Bainbridge State College Campus Plan Update 2014

Institutional Mission & Student Body Profile

Bainbridge State College, which serves students primarily from 11 counties in southwest Georgia, enrolled 2,663 students in fall 2013 who were 60% minority, 79% Pell-eligible, 82% first-generation college students, and 49% adult, non-traditional students. Approximately 92% of the institution's student population came from this afore-mentioned area. Satisfying the education needs of such a diverse population of students is at the core of the College's mission. Accessibility, affordability, and quality education opportunities are what current and prospective students can expect from Bainbridge State College. From transfer degrees to technical degrees, diplomas, and technical certificates of credit, Bainbridge State College empowers its graduates for success in a global society.

The College's mission, strategic plan, enrollment trends, and demographics influence the College's focus on completion in a variety of ways. Bainbridge State College's mission holds the institution accountable for providing quality education, training, and opportunities to promote the success of students and their communities. Bainbridge State College professionals understand how important it is that students are prepared to be self-sustaining and contributing members of society—in their home communities and beyond. Upholding a quality education and ensuring success influences all of the College's institutional goals and strategies, as well as those for Complete College Georgia (CCG).

Bainbridge State College Student Demographics
Fall 2013

Enrollment trends clearly indicate that a majority of our students come to us underprepared. They enter college with distractors that become immediate barriers to their success and retention without our intentional and intrusive interventions. In the College's first status report submission, several populations were identified as needing attention and resources, including part-time students, minority students, non-traditional students, and students placing into Learning Support. For fall 2013, Bainbridge State College had an enrollment of nearly 2,700 students, of which 55% placed into Learning Support classes. Within this population were many of the students identified in previously mentioned groups needing attention. Among the efforts devoted to preparing students within these groups, the College's Learning Support initiatives, along with progress in early alerts, and also the use of best practice teaching methods by Learning Support faculty, provided the greatest success. Success rates for students enrolled in Learning Support classes increased from 58% in fall, 2011 to 77% in fall, 2013.

In addition to the initiatives focused on Learning Support, the college also found success in its implementation of the QuickStart program in summer, 2014. The program focused on preparing prospective students—many falling into populations described as needing additional attention—for gateway math courses, along with the opportunity to complete the First Year Experience (FYE) course through a workshop and competency testing for two (2) institutional credits upon completion of the program. Of the 11 participants, eight (8) were enrolled in college-level courses upon admissions to the college, while the remaining three (3) placed in a paired math support class. Each program participant learned early about the many support resources available that would support them in their continued success as a student at BSC.

The priority of completion to the College is evident not only in the initiatives described in this report, but it is also demonstrated by its inclusion as one of the three goals in Bainbridge State College's Strategic Plan for 2015-2020: increasing  the number of students who complete academic programs and degrees. Therefore, the College will continue to pilot programs to determine which resources, instructional methods, and processes will have the greatest impact on student success. Our past pilots have produced a significant amount of data that will lead the College forward.

Institutional Completion Goals and Strategies

Our goals and strategies are drawn from the goals and associated strategies highlighted in Part I: Campus Plan Strategy Survey that match our needs, mission, and resources.

BSC STRATEGY 1

Establish criteria for identifying students who may need special interventions in the semester. (CPSS Strategy 4.4)

How this strategy will increase completion: This strategy will provide opportunities to assess at-risk students earlier and intervene at crucial times during their college careers; it will demonstrate the institution's willingness and ability to help students progress towards meeting their goals; it will encourage a developed and more informed perspective regarding success and completion.

Needs or challenges to achieving strategy: Obstacles of this strategy are the inability to maintain contact with students due to lack of updated student contact information in Banner, cooperation of faculty in reporting students who need interventions, and lack of full implementation of DegreeWorks.

Steps taken to address needs/challenges: Steps to overcome challenges include a re-launch of the Early Alert system in addition to Always Alert so that faculty are required to report grades for all students at the 25% mark of the term (i.e., regular and express terms) in addition to reporting at other times; the placement of embedded peer mentors in Learning Support, DFW, and FYE courses to connect with at-risk students; the insertion of a success coach in online courses; restructured orientation sessions that better connect students with Student Life; and escalation of a proactive advising model that includes academic counselors reviewing advisees' records weekly and contacting them as needed concerning their progress toward completion, correct course selection, and GPA.

BSC STRATEGY 2

Ensure that all remediation is targeted toward supporting students in the skills they need to pass the collegiate course. (CPSS 7.3)

How this strategy will increase completion: When students pass the paired courses, Learning Support requirements have been met, thus reducing the amount of time toward completion.

Needs or challenges to achieving strategy: Difficulties present in satisfying this strategy includes training faculty on teaching paired Learning Support courses and training academic advisors on proper placement of students in the redesigned Learning Support courses and math pathways.

Steps taken to address needs/challenges: Advisors have been trained to make sure students are placed correctly (for example, in STEM or nonSTEM math pairings). In addition, the Director of Learning Support works closely with faculty teaching Learning Support co-curricular classes so that faculty learn best practices and follow policies.

BSC STRATEGY 3

Implement the QuickStart Program for matriculating students before the semester begins. (BSC strategy)

How this strategy will increase completion: Participants successfully completing the 80-hour workshop matriculate into gateway math courses and thereby shorten their time to completion. Additionally, participants successfully completing the workshop also receive 2 institutional credits for FYE 0100, Foundations for Success. Participants also form a close-knit cohort before classes begin.

Needs or challenges to achieving strategy: This year, funding for the pilot was uncertain until June, which limited recruiting efforts and the number of students in the program.

Steps taken to address needs/challenges: With the success of the pilot as well as its low cost, a line item will be established in the budget.

BSC STRATEGY 4

Implement alternative delivery models, such as hybrid instruction, flipped classrooms, and emporium-model instruction. (CPSS 8.2)

How this strategy will increase completion: This strategy will allow students to complete course requirements at times that fit more effectively into their lives. In addition, some methods, such as the using flipped classroom approach or teaching metacognitive strategies, meet students' learning needs more effectively—enabling them to be more successful in courses.

Needs or challenges to achieving strategy: Struggles associated with this strategy are course redesigns that fit alternative delivery methods and faculty involvement and understanding of how to accomplish redesign; additional challenges are scheduling classroom space and garnering faculty support for non-standard class times.

Steps taken to address needs/challenges: Faculty development and resources have been prioritized.

BSC STRATEGY 5

Identify course outcomes on which students do poorly and implement new approaches to pedagogy devised to enhance student success. (BSC strategy)

How this strategy will increase completion: Targeting specific learning outcomes on which students perform poorly will allow faculty to focus their attention more efficiently on those outcomes with which students struggle. By focusing resources and attention on those outcomes clearly demonstrated as in need of improvement, students should be more successful in courses overall.

Needs or challenges to achieving strategy: Faculty need further development in learning how to identify measures of specific learning outcomes, assess them appropriately, and analyze the data accordingly.

Steps taken to address needs/challenges: Ongoing training and faculty development opportunities will introduce the alignment of learning outcomes and assessment.

As the College continues to pursue each initiative and overcome the needs and challenges associated with follow-through, efforts to gather data (e.g., baseline, trend) to evaluate the success of each of strategy over time will be a top priority of BSC and presented in future CCG reporting.

Summary of Goals, High Impact Strategies, and Activities

For the upcoming year, Bainbridge State College will continue to pursue many of our previous goals and strategies so that we can evaluate and revise those strategies. Below is a description of our five high-impact strategies (and associated goals). Included in this section are the activities and progress for each strategy, and the measures of success for each strategy. Along with a general description of each strategy, details are given about any outside partnerships, required resources, and an identification of individuals involved where appropriate.

Bainbridge State College has worked tirelessly to promote student success through high-impact strategies, stronger enforcement of academic progress standards, and a significant expansion of support services. Yet retention, progression, and graduation rates remain low. It is clear that we must do more, and this fall, we completed an organizational restructure that provides expanded and focused leadership and support for completion and retention that will enable us to better organize and assess existing strategies and develop new approaches as needed. We also plan to pilot two new approaches: a new loan default plan and block scheduling.

Observations

Perhaps our greatest success this year was our QuickStart pilot. Every student was retained; students averaged a 60% increase in COMPASS algebra scores, with one individual increase of 135%. The program had a 100% success rate for students mastering the competencies in the Foundations for Success workshop and receiving institutional credit for FYE 0100.

Overall, our greatest success since the beginning of CCG has been our Learning Support remediation pilots. We started early (fall 2012) and have seen success rates as high as 92% for students passing remedial math paired with college algebra.

Our least effective strategies were our pilots in Learning Support that were emporium-style math classes. We discontinued these classes even before the USG submitted its draft of recommendations that also discontinued them.

Additionally, adjustments were initially made as a result of the college's trying to implement too many strategies at once, so we changed our focus to a limited number of high-impact strategies.