GHC, in partnership with the USG Office of Academic Affairs, has established five academic strategies and programs for institutional relevance and excellence (ASPIRE). The goals are:
- Increase the number of new freshmen retained after the first year.
- Increase the number of first-time, full-time students enrolled in 12 credit hours or more.
- Increase the number of first-time, full time students completing gateway Math and English in their first semester.
- Increase the number of students enrolled in baccalaureate programs.
- Increase the number of graduates of degree programs.
These goals were developed through a collaborative process involving Academic Affairs, academic deans, and the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Initiatives. They reflect GHC’s strategic priorities for improving student success outcomes while addressing institutional challenges. The table below highlights progress over the past two years, underscoring both achievements and areas requiring further attention:
Table 1: ASPIRE Goals and Momentum Activities
|
ASPIRE Goal
|
2022-2023
|
2023-2024
|
2024-2025
|
|
1st Year Retention
|
63.2%
|
63.4%
|
N/A
|
|
FT-FT Students Taking 12 credit hours or more
|
711
|
598
|
508
|
|
FT-FT Students Completing Gateway Math and English in Their First Semester
|
46.9%
|
65.4%
|
N/A
|
|
Enrollment in Bachelor Programs
|
639
|
1164
|
1539
|
|
Degree Completion
|
882
|
813
|
N/A
|
GHC has shown positive momentum in three of the five ASPIRE goals (highlighted in blue in the table). Specifically, first-year retention rates for first-time, full-time students have improved, a significantly higher percentage of students are completing gateway Math and English courses in their first semester, and bachelor’s program enrollment has grown substantially. These successes underscore the effectiveness of aligning ASPIRE goals with Momentum Approach activities, which provide targeted strategies for student support.
ASPIRE Goals and Momentum Activities
|
ASPIRE Goal
|
Aligned Momentum Approach Activities
|
|
1st Year Retention
|
Learning Support Initiative, Tutorial Initiatives, Program Maps, Undecided Students, Faculty Development
|
|
FT-FT Students Taking 12 credit hours or more
|
Program Maps, Undecided Students
|
|
FT-FT Students Completing Gateway Math and English in Their First Semester
|
Learning Support Initiative, Tutorial Initiatives, Program Maps
|
|
Enrollment in Bachelor Programs
|
Program Maps, Undecided Students
|
|
Degree Completion
|
Learning Support Initiative, Tutorial Initiatives, Program Maps, Undecided Students, Faculty Development
|
This alignment reflects the holistic approach GHC has taken to integrate its ASPIRE goals with strategic activities, including Momentum Approach activities, ensuring efforts are interconnected and data informed. Below, each specific focus areas and institutional adjustments made to advance these goals.
1st Year Retention and Degree Completion
Retention and degree completion are foundational measures of student success. GHC has made intentional efforts to address these areas through its Momentum Approach initiatives. One of the most impactful programs has been the Early Alert system, which identifies at-risk students and connects them to academic and non-academic resources. The addition of three full-time retention assistants has strengthened this process, enabling the college to proactively support students facing challenges such as low grades, attendance violations, or financial hardships. These efforts have contributed to the incremental increase in retention rates and laid the groundwork for long-term improvements in degree completion.
While degree completion rates dipped slightly this past year, this decline aligns with the institution’s transition to a more robust four-year baccalaureate model. As students are retained for longer periods, graduation numbers will stabilize and eventually increase. Cross-departmental collaboration and enhanced communication efforts have also played a key role in addressing stop-out withdrawals, helping students explore options before fully disengaging from their studies.
Students Completing Gateway Math and English in Their First Semester
GHC’s efforts to ensure students complete gateway Math and English courses in their first semester have yielded notable progress, with completion rates rising from 46.9% to 65.4% in just one year. This success is attributable to several factors, including the Learning Support Initiative, tutorial programs, and refined advising practices. For instance, the Learning Support Bootcamp has provided targeted preparation for students needing additional assistance, while structured advising sessions at orientation have emphasized the importance of enrolling in these courses early.
To build on this momentum, GHC is refining its curriculum and advising strategies. Efforts include expanding learning support bootcamp sessions, improving tutorial services, and offering more personalized guidance during orientation and advising appointments. These measures aim to make gateway course completion rates a consistent area of strength for the institution.
12 Credit Hours and Enrollment in Bachelor Programs
Encouraging students to take 12 or more credit hours per semester remains a challenge, with the average credit load for first-year students currently at 11.3. However, GHC is addressing this issue through initiatives such as program map redesigns and enhanced advising for undecided students. These efforts have not only improved credit intensity but also driven significant growth in bachelor’s program enrollment, which increased from 639 to 1,164 students in one year.
The redesign of program maps has been particularly impactful. By providing students with clear, detailed pathways for their academic journeys, GHC has empowered them to make informed decisions about their course schedules and long-term goals. The institution is also leveraging data from tools such as DegreeWorks Planner to identify where students deviate from their planned pathways and provide timely interventions.
Future Directions and Adjustments
Looking ahead, GHC is committed to refining its strategies to address ongoing challenges and capitalize on recent successes. Key areas of focus include:
- Expanding Early Alert outreach efforts to improve student participation in tutoring and other support services.
- Enhancing communication and engagement strategies for undecided students, particularly during orientation and advising sessions.
- Integrating scheduling and data tools to streamline course offerings and ensure alignment with student demand.
- Developing scalable faculty development initiatives to support high-impact teaching practices and improve classroom engagement.
These initiatives, aligned with GHC’s ASPIRE goals, reflect the institution’s commitment to fostering student access and success.
Momentum Activities Successes and Adjustments
Advising Model: In last year’s Momentum report, we noted we were assessing what worked and did not work with our QEP focused on academic advising. We took a deep dive into the assessment data from the QEP and determined we were losing engagement with students after the first semester when students were moved from being assigned to a professional/staff advisor to a faculty advisor. Students attended the required first semester advising appointment with a professional advisor at a rate of 85%, but only 43% of students then completed the required second-semester advising appointment with their assigned faculty advisor. Students reported two primary reasons for this disengagement. One, after forming a relationship with their first advisor, they were not interested in forming a new relationship with an unknown faculty member. Even after being reassigned, students were returning to their first advisor when they had questions or needed help. Two, many students did not need a second required advising appointment. After building a plan for the first semester, they were equipped to navigate the course requirements on their own. These realizations led us to adjusting our advising requirements beginning fall 2024. Now, students are assigned to a professional advisor when they begin at Georgia Highlands College and stay with that advisor through graduation. Rather than use holds to prevent registration for students who do not meet with an advisor, we are incentivizing early registration for those who do meet with an advisor. Once open registration begins, faculty advisors participate in drop-in advising on each campus and online to assist students in using Degreeworks and choosing courses. Early data shows students are registering much earlier than previous fall semesters.
Advising at Orientation: In addition to changes with the advising model, we also put emphasis on empowering students to make their own purposeful choices with course scheduling. At orientation, the advising staff walk students through how to understand required curriculum for their degree, why they take the classes they take (Core IMPACTS), the implications of full-time versus part time, and how to navigate Course Offerings to build a schedule. We pre-register every student for their required English and math and give them a personalized course registration sheet that provides additional classes they need to choose for their first semester. In a computer lab, students log in to our Course Offerings page and use the personalized course registration sheet to finish building their schedules. What we discovered with these changes is that when registration opens for the next semester, students are more prepared to use the registration system and make choices on their own about when they take classes. Prior to this change, students would show up the week before classes began to register and tell us they waited so long to register because they thought we were going to do it for them. Empowering them to use the tools at their fingertips to make decisions for themselves is promoting earlier registration and we hope persistence.
Academic Intervention Initiatives:
The strategies and activities that have been most successful in academic intervention initiatives are the addition of three full-time retention assistants to reach out to students with low grades, on academic standing (warning, probation , dismissal), attendance violations, social economic issues (Food insecurity or homeless), conduct violations, medical issues (hardship), withdrawal requests, CARE tickets, academic integrity issues or schedule academic seminars to improve soft skills or academic planning. Additionally, this team reaches out to non-returning students, new students that miss orientation, and drops. Strategies and activities have been least effective student participation in early alert contacts and referrals. Students are resistant to tutoring referrals. Over the past year institution has adjusted our completion activities through the full-withdrawal process; this approach provides the retention team with 48 hours to contact students and inform them of their academic options, financial aid implications, and the withdrawal process. This effort aims to reduce the annual number of full stop-out withdrawals by enhancing cross departmental policy and communication.
Faculty Development:
Faculty learning communities have been the most successful strategy for enhancing teaching effectiveness. These communities provide collaborative spaces for faculty to share innovative pedagogical approaches, develop new teaching methods, and collectively improve classroom instruction. We should prioritize sustainable support for teaching centers by developing scalable, low-cost collaborations that fully empower faculty professional development centers. This could involve creating peer mentorship programs while leveraging existing resources which will not require new hires.
