The American Graduation Initiative: The Impact on a Community College

On July 14, zoo 9, President Barack Obama presented the United States with a challenge that would become known as the American Graduation Initiative. A significant component of the initiative was to make the United States the leading nation in the world in college graduates. More specifically, he demanded that by 2020, u.s. community colleges produce an additional five million graduates ( ).At Northampton Community College (ncc), this was received as a direct challenge. The Records and Registration Office began to consider what we were doing and how we could make it better; what could the Records and Registration Office do to increase the number of graduates ? NCC offers three graduation dates and holds two commencement ceremonies annually. As the assistant registrar responsible for certifying graduates, I began to more carefully consider the number of graduates we were producing in May, August, and December of each year. NCC policy is that students must apply for graduation, but attendance at commencement is optional. Unlike four-year institutions where the majority of students enroll as members of an entering class in the fall and graduate in the spring four years later, ncc students enroll at various times. Applying for graduation is one way that students can inform us that they are nearing completion of their programs of study. Information on the graduation application triggers other office processes, such as ordering diplomas and inviting graduates to the commencement ceremony. We began to wonder whether confusion regarding graduation and commencement might have a negative impact on the number of students who apply to graduate. For example, did some students not apply for graduation because they did not plan to attend the commencement ceremony? We decided that the best way to find out was to ask students directly. In May 2009, just ahead of the initiative announced by President Obama, we enlisted the help of the Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Effectiveness in conducting a survey.BACKGROUNDNorthampton Community College is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and serves more than 11,000 students at three brick and mortar campuses as well as online. Students take anywhere from one semester (for a six- or nine-credit specialized diploma) to a few years to finish a program of study. Our student population is incredibly diverse. Our residence halls attract students who wish to attend community college and live away from home; on-campus housing also makes it possible for us to recruit internationally. Sixty (60) percent of ncc's enrollment is female, and 40 percent is male.Prior to conducting the survey, the Records and Registration Office informed students about the importance of applying for graduation and about the difference between graduation and commencement: we hung posters and flyers around campus, and in programs with prescribed requirements, we notified advisors of who had not applied and included applications for those students to complete. The zoo9 survey asked students how effective they found these approaches.SURVEY: 2009The goal of the first survey, conducted in 1009, was to find out what students knew about graduation and commencement; how and when they learned about graduation and commencement; and from whom they got the information. Additional questions focused on the ease of the process and students' level of satisfaction with the Office of Records and Registration.Surveys were distributed to students who had already applied for graduation; in fact, they were included with the standard letter informing them of their graduation status. Surveys were sent only to those students whose graduation status was "yes" (all courses completed) or "tentative" (final courses in progress). Students whose applications for graduation were denied but who subsequently registered for their final requirements received a survey with their updated status letter. …