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Georgia Gwinnett College 2024

Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) is one of two access institutions in the Atlanta metropolitan region. The GGC mission states that the College “provides access to targeted baccalaureate and associate level degrees that meet the economic development needs of the growing and diverse population of the northeast Atlanta metropolitan region.” Founded in 2005, Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) operates according to a clear strategic plan derived from its mission.

From GGC’s Strategic Plan (2023-2025):

Georgia Gwinnett College now offers 20+ bachelor’s degree programs with 60+ programs of study. Its students have scored it among the nation’s top colleges in several areas of student engagement, a critical predictor of student success. According to annual USG economic impact studies in 2023, GGC has generated more than $5.3 billion in cumulative economic impact to the economy of Gwinnett County and the Atlanta metropolitan area and created more than 3,700 jobs. More than 11,000 alumni now serve as contributing citizens to their communities in Georgia and beyond.

GGC’s student headcount in Fall 2020 was 11,627; in Fall 2021, 10,949; in Fall 2022, 11,030, in Fall 2023, 11,918, and in Fall 2024, GGC’s headcount is at 12,245 for an increase of 2.7% overall over the prior year (there is a 1.2% increase in FTE over Fall 2023). Of the total Fall 2023 student enrollment, 7017 (59%) are women, and 3681 (31%) are 23 years or older.  In addition to U.S origin, the student body represents over 100 other countries or regions. Nighty eight percent (98%) of the students enrolling at GGC in fall 2023 are from Georgia, with the remainder coming from 30 other states.  Among those students from Georgia, 75% are from Gwinnett County.  Of the total student headcount, 65% are enrolled full-time, taking at least 12 credit hours, with the remaining 35% enrolled part-time.

A review of other key demographic characteristics of the Fall 2023 GGC student population shows a preponderance of those who are traditionally underserved and likely to benefit from essential support structures. The mean high school GPA of GGC’s cohort of first-time entering students has had a consistent academic profile with a mean high school GPA of between 2.71 and 3.03, with 25% of first-year students requiring corequisite learning support in at least one core subject (Math or English) in Fall 2023. In fact, transactional course enrollment data indicate 12% of the Fall 2023 first-year students were enrolled in a corequisite English course, and 18% were enrolled in a corequisite math course. To support the success of GGC’s students from onboarding to graduation, the college has adopted the five priority success strategies below:

GGC’s 2024 ASPIRE Priority Strategies for Success:

  1. Learning Communities
    1. First-Year Learning Communities
    2. Living-Learning Communities
  2. Summer Programming and Onboarding
  3. Early Semester Success
  4. Experiential Learning
  5. Success Networks

Success Inventory

First-Year Learning Communities (ASPIRE Strategy 1a) (Georgia Gwinnett College-2024)

Strategy/Project Name: 
First-Year Learning Communities (ASPIRE Strategy 1a)
Momentum Area: 
Purpose
Pathways
Mindset
Category: 
First Year Experience
Learning Communities
Strategy/Project Description: 

Learning Communities are a high-impact practice that help students establish relationships while learning in three linked classes that are relevant to their meta-major/academic focus area: Business (BUSI); Education (EDUC); Health Professions (HEPR); Humanities and Arts (HUAR); Information Technology (ITEC); Social Sciences (SOSC); or Science, Technology and Math (STEM). We aim to scale first-year LCs so all new full-time first-year students enroll in an LC by an opt-out approach. The longer-term aim is to add to the LCs more sections of the first-year seminar (GGC 1000), redesigned to include discipline-specific content.

Learning Communities align directly with the GGC Strategic Plan (2023-2025), Goal 1: Expand Academic Access, Engagement and Success, Objective B. 7: Expand the current Learning Communities, including Living Learning Communities, with a curricular and co-curricular focus on targeted academic disciplines and relevant career fields.

Activity Status: 
Refining/Maintaining
Scaling
Evaluation/Assessment plan: 

Track performance across 5 key measures (KPI) and report progress following each fall semester.

 

Measures of success for the LCs are to be shared via Student Success Dashboards, which have been established at GGC by IRA.

Measurement Cycle is Fall-to-Fall (AY) and ongoing.

For program quality assessment, we will measure faculty engaged proactively in LCs (over 5 years).

 

KPIs:

> Fall-Fall retention rates of students in LCs.

> Learning Community enrollment.

> GPA first and subsequent semester of students in LCs.

> Longer-term retention/persistence and completion rates.

> Longer-term: number of sections of GGC 1000 with discipline-specific content added to LCs and success rates of students enrolled. 

                 

Baseline measure (for each KPI):

> Fall-Fall retention rates of students in LCs. = 65.2%

> Learning Community enrollment. = 560

> GPA first and subsequent semester of students in LCs. = 54.7% >= 2.50 GPA

> Longer-term retention/persistence and completion rates. = 19% 6-year graduation rate

> Longer-term: number of sections of GGC 1000 with discipline-specific content added to LCs and success rates of students enrolled. = TBD

Progress and Adjustments: 

We built the LC sections for the triads and are completing materials for early outreach to the students. Early faculty outreach was carried out March-May 2024 and will continue. We needed to adjust the LC linked sections as registration proceeded in Grizzly Orientation beginning in May 2024. We built 139 learning communities for Fall 2024. At the start of the semester 58 remained intact. Technical glitches with BANNER and staffing issues affected our ability to maintain a greater number of LCs.

 

Current/most recent data (for each KPI):

> Fall-Fall retention rates of students in LCs. = 73% (Fall 2022, FTFY students); 65.2% 3-year average.

> Learning Community enrollment. = 560 (FTFY students)

> GPA first and subsequent semester of students in LCs. = 54.72% >= 2.50 GPA (Fall 2022)

> Longer-term retention/persistence and completion rates. = 19% 6-year graduation (Fall 2017 FTFY)

> Longer-term: number of sections of GGC 1000 with discipline-specific content added to LCs and success rates of students enrolled. = N/A (new initiative)

Plan for the Year Ahead: 
  • Review lessons learned in scaling learning communities in Fall 2024.
  • Work with the academic Chairs and schedulers more closely to make the design successful.
  • Work with the Registrar and other Enrollment Management teams closely to make the delivery successful.
  • Work with campus partners to develop and implement a marketing plan to increase awareness of LCs and LLCs.
  • Inform FTFT admits of LCs and encourage them to register for a LC block ahead of Grizzly Orientation.
  • Review and revise tactics as this Learning Community strategic priority moves forward.
  • Plan for further scaling of LCs in Fall 2025.
  • Develop a strategy for proposing, implementing, and assessing themed LCs and LLCs.
Challenges and Support: 

Challenges: Logistical challenges (e.g., staffing, linking, hiding and opening linked sections, tagging and tracking sections) related to technology (i.e., Banner) and registration process will need to be addressed effectively.

Unexpected challenges that may emerge during Grizzly Orientation will need to be addressed.

We will continue to meet regularly with faculty (e.g., LC information sessions that we have launched).

Supports Needed: We have already heard from or met with a number of USG colleagues (e.g., Georgia State University and the NISS team; University of North Georgia; Albany State University) to discuss learning community implementation ideas, and we plan to continue this mutually fruitful path of discussion

Contact email: 
kjackson5@ggc.edu
Primary Contact: 
Karen Jackson, Interim Dean of Student Success
Wendy Anderson, Director of First- and Second-Year Experience

Living-Learning Communities (ASPIRE Strategy 1b) (Georgia Gwinnett College-2024)

Strategy/Project Name: 
Living-Learning Communities (ASPIRE Strategy 1b)
Momentum Area: 
Purpose
Pathways
Mindset
Category: 
First Year Experience
Learning Communities
Strategy/Project Description: 

Through a US Department of Education grant, GGC launched a STEM Living Learning Community (LLC) specifically for Informational Technology (IT) and Health Science (HS) programs that offers competitive housing awards and academic and career readiness support for two cohorts of 16 students pursuing these degrees each year.  Our LLC program builds on GGC’s record of successfully preparing STEM students by providing intensive academic support, proactive advising, career planning, and high impact practices such as undergraduate research opportunities. The overarching goal of our LLC program, with its critical residential component, is to implement evidence-based strategies proven to increase STEM access, retention, and graduation rates, and preparation for post-graduation placement of low-income, academically talented students in the STEM workforce or graduate studies.

Living-Learning Communities align directly with the GGC Strategic Plan (2023-2025), Goal 1: Expand Academic Access, Engagement and Success, Objective B. 7: Expand the current Learning Communities, including Living Learning Communities, with a curricular and co-curricular focus on targeted academic disciplines and relevant career fields.

Activity Status: 
Scaling
Evaluation/Assessment plan: 

Objectives:

1) Increase access for college residential living for enrolled IT and HS majors.

2) Increase retention and graduation of LLC scholars in IT or HS, as appropriate.

3) Prepare LLC Scholars for post-graduation placement into relevant STEM careers or graduate programs.

Obj. 1), Activity 1 - Award 2 pilot cohorts of 16 each, a maximum housing award of $17,418 in year 1 per LLC Scholar; Activity 2 - Award 2 pilot cohorts of 16 each, a maximum housing award of $14,490 in year 2 per LLC Scholar.

Obj. 1), Measure 1 - 64 LLC Scholars will be supported with financial awards to cover housing and meals.

Obj. 2), Activity 1 - Conduct a 3-day residential enrichment program for LLC Scholars to jumpstart their college career and build an academic community of peers, mentors, and professional advisors; Activity 2 - Establish a cluster of academic enrichment and support services to promote student success in degree completion; and Activity 3 - Establish an academic community to positively impact student learning and performance.

Obj. 2), Measure 1 - Retain at least 75% of LLC Scholars as declared IT or HS major between 2nd and 3rd year; Measure 2 - Graduate at least 75% of LLC Scholars in IT or HS major within six years.

Obj. 3), Activity 1 - Provide opportunities for undergraduate research, summer internships or similar experiential learning opportunities; and Activity 2 – Build a professional network beyond Georgia Gwinnett College.

Obj. 3), Measure 1 - At least 62.5% of LLC Scholars will participate in undergraduate research or a similar high-impact practice during the academic year; Measure 2-  At least 62.5% of LLC Scholars will pursue a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates or STEM internship or a similar experiential learning experience; Measure 3 - At least 75% of graduated LLC Scholars will enroll in a STEM graduate degree program or secure employment in a STEM position.

Our objectives are assessed at the conclusion of each academic year.  Current (Fall 2024) LLC program results in progress are:

ITEC LLC: 7 students in ITEC 2140

HSCI LLC: 7 students in BIOL 2451

Returned from Fall 2023 – Fall 2024*:

ITEC LLC: 11/13 students (approx. 85%) returned Fall 2024

HSCI LLC: 9/11 students (approx. 81%) returned Fall 2024

*Based on transactional data; final data not yet available to confirm.

December 2024: The LLC students will participate in an experiential learning field trip to Washington, D.C.

Progress and Adjustments: 

The college will look at the requirements of what IT and HS students can participate in this LLC grant and see if we can loosen requirements where more students are eligible to participate, consistent with the commitments of the grant. In addition, the college plans to launch three (3) LLC tech labs in each of the college’s three (3) residence halls in spring 25.

Plan for the Year Ahead: 

The college hopes to receive a no cost extension on this grant and continue the work into 2025, 2026 and beyond. In addition, we look to expand the number and types of LLC available to students.

Challenges and Support: 

Over the past 12 months, the college has seen a significant transition in grant leadership.  This transition includes three (3) different faculty PIs and a new Director and Associate Director of Student Housing.  This transition in leadership has caused issues in effectively moving the grant forward. In addition, there was difficulty recruiting a new cohort of IT and HS students during summer 24.   These issues in recruitment stemmed from the grant’s very specific requirements on which IT and HS students can participate in the LLC.

Contact email: 
mrobison1@ggc.edu
Primary Contact: 
Matthew Robison, Associate Provost for Student Affairs
Justin Jernigan, Interim Associate Provost for Academic Programs

Summer Programming and Onboarding (ASPIRE Strategy 2) (Georgia Gwinnett College-2024)

Strategy/Project Name: 
Summer Programming and Onboarding (ASPIRE Strategy 2)
Momentum Area: 
Purpose
Pathways
Mindset
Category: 
Mindset
Orientation
Transition to College
Strategy/Project Description: 

Summer Programming and Onboarding interventions aim to support growth mindset and increase college knowledge among incoming first-year students and some targeted populations of non-first year students. Specific interventions include engagement with GCPS high school seniors, initial Summer Bridge programming, the Summer Preparatory Academic Resource Camps (SPARC) and pre-Fall welcome activities on campus.

Activity Status: 
Refining/Maintaining
Evaluation/Assessment plan: 

The college had over 150 residential students attend the 2nd Annual Grizzly Launch Day in August 2024 during our annual Grizzly Welcome program.  We have not yet developed a formal evaluation plan or any KPIs for Grizzly Launch Day. 

Example KPIs include:

> 25% of invited students attend Grizzly Launch Day

> 50% of attendees engaging in each planned activity

> 50% of attendees rate the overall event as impactful

SPARC registration for Summer 2024: For the Summer 2024 SPARC sessions, 233 students registered, with the largest numbers in the Health Professions (HEPR), Business (BUSI), and STEM meta-majors.

The post-SPARC satisfaction survey for 2023 received a small response number (only 23 student respondents). The results were positive, with 83% of students responding indicating they agreed or strongly agreed that SPARC participation helped them feel more connected (Sense of Belonging) at GGC. However, the low response rate and the merging of SPARC with the broader Grizzly Launch effort next summer has led us to reimagine how we collect student feedback for this event.

Progress and Adjustments: 

The college looks to combine Grizzly Launch Day and the SPARC program taking place in August 2025. Concerted efforts in this area will allow us to deliver a more robust summer experience for students.   

Plan for the Year Ahead: 

Student Affairs and Student Success will meet to coordinate the planning of this unified program what once was two separate experiences for students.  The curriculum and schedule for the summer SPARC program is being redesigned and planning will include additional campus partners. We are working with New Student Orientation to advertise the event to new students.

Challenges and Support: 

Customizing the curriculum to meet the diverse needs of student and ensuring that SPARC reaches the students who would benefit most.

Contact email: 
kjackson5@ggc.edu
Primary Contact: 
Karen Jackson, Interim Dean of Student Success
Matthew Robison, Associate Provost for Student Affairs

Early Semester Success (ASPIRE Strategy 3) (Georgia Gwinnett College-2024)

Strategy/Project Name: 
Early Semester Success (ASPIRE Strategy 3)
Momentum Area: 
Mindset
Category: 
Early Alerts
Strategy/Project Description: 

The early alert initiative is a collaborative effort between Advising Programs and the Academic Schools that aims to identify and support students who might be experiencing challenges that could impact their academic success. This effort includes proactive monitoring, timely interventions, and personalized support early in the semester to enhance student success and retention. Currently, GGC utilizes the Progress Report Campaign feature in Navigate 360 for early alert.

Activity Status: 
Scaling
Evaluation/Assessment plan: 

Key Performance Indicators include:

  • Engagement metric: Percentage of faculty who respond to progress report campaigns.
  • Academic performance: Number/Percentage of flagged students who complete the course with a grade of ABC

These measures are reviewed at the end of each semester. For the 23-24 AY we had an average response rate of 37%. The goal for next year is a 45% average response rate with increases of 10% each of the following years.  53% of the students who were flagged earned a grade of A, B, or C in the course.

Progress and Adjustments: 

During the 23-24 AY, progress report campaign requests expanded to include all instructors in the corequisite English and math courses. Prior to that year only instructors in the momentum learning communities were included in the campaigns. Progress report campaigns are now being used for targeted student populations including athletes and students in our GROW program.

To increase the response rate, we plan to work with Deans and department chairs on messaging to increase faculty awareness about the purpose and impact of the campaigns. The Student Success Advising Director has met with department chairs to provide more specific guidance on how faculty can more effectively use the Progress report and campaign tools in the Navigate platform.

Plan for the Year Ahead: 

In addition to improving messaging, we will develop a plan to incorporate ad-hoc early alerts, so all faculty are able to submit reports as needed.

Challenges and Support: 

Challenges: Staffing could be a challenge to our ability to expand our early alert efforts

Support Needed: Our upcoming engagement with NISS (National Institute for Student Success) will provide additional support as we expand these efforts. The NISS team will make a campus visit and provide a playbook for addressing areas of need in our student success work.

Contact email: 
kjackson5@ggc.edu
Primary Contact: 
Karen Jackson, Interim Dean of Student Success

Experiential Learning (ASPIRE Strategy 4) (Georgia Gwinnett College-2024)

Strategy/Project Name: 
Experiential Learning (ASPIRE Strategy 4)
Momentum Area: 
Purpose
Pathways
Mindset
Category: 
High Impact Practices
Strategy/Project Description: 

The EXACT Plan consolidates GGC’s existing experiential learning resources and practices, expands upon that campuswide inventory by fostering a culture of curricular practice, strengthens practices through focused faculty training that integrates ePortfolio and critical thinking pedagogies into GGC’s expanding experiential learning profile, and operationalizes strategies for ensuring access to all students. 

Experiential learning and critical thinking are the topics of GGC’s current QEP.

To accomplish the EXACT Plan, the intentional integration of critical thinking competencies within experiential classroom and curriculum frameworks, when, scaled out, provide all students with opportunities to experience this integrated learning approach multiple times, from general education to upper-division classes in their majors. Additionally, the incorporation of sustained ePortfolio-centered reflection is a foundational component of all experiential learning opportunities demonstrating reflection of the knowledge learned through the experiential learning opportunities.

We aim to identify courses that already have experiential learning assignments or content and scale these courses to form EXACT (Experiential Learning and Critical Thinking) courses through our current QEP (initiated in FA24 with 2 1000 level courses – ITEC 1001 & HIST 1112).   By beginning in 1000 level courses, students will practice this skill through multiple classes before taking traditionally known experiential learning courses such as internships, independent research, study abroad, and/or service-learning courses during their senior year.  Additionally, we are developing a student recognition program called EXACT Scholars which recognizes and rewards students who take numerous EXACT courses and reflect upon the effect of experiential learning and critical thinking skills on their retention, graduation, and post-graduation opportunities.

Activity Status: 
Initiating
Refining/Maintaining
Evaluation/Assessment plan: 

EXACT/QEP KPIs:

> Critical-thinking Assessment Test (CAT) score

> Favorable Student & Faculty EXACT perceptions

> Number of EXACT courses

> Number of students in EXACT courses

> Favorable NSSE responses to HIP & Higher Order Learning Prompts

Improved Data on those with EL courses: retention, graduation

> Number of faculty trained to develop EXACT courses

> Number of faculty engaged proactively (over 5 years) in EXACT courses

> Publications of learning activity artifacts in EXACT library

Current/most recent data (for each KPI):

Critical Thinking – baseline CAT score for FTF = 11.59 (max = 38) from SP24

Student & Faculty EXACT perceptions – EXACT perception survey has been conducted in FA24 with 331 student respondents and 110 faculty respondents. 

  • Based on a student perceptions survey, students reported that critical thinking (51%), problem solving (45%), and communication (40%) were the top choices chosen when asked about the most important essential skills that they learn from participating in experiential learning activities.
  • Based on a faculty perceptions survey, faculty reported that critical thinking (65%), problem solving (67%), communication (57%) and collaboration (57%) were the top choices chosen when asked about the essential skills strongly learned from participating in experiential learning activities.

Number of EXACT courses – frequency counts (2 inaugural courses in FA24)

Students in EXACT courses – frequency counts (approximately 2000 students in FA24 within 2 courses)

NSSE responses to HIP & Higher Order Learning Prompts – analysis phase ongoing currently (SP24)

Data on those with EL courses: retention, graduation – frequency counts (baseline are current Fall to Fall data)

Faculty trained to develop EXACT courses – frequency count (4 course coordinators + 2 Faculty Fellows + over 45 section faculty in FA24)

Faculty engaged proactively (over 5 years) in EXACT courses – frequency count (baseline = 0)

Publications of learning activity artifacts in EXACT library – frequency count (6 abstracts submitted to 3 separate professional conferences specifically stemming from the EXACT Plan data + 5 abstracts submitted by EXACT Plan faculty related to experiential learning and critical thinking)

Baseline data (for each KPI, starting FA24)

Critical Thinking – CAT score for FTF = 11.59 (max = 38)

Student & Faculty EXACT perceptions – EXACT perception survey to be piloted in SP24

Number of EXACT courses – frequency counts (baseline = 0)

Students in EXACT courses – frequency counts (baseline = 0)

NSSE responses to HIP & Higher Order Learning Prompts – collection phase currently ongoing (SP24)

Data on those with EL courses: retention, graduation – frequency counts (baseline are current Fall to Fall data)

Faculty trained to develop EXACT courses – frequency count (baseline = 0)

Faculty engaged proactively (over 5 years) in EXACT courses – frequency count (baseline = 0)

Publications of learning activity artifacts in EXACT library – frequency count (baseline = 0)

Progress and Adjustments: 

This project is just starting in SU24.  It will be assessed each June to determine what changes need to be made. Experiential learning and critical thinking are the topics of GGC’s current QEP.

Plan for the Year Ahead: 

The project was initiated in SU24 with two faculty coordinators for two lower-division (1000 level – ITE 1001 & HIST 1112), multi-section, general education courses (total of 4 faculty) participating in a summer bootcamp to develop experiential learning activities to embed within their courses that fosters improvement of the desired critical thinking skillsets.  These faculty are responsible for training all section faculty in these activities so that all section faculty for the two courses will provide students with experiential learning activities and associated critical thinking reflections.  A pilot assessment of artifacts submitted by students during FA24 will be done on December 11-12, 2024.  Further plans include:

  • In SP25, two additional 1000 level courses and four 2000 level courses will be selected to develop experiential learning activities aligned with the critical thinking skillsets to be offered during AY26
  • By adding these courses listed above, 12 additional faculty will be trained as EXACT course coordinators, and 2 additional faculty will be trained as EXACT faculty fellows.
  • ITEC 1001 and HIST 1112 will be tagged as EXACT courses in banner
  • ITEC 1001 and HIST 1112 faculty will work on lessons learned papers to be published in the EXACT library
  • Human Services, Honors, and Education students may pilot an early adoption of the EXACT Scholars ePortfolio
  • EXACT faculty will continue to submit abstracts, make presentations, and publish papers related to the innovative experiential learning opportunities for students in IMPACT courses.
  • Continue work on the website to provide visibility across campus and outside of campus

Development of an ePortfolio competition to increase visibility of the EXACT Scholars program.

Challenges and Support: 

It is expected, however, that not all faculty of these lower division, multi-section general education courses will participate, particularly in the first year of the course implementation as they acclimate to this new institutional project.  Consequently, the target for Year ONE is that at least 50% of the sections will participate in the EXACT Plan implementation.

 

Additionally, based on the faculty perceptions survey, while faculty report that experiential learning is an effective instructional pedagogy, they cite many obstacles to implementation that include both curricular (e.g. not enough time, difficult to cover material, assessment) and logistical (college bureaucracy, not enough money, classroom structure) challenges.  Additionally, when asked about their level of proficiency assessing student reflections, approximately 50% of faculty report that they are beginners or novices.  Many of these issues will require additional training.  There are still logistical issues related to tagging courses in Banner, maintaining curricular changes as the semesters continue, and policies for transfer students to participate in the EXACT Scholars program.

Connecting with other USG institutions that offer significant experiential learning opportunities in a systematic way would be quite helpful.

Contact email: 
kperellg@ggc.edu
Primary Contact: 
Karen Perell-Gerson, Quality Enhancement Plan Director

Success Networks (ASPIRE Strategy 5) (Georgia Gwinnett College-2024)

Strategy/Project Name: 
Success Networks (ASPIRE Strategy 5)
Momentum Area: 
Purpose
Pathways
Mindset
Category: 
First Year Experience
Strategy/Project Description: 

Create success networks that connect students with peer support, mentors, tutors, advisors, and counselors that focus on the specific needs of various student populations.

Activity Status: 
Initiating
Evaluation/Assessment plan: 

Evaluation Plan and measures:

 Fall-to-Fall and ongoing measures of success.

 

KPIs:

 > Completion rates of students who receive SN intervention.

> Optimized support staffing (e.g., academic coaches, advisors, others).

> Semester success (semester GPA) of students who receive Success Network (SN) intervention.

> Fall-Fall retention of students who receive SN intervention.

 

Baseline measure (for each KPI):

 > Completion rates of students who receive SN intervention. = 18% 6-year graduation (Fall 2017 cohort)

> Optimized support staffing (e.g., academic coaches, advisors, others). = In Progress

> Semester success (semester GPA) of students who receive Success Network (SN) intervention. 54% >= 2.50 GPA

> Fall-Fall retention of students who receive SN intervention. = 64% (Fall 2022 FTFY)

 

Current/most recent data (for each KPI):

 > Completion rates of students who receive SN intervention. = 18% 6-year graduation (Fall 2017 cohort)

> Optimized support staffing (e.g., academic coaches, advisors, others). = In Progress

> Semester success (semester GPA) of students who receive Success Network (SN) intervention. 54% >= 2.50 GPA (Fall 2022)

> Fall-Fall retention of students who receive SN intervention. = 64% (Fall 2022)

 

Goal or targets (for each KPI):

 > Completion rates of students who receive SN intervention. = 20% (6-year)

> Optimized support staffing (e.g., academic coaches, advisors, others). = 90% optimized

> Semester success (semester GPA) of students who receive Success Network (SN) intervention. 55% >= 2.50 GPA

> Fall-Fall retention of students who receive SN intervention. = 65% (first year of implementation)

Progress and Adjustments: 

Time period/duration

Launching/initiating in Fall 2024, with broadening and scaling to continue through Fall 2025 (likely beyond) to maintenance levels.

Many of the offices, staff, and services contemplated as part of the Success Networks are already functioning, but there is a need to coordinate efforts across offices, Schools, departments or divisions.

Student Success Committee is already functioning well and can be a source for coordination.

We rebranded and reintroduced our peer mentoring program, Grizzly Peers for Success. We currently have 13 peer mentors who are assisting first year students with their transition to college.

Our Academic Enhancement Center now offers academic coaching sessions using professional staff and peer coaches.

Plan for the Year Ahead: 

Coordinate efforts across offices, Schools, departments or divisions.

Continue to expand the Grizzly Peer Mentoring Program by matching current peer mentors with alumni mentors.

Hire a professional academic coach

Work with Housing to increase advising, coaching, and tutoring in the residence halls.

Increasing the use of Navigate across departments and units.

Challenges and Support: 

Broadening communication and involvement across areas with multiple reporting lines and different communication patterns.

Establishing common practices to coordinate student support across areas.

Need to engage faculty and staff widely and intensively.

 

Successful examples of Success Networks (networks of Student Support) at other USG institutions so that we can collaborate with and learn from each other would be welcome.

Contact email: 
jjerniga@ggc.edu
Primary Contact: 
Justin Jernigan, Interim Associate Provost for Academic Programs
Karen Jackson, Interim Dean of Student Success

Campus Plans Supplemental Sections

Momentum-Related Program Effort

Status Update

Description and Plans

Career Readiness

Scaling and Refining

Continue to expand the offerings of GGC’s Career Services in strategic ways.
Build on the Career Competencies now shared with all students taking general education courses through our Core IMPACTS implementation. These statements can serve as bridges to strategic communication with students early in their college career.

The assessment of these Career Readiness efforts aligns directly with the GGC Strategic Plan (2023-2025), Goal 1, Objective A. 1: Use regional workforce data to guide decisions regarding new and existing academic programs.

 

Academic Greatness of Resident Students

Launching
 

Anticipated for 2025 Momentum Plan

The Academic Greatness of Resident Students is a rising strategic area for Student Affairs and Student Housing over the next 2-3 years, with partnerships with Student Success and the Academic Enhancement Center (AEC). This programming fits well with our Living-Learning Community strategy (ASPIRE Strategy 1b).

 

Themed Communities

Launching

 

Anticipated for 2025 Momentum Plan

This Activity is nested in our ASPIRE Strategy 1 (Learning Communities) but represents a distinctive effort in Student Housing. GGC anticipates at least 3 themed communities for resident students in Fall 2025. These are not specifically LLCs (i.e., not linked to specific academic courses), but residents living together who share a similar interest and passion (e.g., service, gaming, social justice, etc.) and we provide intentional programming around these themes to engage them in curricular and co-curricular ways. We plan to recruit faculty partners for each theme.

 

Observations and Next Steps

Key observations about the status and progress of our Momentum student success work in 2024:

  • For the 2023-2024 academic year, the Board of Regents presented the Regents Momentum Award for Excellence in Advising and Student Success to Georgia Gwinnett College at its May 2024 meeting in Atlanta. The Momentum Award is designed to recognize “institutional advising that creates trajectory toward student success and completion,” and according to the award review committee, “Georgia Gwinnett's portfolio demonstrates a deep understanding of practices and strategies that are proven to support students, along with a history of reflection and review of these practices to adjust and align them to GGC's population and priorities. Through their work with Hispanic Achievers Committed to Excellence in Results (HACER) and Learning Communities, they demonstrate a deep commitment to establishing effective practices and using the results of this work to scale beyond initial pilots to impact the entire institution. Their work intentionally makes meaningful connections with students and shows tremendous commitment to building community among them and with the institution as a whole.”
  • On March 1, 2024, GGC was honored to serve as the host institution for the Momentum Summit VII capstone in-person event. The event, held centrally in the GGC Student Center’s Large Venue Interactive Space (LVIS) highlighted the student success work of dedicated colleagues from around the system so that institutions could learn from each other. Included was a special “Student Voices and Campus Change” session, in which students from a range of USG institutions shared their success insights. 18 GGC students participated, including GGC’s Student Government Association (SGA) president.  
  • Relationships across divisions, departments, and programming areas continue to be an area for enhancement: e.g., Student Affairs, Academic Affairs/Student Success, Enrollment Management, Information Technology. Progress has been made in regular meetings with department chairs to disseminate key information on learning communities, student success technology tools (related to our Success Networks strategy) and curriculum updates related to Core IMPACTS. More can be done in
  • Staffing needs in some key areas have been challenging, but areas of need are being strategically identified.
  • The consistent and growing use of our student success technology platform over the past year is attributable to the college’s renewal of Navigate. Our current efforts now focus on training and spreading its use.  
  • The new Convocation Center at GGC is expected to lead to increased student engagement on campus and to enhance campus culture.
  • AAMI Summit II in 2024 was GGC’s second and continues the important work of this program on campus.
  • SGA’s increased involvement in student success initiatives from Fall 2023 leading into Spring 2024 provides an excellent opportunity for building and development.
  • Two grant-funded living-learning communities (LLCs) were established in 2023, paving the way for more such LLCs in the future. In 2024, the LLCs have continued to provide opportunities for resident students in the ITEC and Health Sciences fields to pursue greatness with their fellow residents. We look forward to seeing such Living-Learning opportunities expand in 2025 and beyond (See also Supplemental Updates above).
  • Department and Chair structure was solidified and developed with training and growth in 2023. In 2024, this structure has allowed students to be able to reach out to a POC for the discipline and has established a departmental culture in GGC’s academic Schools.
  • Dean of Students role has been brought on board as a distinct (stand-alone) position, which is already showing benefits for students’ experience in several ways (e.g., handling cases with students who may be struggling, addressing attendance and integrity issues, along with students of concern).
  • Sense of Belonging for students has been enhanced with multiple programming efforts, but many of these are sponsored by individual departments or programs, leading us to propose Success Networks as a strategic priority in the Strategic Plan and in this Momentum plan.
  • Fall 2024 Learning Communities – LCs were maintained as a strategy, but we struggled to have the linked sections filled in a timely manner, leading to the new scaling strategy for Fall 2024: The ‘Opt-Out’ Learning Communities approach, in which all new first-year students will register first for their learning community at Grizzly Orientation, consisting of 3 linked sections, prior to adding additional courses to reach a target of 15 hrs.
  • Regarding the use of the student success platform (Navigate): Faculty completed 485 progress reports in spring 2023 and fall 2023.

Space limitations – e.g., First Year Convocation, are being addressed in part through the construction of the new Convocation Center at GGC and the strategic use of available space, including when scheduling courses and student activities. For example, GGC is moving to the use of the 25Live Optimizer for more efficient course scheduling based on classroom features and student/faculty needs, with a spring 2025 pilot and assessment phase.

Course grades policy (e.g., D in electives; terminal courses) needs to be addressed to contribute to increased completion. Related policies we identified this past year that we look to address in 2024 are petitions, course substitutions, and overrides. Many of these resources will be more accessible to students and faculty through the academic Chairs structure adopted last year and developed further in 2024.

Why did things go well (when they did go well)? Why did they not go so well (when they didn’t)?

  • The need to establish a more consistent approach to learning community enrollment has remained an area for growth and improvement. Increased communication across divisions (Academic and Student Affairs with Enrollment Management, in particular) is helping in this regard, and these efforts will be expanded.   
  • Data to drive decisions – Data dashboards are now available and increasingly visible. We need to expand access and awareness. We also need to ensure that key decisions continue to be informed by up-to-date data.
  • The Core IMPACTS general education curriculum refresh is in full implementation mode at GGC, guided by a Core IMPACTS task force. This campus-wide effort has presented some challenges in the need to update materials and communicate advising updates clearly to students, faculty, and staff, but has also brought us strategic opportunities to enhance communication and understanding of the core curriculum across campus, which contributes to our Momentum student success efforts.  

Conclusions: What lessons are you taking away from the past year? What do you need to have in place to be successful? Are the Momentum strategies you are working on aligned with your priorities and goals?

  • Early Semester Success continues to be a priority, as we observe that students’ early success can drive their continued progression.
  • We need to engage students more effectively and efficiently with the resources available to them. Identifying how students prefer to engage with information and resources will help in this work.
  • A more interconnected network of support is needed to ensure student support from onboarding all the way through graduation and post-completion career planning.
  • A more consistent approach to learning community enrollment is needed.
  • Department chairs and departmental administrative assistants have been immensely helpful in carrying out our student success Momentum work. These individuals will be included more integrally in planning for the new strategic Success Networks.
  • Enrollment Management (Registrar, Financial Aid) staff need to figure prominently in the new Success Networks.
  • Library staff should continue to expand their role in the new Success Networks.
  • Summer programming and onboarding and early semester success efforts need to be coordinated campuswide to improve the student transition experience.
  • The three activity areas highlighted in our forward-looking Supplemental Updates (sec. 3, above): Career Readiness, Academic Greatness of Resident Students, and Themed Residential Communities, fit squarely with GGC’s Momentum and ASPIRE priority strategies.

The Momentum student success strategies reviewed in this Campus Plan Update report are aligned with the GGC Strategic Plan (2023-2025), especially its Goal 1: Expand Academic Access, Engagement and Success; and the USG Strategic Plan 2029, particularly its Student Success Goal: The University System of Georgia will increase degree completion through a robust and intensive approach to access and student success, utilizing data analytics and best practices.