Goals are Dreams With Deadlines

Preparing Students for Successful Transfer Experiences Through Their

First-Year Experience at the Community College

Rico R. Reed

Outcomes of this Session• Explore how the First-Year Experience in the

community college sets the foundation for a successful transfer process

• Highlight the characteristics of community colleges that support a comprehensive and effective first-year experience

• Provide rationale and highlight best practices for establishing an efficient and effective pipeline for best supporting students as they strive to execute their transfer dreams

Fulfilling the Promise of the Community College: Increasing First-Year Student

Engagement and Success

Transfer Students in Higher Education: Building Foundations for Policies, Programs and Services That Foster Student Success

Institute on First-Year Success in the Community College

November 2011

Life’s Greatest Lessons:20 Things that Matter

Why are you here?

What are your biggest challenges?

What do your students need?

Why hasn’t this been done in the past?

What resources do you have?

Who are your champions?

Who are your supporters?

What’s the ultimate payoff?

• Motivation and goals are the greatest source of human power and the seeds to success.

• All achievements are ignited as goals and fueled through motivation.

• The goals we set and the depth of our motivation determines what we make of our lives.

Limitless

Describes the distinctive characteristics of first-

year student experiences and

challenges in community college

based on research and effective practice.

Community colleges have gone from being the stepchild to being the

golden child…

Dr. Frank Chong, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Colleges

Key to nation’s effort’s to double the number of college graduates in the next ten years

The first-year, indeed the first few weeks of the beginning semester, is a pivotal point in

students’ academic careers.Brown, King, & Stanley, 2011

Why Are Goals So Important?• Success is the progressive accomplishment of

worthy goals.• Success starts with a mission: a specific goal

accompanied by a strong desire.• Living without goals is like going on a trip

without a destination!• “What the mind of man can conceive and

believe, it can achieve.” Napoleon Hill

We Know That …community colleges will play a central role in improving

educational access for increasing numbers of U.S. college students

• In order for increased access to be meaningful, students must persist in college, complete their programs, and where applicable, transfer to four-year institutions.• Effective first-year programs turn access into

success by keeping students in college and helping them overcome barriers that might otherwise prevent them from reaching their goals.

Two important themes ….(a) The first-year, as the springboard for student success, matters just as much in two-year institutions as it does in their four-year counterparts, and(b) even when considering specific institutional contexts and cultures, standards of best practice for institutional support and success of first-year students in community colleges are emerging.

Students whose first experiences are positive …

are more likely to persist toward their goals, whether that is a certificate, an associate

degree, or transferring to a four-year institution.

Overarching principles...

The learning college movement: how do you know what students are learning and achieving

20

Overarching principles...

The multiple missions of community colleges make them unique in the nation and world

Overarching principles...

Measures of students success differ between two and four-year colleges due to diversity of

students

The Evolution of Colleges of Opportunity

Community Colleges have evolved to include workforce and community development,

lifelong learning and developmental education.

Distinctive Characteristics of Community Colleges

•Access, to Persistence, and Inclusion•Community Responsiveness and Innovation•Small class-size and a focus on teaching

The Learning College Model and the Success and Completion Agenda now

includes:Achieving the Dream

Gates Foundation Postsecondary Success Initiative

The Obama Administration Higher Education Agenda

Voluntary Framework of Accountability

Learning from Student VoicesDr. Kay McClenney, Director of the Center for

Community College Student Engagement, created a portrait of the new community college student

Asked why they persisted, students typically referred to a strong early connection to someone at

the college…

Benefits of Setting Goals• Motivation - Goals are the starting blocks of motivation. • Independence - Goals help us take charge of our own lives. • Direction - Goals give us a destination. We’re far more likely

to get someplace when we know where we’re going.• Meaning - Goals give us a sense of purpose. Life has more

meaning when we’re clear on what we want..• Enjoyment - Goals are the antidote to the most dreaded of

all social diseases: boredom. • Fulfillment - Goals, more than anything else, help us reach

our potential. Setting goals helps us see what’s possible

Benchmarks of Effective Practice with Entering Students

some areEarly connectionsClear academic plan and pathwayAcademic & social support network

What needs to be doneSome are:

Build a Culture of Evidence

Commit to the discipline of routine student cohort tracking

Bring programs to scale

Goals = Greatness• Each goal completed helps us see more of

what’s possible and leads to more goals and more success!

Emerging evidence suggests that certain educational experiences may contribute significantly to the

likelihood of students success. Examples include:

College orientation programsFirst-year seminars

Student success coursesLeaning communities

When A Dream Becomes A Goal• Goals are dreams with deadlines.• Goals become a blueprint for a very rewarding life.• Dreams don’t become a reality when they don’t

have enough clarity.• The human mind won’t move in the direction of a

generality; it will move when it has something specific to aim at.

At some point it behooves community college educators to overcome their

reluctance to make mandatory experiences shown to enhance

student learning, persistence, and attainment.

McClenney, 2011

Setting A Goal1) Understand the difference between a goal and a wish.2) Write down your goals and make them specific.3) Categorize and balance your goals.4) Review and revise your goals regularly.

Recommendations Create intentionally-designed comprehensive programs

Bring programs to scale Cultivate support from campus leadership

Build coalitions on campus Develop community partnerships

Provide campus-wide professional development opportunities

Support transfer Establish relevant benchmarks for success

Build a culture of evidence

Create intentionally designed comprehensive programs

Prioritize student programs and services focused on the initial adjustment to college

Include academic and learning support programs

Seek innovative and effective interventions

Create intentionally designed comprehensive programs

Academic advising and career development are the pillars of a comprehensive program

Empower staff to accomplish the program mission

Group services together

Bring programs to scale

Include a transition plan for movement from:Boutique service to universal student access

Grant funding to base budget

Link programs to accreditation processesRemember, students don’t do optional!

Goal: 75% participation rates for FY students

Cultivate support from campus leadership

Include campus leadership in program: Development

Implementation

Maintenance

Communication is keySelect the right people to coordinate the program

Cultivate support from campus leadership

Connect the program to the mission, vision, values, and culture of the campus

Have data toSupport program decisions

Document effectiveness

Draw support from leadership across the campus

Build coalitions on campus

Cross-campus collaboration is likely to draw the attention and support of campus leadership

Draw upon the “horizontal” nature of FYE to build partnerships

New partnerships contribute to program evolution & improvement

Develop community partnerships

Enlist political, business, and community leadersCampus messaging should show campus as a

destination of choiceInclude community leaders and members in the

communication plan

Develop community partnerships

Career focused programs create a bridge to the community

Placement servicesMembers of advisory board and committees for

career programs

Use career programs as a model for other community partnerships

Provide campus-wide professional development opportunities

Professional development is an ongoing commitment

Opportunities should fit the context:Community college specific

Fit with the campus mission and student needs

Consider professional development as a requirement

Provide campus-wide professional development opportunities

Programs should create a safe space for reflection and innovation

Focus on cross-training across roles, programs, disciplines, etc.

Integration into reward, recognition, & promotion expectations

Support transfer

Successful transfer begins when students enter the community college

Examine the connections of current programs with four-year institutions

Efforts and initiatives for transfer must be present in marketing efforts

Support transfer

Programs at the community college that are critical to successful preparation and transfer

include:Academic advising

Career development

Academic support

Initiatives that support STEM students

Establish relevant benchmarks for success

Connect success metrics to your institution’s mission, goals, and student needs

Create multiple success measuresDevelop new metrics for success

Still need to consider completion

Establish relevant benchmarks for success

Establish a realistic timeline to achieve the benchmarks

If your benchmarks are normative, be sure to identify appropriate comparison groupsImportant to commit to accountability

Build a culture of evidence

Draw upon quantitative and qualitative dataLink assessment data to metrics of success

Critical to use consistent definitions

Establish comprehensive information and tracking systems

Build a culture of evidence

Employ accountability measures that provide meaningful data

Model data-driven decision makingEngage in national data collection/research efforts

Make data widely available to campus partners

Summary• Goals give us direction and purpose.• Goals add meaning to our lives.• Goals challenge us.• Goals make life more interesting.• Goals make life more rewarding.• Goals make life better.

SETTING GOALS

What are three things you can do in the next MONTH to advance your plans for transfer student

success?

February

262012

SETTING GOALS

What are three things you can do in the next 6 MONTHS

to advance your plans for transfer student success?

July

262012

SETTING GOALS

What are three things you can do in

the next YEAR to advance your plans for transfer student

success?

January

262013

QUESTIONS?

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS?

Goals are Dreams With Deadlines

Rico R. ReedAssistant Director for Administration and

Resource Development

National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition

rico@sc.edu803.777.6225