Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Campus Plan Update 2018

INSTITUTIONAL MISSION AND STUDENT BODY PROFILE

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) is a residential institution that has long been the higher education destination for students in the southeast who want to study agriculture and natural resources. Today, ABAC has grown to become a destination for students seeking a wide variety of baccalaureate programs from a broad range of academic disciplines. With its array of quality programs, an abundance of student organizations, a renowned music program, and a variety of intercollegiate and intramural athletic teams, ABAC provides students with abundant opportunities to learn and grow as individuals.  In addition to delivering relevant experiences that prepare the graduate for life, ABAC is a strategic partner within the University System of Georgia to help create a more educated Georgia.

ABAC’s goals and strategies developed for Complete College Georgia continue to have a positive impact on college success and completion.  This positive impact is seen in our continued growth in baccalaureate enrollment (1,973 for fall 2017, an 8% increase from the previous year), overall increase in retention from 53% in 2009 to 63% in 2017 of first-year students, a total of 940 degrees awarded in 2017-18, and a decrease in suspension rates for first time students on probation who complete their 2nd term.  These data indicate that ABAC’s goals and strategies for Complete College Georgia are having a positive impact on college success and completion. Therefore, the college has continued to pursue goals and strategies outlined in its 2012 report and subsequent updates through 2017 and has focused during the past academic year on implementing Momentum Year strategies to keep students on track to degree completion and expanding undergraduate internships, mentored research, and global learning opportunities.

INSTITUTIONAL COMPLETION GOALS, HIGH-IMPACT STRATEGIES, AND ACTIVITIES

High-impact strategy: Credit Intensity

Change institutional culture to emphasize taking full-time course loads (15 or more credits per semester) to earn degrees ‘on time.’

Related Goal

Goal 2: Increase the number of degrees that are earned ‘on-time’ (associate degrees in 2 years, bachelor’s degrees in 4 years.)

Demonstration of Priority and/or Impact

This strategy aligns with CCG’s 15-to-Finish initiative and meeting this high-impact goal will increase the institution’s on-time graduation rate and reduce the student financial obligation

Primary Point of Contact for This Activity

Nicholas Urquhart, Director of Academic Support (Nurquhart@abac.edu)

Summary of Activities

Academic Support continues to pre-register first-year students before each scheduled orientation session. The five-year stretch goal is to have 75% of all full-time new students registered for 15 credit hours by 2021. Currently, Academic Support preregisters all full-time new students for 15 hours; however, a number of these students choose to take less than 15 hours. The importance of 15-to-finish begins with the information given to interested students before admission and is incorporated into new faculty advisor training each Fall, advising review sessions each fall and spring, and financial aid counselors encourage students to take 15 hours a semester to graduate on time. Also, marketing materials are mailed to all students and their families showing the financial benefit of graduating on-time prior and during orientation.

Measures of Progress and Success

Metric/data element:

Percentage of the student body enrolled in 15+ hours, completing 30 hours within first year, and graduating in 2 years for an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree in 4 years.

Baseline measure:

Among fall 2012 cohort, 96 (64.86%) earned an associate degree in 2 years.

Among fall 2010 cohort, 37 (62.71%) earned a bachelor’s degree in 4 years.

Interim Measures of Progress:

Projected Targets for AY 2017-2018

Projected 45% of fall 2017 cohort will enroll in 15+ hours. 33% of the fall 2017 cohort of first-year students will successfully complete 30+ collegiate credit hours in their first academic year.

Results

Approximately 43% of the Fall 2017 new-student cohort was enrolled in 15 or more credit hours, which is a slight increase from Fall 2016. The total student population enrolled in 15 or more credit hours also increased from Fall 2016.

Roughly 27% of the fall 2017 first-year cohort completed 30+ hours during the 2017-2018 academic year. This surpassed our goal of 25% given for the 2015 CCG plan update; however, this is a slight decrease from the previous Fall 2016 first-year cohort.

Projected Targets for AY 2017-2018:

93 associate-degree-seeking students from the fall 2016 cohort will graduate in 2 years, and 80 baccalaureate-degree-seeking students from the fall 2014 cohort will graduate in 4 years.

Results

96 associate-degree-seeking students from the fall 2016 cohort graduated within 2 years (Fall 2016 – Summer 2018). An 8% increase over the fall 2015 cohort and 3% above our projected target of 93 on time graduates from the fall 2016 cohort.

70 baccalaureate-degree-seeking students from the fall 2014 cohort graduated within 4 years (Fall 2014 – Summer 2018). A slight decrease from the fall 2013 cohort and the projected target of 80 on time baccalaureate graduates from the fall 2014 cohort.

Measures of Success:

Increase the number and percentage of students enrolled in 15+ hours each semester.

Projected target: 45% of fall 2018 cohort will enroll in 15+ hours.

Increase the number and percentage of first-year students successfully completing 30+ hours of collegiate credit hours in their first academic year.

Projected target:  33% of the fall 2018 cohort of first-year students will successfully complete 30+ collegiate credit hours in their first academic year.

Projected target: 20% of first-year associate-degree-seeking students from the fall 2017 cohort will graduate in 2 years, and 30% of first-year baccalaureate-degree-seeking students from the fall 2015 cohort will graduate in 4 years.

Lessons Learned

Tracking for on-time graduation will now be measured in percentage, as opposed to a specific number goal, for uniformity and to better align with other CCG goals. ABAC continues to support the 15-to-finish national effort through timely communication, pre-registering students before their orientation for 15 credit hours, discussing 15-to-finish with financial aid counselors, and training new faculty advisors on the importance of 15 credit hours. A continued challenge that ABAC faces is new students altering their schedule to 12 hours after Orientation due to the fear of taking too many hours to start. Continued monitoring of schedules and educating students and their families about the importance

High-impact strategy: Milestones on Program Maps

Establish milestones as part of program maps to facilitate defining when students are ‘off track.’

Related Goal

Goal 4: Provide intrusive advising to keep students on track to graduate

Demonstration of Priority and/or Impact

This high-impact strategy seeks to improve progression and timely graduation by making sure that students are meeting required milestones by 30 and 90 hours.

Primary Point of Contact for This Activity

Nicholas Urquhart, Director of Academic Support (Nurquhart@abac.edu)

Summary of Activities

90-hour checkpoints are performed each fall and spring semester for baccalaureate-degree-seeking students, and 30-hour checks (completion of General Education Core Area A) are completed each fall and spring semester for all students. 

This high-impact strategy has been a success for ABAC.  As the data shows (see metrics below), 61% of identified off-track students for spring 2017 graduated by the following spring.

In the spring of 2017 30-hour checks were conducted and 174 were identified as not having satisfied Area A of the General Core Curriculum. These students were contacted and enrolled for the appropriate course the following semester to help a timely path to graduation.

The institution uses the following criteria for identifying baccalaureate students who are off-track toward on-time graduation:

• RHSC deficiencies remaining
• Completion of the Core Curriculum
• Residency Requirements
• Curriculum completion on degree track
• Legislative requirements
• Minimum GPA requirement for graduation

Academic Support compiles a list of these students each semester and follows the below protocol:

• Sends email communication to each student
• Sends the compiled list to the students’ academic advisor and dean of the school in which the student is advised
• Follows up with the student to assist them in getting on track for on-time graduation

Students who have not completed Area A of the Core Curriculum or have an RHSC deficiency by 30-hours are considered to be off-track. These students are contacted by Academic Support and assisted in registering for the appropriate course(s) for the following term. Notification is also sent to each student’s advisor.

Measures of Progress and Success

Metric/data element:

For 90-hour checkpoints the percentage of identified off-track students who successfully graduate and for 30-hour checks the percentage of identified off-track students who successfully complete identified mile markers for persistence to graduation (i.e. completion of Area A).

Baseline measure:

The first 90-hour check was performed spring 2015. That check revealed that 62 baccalaureate-degree-seeking students were off-track to graduate within the next two terms.

Interim Measures of Progress:

90-hour checkpoints

30-hour Checkpoints

Projected target for AY 2017-18:  60% of the baccalaureate-degree-seeking students who were off-track at the 90-hour check mark in fall 2016 & spring 2017 graduate within two terms.  

Result

81 of the 106 (76%) students identified as off track for their baccalaureate in fall of 2016 graduated on-time. This goal surpassed our projected target of 60%.

46 of the 75 (61%) students identified as off track for their baccalaureate in spring of 2017

Projected target for AY 2016-17: 80 baccalaureate-degree-seeking students from the fall 2014 cohort will graduate on time.

Result

82 baccalaureate-degree-seeking students (28%) from the fall 2014 cohort graduated on-time in 4 years. This goal is exceeded our projected target of 74 on time baccalaureate graduates from this cohort.

Measures of Success:

At least 80% of the number of students, who are identified as being off-track at 90 hours are now back on-track to graduate by 120 hours.

Projected target:  70% of the baccalaureate-degree-seeking students who were off-track at the 90-hour check mark in Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 will graduate within 30 credit hours.  

Increase the number of baccalaureate-degree-seeking students who graduate OT.

Projected target:  30% of baccalaureate-degree-seeking students from the fall 2015 cohort will graduate on time.

Lessons Learned

Initially, during the 2014-15 academic year, we were surprised by the number of baccalaureate students who reached 90-hours without completing RHSC requirements or the Core Curriculum. Due to these deficiencies, Academic Support implemented 30-hour checks to help keep all students on-track for on-time graduation. The effects of the 90-hour checks can be seen in the number of students graduating within one academic year after being identified. Academic Support continues to work with students who are determined to be off-track and get them registered for the required course(s) the following semester. Advisors are notified of the requirements to ensure the students do not withdraw from the required classes.

High-impact strategy: Intrusive Advising

Ensure that students who are deemed to be off track subsequently receive timely and targeted academic intervention to restore appropriate progress toward graduation.

Related Goal

Goal 4: Provide intrusive advising to keep first time probation students on track to graduate

Demonstration of Priority and/or Impact

This high-impact strategy seeks to improve progression and retention by aggressively targeting students who go on probation for the first time, particularly first-year students.

Primary Point of Contact for This Activity

Nicholas Urquhart, Director of Academic Support (Nurquhart@abac.edu)

Summary of Activities

In addition to the checkpoints at 30 and 90 hours described above, the College targets students who are placed on academic probation after their first semester of enrollment. To help get first-time students on probation back on track to graduate, ABAC requires these students to participate in AIM (Academic Intervention Management). This program engages the student in individual interventions, offered both face-to-face and online, with the express purpose of helping students improve their GPA to avoid suspension after their second semester.

The total number of students who participated in the AIM program for AY 17-18 was 160. The percentage of students who completed the AIM program after their 1st semester on probation was 132 (83%).

Of the 160 students, 79 (50.4%) were placed on suspension at the end of Spring 2017.  This percentage is down from 54.27% placed on suspension at the end of Spring 2016.  The number of AIM participants who were not suspended totaled 81 (50.6%).

Students required to participate in an AIM orientation meeting with their assigned Academic Support Counselor at the beginning of the Spring 2018 semester. From there, Students were encouraged to meet with their assigned Academic Support Counselor every 2-3 weeks through the semester and to attend the following seminars throughout the term:

• Time Management: School/Work/Life/& Fun
• How to Study & Visit to the Academic Achievement Center
• How to Study for the Sciences
• Financial impact of poor grades
• Financial Success in College
• Money Management
• Meeting with your advisor
• Resume Workshop
• Prepping for Finals

Students who failed to keep an appointment were called, sent a text, and visited if they lived on campus.  These individual sessions focused on the student’s goals and the development of a plan to get the student back in good academic standing and progress toward graduation. The students were also placed in an online (D2L) course platform where they could further access information presented in the above seminars.

Measures of Progress and Success

Metric/data element:

Percentage of first-time probation students who completed the AIM program and placed on Academic Suspension I at the end of their second term.

Baseline measure:

The percentage of students who successfully completed AIM after their 1st semester on probation was 141 (78%) in AY12-13, 176 (66%) in AY13-14, and 184 (65%) in AY14-15.

Of these students, 49% were placed on suspension in AY12-13, 49% were placed on suspension in AY13-14, and 59% were placed on suspension in AY14-15. 

For AY 12-13, 60% of students who did not successfully complete AIM where suspended. Respectively, in AY 13-14, 59% were suspended who did not successfully complete AIM, and 81% were suspended for AY 14-15.  For the AY 15-16, 51% of students who went through the AIM program were placed on Academic Suspension.  This was an 8% decrease from the previous AY 14-15. Though suspension of those participating in AIM for the AY 15-16 rose slightly, the overall number was still significantly lower than the 14-15 AY.

The total number of students who participated in the AIM program for AY 16-17 was 164. The percentage of students who completed the AIM program after their 1^st semester on probation was 123 (75%). Of the 164 students, 89 (54.27%) were placed on suspension in at the end of Spring 2017.  40 (53%) of the 75 that earned a term GPA of at least 2.0 to avoid suspension, were placed back in good academic standing at the end of Spring 2017.

Interim Measures of Progress:: 2017-2018

The number of students taking part in the AY 17-18 AIM program was 160.

Of those students, 109 (68%) improved their OGPA, up from Spring 2017. The number of students not suspended also rose from Spring 2017 to 50.6% (81 individuals). The number of participants in Good Standing was 41 (25.6%), and those continuing on Academic Probation was 40 (25%), Both of these numbers are up from Spring 2017. A total of 132 (83%) students completed the minimum requirements of AIM.

Projected targets set during AY 18-19:

Measures of Success:

85% of students in AIM will successfully complete this program after their 1st semester.

Reduce the percentage of first-year students who are placed on academic suspension after their 2nd semester of attendance.

Projected target:  51% of students who completed AIM will avoid academic suspension.

Lesson Learned

Students who met at least biweekly with an Academic Support counselor had the highest success rate, and the majority avoided suspension and were placed back in good academic standing.  A roadblock that is difficult to overcome is getting students on probation to commit to the seminars as required. These challenges have led Academic Support to review our program and determine the best practices and techniques, particularly the Academic Support Counselors’ level of intrusion, to encourage student attendance at these seminars.

High-impact strategy: Dual Enrollment

Participate in dual enrollment or joint enrollment programs for high school students.

Related Goal

Goal 6: Shorten time to degree completion through programs that allow students to earn college credit while still in high school and by awarding credit for prior learning that is verified by appropriate assessment.

Demonstration of Priority and/or Impact

This high-impact strategy seeks to provide high school students the opportunity to earn college credit and gives ABAC an opportunity to highlight our faculty & resources to these high performing students.

Primary Point of Contact for This Activity

Dr. Cyndy Hall, Director of Dual Enrollment, chall@abac.edu

Summary of Activities

ABAC’s enrollment in the Dual Enrollment program saw a slight increase from 2017 to 2018.

489 students enrolled in the Dual Enrollment program for the 2016-17 academic year, and 492 students enrolled for the 2017-18 academic year. Participation in the Dual Enrollment program is forecasted to decline within the university system, due to competing admission standards with the technical school system.

The Dual Enrollment director attended various middle school and high school events to promote ABAC’s Dual Enrollment program.  Parent nights and open houses were attended at Colquitt County high school, Irwin County high school, Tiftarea Academy, Gray Middle School, and Tift County High School.

The Office of Enrollment Management held a guidance counselor workshop at ABAC:  Dual Enrollment is a discussion topic.

The director of Dual Enrollment provided weekly on-site advising sessions for the students at Colquitt County high school in the spring of 2017.   

The director of Dual Enrollment is a member of the governing board for Tift County high school’s new College and Career center.

Measures of Progress and Success

Metric/data element:

Number of students participating in the dual enrollment program.

Number of earned credit hours earned by dual enrolled students.

Baseline measure:

In fall 2014, 198 students were enrolled in dual enrollment classes at ABAC.  That number rose to 232 in spring 2015.  In AY14-15, dual enrolled students earned a total of 2599 credit hours at ABAC.

Interim Measures of Progress:: 2017-2018

492 students participated in the Dual Enrollment program in AY 17-18. A total of 3361 credit hours was earned by this group of students.

Projected targets identified for AY 17-18:

• 450 students will participate in Dual Enrollment in the 2017-2018 academic year.
• 492 participated in the dual enrollment program, which exceeded the projected goal.
• Dual Enrollment students will earn 3140 credit hours in the 2017-2018 academic year.
• Dual enrolled students earned a total of 3361 credit hours for the 2017-178 academic year. This is a 7% increase from AY 2016-2017.

Measures of Success:

Maintain the number of students participating in Dual Enrollment.

Projected target:  450 students will participate in Dual Enrollment in the 2018-2019 academic year. A higher goal was not set due to expected decline.

Maintain the number of earned credit hours by Dual Enrollment students.

Projected target:  Dual Enrollment students will earn 3300 credit hours in the 2018-2019 academic year.

Lessons Learned

Dual Enrollment programs continue to require a substantial allocation of resources to remain competitive with the TCSG. In addition to paying personnel to direct the program, the college loses revenue due to the waiving of mandatory fees and paying for textbooks. Another challenge, which is seen by the slight decrease in enrollment and credit hours earned by dual enrolled students, is the partnership of TCSG with Baconton, Fitzgerald, Irwin County, and Cook high schools. A related challenge is that students are opting to take AP classes in high school as opposed to participating in the Dual Enrollment program.

Due to the continued competition with the TCSG, growth in Dual Enrollment and earned credit hours is expected to decrease. Despite these challenges for the 2017-18 AY, the Director of Dual Enrollment & Honors Program will continue to visit various schools and promote the Dual Enrollment program.  She/he will advance ABAC’s ties to Tift County high school by sitting on the governing board of the new College and Career Academy.  She/he will continue advising sessions at Colquitt County and Tiftarea high schools.  She/he will continue to provide easy book delivery and pick up to schools restricted by a long distance. The director will continue to work with each high school to make the process of applying and registering as smooth as possible.

High-impact strategy: Transforming Remediation

Enroll students in need of remediation in gateway collegiate courses in English and mathematics, with co-requisite Learning Support (LS).

Related Goal

Goal 7: Increase the likelihood of degree completion by transforming the way that remediation is accomplished.

Demonstration of Priority and/or Impact

This high-impact strategy seeks to improve progression and retention by pre-registering all students with a learning support (LS) class for the required co-requisite or foundation LS course.

Primary Point of Contact for This Activity

Nicholas Urquhart, Director of Academic Support, Nurquhart@abac.edu

Summary of Activities

Continued placement of students who need co-requisite remediation into the required

• Implementation of new USG placement guidelines
• Co-requisite only options for English and math
• New students who placed into learning support were automatically registered for the required LS class by Academic Support

Measures of Progress and Success

Metric/data element:

• Percentage of required students placed into co-requisite remediation
• Percentage of co-requisite LS students who successfully complete the associated gateway course
• Percentage of students who start in co-requisite remediation who complete degrees within 150% of the time

Baseline measure:

In fall 2013, no LS students were in co-requisite classes. 

Interim Measures of Progress:: 2017-2018: Update

For fall 2017, 53 out of 61 (87%) of English LS students were in the required co-requisite class. Reaching 100% LS placement is challenging due to some students being roster verified out class, being granted a hardship pass for one term, or dropping the course from their schedule. From the 53 enrolled in corequisite English 35 (66%) passed the associated gateway course

Also, for fall 2017, 380 students required learning support math. Of these students, 256 (67%) were enrolled in a co-requisite course. One additional factor limiting 100% LS placement for mathematics is capacity. A number of students had to take their required LS math the following term.

• Of the 256 students enrolled in a LS math co-requisite course, 119 (46%) passed the associated gateway course.

Projected targets identified for AY 17-18:

• For Fall 2017, 100% of students who require LS English will be enrolled for the co-requisite remediation course. 51% of students who require LS math will be enrolled for the co-requisite remediation course.
• 53 (87%) of English LS students were placed into the required co-requisite class.
• 256 (67%) of math LS students were enrolled in the co-requisite support course.
• 20% of students who successfully complete co-requisite remediation will complete degree requirements within 150% of time.
• For Fall 2014, 169 new students required learning support. Approximately, 2.3% of these students graduated on-time within 4 years.
• Six-year graduation rates will be available beginning Spring 2020.

Measures of Success:

Increase % of students who start in co-requisite remediation who complete degrees on time.

Projected target:  For Fall 2018, 90% of students who require LS English will be enrolled for the co-requisite remediation course. 90% of students who require LS math will be enrolled for the co-requisite remediation course.

Increase % of students who start in co-requisite remediation who complete degrees within 150% of time.

Projected target:  20% of students who successfully complete co-requisite remediation will complete degree requirements within 150% of time.

Lessons Learned

ABAC had a 7% increase, from the fall of 2016, in the number of students requiring learning support for fall 2017. The majority of students, who need learning support, are being placed into the co-requisite model. Also, the number of students completing the gateway course is steadily increasing under the new model.

Continued work is needed to identify and implement best practices in supplementing college-level instruction in the math co-requisite courses. ABAC English and math faculty are actively engaged in collaborative research and USG initiatives to determine how best to re-structure LS courses for student success.

Observations

The high-impact strategies listed above have proven to be successful for ABAC and tie into our institutional mission, “To engage, teach, coach, mentor, and provide relevant experiences that prepare the Graduate for life.”  Our success comes from faculty and staff collaboration and administrative support to increase student progression and retention. Comparison of the 2018 campus plan update to the previous AY update shows that ABAC continues to make significant gains toward helping students progress toward on-time graduation.

ABAC’s most successful CCG strategies for 2017-18 include the continued number of full-time enrolling students in 15+ hours each semester and placing all students needing remediation into the appropriate English and math co-requisite courses. Also, a rise in retention was noted due to continued efforts towards proactive advising. Progress has been maintained during the 2017-18 AY through the AIM program, 30- and 90-hour benchmark checks, and pre-registering incoming first-year, full-time students for 15+ hours.

Momentum year 90-day Update

Momentum year is designed to help students start their college careers by making a purposeful choice in a focus area, with a productive academic mindset that follows a sequenced program map that includes core English and math, nine credits in the student’s academic focus area, and 30 credit hours in their first year. ABAC has accomplished or is currently working on the following Momentum Year initiatives:

• Clearly defined focus areas that will be fully implemented by Fall 2019
• Mindset Survey will be given to all students in English 1101 beginning Fall 2018
• Currently developing program maps that will have students complete the Area A English and math requirement, take 9 hours in focus area, and complete 30 hours within their first year. Program maps will be available in Spring 2019 and fully implemented by Fall 2019