MiraCosta CollegeGuidedPathwaysTechnologyOpportunityAnalysis

May14-16,2018

ContextforToday’sPresentation

• Foundedonthebeliefthattechnologyisnotasilverbullettoanyproblem,butwiththerightplanningandimplementation,softwarecanplayanimportantroleinadvancingstudentsuccess

• SupportsnationalinitiativessuchastheBill&MelindaGatesFoundation’sFrontierSet,AchievingtheDream,AACCPathways,andtheAspenInstituteCollegeExcellenceProgram

• Developsresearch-basedresourcesforthefieldandworksdirectlywithcollegesinneedoftechnologystrategy,purchasing,andimplementationsupport

AdaLovelace

FounderofScientificComputing

MeetTheAdaCenter’sNamesakeHigher Education Technology and Process Support

Learn more at theadacenter.org

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AcrossMay14-162018,TheAdaCenterconductedanassessmentofMiraCosta College’sstudentsuccesstechnologiesandassociatedbusinessprocesses.Thiswasaccomplishedthroughaseriesofinterviewswithcollegefacultyandstaffinthebelowareas,alongwithsupplementaldocumentreview.

ThegoalofthiseffortistosupportMCindetermininghowitcanbetterleveragetechnologytosupportstrongaccess,completion,equity,andpost-graduatesuccessgoals.

OpportunityAssessmentGoalsandMethodology

AdmissionsandMarketing

OrientationandOnboarding

StudentSupportOffices

PublicRelations

Counseling

InstitutionalResearch

InformationTechnology

Faculty

TableofContents

I. SummaryofTechnology-RelatedStrengths

II. GuidedPathwaysToolInventory

III. MiraCosta ToolWishList

IV. OverviewofGuidedPathwaysTechnologyOpportunityAreas,by‘EstimatedImpact’and‘ImplementationDifficulty’

V. RecommendationsforTacklingOpportunityAreas

VI. FacilitatedNextStepPlanning

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BeforeHighlightingOpportunityAreas,AMomenttoRecognizeExcellence

• DeepCommitmenttoAdvancingEquityandStudentSuccessGoals

• ServicesforSpecialPopulationsCurrentlyModelingGuidedPathwaysApproach

• StaffandFacultyAdeptatCreatingHacksintheAbsenceofFormalizedTools

• ITDepartment‘PunchingAboveTheirWeight’withLimitedCapacity

• StudentsHighlyAttachedtoMCCampusandCulture—StrongCommunity

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ToolInventoryAcrossGuidedPathwaysStudentSuccessSoftwarePurchasedbyMiraCosta College

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HelpStudentsChooseandGetonaPath

SupportStudentLearning

ContinuallyImprovetheStudentExperience

EngageandPrepareProspectiveStudents

HelpStudentsStayontheirPath

ClarifythePathtoStudentEndGoals

PeoplesoftCampusSolutions

Canvas

Blackboard

CareerCoach(EMSI)

DegreeWorks andEducationPlanner(Ellucian)

CollegeScheduler(Civitas)

SARS

DataWarehouse

Tableau

Maxient

I-Link

CraniumCafe

CampusLabs

currIQunet

TES

Assist.Org JAIN,GradLeader,careerresources

PearsonMyMathLab,hostdigitallearningtools

SURF(Peoplesoft)

Sling

GrowingWishListofTools

2007 2012 2017

HigherEducationSoftware

StudentSuccessSoftware

Vendors(#)

Over300 vendorsnowsellingtoolsthatclaimtosupportstudentsuccess

NoShortageofStudentSuccessTech MCWishListofSoftwareCapabilities

CaseManagementandEarlyAlertSystem

PredictiveAnalytics

QueueManagementSystem

BetterAppointmentSchedulingSystem

BetterEducationPlanningSystem

StudentMobileApp

BetterEventManagement

AdmissionsCRM

OnlineOrientationBetterWebsite

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OverviewofStudentSuccessTechnologyOpportunityAreas

EducationandCareerPlanningProcessMap

Formationof‘DataStewards’

Team

OpportunityforImpact

ImplementationDifficulty

Medium

VeryHigh Medium

Easy Medium

High

*ImplementationDifficultyestimatescostsassociatedwiththeactivity,thenumberandcomplexityofstepsrequiredfortheactivitytoproduceresults,andestimatesofculturalreadiness.

*OpportunityforImpactestimatesthepotentialoftheactivitytoimproveMC’sabilitytoexpandaccess,strengthencompletionandequity,andenablestrongpost-graduateoutcomesforallstudents.

High

High

StudentCommunication

Audit

CaseManagementandEarlyAlert

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Medium-TermTechnology

Plan

CaseManagementSoftwareMC’sGreatestTechNeed,ButPlanningExercisesLikelyMoreUrgent

High

Medium

LikeManyofMC’sPeers,StudentInteractionManagementaVeryThornyButWorthyChallengetoTackle

• Students‘tellingtheirstory’manytimestodifferentoffices

• Acrossadmissions,administrativeoffices,studentsupportoffices,andacademicdepartments,differentprocessesexistforcapturingstudentinteractions:ü PeoplesoftNotesü I-LINKSScanü SARSü Canvasü Nothing

• Historyofsendingstudentsmultipleemailsforthesame‘calltoaction’,withslightlydifferentinformation

• Hardtopersonalizethestudentexperiencewithoutaccessible,holisticviewofstudent• Moststudentcommunicationis

generalratherthanpersonalized

• EachMCdepartment(andsometimeseachindividual)hasdifferentstrategiesforoutreachingtostudents.

CurrentProcesses DocumentedChallenges CommonStudentReactions

• Confusionandsubsequentmistakesduringkeymilestones

• Disconnectfromcollegecommunicationsand,attimes,thecollegecommunity

• Surpriseandshockwhendiscover‘offtrack’,attimesfollowedbystop-outordrop-out

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• Languageusedforstudentcommunication(e.g.,matriculationguide)isoftennotstudentfriendly

CaseManagementandEarlyAlertSoftwareIsOnePieceofFixingthisStudentExperienceChallenge…

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• Casemanagementandearlyalerttoolsenablefaculty,studentservicesstaff,andcounselorstomonitorstudentprogressandcoordinateinteractionswithstudents.Severaldozenvendorsoffercasemanagementandearlyalerttools,eachwithvariancesincapabilities,user-interface,andworkflow.

• Themostrobustcasemanagementandearlyalerttoolsaredesignedtomanageandcoordinateallstudentinteractionsacrossthecollege.Thetoolsincrementallybuildprofilesofeachenrolledstudentandlogstudents’interactionswithstaff,participationincampusactivities,andperformanceintheclassroom.

• Moresophisticatedtoolscreateautomaticnotificationsforstaffwhenastudentisdeemed‘atrisk’ofdroppingout.Manyofthesetoolsalsoincludebuilt-incommunicationsmechanismsthatenablestafftosendtargetedcommunicationstostudentswhocouldbenefitfromoutreach.

…TheOtherEssentialPieceisProcess

Recommendation#1Forcasemanagementsoftwaretoimprovethestudentexperience,eachdepartmentmustcommittologgingstudentinteractionsinthetool,inastandardformat.Theymustalsocommittostreamliningandprioritizingstudentcommunications.

BecauseMChasalargenumberofspecializedprocesses,implementingastudentinteractionandcommunicationsoftwarewillrequiresignificantdepartmentfeedback,businessprocessupdating,case-making,andtraining.

• Conductathoroughauditofstudentcommunications,documentingactivitiesinamastercommunicationsmatrix.

• Usingauditresults,determineaframeworkformanagingstudentcommunications

• ReviewstudentfriendlinessoflanguageonSURF,CollegeWebsite,andotherstudent-facingmaterials(RecommendGunningFogIndex)

• Solicitdetailedinputfromeachstudent-facingdepartmentaboutkeycomponentsofastudentinteractionstool,alongwiththeirperspectivesonpoliciesforensuringutilization.

• Documentingtrade-offsinthisprocessiscritical.Forexample,iftutorsareexpectedtotakenotesaboutstudentprogress,theymustshortentutoringsessionstoallowfornote-takingtimeonthepartofthetutor.

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BestPracticeistoCompletetheFollowingActivitiesBeforePurchasingaCaseManagementTool

WhyProcessMatters Recommendation#2

CommunicationsMappingMatrix(Step1)11

SearchRecruitingthroughApplicationProcess

OnboardOrientation throughFirstSemester

AdvanceFirstSemester to75%Complete

Realize75%CompletetoGraduation

Whatinformationisbeing communicatedtostudents?

Whichstudentsare receivingthatcommunication?

Whenare studentsreceivingthatinformation(e.g.,temporalortrigger)

Whoissendingthatinformation?

Howisthatinformationbeingshared?

CommunicationsMappingExercise(Step2)12

SearchRecruitingthroughApplicationProcess

OnboardOrientation throughFirstSemester

AdvanceFirstSemester to75%Complete

Realize75%CompletetoGraduation

Whatisthemostcriticalinformationtocommunicatetostudents?List nomorethan7items.Whoisresponsibleforcommunicatingthatinformationtoday?Whoshouldberesponsiblemovingforward?

Whatmethodsofcommunicationsarebeingused?Should ideallybeused?

Howareweassessingimpactandeffectivenessofthecommunication?

Howiscriticalinformationaboutthestudentinthisstagebeingtransferredtothenextstageofthestudentjourney?

ProcessMappingforEducationandCareerPlanning

…ButStrongCommitmenttoWorkThroughChallenges

• AcademicandCareerPlansgeneratedforincomingstudentsaredisplayinginaccuratecoursedata

• TransfercreditandequivalenciesnotalwaysreflectedinAcademicandCareerPlan

• ClunkyUIthatcanbedifficulttouse,especiallyfor‘WhatIf ’scenarios

• Staffinvestedlargeamountsoftimeandresourcesintolearningthetool,andit’sabigimprovementoverthepriorprocess

• Faiththatcurrentimprovementsintransfercreditprocessingwillimprovefunctionality

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StudentEducationPlannerNotWithoutChallenges…

RecommendedNextSteps

• ConversationwithIT,CareerServices,SSSPCoordinators(Orientation),andCounselingaboutwhenandhowtointroduceEducationPlanner,howit’sconfigured.

• OpenQuestion:CanacademicandcareerplanningconversationsfornewstudentsleanoncareerplanningresourcesratherthanEducationPlanner?

Formationof‘DataStewards’CommitteetoHelpPrioritizeDataConnectionsAcrossTools,SteerFutureSoftwareInvestment

Toeffectivelyevaluatecurrentandfutureguidedpathwaysoftware,it’shelpfultohaveacomprehensivepictureoftheconsumabledataanddataconnectionsthecollegecouldhaveaccesstowithexistingsoftware.

Notonesingleindividualhasthedepthofknowledgetofullyunderstandwhat’spossiblewithchangestoeachtool’sconfiguration,use,datastorageandextraction,andadditionalconnectivity.

Thiscommitteewouldincludenon-technical‘toolexperts’fromstudentservicesandacademicaffairsinadditiontoleadersfromITandIR.

RationaleforCommittee

• Createawishlistof‘consumable’dataanddataconnections

• Evaluatecurrenttechnologycapabilities(andplannedtechnologycapabilities)againstdataanddescriptiveanalyticswishlist

• Makedecisionsaboutwhichdatatoextractfromcurrenttools,supportdecisionsabouttoolconfigurationandimplementation,andhelpguidefuturesoftwareinvestment

• Clearinghouseforquestionsondataaccessandsoftwarecapabilities

CharteroftheDataStewardCommittee

OtherSuggestions?

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CreateaPrioritized,Medium-TermTechnologyPlan15

Rational• MC’scurrenttechnologyprioritizationprocesshasnotkeptpacewiththecollege’sevolvingtheoryofchange.Currently,regulartechnologyprioritizationconversationsoccuronamicro-levelbetweenstudentservicesandIT.

• GivenMC’sstrongcommitmenttoguidedpathwaysreform,softwarestrategyconversationsshouldbelinkedtothecollege’sguidedpathwaysrolloutplanandMC’sbroadervisionforthestudentexperience.Aguidedpathwaystechnologyplanshouldbedevelopedbyseniorleadershipfromstudentservices,academicaffairs,IT,IR,andbusinessaffairs.

• Thetechnologyplanshouldarticulatemajorcollegegoalsthatcanbesupportedbysoftwarecapabilities,theestimatedcostofachievingthosegoals(includingtechnicalandnon-technicalstafftimeforimplementationandmaintenance),andhigh-levelactionitemsassociatedwiththosegoals.

• ThisexerciseisespeciallyimportantgivencurrentMCprogrammercapacity.PlannedsoftwareprojectssuchasthePeoplesoft9.2upgradehavetheteamfullyaccountedforwithcurrentorplannedprojects.MCstaffarelookingata1+ yearlistforticketitemssuchaskeyformcreation.

Collegeswhoaremosthappywiththeirvendorcontractstypicallyworkthroughaprocesssimilartothebelow:

Leadershipteamarticulatestheoryforhowsoftwarewillhelpthecollegemeetitsgoals

Inconsultwithdatastewardscommittee,leadershipteamcreatesasoftwareevaluationrubricandassignsasoftwareevaluationgroup

Softwareevaluationgroupexaminesatleastthreevendors,seekingbidsandleveragingtherubrictoformarecommendation

PresidentorChancellornegotiatesfinalvendorcontractwithsupportfromsoftwareevaluationteam

IdealSoftwareDecision-MakingProcess

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• Twotypesofcostsfromsoftwarevendors– implementationfeeandrecurringannualfee

• Dependingonthevendor,thefollowingfeesmaynotbeincludedinthequotedprice:• Necessaryintegrationwithyourexistingdatasystemsand/orthecostofmanuallyloadingpaper

informationintoanelectronicdatabase• Changemanagementsupporttoaligncollegebusinessprocesseswithtechnologyprocessrequirements• Trainingofkeyendusers

• Thestickerpriceneverincludesthecostofredeployingleadership,staff,andfacultytimetoimplementandintegratethenewtechnology

AccountingfortheRealPriceofSoftware

Averageone-timeimplementationcostfor‘multi-solution’software

$60,000 $120,000Averagerecurringcostof‘multi-solution’studentsuccesssoftware

$40,000Averagerecurringcostof‘pointsolution’softwaresuchasanEarlyAlerttool

$550,000Averageyear1staffredeploymentcostofimplementing

a‘multi-solution’studentsuccesssoftware*

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SeparatingFactfromFiction

VettheProductRoadmapStudentsuccesssoftwareshouldneverbestatic—itshouldconstantlybeevolvingtomeettheneedsofitsusers(youandyourstudents)—andyouhavearighttoknowwhat’scomingnext.

Ask:Whichcapabilitiesinyourdemoarecurrently‘live’atmultiplecollegesandwhicharestillindevelopment?

Ask:Canyougivemeanexampleofhowfeedbackfromoneofyourcustomershelpedguidethedirectionofthesoftware?

Pointer:Ensureyouspeaktoamemberofthevendor’sproduct,implementation,ordevelopmentteambeforefinalizingthecontract.

DefinetheTermsLanguageusedbyhighereducationadministratorsisoftenuseddifferentlybyvendors.Ensureyouclearlydefinethemeaningoftermssuchas’integration’and‘pilot’.

Ask:Whatwillthespecificimplementationphaseslooklikeintermsof(a)demandsonandtheresponsibilitiesofcollegestaff?(b)whenwilldifferentfeaturesbeliveandatwhatscale?(c)thebiggestchallengesthatothercollegeshaveexperienced during implementation?

Ask:Specifically,whatdataandsystemaccessdoyouneedfromthecollegetoensureeachpieceoffunctionalitycanbeimplementedaccordingtoschedule?

.

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RecapofDiscussedNextSteps

EducationandCareerPlanningProcessMap

Formationof‘DataStewards’

Team

StudentCommunication

Audit

CaseManagementandEarlyAlert

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Medium-TermTechnology

Plan

Addressprocessmappingnextstepsandcasemanagementexplorationaftertacklingtechnologyplancreation,datastewardscommitteeformation,andbroaderGuidedPathwaystrategyquestions

ShareTechnologyOpportunityAssessmentwithcollegeleadershipanddiscusshowtoproceed

Appendix:NotesfromNextStepsFacilitationMay16,201820

• AgreementthatfirstnextstepissharingtheTechnologyOpportunityAssessmentwithcollegeleadership.Recommendationsinreportresonate,butmustgetleadershipinvolvedtohelpguidekeyprocessandprioritizationquestions.

• Inpartnershipwithcollegeleadership,discussthefeasibilityofgeneratingastrategictechnologyplanforthecollege.Someinstitutionsdeveloptechnologyplansforeachofthreefunctionalcategories:(1)studentsuccess,(2)Admin/HR,and(3)digitallearning.BecauseMC’sprogrammersarecentralized,itmaymakesensetodevelopasingletechnologyplanthatspansacrosseachofthesethreefunctionalareas.

• GroupalsodiscussedtheimportanceofdeterminingtheroleofGuidedPathwaysasaframework.DotheGuidedPathwayspillarssupplantotheroperationalpriorities?OrareGuidedPathwaysinitiativesanadditionalsetofactionsandactivities?Toeffectivelyprioritizesoftwareinvestmentsandassociatedbusinessprocessupdates,itwillbeimportanttoaddressthesestrategyquestions.

• AsapossiblenextstepfortheGuidedPathwaysworkinggroups,wediscussedthecreationofacomprehensiveinitiativemap(inadditiontothisreport’ssoftwaremap)acrossthepillars.

Appendix:GeneralSoftwareImplementationandScale-upGuidance

• Clean-upsourcedata(e.g.,degreeaudit)beforeimplementinganewtechnologyinitiativethatrequiresthatdata

• Setmeasurableandattainablegoalsforeachstageofthesoftwareimplementation

• Ensurethereisacleartrainingandcommunicationplanforallendusersofthetechnology– thiswilllikelybeamulti-yearendeavor

• Bepreparedtocommitamemberofyourseniorleadershipteamtooverseetheinitiative

Bepreparedforthegreatestgainsinstudentsuccesssoftwaretocomefromaccompanyingprocesschanges.

Examplesinclude:

• EnsureyourCIOisfullybroughtintothe‘why’and‘how’behindyourstudentsuccessstrategyandguidedpathwaysreforms

Buildingnewandmeaningfulcommunicationchannelsamongadvising,tutoring,careerservices,financialaid,registration,andfaculty

Creatingaclearcommunicationplanforwhenandhowdifferenttypesofstudentsarecontacted

Embeddingaconstructiveattitudetodataintoeverydayconversationsacrossthecollege

Creatingastudent-focusedcourseschedulingandprogramplanningprocess

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Appendix:AdmissionsCRMNotatTopofMCWishList,ButRealGapinStudentInformationManagement

Duetonewcomplexityintoday’senrollmentclimateandafocusonstudentreadinessatintake,mostofMC’speershaveinvestedinaCustomerRelationshipManagement(CRM)softwareforAdmissions.

TheseCRMstypicallymanagestudentinteractionsfromthefirstpointofcontactwithprospectivestudentsthroughapplicationandnewstudentenrollment.

AdmissionsCRMshelpensurethatprospectivestudentcommunicationistailoredtoindividualizedstudentneeds(e.g.,missingforms,directingstudentstotestpreparation).StudentsatcollegeswithAdmissionsCRMsreportlessconfusionandheightenedreadinessinthecollegetransition.

MostCommonHigherEdCRMs:• EllucianRecruiter• Salesforce• HobsonsRadius• Symplicity(Ascend)• MicrosoftDynamics

Admissions-FocusedCRMs:• Liaison• TargetX

AdmissionsCRMAnticipatedImpact• IncreasedOverallConversionsand

TargetPopulationConversions• DecreasedTimetoConversion• ImprovedStudentReadinessand

AttachmenttoInstitution

LicenseFeeEstimate:• $20,000through$80,000annual

StateoftheField

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