GGC has focused intentionally on creating deep and meaningful relationships with the Gwinnett County Public Schools, recognizing our mission to serve our immediate geographic region and the size and scope of the population in Gwinnett County. Similar sustained attention is dedicated to other schools from which GGC attracts students. These relationships are developed and sustained through ongoing events and visits. GGC’s Admissions Counselors have built working relationships with guidance counselors at 202 individual schools in Georgia and are committed to visiting each school 2 -3 times a year. Over the 2015-16 academic year, admissions counselors made between 400 and 600 individual high school visits.
The College invests in student-focused activities that are accessible to all interested students, including:
- Open House (for prospective students and their families)
- Access-focused admissions criteria and recruiting
- Pre-admissions support for non-native speakers of English through the English Language Institute (ELI)
GGC’s Open House event welcomed approximately 700 guests for the Spring (March 19) 2016 event, with nearly 400 estimated to have been likely students for the Summer or Fall 2016 semesters.
Access-focused admissions criteria and recruiting are central to the College’s mission. GGC complies with the access mission institution admission standards established under University System of Georgia Board of Regents policies, and is committed to ensuring that our admissions procedures implement these standards.
English Language Institute (ELI)
The English Language Institute (ELI) at GGC in Fall 2016 satisfied the English language training needs of 23 non-native speakers of English, several of whom indicated plans for enrollment as GGC students in upcoming semesters. Of these ELI participants, four were issued student visas for English as a second language study at the ELI, with the others participating in a special short-term program at the ELI. Currently, at least three former participants in past ELI short-term programs have enrolled as students at the College.
GGC also provides a collection of programs designed to meet students where they are, introduce them (and their families) to college culture, and connect them with resources that will promote their successful progression to graduation. Some of these programs and activities include:
- Grizzlies Helping Grizzlies/Beyond Financial Aid support offerings
- Summer Bridge Academy
- Bear Essentials Orientation sessions for students and families
- March Through the Arch (first year student convocation)
- Grizzly Days (welcome week activities)
- Community partnerships and future gains in public transportation
Beyond Financial Aid Support Offerings
GGC has committed to the Beyond Financial Aid framework recently presented by the Lumina Foundation. Following a comprehensive review of current campus knowledge and programs, GGC has identified several already ongoing efforts that fit under this umbrella. Further, the College has included consideration of what was learned from the BFA assessment in its current strategic planning processes. The existing support structures on campus are listed below, sorted into the type of support offered.
Prediction: Efforts to identify in advance students who may be at risk
- Intrusive advising for academic risk, which creates a relationship
- Financial aid monitoring
Prevention: Efforts to provide ongoing support to all students that can avert a crisis of need
- Dress for Success clothing bank,
- Subsidized child care,
- Money Smart week,
- Subsidized auto repair
- “Last dollar” funds
Mitigation/Recovery: Efforts that respond when a student is facing a crisis
- Emergency grants,
- Emergency housing,
- Grizzlies Helping Grizzlies, a campus-funded emergency funds program.
Summer Academy
The Georgia Gwinnett College Summer Academy (SA), overseen by the Office of New Student Connections within GGC’s School of Transitional Studies, allows new GGC freshmen who have tested into an English and/or Math Foundation course an opportunity to complete the course(s) prior to the Fall semester. By completing the course(s) during the Summer semester, students are able to become acclimated to GGC while meeting prerequisite course requirements for their program plans.
The 2016 SA hosted 19 students, an increase from 2015’s 11 students. Demographics for the 2016 SA participants were self-described as: 14 female, 5 male; 17 African-American, 1 Hispanic, and 1 White. Eighteen of the 19 SA participants lived in Residential Life for the duration of the Academy, as one student could not due to extenuating circumstances. Lastly, 2 of the 19 students were registered with Disability Services.
SA participants were enrolled in Foundation English (ENGL 0989) and/or Foundation Math (Math 0987/0989). Students who only needed one foundation course were also enrolled in Music Appreciation (MUSC 1100).
Tutorial support was provided to SA students through tutor placement in the Foundation courses as well as a mandatory tutoring block. Further support was provided to SA students through a series of workshops facilitated by the GGC Mentoring and Advising Center. These workshops focused on topics such as study skills, time management, and goal setting. Counseling and Psychological Services facilitated a workshop on the topic of stress management and the services that are offered to students. The Career Development and Advising Center also facilitated a workshop, focused on the importance of student involvement and services offered by the Center.
Beyond these support services, SA students participated in a minimum of two required meetings with their academic advisor and received support from the Office of New Student Connections as needed.
At the conclusion of the SA, 95% of the participants successfully completed their assigned courses. An overview of student grade achievement is as follows:
- Nine of the 10 registered students in Foundation English successfully completed the course with a grade of C or higher (A-4, B-3, C-2).
- All 14 students enrolled in a Foundation Math course successfully completed the course with a grade of B or higher (A-10, B-4).
- Thirteen of the 14 students in the Music Appreciation course successfully completed the course with a grade of C or higher (A-2, B-7, C-4).
Moreover, 95% of the 2016 SA participants registered for courses for the fall 2016 semester. This level of enrollment is a positive continuation of the 2015 SA, which had 100% of its participants enroll in at least one semester of the 2015-2016 academic year.
Bear Essentials
Also managed by the Office of New Student Connections within GGC’s School of Transitional Studies is the Bear Essentials new student orientation program. One means of assessing the effectiveness of Bear Essentials is through a student survey that is administered during each session. For the new fall students who attended Bear Essentials this past summer, a summary of the results follows.
- 77% of the respondents reported they were assigned to courses in blocks.
- 43% changed their block at Bear Essentials (the most common reason checked was “other”).
- 73% said they were able to register for the courses they needed.
- 77% participated in the Housing tour.
- 33% attended the Showcase (an opportunity to meet with advisors and representatives from Financial Aid, Housing, and other offices).
- Using a 5-point Likert Scale,
- The mean response to the question “do you feel better prepared to start classes after BE” was 3.68.
- The mean response to the question “was the Ed Tech session helpful” was 3.9.
- The mean response to the question about the skit being engaging was 2.6.
- The mean response to the question about the skit being informative was 2.8.
- The mean response to the question about BE being a good use of time was 3.4.
- Among several hypothetical scenarios presented to students on the survey, the majority of students (approx. 80% in all questions) knew where to go for assistance to resolve the issue.
- For several questions about appropriate behavior for alcohol use or sexual assault risk reduction, over 80% knew the correct responses.
Bear Essentials programming also includes parent/family orientation meetings to enculturate families to college life and GGC in particular. In AY15-16, BE offered a bilingual parent orientation session in Spanish, and this type of offering is likely to increase to address the needs of GGC's diverse student body.
The primary measure of GGC’s success in providing an accessible learning environment is the student demographic profile presented in the introduction of this document. The combined efforts of Enrollment Management and the School of Transitional Studies have enabled GGC to continue to attract and enroll a student population that reflects the region it serves and that focuses on serving the entire spectrum of levels of prior academic and/or social preparation for college.
It is clear from both the data specific to each individual effort and the overall enrollment data that GGC is succeeding in providing genuine, realistic opportunities for higher education to students from the metropolitan Atlanta region. Further, GGC’s focus on access has supported recruiting efforts more broadly, bringing the college a meaningful number of international and out-of-state students who expand and enrich the campus diversity. GGC is committed to continuing to enroll a diverse population as the College exits its rapid-growth start-up phase.
