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Georgia Gwinnett College Campus Plan Update 2025

Georgia Gwinnett 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. It emphasizes the innovative use of technology and active-learning environments to provide its students with enhanced learning experiences, practical opportunities to apply knowledge, increased scheduling flexibility, and a variety of course delivery options. As one of two access institutions in the Atlanta metropolitan region, Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) operates according to a clear strategic plan derived from its mission. The first goal in GGC’s Strategic Plan 2023-2025 is to “expand academic access, engagement, and success.”
 
GGC’s student headcount in Fall 2021 was 10,949; in Fall 2022, 11,030, in Fall 2023, 11,918, and in Fall 2024, GGC’s headcount was 12,245, for an increase of 2.7% over the prior year and a 1.2% increase in FTE over Fall 2023. The Fall 2025 headcount continues to show growth, at 12,782, which is an increase of 4.4% over the prior year and a 5.0% increase in FTE over Fall 2024. Of the total Fall 2025 student enrollment, 7,647 (59.8%) are women, and 3876 (30.3%) are 23 years or older (source: GGC Institutional Research Fall Term Snapshot). Of the Fall 2025 enrollment, 90.4% of the students are from Georgia, with 75% from Gwinnett County.  Of the total student headcount, 65% are enrolled full-time.
 
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 3.01 and 3.03 from fall 2022-fall 2024, with transactional course enrollment data indicating 13.5% of the Fall 2024 first-time first-year students were enrolled in a corequisite English course, and 27.8% were enrolled in a corequisite math course. A key objective of our Momentum efforts is to significantly increase the percentage of each incoming cohort who complete their GGC degree in 4 years. According to Steppingblocks data, among GGC alumni over the past 10 years from 2014-2024, the top job placement areas are Management, IT, Healthcare, and Accounting. By guiding students more effectively in their first two years to confirm their career pathway, a range of challenges to degree completion can be addressed. 
 
To support the success of GGC’s students from onboarding to graduation, the college has adopted the five ASPIRE (Academic Strategies and Programs for Institutional Relevance and Excellence) and Momentum success strategies below. GGC’s 2025-2026 Momentum Strategies and ASPIRE Goals reflect emerging priorities, again aligning our Momentum Strategies closely with our updated campus ASPIRE Goals, or “Top 5 Strategies for Success”:
 
1. Learning Communities (First-Year Learning Communities and Living-Learning Communities)
2. Holistic First-Year Experience
3. Early Semester Success
4. Experiential Learning
5. Improving Success in Gateway Math Courses

Success Inventory

Learning Communities: 1A:First-Year Learning Communities (Georgia Gwinnett College-2025)

Strategy/Project Name: 
Learning Communities: 1A:First-Year Learning Communities
Momentum Area: 
Purpose
Pathways
Mindset
Strategy/Project Description: 

We aim to continue scaling first-year LCs so all new full-time first-year students enroll in an LC by an opt-out approach. Longer-term aims are to develop more Living-Learning Communities (see sub-strategy 1.b., below) and to add to the LCs more sections of the first-year seminar (GGC 1000), redesigned to include discipline-specific content that can align with Core IMPACTS. This Momentum/ASPIRE strategy supports Goal 1, Objective B of the GGC 2023-2025 Strategic Plan to “Expand the current Learning Communities, including Living-Learning Communities, with a curricular and co-curricular focus.” 

Activity Status: 
Scaling
Evaluation/Assessment plan: 
Please describe your evaluation plan, specifically which Key Performance Indicators you are monitoring/measuring, the baseline (year 0) and goal or target for each. If there are milestones along the way or process indicators, note them. Indicate the length of time you anticipate before you reach your goal or target.
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:35% of FTFT new students (560) 
• Average first semester gpa: 2.1 
• 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: 3 
Goals:
• Fall–Fall retention rate: 68% (with a 2% increase each subsequent year)
• Learning Community enrollment: 40% of FTFT new students (with a 5% increase each subsequent year)
• First semester gpa: 2.2 (with a 0.1 point increase each subsequent year)
• 6 yr graduation rate: 35% (with a 2% increase each subsequent year) 
• Number of discipline specific GGC 1000 sections: 6 (with a 50% increase each subsequent year
Progress and Adjustments: 

In fall 2024, we saw a 73% increase (966 students) in LC enrollment because of collaborative efforts between Student Success and Enrollment Management.  Student Success, Admissions, New Students Connections, and Registration Services continued their collaboration in spring 2025 to develop a plan for preregistering new students into learning communities.  However, technology challenges with the Financial Responsibility Agreement form prevented full implementation of the plan. While those issues were resolved mid-summer, students were not consistently completing the agreement, so advisors had difficulty getting students preregistered. We enrolled 994 students into fall 2025 learning communities but believe that number will significantly increase with improved registration. We have also onboarded a learning community specialist who will work with Enrollment Management and the schools to build and maintain learning communities in BANNER. The LC specialist will also work on marketing.

Plan for the Year Ahead: 

Priority for the upcoming year will continue to be collaborating with Enrollment Management and Student Accounts to streamline the process for students to sign the Financial Responsibility Agreement in a timely manner. This will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the pre-registration process.  

Challenges and Support: 

Challenges that could affect our ability to scale learning communities include insufficient course availability and unforeseen technical issues that impede preregistration.
The Learning Communities strategy will benefit by learning from other USG institutions’ best practices, particularly where scaling and the inclusion of the first-year seminar are concerned. Designing plans in the light of the latest information from the System Office will also prepare GGC to be flexible where needed in delivering this important Student Success Strategy for our first-year students. 

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

Learning Communities: 1B: Living-Learning Communities (Georgia Gwinnett College-2025)

Strategy/Project Name: 
Learning Communities: 1B: Living-Learning Communities
Momentum Area: 
Purpose
Pathways
Mindset
Strategy/Project Description: 

As of Spring 2025, Living-Learning Communities (LLCs) at GGC continues to be an emerging effort as part of the College’s overall Learning Communities strategy. The LLC project at GGC continues to be driven primarily by the grant-funded STEM Living Learning Communities (LLCs) for the Information Technology (IT) and Health Science (HS) programs. The STEM LLC project has laid a foundation on which LLC expansion will be built in the coming academic year, as outlined below.

Activity Status: 
Scaling
Evaluation/Assessment plan: 

Our Objectives and KPIs for the Living-Learning Communities assessment, as established in the LLC grant:
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 enhance student learning and outcomes.
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 and are in progress for the current (second) cohort of LLC students

Progress and Adjustments: 

In AY25 The STEM LLC enrolled 15 second-year students including 8 Information Technology (ITEC) majors and 7 Health Sciences (HS) majors. The ITEC students took ITEC 2140 (Programming Fundamentals), and the HS students took BIOL 2451K (Anatomy and Physiology 1). In addition to faculty, students received support from assigned tutors in the Academic Enhancement Center (AEC), GGC’s centralized tutoring center. Housing and other Student Affairs staff provided programming to enhance belonging and experiential learning.  To foster cohesion of the group and facilitate experiential learning, the cohort completed a successful five-day academic trip to Washington, D.C. This experience was a valuable learning and social belonging opportunity for the students that we will aim to continue in the coming AY.

Despite diligent recruitment efforts, we fell short of our recruiting goals for the STEM LLC this past year, successfully enrolling 15 of the target 32 participants. Identifying students who met both the eligibility requirements and the academic requirements was difficult. 

Most of the students in the cohort passed the associated Fall semester class, except for three students who received a D in the course and will be repeating it the following semester. Only one student was not able to continue in the cohort by missing the satisfactory academic progress (SAP) criteria for receiving federal aid. We will work to continue supporting the LLC students both in their academic progress and their sense of belonging. In summary, among the 15 students in the STEM LLC Fall 2024 cohort, 14 continued in the cohort to Spring 2025 (93.3% return rate in the LLC cohort). This success is attributable to the faculty director’s leadership and the support of the Housing team, tutors, and other campus partners.

Plan for the Year Ahead: 
Overall, the Living-Learning Communities Momentum strategy aligns with GGC’s Strategic Plan Goal 1, Objective B.1: Expand Academic Access, Engagement and Success; and Objective B7: Create curricular and co-curricular opportunities that support student enrollment goals and increase persistence, retention and graduation rates Expand the current Learning Communities, including Living Learning Communities, with a curricular and co-curricular focus on targeted academic disciplines and relevant career fields. Further, the LLC Momentum strategy contributes to GGC’s ASPIRE (Academic Strategies and Programs for Institutional Relevance and Excellence), Strategy 1: Learning Communities.
In order to more fully address the stated emphasis on curricular and co-curricular learning in targeted academic disciplines and relevant career fields, we plan to implement themed Living-Learning Communities (LLCs) next Academic Year, beginning with an Arts LLC in Fall 2025, expanding to include additional themed career-related LLCs. An essential part of the strategy for these career-themed LLCs is the active involvement of a range of campus contributors, including, but not limited to: 
• Faculty in the relevant academic fields 
• Career Services team
• Student Housing team
• Tutors from the Academic Enhancement Center
• Financial Aid
Challenges and Support: 

As noted, an area for improvement for next year is in the recruitment, including the need to set realistic and manageable expectations for qualification into the LLC cohort. We also need to offer a broader range of career-focused and thematic LLCs in the coming academic years, which is part of the campus plan. In addition to continued engagement from a range of offices (e.g., Student Affairs, Student Housing, the Academic Enhancement Center, Career Services, and others), increased close collaboration with the Registrar team will also be needed to scale the LLCs effectively. 
Learning from fellow USG institutions’ experience working with LLCs will be valuable. We look forward to exploring ideas together in the coming semesters.

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

Holistic First-Year Experience (Georgia Gwinnett College-2025)

Strategy/Project Name: 
Holistic First-Year Experience
Momentum Area: 
Purpose
Pathways
Mindset
Strategy/Project Description: 

The Holistic First-Year Experience program aims to support growth mindset and increase college knowledge among incoming first-year students. Specific interventions include summer on-boarding activities, First-Year Seminar GGC 1000 course with discipline-specific content, learning communities, ITEC 1001 EXACT (experiential learning and critical thinking) course, and Grizzly Peers for Success. 

Activity Status: 
Initiating
Evaluation/Assessment plan: 
Please describe your evaluation plan, specifically which Key Performance Indicators you are monitoring/measuring, the baseline (year 0) and goal or target for each. If there are milestones along the way or process indicators, note them. Indicate the length of time you anticipate before you reach your goal or target.
First Year Seminar (GGC 1000)
KPIs:
• Percentage of first-year students enrolled in FYE course.
• Year-to-year retention comparison These measures will be assessed from Fall-to-Fall on an academic year (AY) basis.
Summer Onboarding – Grizzly Launch Day
KPIs
• % of invited students who attend Grizzly Launch Day
• % of attendees engaging in each planned activity
• % of attendees who rate the overall event as impactful
Goals:
• 25% of invited students who attend Grizzly Launch Day
• 50% of attendees engaging in each planned activity
• 50% of attendees who rate the overall event as impactful
 
Summer Onboarding – Sparc
KPIs:
• % of registered students who attend SPARC
• % participants who report they are confident about starting college
Goals:
• 50% of registered students who attend SPARC
• 85% participants who report they are confident about starting college
Progress and Adjustments: 

The Holistic First-Year Experience strategy has been initiated as one of GGC’s 2025 ASPIRE Top 5 Strategies for Success. The strategy fits squarely within the institution’s Strategic Plan. As noted above, the team and the specific efforts associated with this strategy draw largely from established programs that can benefit from closer collaboration and data-informed interventions.  

FYS – GGC 1000
In fall 2023, only 58 students were enrolled in FYS; by fall 2024, enrollment grew to 177 students and in fall 2025, nine sections of the first-year seminar course were connected to first-year learning communities, which helped to increase the overall FYS enrollment by 26.6% from fall 2024.  Additionally, three sections of FYS were discipline-related and provided content tailored to Pre-Nursing, Business, and STEM majors. 

Summer Onboarding
Grizzly Launch Day 25 drew nearly 1,000 registrants, with over 600 new students attending. Planning for Launch Day 26 begins in May, maintaining the successful format.
SPARC’s redesigned curriculum earned high marks: 76% were extremely satisfied, 94% would recommend it, and 59% felt very confident starting the semester. However, attendance was low—only 20% of 129 registrants participated—possibly due to a last-minute venue change. To improve engagement, we will consider integrating SPARC activities into other onboarding events and add pre/post surveys to measure impact

Plan for the Year Ahead: 

Planning discussions and focused development of a holistic FYE framework are expected in 2025. Additionally, a working group will develop a proposal to scale the FYS course to be mandatory for all new first-year students. 

Challenges and Support: 

Challenges will likely center around consistent, clear communication and definition of markers of success that will inform the work within the Holistic First-Year Experience strategy. Challenges related to the First-year seminar center on scalability including adequate funding and sufficient staffing. 
We will explore ideas and recommendations from our System Office colleagues and from fellow USG institutions as we develop this key 2025 ASPIRE and Momentum strategy.

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

Early Semester Success (Georgia Gwinnett College-2025)

Strategy/Project Name: 
Early Semester Success
Momentum Area: 
Data & Communications
Strategy/Project Description: 

The early alert initiative is a collaborative effort across campus. There are particularly strong established connections among Advising Programs, Academic Schools, Residence Life, and Athletics that aim 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.low USG institutions as we develop this key 2025 ASPIRE and Momentum strategy.

Activity Status: 
Refining/Maintaining
Evaluation/Assessment plan: 
 
Key Performance Indicators include:
• Engagement metric: Percentage of faculty who respond to progress report campaigns.
• Academic performance: Percentage of flagged students who complete the course with a grade of ABC
Baseline:
• Faculty response rate: 45%
• Percentage of flagged students who complete the course with a final grade of ABC: 58%
Goals
• Faculty response rate: Yr 1 – 55% and an increase by 10% each subsequent year
• Final grade of ABC: Yr 1 - 58% and an increase by 5% each subsequent year
Progress and Adjustments: 

In fall 2025, Student Success provided additional training on progress report campaigns for the School of Science and Technology faculty, as SST wanted to expand the spring pilot.  Training covered the purpose and workflow of progress report campaigns. Campaigns were sent to ENGL and MATH co-req faculty and faculty in BIOL 1107, BIOL 1108, BIOL 2251, CHEM 1211, and ITEC 2150. For In fall 2024 we had a faculty response rate of 45% and 58% of the students who were flagged earned a grade of A, B, or C in the course. We will continue to work with the academic deans and department chairs to improve faculty participation. We had a 3% increase in faculty response during fall 2025 and are awaiting final grades to determine the percentage of students who earned a grade of A,B, or C.

Plan for the Year Ahead: 
This Momentum strategy supports Goal 1: Objective C1 of the GGC Strategic Plan: 1. Expand Academic Access, Engagement and Success: Objective C: Enhance academic and student support services to promote the academic success of all GGC students: 1) Expand early alert to identify eligible students and provide academic support earlier.
Key takeaways include:
• Communication with faculty must include clear messaging about the purpose of progress report campaigns and the importance of their role in supporting students' success through these efforts.
• Email may not be the most effective communication tool for reaching students. More personalized or alternative methods (like text messaging) may be necessary to ensure students take appropriate action.
Priority areas for continued improvement include increasing faculty engagement and refining student communication and outreach strategies. 
 
Faculty Engagement: We will improve messaging to faculty so that they have a clear understanding of the purpose and progress report campaigns and how these efforts can support student success. We will also work with faculty to refine the communications timeline, identify targeted courses, and offer training on completing progress reports. We will also train faculty on how to submit ad-hoc alerts, which will provide them with flexibility in when they submit alerts.
 
Refining student communication and outreach strategies: We will review the current workflow for progress report campaigns to identify gaps. We will improve messaging to students to ensure that they are provided clear action steps to improve their performance. We will also look to incorporate text messaging into the process, as email is not always an effective form of communication. Additionally, we will identify effective and efficient ways for staff to engage students who have been identified in the campaigns.
Challenges and Support: 

Although faculty response to progress report campaigns increased this year, there is still much room for improvement. Additionally, pass rates for students who were identified as at-risk in the corequisite courses were below the average pass rates for all students in those courses. We are working with Navigate to increase the use of automation functionality to address staff workloads. 
We plan to communicate with a few fellow USG institutions that have been identified to explore how they have addressed staffing challenges.  

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

Experiential Learning (Georgia Gwinnett College-2025)

Strategy/Project Name: 
Experiential Learning
Momentum Area: 
Pathways
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. EXACT is the current Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) topic for GGC, initiated in FA24 with two 1000 level courses – ITEC 1001 & HIST 1112. To accomplish the EXACT Plan, the intentional integration of critical thinking competencies within experiential classroom and curriculum frameworks, when, scaled, 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.

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
 
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 (This will be repeated for FA25 and each fall semester during the life of the QEP).  
· 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 & SP25)
Students in EXACT courses – frequency counts (approximately 1785 students in FA24 within 2 courses, 1794 students in SP25 within 2 courses)
NSSE responses to HIP & Higher Order Learning Prompts – analysis phase ongoing currently (SP24 – data not analyzed yet)
Data on those with EL courses: retention, graduation – frequency counts (baseline are current Fall to Fall data – do not have Fall 24 to Fall 25 data yet)
Faculty trained to develop EXACT courses – frequency count (4 course coordinators + 2 Faculty Fellows + 35 section faculty in each semester (FA24 & SP25).
Faculty engaged proactively (over 5 years) in EXACT courses – frequency count (baseline = 0)
Publications of learning activity artifacts in EXACT library – frequency count (18 specifically stemming from the EXACT Plan data + 6 abstracts submitted by EXACT Plan faculty related to experiential learning and critical thinking presentations to 8 separate professional conferences)
Baseline data (for each KPI, started FA24)
Critical Thinking – CAT score for FTF = 11.59 (max = 38)
Student & Faculty EXACT perceptions – EXACT perception survey to be piloted in FA24
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 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: 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Within the first year of the EXACT Plan, we had 14 sections of HIST 1112 & 57 sections of ITEC 1001 participate during FA24 (first semester offering EXACT courses).  We had 225 HIST 1112 students (56% of students in participating sections) & 560 ITEC 1001 students (40% of students in participating sections) complete the critical thinking reflections and 1066 ITEC 1001 students (77% of students in participating sections) complete the ePortfolio project which was the experiential learning activity in this class.  A total of 386 ITEC students and 18 HIST 1112 students participated in an end of the semester survey.  When evaluating student perceptions of the EXACT courses, 46.5% of ITEC students reported that the experiential learning assignment was definitely engaging, 47.3% of ITEC students reported that the experiential learning assignment enabled them to learn the content in greater depth, 48.4% of ITEC students reported that the experiential learning assignment allowed them to apply the contents of this course to real-world problems, and 47.8% of ITEC students reported they were able to draw conclusions from the knowledge that they learned through the experiential learning assignment.  Less than 12% of ITEC students reported “not really” to any of these questions.  We had 2 course coordinators for each course. Additionally, 14 HIST 1112 (100%) section faculty and 26 ITEC 1001 (90%) section faculty participated during FA24. 

We assembled an advisory board consisting of faculty, staff, and students from all schools, enrollment management, Center for Teaching Excellence, Instructional Technology, Student Affairs, Student Government, Advising and Tutoring Centers, and Assessment Office.  These individuals have also selected subcommittees to advise the Director on policies and procedures in the following areas: EXACT Scholars (student recognition program), External Communication, External Partners, Curricular Issues, and Assessment.  The Advisory board meets three times a year with the subcommittees meeting with the Director once per semester.

We have been in discussions with the Human Services Department, Honors Program, and School of Education to pilot the EXACT Scholars ePortfolio to begin having students earn this recognition by Fall 2025.  The plan is for Human Services students to add an additional page to their ePortfolios addressing the EXACT Scholars Professional Level requirements with the potential of 8-10 students earning this distinction by end of Fall 2025.  The Honors Program developed an ePortfolio to allow students to add EXACT Scholars pages within the Honors 1000 and Honors 3000 courses. The School of Education piloted a new ePortfolio template that will incorporate the EXACT Scholars pages as well.

ITEC and HIST departments agreed to continue in the program and as such, ITEC 1001 and HIST 1112 will be tagged with the following attribute in Banner: “Exper Learn & Critic Think”.  Two additional 1000 level courses (ENGL 1102 and CHEM 1211K) and four 2000 level courses (EDUC 2120, BUSA 2105, EXSC 2000, HIST 2250) will be piloted during Fall 2025 and Spring 2026.  The course coordinators had an initial training during February 2025 and will continue to develop these courses during Summer 2025.

LESSONS LEARNED
A key lesson learned was that section faculty were not involved in planning experiential learning activities and critical thinking reflections during year one. To address this, we began training new course coordinators in spring 2025 to engage faculty early in the process. This approach aims to increase faculty participation and student engagement, as faculty will have more input. While many faculty embedded activities, some did not emphasize them enough to ensure a higher level of success.

CHANGES TO MAKE
We continue to work on our training of faculty so that they truly understand the purpose of the EXACT courses.  Faculty who understand the purpose are more likely to be enthusiastic about the project & promote it to students more.  A comment within the Student Success Inventory suggested involvement of the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) for assistance with training.  The EXACT Plan staff work very closely with the CTE staff and as such, this partnership should and does exist.  We will continue to explore that and other mechanisms for training as well.

We are continuing to revise the EXACT Scholars program moving it from a three-tier approach to a four-tier approach matching the years of academic rank (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) so that students can participate at each level and making it easier to understand the requirements. We will explore using a Degree Works block so that students can see how many EXACT courses they have completed.

Our priority areas are to continue to expand the program from 2 courses during AY25 to 8 courses in AY26 followed by 28 courses in AY27.  The goal is that all GGC students will enroll in EXACT courses throughout their academic journey at every academic rank (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior).  While the EXACT Scholars program will be an opt in program, all GGC students will have multiple opportunities to have experiential learning activities embedded into their courses, recognize their value and importance in their overall academic journey, and practice critical thinking reflection along the way.

We are also prioritizing assessment as the program expands. To manage this growth, we increased the number of faculty assessors from six to twelve and determine process and reliability testing.  In May 2025, the expanded group met to assess over 300 artifacts.  To address the scalability, we are also investigating the use of AI to assist with assessment. 

Critical to the success of the EXACT Plan is reliable tracking of EXACT-approved curricula as well as an audit of those courses commonly associated with experiential learning (e.g., service-learning, independent research, and internship courses).

Plan for the Year Ahead: 
· Additional faculty were trained during Summer 2025 as EXACT course coordinators (7 faculty), faculty assessors (5 faculty) and EXACT faculty fellows (2 faculty). 
· Training of section faculty in Fall 2025 was refined to provide more detail and purpose to engage faculty in how to teach critical thinking skills utilizing the Center for Teaching Excellence.
· Banner taxonomy is being developed that indexes experiential learning curricula according to level(s) of curriculum being integrated and critical thinking skills that are facilitated.
· ITEC 1001 and HIST 1112 continue to publish lessons learned papers in the EXACT library.
· Human Services, Honors, and Education students will pilot the EXACT Scholars ePortfolio.
· Exploring a Degree Works block so that students can see how many EXACT courses they have completed, particularly to improve access to the EXACT Scholars program.
· Training of academic advisors and faculty mentors to encourage student participation.
· EXACT faculty will continue to submit abstracts, make presentations, and publish papers related to the innovative experiential learning opportunities for students in Core IMPACTS courses.
· Development of an ePortfolio competition in collaboration with Career Services to increase visibility of the EXACT Scholars program and showcase GGC students to external partners.
· Expansion of EXACT course assessment facilitated through faculty assessors and AI facilitated assessment to allow for larger scaling of assessment.
· Development of EXACT Student Advisory Board comprised of students from each of the five GGC schools to facilitate feedback. This group will be trained to interview fellow students. 
Challenges and Support: 

Support from all aspects of the campus, particularly from EXACT course section faculty, is critical to this program.  If section faculty do not understand the program, they will not convey its importance to the students. Improved training of section faculty will provide them the opportunity to have more input.
We have met with other institutions (Valdosta State University, University of Georgia) who have been incorporating experiential learning into the curriculum for longer times that we have.  Continuing and expanding these discussions will be fruitful as we move forward.  Assistance with Degree Works to track the EXACT Scholars program progress will also be helpful. 

Contact email: 
provost@ggc.edu
Primary Contact: 
Chavonda Mills, Senior VP for Academic and Student Affairs & Provost

GGC-MATHS: Gateway Growth & Completion – Math Access, Tutoring, and Holistic Support (Georgia Gwinnett College-2025)

Strategy/Project Name: 
GGC-MATHS: Gateway Growth & Completion – Math Access, Tutoring, and Holistic Support
Momentum Area: 
Pathways
Strategy/Project Description: 

Successfully completing a Math course in the first year of college is a key indicator of future academic success. A provost-level task force—comprising representatives from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, the Academic Enhancement Center, and Academic Advising—will develop strategies for improving student success in gateway math courses. These strategies include revising course curricula and teaching practices to better engage students, increasing access to academic support services, and ensuring appropriate first-year math placement through advising. 

Activity Status: 
Initiating
Evaluation/Assessment plan: 

The core KPI is the DFWI rate in gateway math courses: MATH 1401, 1001, 1111, 1101, 1113, and 2200. The institutional goal is to reduce the average DFWI rate across all gateway math sections—standard to below 25% and co requisite to below 35% —by the end of Academic Year 2027–2028. 
In Fall 2024 (Year 0), the average DFWI rate across standard (non-co-requisite) sections of gateway math courses at GGC was approximately 29%, while co-requisite support sections averaged 43%.
 
Key milestones include scaling embedded tutoring and SI, redesign of co-requisite instructional models, and targeted faculty development in inclusive, student-centered pedagogy. Process indicators include tutoring utilization, faculty engagement in inclusive teaching pedagogy, and disaggregated DFWI rates to monitor gaps by course, student demographics, instructor of record, and instructional format.

 

Progress and Adjustments: 

As an initiating success strategy, the GGC-MATHS initiative has already produced encouraging early outcomes. Since Fall 2023, we have seen a notable reduction in DFWI rates across standard gateway math sections—from an average of 33% in Fall 2023 to 29% in Fall 2024. Co-requisite sections, while still showing elevated DFWI rates, also improved from an average of 57% to 43%, signaling the potential of targeted support and co-requisite reform efforts. Moving forward, we plan to expand faculty development around high-impact teaching practices and use disaggregated data to drive more precise interventions, such as increasing access to academic support services such as tutoring, supplemental instruction, and peer mentoring, and ensuring appropriate first-year math placement through improved advising and onboarding. 

Plan for the Year Ahead: 
In Fall 2025 (Year 1) we will convene a provost-level task force—bringing together leadership from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, the Academic Enhancement Center, and Academic Advising—to guide implementation of project strategies. 
Specifically, we will:
1. Evaluate current math placement procedures and strengthen alignment with advising to ensure that students are enrolled in the math course most appropriate for their academic goals and preparation.
2. Scale embedded tutoring, peer mentoring, and supplemental instruction to reach a greater number of students, especially in co-requisite and historically high-risk sections.
3. Collaborate with the Center for Teaching Excellence to offer targeted professional development focused on inclusive teaching practices.
4. Conduct data analysis to identify trends to highlight where DWF rates are high and develop early intervention strategies to support student learning
5. The early intervention strategies will be implemented in Spring 2026 to evaluate outcomes
6. Develop a faculty learning community (FLC) to continue to study outcomes of implemented strategies, review current assessment practices, and make recommendations for improvements. 
7. Continue to track DFWI rates disaggregated by course type, instructor of record, and student demographics, using insights to adjust strategies and address persistent gaps.
Challenges and Support: 

One major challenge is scaling support, especially in co-requisite sections where students often need the most help. Ensuring consistent access to tutoring, peer support, and embedded interventions across all gateway math courses will require strategic resource allocation and sustained collaboration.
Student engagement—particularly in support services—remains a persistent challenge. Encouraging students to utilize available resources early and consistently will require ongoing outreach, faculty advocacy, and culturally responsive practices that build trust and motivation.
Additionally, placement and advising reform may face logistical hurdles, such as aligning advising protocols with academic department expectations and ensuring buy-in for any placement assessment updates.
From the System Office, we would benefit from ongoing funding opportunities (e.g. STEM grants) for course redesign, academic support scaling, or student-centered technology would aid innovation and expansion.
Continuing to foster collaborative networks or communities of practice (e.g. Momentum Summit) with other USG institutions engaged in similar math success efforts would help us share ideas, refine our approach, and avoid duplicating efforts. 

 

Contact email: 
dguler@ggc.edu
Primary Contact: 
Dincer Guler, Chair, Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Supplemental Updates

Georgia Gwinnett College has partnered with the National Institute for Student Success (NISS) at Georgia State University to further strengthen our efforts in student enrollment, retention, graduation and overall success. GGC’s President and Provost serve as project sponsors and In 2025, the College launched our implementation of the NISS Playbook with four key working groups: Proactive Advising, First-Year Student Experience, Academic Data, and Strategic Communications. We anticipate that our engagement with NISS in the rest of 2025 and 2026 will shape our strategic priorities, to the benefit of our students’ increased retention, degree completion, and career success. To that end, GGC is also committed to utilizing technology in innovative ways to further student success. Examples to be highlighted in the coming year include increased use of Stepping Blocks and reviewing tools that utilize Generative AI to enhance student support.