that speaks over 90 languages and offering bachelor's and master's degrees in 134 areas of study.

SJSU offers rigorous course work and research opportunities to more than 27,000 undergraduate and graduate students in seven colleges. In spring 2013, 58 percent of the 27,503 SJSU students were from racial/ethnic minority groups. In spring 2013, the largest ethnic group was Asians (32 percent), and the next largest groups were Caucasian (25 percent) and Latino/a (21 percent). A significant percent of incoming freshmen are remedial in English (29.8 percent) or mathematics (18.8 percent). There are higher levels of attrition among remedial students as compared to students who are not remedial. Also, the time to graduation is typically lengthened up to two years for those students who need remedial classes.

Our *Project Succeed*plan will strengthen SJSU’s culture for undergraduate student success to increase our retention and graduation rates as well as close the achievement gap for Under- Represented Minorities (URM). SJSU’s Title III activities are comprised of three components: 1) Implementing Systematic Use of Information Tools to Monitor Student Success; 2) Institutionalizing First-Year Experience Courses; and 3) Development of Strategies for High-Need Freshmen Students. Many of these components are inter-related and work in unison to meet our three overall goals: 1) Strengthen SJSU’s core academic performance in two key areas: retention and graduation; 2) Providing campus supportive environment for underrepresented students; and 3) Improve delivery and integration of academic and co-curricular support services for students to enhance student success and improve retention and graduation rates.

**Expected Outcomes**of *Project Succeed:*

1) More Latino/a and African American students will graduate and enter the workforce or pursue graduate or professional education.

2) A higher percentage of students will be retained and graduate.

3) There will be decreased time to graduation for SJSU students.

4) Improved delivery and integration of academic and co-curricular support services for students.

# Indian River State College

# Fort Pierce, FL

Indian River State College (IRSC) is a public, four-year comprehensive college, founded in 1959 as one of 28 community colleges in Florida. IRSC is committed to adding much needed baccalaureate degree programs. Although the community needs assessment and the results of the Student Interest Survey clearly defined the need for this program expansion, IRSC greatly underestimated actual demand. When baccalaureate programs were implemented, actual enrollment was double the expected enrollment.

Indian River students are non-traditional, juggling family and professional demands, often choosing online courses out of necessity more than preference for online learning. Unfortunately, online learning is not the best mode of instructional delivery for all students. College data (below) shows that **online students have a lower success rate than their counterparts in the classroom**. The persistent concern that continues to surface is the quality of online course content and instructional methodologies. If the data already indicates that online students underperform according to traditional success indicators, then we can expect that as the percentage of online students grows, student performance will decrease overall. *The urgency of this issue cannot be understated: Indian River State College must implement strategies to improve online instruction **now.***

The IRSC Title III Strengthening Institutions project will focus on two significant activities: 1) **Better support**Developmental Education by expanding the DirectConnect to Success program and the MOOCs to support it; and 2) **Improving the advisement**for online students.

# University of Saint Joseph

# West Hartford, CT

This Title III project (CFDA# 84.031A) responds to the following 2014 Competitive Priority: Invitational Priority 1—Increasing Postsecondary Success.

**The University:** The University of Saint Joseph (USJ, formerly Saint Joseph College), founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1932 in the Catholic intellectual tradition, is a private four-year institution *which provides a rigorous liberal arts and professional education for a diverse student population while maintaining a strong commitment to developing the potential of women.*The Undergraduate Women’s College offers programs which lead to a B.A. or B.S. degree. The co-educational Program for Adult Learners offers bachelor’s degree options in five majors, and the co-educational Graduate and Professional Studies program offers M.A. and M.S. degrees and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. The College’s School of Pharmacy opened in fall 2011 and expects to graduate its first class of Pharm.D. students in 2014.

**The faculty**at USJ includes 110 full-time, 14 part-time, and approximately 179 adjuncts. Adjuncts taught 38 percent of courses in a recent one-year period. Of the full-time faculty, 92 percent hold terminal degrees, and 45 percent are tenured. Of the full-time faculty, 18 percent are African American, Latino or Asian, and 72 percent are women.

**The undergraduate full-time student body**at USJ numbers 809. **All are female.**The racial and ethnic breakdown is: Caucasian, 61 percent; African American, 11 percent; Asian, two percent; Hispanic, 12 percent; two or more one percent, and other/unknown 12 percent. In the graduate and professional studies program, 87 percent of the students are female. The average class size is 14.

# The Title III Project:

**REACH**: (Raising Educational ACHievement) addresses the following institutional threats:

a) student assessment and readiness; b) special learning needs of students at risk; c) available instructional, support and tracking resources for students at risk; and d) student persistence and graduation rates.

**REACH**will:  1) Improve academic assessment and college readiness skills for students; 2) Improve support for faculty to meet learning needs of USJ students; 3) Enhance instructional resources for underprepared students; 4) Enhance second- and third-year student support services and leadership opportunities; and 5) Enhance systems for tracking and serving at-risk students.

**Formative evaluation**will be used to support process improvement and help ensure the project will accomplish its goals and objectives. The **summative evaluation**will describe the overall impact of the project’s strategies and effects—intended or unintended—on achieving the specifically designed goals and objectives by the end of the five years.

The project’s total budget is **$2,088,767.**

# William Rainey Harper College

# Palatine, IL

William Rainey Harper College (Harper) is a two-year community college located in Palatine, Illinois, about 30 miles northwest of Chicago. Harper’s four-county district includes over 530,000 residents, and each fall, Harper serves over 10,000 credit full-time equivalent (FTE) students with comprehensive associate degree education and certificate training programs.

The goal of the proposed Title III project is to **strengthen and increase the capacity of college technology and personnel to provide improved student engagement, tracking, communications, success, retention, and completion.**

**Projected Outcomes and Results:** Undergraduate enrollment will increase from 23,373 to 24,021. The fall to fall retention rate of degree-seeking students will increase from 60 percent to 70 percent. The fall to spring persistence rate of degree-seeking students will increase from 71 percent to 80 percent. The percentage of students graduating within three years will increase from 19 percent to 25 percent. Success and completion rates for developmental students will increase (from 60 percent to 66 percent fall to fall retention; from 79 percent to 85 percent fall to spring retention; from 50 percent to 56 percent remedial completion in one year; from 39 percent to 45 percent reaching 30-credit milestone; from 13 percent to 19 percent graduating within three years). Success and completion rates for African American students will increase (from 41 percent to 47 percent fall to fall retention; from 63 percent to 69 percent fall to spring retention; from 22 percent to 28 percent reaching 30-credit milestone; from 11 percent to 17 percent graduating within three years). Forty-five (45 percent) of all degree-seeking students will reach the 30-credit milestone, increasing from 39 percent. The project has four objectives and 13 key tasks.

**Objective 1:  To strengthen academic and student support services and experiences for degree-seeking students:****(1) Institute a comprehensive assessment program for entering students; (2) Strengthen academic and career counseling services; (3) Create Individual Education and Career Success Plans (ECSPs); and (4) Enhance and expand students’ access to institutional resources and knowledge.

**Objective 2:  To strengthen early educational experiences and support services for high- need students:**(5) Expand the early alert system; and (6) Create and implement a Mentoring Experience to connect students with people and resources.

**Objective 3:  To strengthen the capacity of academic and student support technology infrastructure and communications systems:****(7) Integrate various existing software applications with the Banner student data system to support and track students’ progress; (8) Acquire and implement a student engagement, tracking, and communications system (Harper Map); (9) Implement a more extensive and strengthened student portal; (10) Implement a more extensive and strengthened early alert system; and (11) Acquire and implement mentor matching software.

**Objective 4: To conduct a meaningful and cohesive professional development program for faculty, staff, and administrators:****(12) Conduct technology training for faculty, staff, and administrators that addresses the use of integrated data system at each point of student pathway; and (13) Orient and train students on student portal and Harper Map (student engagement, tracking, and communications system).

**This proposal addresses both Competitive Preference Priorities 1 and 2 and serves Harper’s high-need students,**including developmental students, African American students, and students who drop out with 30 plus credits but without a credential.

# Parkland College

# Champaign, IL

**Contact Person for the Title III Proposal:**Pamela Lau, Dean of Academic Studies; (217) 373-3709; plau@parkland.edu

**Institutional Background:**Parkland College, a fully accredited public community college, was established in 1966 to serve the educational needs of Illinois Community College District 505. The mission of Parkland College is to engage the community in learning. The one-campus college is located in Champaign, Illinois, the eleventh largest city in the state, and the fourth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, MSA, which includes the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana, is approximately 232,000. Champaign-Urbana is home to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) with whom Parkland enjoys a multi-faceted relationship. Due to the presence of UIUC, the twin cities are well-known as the home of several high-tech startup companies. Several Fortune 500 companies also have offices in the community.

Parkland serves approximately 9,500 for-credit students each semester. Since the first academic year in 1967, Parkland College has grown significantly, from serving 2,042 students in academic year (AY) 1968 to serving 24,014 students in AY2012 with a full-time equivalent of 7,450.

# Title III Activity: Four interrelated pathways to improve student success in the first year to accelerate progress towards completion and improve productivity in business processes and learning outcomes assessment to enhance data-informed action for student success.

**This Title III project will**consist of four interrelated pathways: **(1)**Accelerate student progress through developmental education; **(2)**Increase student success in gateway (graduation requirement) courses; **(3)**Improve student development support through student success course, individualized student educational and career planning, and peer mentoring; and **(4)**Increase institutional effectiveness for student success through business process improvement, alignment of assessment and institutional effectiveness, and course design improvement. The project addresses **tie-breaker priorities**in response to: **(1)**faculty development; **(2)**development and improvement of academic programs; and **(3)**strengthening student services.

# Student Body Characteristics:

**Fall 2011 Headcount Enrollment:**Undergraduate: 9,368;

**Student Age:**63.7 percent 24 and under, 36.3 percent 25 and over. **Average Student Age:**26.1.

**Fall 2011 Student Ethnicity:**White, 56.7 percent; Black, 15.2 percent; Hispanic, four percent; Asian/Pacific Islander, three percent; American Indian / Alaskan Native, half a percent; Non-Resident Alien, one percent; Unknown, 19.2 percent.

# Faculty Characteristics: Faculty to Student Ratio: 1:19. Fall 2011 Faculty: Full-Time: 188 Part-Time: 404.

**Five-Year Project Budget:**$2,128,580

# Wake Technical Community College

# Raleigh, NC

Wake Technical Community College (Wake Tech) in Raleigh, North Carolina is pleased to submit this proposal to the U.S. Department of Education Title III Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP). The proposed program, SEEGER - Success thru Early Engagement and Gateway Empirical Redesign - will address low retention and graduation rates by:  1) a more intensive advising program with follow-up for Pell Grant recipients enrolled in English 111, a required introductory course; and 2) course redesign for four gateway courses with high enrollments and high failure rates. The project has two goals aligned with Wake Tech’s institutional goals and strategic plan. These are: 1) increase retention and degree completion through course redesign and targeted advising program; and 2) increase efficiency of faculty through course redesign and of advisors through increased use of technology and small group sessions. The project is based on a careful assessment of academic, institutional, and financial strengths and weaknesses and will address high need students in particular, and contribute significantly to Wake Tech’s Completion Agenda.

Wake Tech’s Title III SEEGER Initiative includes one activity with two evidence-based strategies working synergistically to increase student engagement in college and success in key gateway courses leading to improved retention and graduation rates. The first strategy is a five-point intensive advising program for Pell Grant recipients. The program will include early engagement with a success coach, small group advising sessions focused on career development connected to educational planning and financial literacy, development of a virtual community to engage students through social media, strategic contacts throughout the semester and beyond, and intrusive advising when a student is flagged by faculty in Wake Tech’s early alert system.

The second strategy is course redesign for English 111, Mathematics 171 and 172, and Biology 111. The course redesign will focus on increasing student engagement by increased use of flipped and blended models of instruction, replacing lecture with interactive materials and activities and using technology to build in frequent assessment with automated feedback while reducing faculty workload.

Both strategies make strategic use of technology and organization to increase efficiency of faculty and advisors and use of resources to improve fiscal stability and institutional capacity in a time of rapidly growing enrollment with limited financial resources. The advising program will use career development software and leverage Wake Tech’s newly implemented early alert and social media applications to extend the capacity of success coaches to reach large numbers of students. The success coaches will develop and implement small group advising sessions again extending institutional capacity to engage students with limited staff. Course redesign will follow the National Center for Academic Transformation’s extensively tested process and evidence-based models for redesign to improve student outcomes while reducing costs.

Overarching these strategies is a focus on developing a culture of evidence where the use of data to target and improve services to Wake Tech’s high need students is emphasized. The proposed project will benefit from an experienced leader, Wake Tech’s considerable institutional strengths, and collaboration with other Completion Agenda initiatives at the College.

# Bluegrass Community and Technical College

# Lexington, KY

**INSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUND**: Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC), located in Lexington, KY, is an open-door, public two-year college and member of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). Awarding associate degrees and certificates, the College has campuses in Lexington (Fayette County) and in rural central Kentucky (service area population 714,898/ 3,342 square miles). *BCTC is the only public community college in the central region of Kentucky.*

**STUDENTS SERVED:**The Fall 2012 enrollment totaled 13,265 students (6,075 full-time and 7,190 part-time). Over half of students were freshman (59 percent or 7,851). The minority enrollment was 21 percent, with African American students the largest minority group at 13 percent. Half of entering students are Pell Grant recipients (50 percent); more than half (56.4 percent) are academically underprepared for college; and close to half (42.5 percent) are non-traditional.

**SUBSTANTIVE REFORM TO CLOSE THE SUCCESS GAP:**To address key institutional problems and weaknesses (declining first year to second year retention and academic success)**,**BCTC requests Title III funds to support development activities for substantive reform to close the first year success gap. The college-wide reform strategies, academic and non-academic, are supported by evidence-based research for what works at community colleges.

**DEVELOP A STRUCTURED, HIGH IMPACT FIRST YEAR (FY) STUDENT SERVICES PROGRAM**

· Create systems and space for constant student contact with advisors, peers and support staff (FY Centers, technology tools/e-portfolios, and monitoring and tracking technologies)

· Develop effective FY orientation, face-to-face and web-accessible

· Connect first year advising support with first year academic support (FY success courses linked with high risk academic courses and education and career planning via e-portfolios)

· Provide FY Coaches and Peer Mentors for a deeper and sustained student reach (case management approach and technology-enabled and data-driven advising and support)

· Provide training for staff and faculty advisors in new FY program practices

**REFORM DEVELOPMENTAL AND GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM**

· Design FY Success Course linked to developmental and general education courses

· Redesign high-risk developmental and general education courses as accelerated (combined)

· Redesign high-risk general education courses as collaborative and technology-rich

· Develop new technologies to support tech-rich learning in and out of the classroom

· Provide training and resources to increase faculty knowledge and incorporation of effective student engagement practices, such as collaborative, technology-rich learning

**DEVELOP TIMELY ACCESS TO AND EFFECTIVE USE OF DATA FOR STAFF AND FACULTY**

· Develop desktop student data dashboards for faculty and staff use

· Train faculty and advising staff in effective use of data for continuous improvements

**COMPETITIVE PREFERENCE PRIORITIES**

***Increasing Postsecondary Success***: All three components of the Title III Activity promote student academic success, persistence and completion.

***Improve Productivity*:**Key strategies (accelerated, linked developmental education courses) and technology-enabled and data-driven student support services reduce personnel and operational costs. Moving more students through the pipeline improves the productivity of the College.

FUNDS REQUESTED**:**  $2,247,728 

# Eastfield College

# Mesquite, Texas

Eastfield College (**EFC**) is a public, two-year degree granting institution located in Mesquite, Texas; east of the City of Dallas. **EFC**, part of the Dallas County Community College District (**DCCCD**), has been serving the southeast quadrant of Dallas County, Texas for over 40 years. The College is both a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) and a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).

**Eastfield College proposes a single activity that responds to a critical problem:  Low retention and graduation rates among first time in college students. The overall goal of the proposed activity is to advance the success of the first year student by enhancing their social and academic engagement.**

**Year One: Engage (YOE)**is a result of a strategic process and is supported by a comprehensive plan responsive to the particular academic needs and characteristics of Eastfield’s students, many of whom enroll in college with a part-time attendance status and are first-generation college students. The project will focus on the first-year experience and more specifically will target the first-time in college (FTIC) student. At the core of YOE are learning communities. Students will have the opportunity to enroll in a learning community consisting of two to four gatekeeper courses. Students will also participate in an Academic and Cultural Enhancement (ACE) program; an integrated support system designed to promote academic engagement and participation in cultural events as equal and integral components of college life. Title III funds will be utilized to strengthen the **academic support**and **instructional enhancement**aspects of this model by developing a Career and Transfer Center, enhancing the Journey to Success Mentoring Program, developing a mandatory New Student Orientation, implementing an early-alert system and providing faculty development and training.

Additionally, the College will launch the Title III project by (1) committing the time of existing Eastfield staff; and (2) immediately institutionalizing one of the key personnel. The Title III project Director will be institutionalized over the life of the project with full institutionalization at the end of Year Five. At the close of the project, the Title III Director will take on additional tasks related to student retention and assume the title of Dean of Engagement and Retention. This will ensure a seamless transition from the project into full institutionalization of the goals and objectives outlined in this proposal.

Total Direct Cost for the five year project is $2,017,130. Indirect Cost has not been requested. Competitive Priority Preference 1 is addressed in a separate area of the proposal.

# Southeastern Oklahoma State University

# Durant, OK

Project Generating Retention through Advisement and Digital technology (Project GRAD) is a program of Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SOSU) which is located in Durant, OK, 90 miles north of Dallas and 160 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. The primary service area encompasses southeastern Oklahoma and portions of northern Texas, primarily rural and impoverished areas. The university serves the 13 county region of: Atoka, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Latimer, Le Flore, Love, Marshall, McCurtain, McIntosh, Pittsburg, Pushmataha, and Grayson. Of the counties, three are located within the Chickasaw Nation boundaries, and nine counties are located within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Durant is the headquarters of the Choctaw Nation. The Chickasaw Nation is only about 10 miles to the south and also lies to our west and north. Reflective of this, 28.8 percent of our students are Native American and, over the last 10 years, we have averaged 27 percent Native American students.

**Activity 1** - Create a 21st century learning environment that uses high quality tools, networks, and digital media to connect staff, faculty, and students, both on campus and off, to bolster achievement by implementing a web based learning platform.

**Activity 2** – Provide more effective student advising through the addition of a Retention Services Coordinator and a Van Alstyne Project Coordinator and by digitizing student records and creating a centralized electronic data warehouse.

**Activity 3** – Provide comprehensive professional development in: 1) distance learning methodologies and technologies; 2) digitization and use of electronic student records; 3) effective advising through the use of electronic records and centralized data and, 4) cultural diversity and teaching the modern student.

To increase postsecondary success, **Project GRAD increases both the number of courses as well as the availability**of these courses and supplemental materials to high-need students. Also, **improved tools for student advising**will help students make better scheduling decisions and help alert the **Retention Services Coordinator**of students in need of intervention to improve persistence and graduation rates. Expansion of SOSU classes to a campus in Grayson County, TX will be assisted by the **Van Alstyne Project Coordinator**who will work with local students as they transition from two-year to four-year degree programs. **Technology**is the cornerstone of Project GRAD, both to improve student achievement and increase faculty effectiveness. 

Project GRAD will create a 21st century learning platform at SOSU that will use a web-based portal in combination with Interactive Educational Television (IETV) and our existing Blackboard system to **deliver more classes to students**at multiple campuses and to provide for both **synchronous and asynchronous learning**including a variety of **high quality digital tools**and materials.

Faculty and staff effectiveness will be increased through the implementation of digital imaging of records and the use of a centralized student data management system that will move advising from a reactionary state to a proactive one. This system will also improve productivity by moving the university from a paper based student records system to a digital one and by centralizing records as well as implementing a new and sustainable learning platform. A Virtual Library will be created and infrastructure improvements will complete the transition of our physical library into a vibrant learning commons. Finally professional development opportunities for faculty will increase faculty effectiveness and bolster student achievement.

# Florida Keys Community College

# Key West, FL

**Situation:**Florida Keys Community College (FKCC) recently went through a five-year strategic planning cycle. This process included the college community and key stakeholders such as students, resident families, faculty, staff, executive staff, the College President and Board of Trustees. This planning process revealed key goals for the college to work towards in the next five years. The goals identified in this application for federal assistance under this Title III program is focused on student engagement, retention and support, and strengthening fiscal resources. The engagement, retention and support goals identified came directly from the Florida College System (FCS) Strategic Plan.

FKCC is the primary access point to undergraduate education for residents in Monroe County Florida, including recent high school graduates and returning adult students. As a public two-year institution, FKCC responds quickly and efficiently to meet the demand of employers by aligning certificate and degree programs with regional workforce needs. The College follows a thorough planning and assessment process for all academic programs annually and plans for continuous improvement of programmatic goals and objectives through these procedures.

**Resources:**The College has a solid foundation of policies and procedures and resources to support the initiatives proposed in this application but lack the financial support necessary to establish information systems infrastructures, provide training and development of best practices, and expand their services to small satellite campus centers located fifty and one hundred miles away from the main campus. The College is asking for $2,165,125 in Title III funds to allow the College to strengthen their position through the implementation of the following strategies.

**Activities:**An electronic Early Alert system will be established to notify faculty and advisors of student attendance and performance early enough to engage the student and provide the support and guidance students need to succeed. Developmental mathematics courses will be expanded to satellite centers to support student retention and success in gatekeeper math courses. Similar support will be provided to students in developmental writing courses or writing intensive courses through the establishment of a writing center program at all three college locations. To support the college’s efforts beyond the grant period the College seeks support for their newly established Office of Sponsored Research to provide additional grant writing and proposal activities. Finally FKCC asks for 20 percent to increase the FKCC Foundation endowment.

**Outputs:**With Title III funds the College will improve its infrastructure to support an Early Alert system, create a Writing Center at all three college locations and expand their redesigned developmental mathematics program to support two satellite centers. Endowment funds will be invested and grants and scholarships will be created to support students, faculty and academic programs. Awarded grants through the Office of Sponsored Research will provide new revenues to ensure fiscal stability.

**Outcomes:**FKCC will increase student persistence, retention and success in developmental math and writing intensive courses to ensure success and encourage persistence. The College will also increase Associate in Arts degree retention rates by following an electronic integrated Early Alert notification system and provide fiscal stability through matching non- government funds and new grants and contracts.

# Stark State College

# North Canton, OH

**Stark State College**(SSC), located in North Canton, Ohio, primarily serves a nine-county region in northeastern/east-central Ohio. As the fifth-largest public two-year college in Ohio and the primary access point into higher education for disadvantaged populations in the region, SSC is a typical community college in many ways. But in 2013, we have come to believe we are extraordinary due to the nature of the many challenges we face as we strive to serve as an engine for economic growth in our region and state. We find ourselves caught up in a “perfect storm” of reduced state support for education; a near-100 percent reversal in the state funding model from access to success over a two-year period; transitioning from being one of the fastest-growing colleges in the country to now having one of the lowest three-year graduation rates in the country; and ever-plummeting course completion, persistence and retention rates. For these and many other reasons, we need a Strengthening Institutions Program grant to enable us to implement the project described below which will create a new “success” culture within our institution to benefit high-need students for the next five years and for many years to come.

**Project Title:***Accelerated Pathway to Completion*

**Project Goals:** The proposed Activity has been systematically designed to combine more personalized assistance to our students, in combination with advancing technology enhancements to bolster student achievement, persistence, retention and graduation. Our project encompasses three overarching goals: 1) increase course completion and term-to-term retention; 2) enhance student success with technology enhancements campus-wide; and 3) strengthen completion rates for certificate and degree programs. Methodologies used to achieve measurable objectives connected to these goals include broad-based *Success Coaching*with professional development designed to give all employees success coaching skills, the purchase of *course scheduling software*to dramatically decrease course cancellations and improve student progression through programs, utilization of *web conferencing software*to link main campus and satellite course sections across campus to facilitate course and program completion, and establish an *interactive video distance learning classroom*to support a new University Partnership initiative which will give graduates and people in the region community expanded opportunities to pursue baccalaureate degrees. Working together, these goals and methodologies will combine to significantly strengthen student success and completion at Stark State College.

**Expected Outcomes:**By the conclusion of the five-year grant period on September 30, 2018, Stark State College expects to see increases in the following performance measures: 14 percent in gateway course completion, 12 percent in fall-to-spring persistence, 15 percent in fall-to-fall retention, and 13 percent in our three-year graduation rate. Additional measures of achievement are included in Table 13 Institutional Five-Year Goals and Measurable Objectives on page 13 of the comprehensive development plan (CDP), all of which will enable us to achieve self-sufficiency and improved capacity to serve low-income students.

**Contributions for Research, Policy and Practice:** The most innovative component of our project is using *Collaborate*web conferencing software to combine partial course sections so students in multiple locations can receive one-on-one assistance, complete their classes and stay on track to graduate. We plan to share information on our outcomes related to this as we believe it will prove to be a successful model for college completion.

# University of South Carolina Upstate

# Spartanburg, SC

The University of South Carolina Upstate (USC Upstate), located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is a coeducational, public, comprehensive metropolitan institution and is a senior institution of the University of South Carolina that serves about 5,500 students and offers bachelor's degree programs in the liberal arts, sciences, business administration, nursing and teacher education, as well as master's degrees in selected fields. Increasing retention and graduation rates at USC Upstate will impact the entire upstate community because 85 percent of our graduates remain in this area.

This $2,065,158 request for a single Title III activity will help strengthen USC Upstate in significant ways. If funded**, we expect to create a support and engagement infrastructure that will yield a six percent increase in retention over the five years of the grant and will ultimately result in a significant improvement in our graduation rate.**

# Activity Title:  Strengthening USC Upstate by investing in student engagement and advising success.

The activity as designed represents wise planning and investment as it involves working within existing organizational structures to augment services that are already in place. The expansion of student engagement components are:

# 1. Engaging students to succeed through Active Learning

(Expanding the existing Department of Learning Technologies and collaborating with the Center for Teaching Excellence)

· Faculty development in effective pedagogy, especially those to engage students via Active Learning

· Creating and sustaining the engaging Active Learning ecology

· Engaging students with Active Learning tools for success

· Assessing student learning in the active learning space

# 2. Supporting students to persist through strengthening Academic Advising (Expanding the existing Academic Support Center)

· Academic Advising Center

· Academic Advising Program

# 3. Reinforcing measures to support student persistence and completion through enhanced financial support

(Expanding the University funding base by retaining and graduating better prepared and more satisfied students)

· Augment current funding with Title III grant resources.

· Add modern technology enhanced **academic learning spaces**to the College of Arts and Science and each of the professional schools.

· Proactively assist students in jeopardy of losing Life Scholarships.

# Mountwest Community & Technical College 

# Huntington, WV

Attendance Pays is a comprehensive plan to improve student attendance, retention and completion rates at Mountwest Community & Technical College, a public two-year institution in Huntington, West Virginia, that serves primarily low-income students. After being housed under a major university for more than four decades, Mountwest became a fully separate institution in 2008 and moved to its own campus in 2012. These significant changes as well as troubling retention, completion and student loan default rates prompted Mountwest to take action through this Title III project that will transform the way its serves its students and makes decisions.

Based on outputs from a Round One Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant and limited institutional data, Mountwest aims to broaden its student services, improve institutional management and increase its fiscal stability by achieving the following goals: (1) improve student attendance in the classroom; (2) improve and expand student support services to address nonacademic barriers for student success; (3) improve job readiness to enhance employability after graduation; (4) create a culture of data-driven, continuous improvement through the collection and analysis of quantitative data for the benefit of all stakeholders; (5) reduce the student loan default rate; and (6) increase revenue through student retention and completion. The proposal also addresses both of the Competitive Preference Priorities for this competition.

Mountwest serves about 3,000 students annually, all of whom would benefit from the services provided through this project. The program will operate on a year-round basis beginning in October 2014. It will provide a college-wide attendance tracking system; an expanded pilot program for financial aid disbursement; mental health, life skills and employment skills support services; feasibility study on child care; and the establishment of an Office of Institutional Research.

# Eastern Michigan University

# Ypsilanti, MI

**Eastern Michigan University**. Founded in 1849 as a “normal school” for training teachers, Eastern Michigan University (EMU) is a comprehensive public four-year university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan, 40 miles from Detroit. EMU serves both rural and urban populations from Detroit to Flint and Lansing. In 2013, *The Princeton Review*named, for the tenth consecutive year, EMU a "Best Midwestern College."

Eastern Michigan University’s more than 200 majors, minors, and concentrations are delivered through the University’s six colleges: Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Health and Human Services; Technology; and Graduate School. 

**Faculty Characteristics:****EMU employs nearly 700 full-time and 500 part-time faculty. Ninety-four percent of the full-time professors have doctoral or terminal degrees. The student-to-faculty ratio is 19:1. Of the faculty, 50 percent are women, and 7.2 percent are African American. Faculty work closely with students, and many involve students in their research. Recently, EMU celebrated its 31st Annual Undergraduate Symposium, a benchmark program for undergraduate research. 

**Student-Body Characteristics:****The University currently serves 23,000 students (18,000 undergraduate), who are pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral, and certificate degrees. Of these, 57 percent are female and 43 percent are male. Eastern is a leader in educating under-represented and non-traditional students. Nearly 27 percent of EMU students are minorities, including 20 percent African-American. Nearly all (91 percent) EMU students work while attending college (47 percent full time), and 80 percent of undergraduates receive need- based financial aid. Roughly 29 percent of EMU’s new students in fall 2012 were first-generation college students, and 30 percent were commuter students. Ninety percent come from Michigan, and nearly 80 percent stay in Michigan after they graduate. 

**Service-Region Highlights:**The University’s main campus is in Ypsilanti, southwest of metropolitan Detroit. Economic conditions in southeastern Michigan have been negatively affected by the downturn in the U.S. auto industry, a situation that has hit EMU and the state overall. Ypsilanti’s per capita income fell 19 percent from 2006-2008, while the state’s average drop was 10.5 percent. The Ypsilanti area, with a population of 72,797 in 2010, has lost more than 14,000 higher-paying manufacturing jobs since 2001. 

**University Mission:****EMU is committed to excellence in teaching, the extension of knowledge through basic and applied research, and creative and artistic expression. EMU’s student-focused learning environment positively affects the lives of students, and EMU’s commitment extends beyond the campus boundaries to the wider community through service initiatives addressing local, regional, national, and international opportunities and challenges.

**Contact Person:** Ellene Tratras Contis, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry, Phone: 734-487-0106, Fax: 734-944-4901, Cell: 734-276-0787, and E-mail: econtis@emich.edu.

**Activity Request:** $1,997,490 for five years. Strengthening the STEM Curriculum at EasternMichigan University by Institutionalizing the CSIE Program. EMU requests funds to implement the innovative and effective EMU Creative Scientific Inquiry Experience (CSIE) Program across STEM disciplines. The focus is a creative approach that includes: 1) faculty professional development; 2) curricular reform; and 3) student connectedness to STEM faculty, peers, and the community through experiential community-based research activities.

# South Puget Sound Community College

# Olympia, WA

**Project Overview:**South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) will establish Graduation and Achievement Initiatives, Networks, and Strategies (GAINS): A Path for Success for South Puget Sound Community College Students—a comprehensive, integrated student success program for all new credit students who intend to earn a degree or complete a program. *GAINS*integrates six research-proven strategies to improve persistence and graduation rates; increase the total number of students; improve technological tools for faculty and students; expand student services, first-year experience opportunities, and strategic curriculum changes; and improve fiscal stability by reducing student attrition. Program strategies include: (1) student services, advising, and career planning; (2) first-year experiences (FYE); (3) integrative learning; (4) supplemental instruction /faculty tutoring; (5) enrichment of campus technology environment; and (6) establishment of a faculty professional learning community for instructional innovation.

To achieve the goals of improved persistence from 58 to 68 percent and graduation from 26 to 36 percent, SPSCC will undertake seven strategies: (1) establish effective structures and processes to implement the five-year Title III grant program; (2) develop and implement comprehensive FYE services; (3) expand integrative learning strategies, including learning communities, service learning, & first-year seminars; (4) create interactive “portal-like” student Web site; (5) reorganize and expand supplemental instruction and tutoring programs; (6) develop and implement a coordinated professional development program for faculty, with adequate staffing to support teaching, learning, and assessment in support of students in all programs; and (7) plan, develop, and implement more strategic use of technology services and tools.

**Geography Served:**Thurston County, Washington (WA)

**Purpose/Mission:**SPSCC’s mission is to support student success in postsecondary academic transfer and workforce education that responds to the needs of the South Sound region. 

**Grant Purpose:**To improve persistence rates, graduation rates, and quality of services for all students through an integrated student success program

**Type:**Public**Level:**Two-year community college in the WA Community and Technical College System

**Primary Service Populations:**(1) two-year community college students seeking an associate’s degree; (2) career technical students; (3) dislocated workers; (4) adults returning to school/work; (5) four-year transfer students; (6) high school students.

**Programs of Study:**(1) traditional terminal associate degrees; (2) academic transfer programs; (3) developmental education; (4) career technical; (5) career- and enrichment-related noncredit programs; (6) customized employee training; (7) dual enrollment with high school.

**Student Characteristics:** (2011-12) Enrollment in Credit Programs: 6,371 (headcount); 4,369 full time equivalent.

**Gender: Male:**43.7 percent; **Female:**54.8 percent (difference unclassified)

**Demographics:**African American, three percent; Asian and Pacific Islander, nine percent; Caucasian, 61.9 percent; Hispanic eight percent; Multi-racial, six percent; and Native American, one percent. (International and unclassified students, made up two and nine percent, respectively.)

**Age: Less than 20**—21.1 percent; **20-24**—28.6 percent; **25-29**—15.1 percent; **30-34**—12.2 percent; **35-39**—eight percent; **40-44**—six percent; **45-49**—four percent; **50-54**—three percent; **55-59**—two percent; **60****and over**—one percent.

**Faculty Characteristics:**  Full-time: 98; Part-time/adjunct: 138; Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 19:1

Mount Vernon Nazarene University

Mount Vernon, OH

Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) is a private, nonprofit liberal arts university that enrolls approximately 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students each year. MVNU serves portions of Appalachia in rural eastern Kentucky, southern Ohio, and West Virginia as well as northern Ohio’s manufacturing sector—the “rust belt” of the industrial Midwest. Historically **low levels of education**have prevented many residents, 92 percent of whom are Caucasian, from participating in an economy emerging from dependence on heavy manufacturing and recession; many of the area’s “working poor” barely earn enough to get by. Still, in the past, MVNU’s students have entered college straight from high school and most had the skills to succeed. MVNU has also created programs for professionals seeking bachelor’s degrees to progress in their careers.

However, undergraduate enrollment has dropped a precipitous 14 percent since 2008, nine percent from 2011 to 2012 alone. This crisis has forced the university to examine students’ needs more closely than ever before, and we have identified four student groups to whom we must respond.

Today, “traditional” students make up 70 percent of our undergraduates, but their needs have changed in recent years. These students include **Conditionally-Admitted (C-A),**underprepared freshmen who place into pre-college, developmental coursework, **Undecided Majors (UM)**who have not yet chosen disciplines to pursue, and **Liberal Arts and Sciences Upperclassmen (LASU),** juniors and seniors just a year or two away from graduating but ill-equipped to begin their careers. **Professional Studies (PS)**students, the remaining 30 percent of undergraduates, are mostly working adults, many studying online, for whom MVNU will add three new degree programs in nursing, early childhood education, and business in 2014 and 2015. All of these groups, however, are **failing to re-enroll and graduate**at alarming rates. 

To promote their success, MVNU has designed a Title III project titled ***Improving Baccalaureate Success and Completion.***The project includes online support services for PS Students, redesigned developmental instruction and support services for the C-A, Learning Communities and support services for UMs, and career-oriented academic and support services for LASU juniors and seniors. Project elements that enable new practices and that enable new practices and improvements include: faculty and staff development, renovation of a Student Success Center, and expanded wireless access for online service delivery. The project also includes a robust tracking system for collecting and analyzing student data to support fast response to emerging student needs.

Outcomes include improved GPAs, fall-to-fall re-enrollment, and graduation. These outcomes address the purpose of Title III, *to increase college’s self-sufficiency and expand their capacity to serve low-income students by improving and strengthening academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability,*Title III **Program Performance Measures***(enrollment, retention, and graduation),*and both **Title III Competitive Preference Priorities,***increasing postsecondary success*and *improving productivity.*The five-year budget request totals $2,247,830.

**Fall 2012 Profiles:**

# Tallahassee Community College

# Tallahassee, FL

Tallahassee Community College (TCC) is a two-year public institution founded in 1966. TCC enrolls 14,000 students annually in 100 programs leading to an associate degree, certificate or transfer to four-year institutions. Students are 54 percent female, 75 percent are below age 25, and 47 percent are of minority heritage. The faculty is composed of 187 full-time and 681 part-time members, with a faculty-to-student ratio of 1:25. Despite robust academic programs, a caring faculty, and a strong commitment to the community college mission, student achievement is compromised by significant attrition and low graduation rates, especially for First Time in College students.

  Contact: Dr. Jim Murdaugh, President; E-mail: murdaugj@tcc.fl.edu; Telephone: 850-201-8660; Fax: 850-201-   8612

**Proposed Project:***A Framework for Success: Increasing Achievement through Multi­Year Career Pathways*- $2,236,536 over five years. 

To increase student academic achievement and engagement, TCC will develop a transformative Activity entitled *A Framework for Success*that will reconstruct the curriculum into five "Meta-Pathways" that establish career-focused on­ ramps guiding students from admission through graduation. The Pathways provide a two­ pronged strategy leading to a multi-year experience: 1) a Pathways orientation, assessment, and advising protocol that leads all students to educational planning and enrollment in a redesigned Pathways Seminar; and 2) an innovative redesign of required introductory college-level gateway courses, contextualized to the five Meta-Pathways and delivered with active, experiential learning activities. Fundamental to this effort is professional development for faculty/staff that stresses active learning, outcomes assessment, advising protocols and mediated instruction.

**Key Effectiveness Indicators:** As a result of the Activity, by September 30, 2018:  1) fall­to-fall retention rate for First Time in College (FTIC) will increase by 10 percent compared to 2010-11 baseline data (from 56 percent to 66 percent); 2) student success in redesigned gateway courses will increase by 10 percent (57 percent to 67 percent); and 3) the A.A. graduation rate will increase by five percent (from 31 percent to 36 percent).

# Antioch University Santa Barbara

# Santa Barbara, CA

Antioch University Santa Barbara (AUSB) is a private, not-for-profit undergraduate and graduate university with a strong social justice mission. The campus is located approximately 100 miles north of Los Angeles, California and is one of five campuses of Antioch University, a nationally accredited university. AUSB offers a Bachelor of Arts degree completion program and has well-articulated agreements with regional community colleges that serve as its feeder schools.

AUSB serves a diverse student body. The campus is a Hispanic Serving Institution that is committed to creating an inclusive and transformative educational experience while being responsive to the practical needs of its students and the local community. Over the past three years two trends are notable. The diversity of the campus has increased as has the number of low income students receiving Pell grants. In 2011, 56 percent of students were Pell grant eligible (IPEDS Report 2012) and in fall, 2011, 39 percent were students of color.

This project, *Envisioning Career Success,*was designed to include the evidence-based strategies known to have excellent outcomes for student retention and degree completion. BA transfer students will receive comprehensive and proactive academic and career advising within integrated and cohesive learning communities as well as highly accessible writing and math support. From the point of entry there will be a focus on post-graduation success through structured academic and career goal setting, mentorship, and the acquisition of work skills that are developed within an organized cooperative education and internship program and a curriculum that integrates academics with meaningful work experience. The project has the overarching goal to create a pathway from college to employment success with objectives that significantly increase academic and career self-efficacy, career-readiness, and persistence to degree completion in a population of high need/low income students.

1. Objective 1: By 2018, improve the disparity between Latino (61 percent) and other students (75 percent) in retention and completion of a Bachelor’s degree;

2. Objective 2: By 2018 students engaged in cooperative education work settings or internships will show a statistically significant increase in career self-efficacy to include knowledge of occupations, clarity of career goals, and independent career planning capacity;

3. Objective 3:  By 2018 90 percent of faculty and staff will be trained in how to use a database system to track student progress and will initiate early interventions for at risk students;

4. Objective 4:  By 2018 there will be a four- fold increase in external resource development efforts from two external funding proposals per year to eight.

Envisioning Career Success meets Competitive Priority Preference One-Improving Postsecondary Success with evidence based strategies such as establishing proactive advising, creating learning communities, engaging students in a practical cooperative work program and following progress with student success software. Competitive Priority Two will be addressed through the use of an alternative instructional model to teach practical and marketable occupational competencies using outside employers (co-instructors.) By linking academics with experiential learning, the project will improve effectiveness of the academic programs at no additional cost to the institution.

The total request for the five-year budget is $1,630,110.

# Jacksonville State University

# Jacksonville, AL

*Learning-Intensive Communities (LInC)s to Success: Campus-Wide Integration of Academic Support Services*was developed in response to low retention and graduation rates at Jacksonville State University. 

Specifically, this program seeks to create the institutional conditions known to promote college student success and retention. LInCs to Success provides an organizational framework for communication and collaboration between faculty, advisors, students, and academic support staff across campus. The focus of this program is to create LInCs that are differentiated according to student learning needs. 

Three differentiated modules for enhanced academic support will be developed according to faculty-identified student academic needs. Additionally, an early warning system and assessment of students’ noncognitive traits and behaviors will guide advisors, faculty, and academics support staff in the development of targeted intervention strategies for at-risk students. Finally, a new study center equipped with needed technology and a resource library will be established to provide high need students with resources needed to successfully complete courses at Jacksonville State University. Campus- wide integration of academic support services will be achieved through the use of GradesFirst, a student services data integration system proven to increase student success and improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of academic support program at postsecondary institutions.

# National University

# San Diego, CA

National University proposes the implementation of a Strengthening Institutions Program that is focused on developing the institution’s self-sufficiency and expanding its capacity to serve low-income students by improving and strengthening the institution’s academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability. **Pathways for Achieving Student Success**(PASS) is a comprehensive and holistic mechanism that identifies at-risk students and behaviors and provides them with both immediate and long-term support structures; which in turn ensures significant improvement in persistence and completion within those student populations.

PASS significantly strengthens National University’s various retention initiatives; ones currently operating in isolation, by creating a system whereby retention efforts are integrated and pervasive throughout the institution. PASS also includes various structures for faculty training, development and collaboration. These are vital to the initiative’s success as they systematize and socialize the retention and remediation efforts embodied by PASS and ensure its impact is felt by students well beyond the timeframe of the grant.

The grant offered in this federal program focuses on an institution that has undergone an extensive process of self-reflection and review and is prepared to implement initiatives designed to address unmet needs and weaknesses specifically as they concern at-risk student populations. National University has experienced a significant shift in its student population (moving from a mostly graduate student population to one more focused on undergraduate students) and as a result, enacted a multi-year analysis that was just completed.

In April 2011, a Student Remediation and Retention (R&R) Work Group was established by the Provost. In addition, the Provost promoted a new 2012 Work Group for Undergraduate Student Remediation and Retention, asking for faculty volunteers to serve with staff and administrators. The 2012 Work Group that was established was representative of the University in its diversity both in membership and operational perspective. The Undergraduate Council requested faculty volunteers from each school to serve on the work group. As a result, sixteen faculty members responded with at least one member from each school. The Provost made a similar request of administrators and staff, again seeking diversity at different levels and functions within the University. Sixteen staff and administrators responded ranging from a dean’s assistant to the Vice President for Student Services and several Associate Regional Deans agreed to serve. The Provost’s Office also requested five ex-officio members with relevant background to assist with the process, all of whom agreed to participate in this project over a four month period.

The analysis of the current state of the institution as it concerns its student populations revealed several key institutional strengths and weaknesses in the areas of academic programs, institutional management, and fiscal stability. These strengths are the structure and support that will enable National University to provide the wrap around support that at risks students need. By addressing its weaknesses through PASS, National University will increase its capacity to better serve a higher percentage of minority students and students from low-income backgrounds. PASS activities are focused on redressing these weaknesses and ensuring at-risk students find greater persistence and success.

The implementation strategy is focused on the core activities of the PASS project which include the creation of the PASS Steering Group, development of the PASS Center and activities, the creation of the Student Success Course (SSC10), a focus on Remedial Courses, creation of the Success Dashboard, Faculty Development and Training as well as Staff Development.

# University of Tennessee

# Martin, TN

The University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin) requests funds to address Code of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) 84.013A of the Strengthening Institutions Program. The University’s Soaring toward Success Project will achieve two goals through the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP):  (1) *enhancing postsecondary success*and (2) *improving productivity*. Both goals align with two of the five University of Tennessee System Strategic Plan goals: enhancing educational excellence (UT System Goal 1) and ensuring efficiency and effectiveness (UT System Goal 4). UT Martin will achieve these two goals through five activities: (1) developing a comprehensive, student- centered advising system; (2) leadership development; (3) establishment of Faculty Teaching and Learning Communities focused on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning; (4) creating a culture of evidence across campus units; and (5) enhancing the UT Martin Veterinary Science Program. The focus of these goals and activities is to serve the University’s students who are predominantly low-income, first-generation college students from a rural region.

Since 2009, all units of the University have been extensively involved in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) reaffirmation process, through committees, data gathering and analysis, and reports. Consequently, this planning and analysis process has led to a natural documentation of the strengths and weaknesses of the academic programs, institutional management, and fiscal stability of the University. Hence, the CDP goals and objectives were developed. Goal 1 constitutes three activities. Goal 2 constitutes two activities. The CDP will address both Competitive Preference Priorities. UT Martin’s Soaring Toward Success will be led by an accomplished, tenured faculty member with knowledge and experience in program management and evaluation, student outcome assessments, and student-centered academic advising.

# Utah Valley University

# Orem, UT

Utah Valley University (UVU), a comprehensive regional public university of some 31,500 students, will address a top institutional priority of improving student completion. The current overall graduation rate is 24 percent, which includes students in both UVU's baccalaureate and associate degree programs, while peer institutions average 34 percent. The low graduation rate affects the institution's viability and fiscal stability as well as student success.

UVU proposes to build on the work of a previous Title III grant (2006-211) that increased first-year retention from 47 percent to 61 percent by implementing a First-year Experience coupled with an Early Intervention and Outreach Program targeted at high-risk students. In the proposed project, UVU will address overall completion by strengthening academic advising from the first year through to graduation and will strengthen academic programs by focusing on student engaged learning and scholarly activities.

As a *Carnegie Community Engagement Institution*for both *Curricular Engagement*and *Outreach and Partnerships,*UVU has a core theme of Engaged Learning. (The other three core themes are closely related to the proposed project as well - Student Success, Serious, and Inclusive.) The proposed project seeks to refine these strengths as a critical means of increasing students' intellectual and professional growth, as well as their commitment to education and career preparation, thus improving completion rates. Notable scholarship substantiates the relationship between engagement and student success and guides the rationale of this project.

Thus, the Area 1 Goal for the project is: To increase completion by expanding opportunities for meaningful student engaged learning and scholarly activities. This will be accomplished by expanding engaged learning activity that focuses on effective models of engagement with high to moderate levels of evidence for increased retention and completion. This objective will be facilitated by broad reaching professional development activities aimed at increasing the effectiveness of faculty in designing and implementing engaged learning and student mentoring.

The Area 2 Goal is: To increase student completion by strengthening academic advising and improving course scheduling. Noting that only about 50 percent of UVU students work with their advisors beyond initial course registration and about 60 percent of students do not have a graduation plan entered in to the university's degree audit system, UVU will strengthen academic advising by requiring students to meet at least once a year with their advisors and to enter graduation plans into an online tracking system, encouraging well-prepared students to plan to complete in four years. The productivity of advising will be improved with additional advisor training, updates to the online advisor tracking tools, and the addition of a non-cognitive assessment tool. The required use of graduation plans will facilitate data-informed course scheduling, which will also help make the courses available that students will need to graduate on time. While the objectives and activities of this project are aimed at all students, substantial research indicates that these best practices are even more effective at increasing retention and completion for high-risk student populations. Increased student success through engagement and advising will strengthen UVU's ability to achieve its goals and carry out its distinct educational mission.

The project will be administered and institutionalized by the Assistant Vice President for Scholarship and Faculty Development and overseen by the Strategic Engagement Council headed by the University President. The project will also involve substantial contributions from the offices of Institutional Research and Information, Student Success and Retention, Sponsored Programs, Advisor Training and Development, and the Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence.

11/13/2014