Goal 1 – Increase number of undergraduate degrees – Strategy 1.1 – Target increases in completion for underserved populations
Beginning in the late 1990s, Dalton State College transitioned from a two-year college to a bachelor’s degree-granting institution. From that time to 2015, the College has increased its four-year programs to a total of twenty. Conversely, the number of associate’s degrees has decreased to three concentrations in the A.A. degree, eight concentrations in the A.S. degree, eight A.A.S. degrees, and the associate of science degree in nursing (ASN). Therefore, numbers of bachelor’s degree graduates has increased incrementally (e.g., 221 in 2010 to 289 in 2015) while numbers of associate’s degree graduates has slowly decreased (353 in 2010 to 305 in 2015). This trend is mirrored in the number of degrees awarded to underserved populations.
In terms of first-generation students (70%), military veterans, part-time students, minority students, Pell-eligible individuals (the vast majority of our students) and those 25 or older (about 25%), increases in the conferral of bachelor’s degrees has ranged from 400% (military) to 77% (first-generation) to 61% (Pell-eligible) to 60% (25+) to 41% (part-time) (from 2010-2015). At the same time, the decreases in conferral of associate’s degrees among these populations has not been as dramatic, and actually has increased in the case of minority students and military veterans. These data indicate that DSC is serving the traditionally underserved populations rather well. However, it would violate Federal confidentiality laws for our disability services office to disclose personally identifiable information of students they serve. Inasmuch as students receiving Disability services here at DSC are identified in our data files and their status is self-reported only to the Disability Services office, there can be no accurate representation of the attributes of those individuals.
Goal 1 – Increase number of undergraduate degrees - Strategy 1.2 - Increase degree completion in STEM fields
Dalton State’s trend in increased numbers of bachelor’s graduates and decreased numbers of associate’s graduates (except in some health profession fields) is mirrored in the number of degrees completed in biology, chemistry, secondary science, pre-engineering, math, and health professions. By 2015, 52.8% of all graduates (associate’s and bachelor’s) were in STEM fields.
