The University of West Georgia, a charter member of the University System of Georgia, is a comprehensive, residential institution providing selectively focused undergraduate and graduate education primarily to the people of West Georgia. The University is also committed to regional outreach through a collaborative network of external degree centers, course offerings at off-campus sites and an extensive program of continuing education for personal and professional development. Opportunities for intellectual and personal development are provided through quality teaching, scholarly inquiry, creative endeavor, and service for the public good.
The University of West Georgia has 86 active programs of study, including 43 at the bachelor’s level, 29 at the master’s and specialist levels, four at the doctoral level, and 10 at the advanced certificate level. The university awarded 2,358 degrees and awards in fiscal year 2014. The number conferred has risen since fiscal year 2009 when the university awarded 1,895 degrees. This represents an increase of 24%.
There were 12,206 students enrolled in the Fall 2014 semester: 10,249 at the undergraduate level and 1,957 at the graduate level. The overall enrollment at the university has grown 19% since the Fall 2008 semester. UWG has a diverse student population: 54.4% are Caucasian, 35.3% of the students are African-American/Black American, 4.1% are Hispanic, 2.9% are of mixed race, 1.6% are Asian, 1.3% did not declare any race, 0.1% are American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 0.1% declared as Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
Ninety-five percent of the student body was from Georgia and represented 44 different counties. Carroll, Cobb, Coweta, Douglas, and Fulton were the five counties with the largest numbers of students at UWG. There were 492 out-of-state students representing 44 of the 49 remaining states. Alabama, Florida, California, New York North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee were the top states sending students to UWG. Additionally, there are 172 students from 75 countries Canada, China, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Russia, and Trinidad and Tobago were the top countries sending students to UWG.
The number of students eligible for the Pell grant has steadily increased in the past five years. In the Fall 2009 semester, 44.66% of the undergraduate population was Pell eligible. The fall semester of 2010 saw an increase when 52.16% of UWG students were Pell eligible. The percentage held at 52% in the 2011 and 2012 fall semesters. In Fall 2013, the percentage of students who were Pell eligible rose to 55.24%. For the Fall 2014 semester, the percentage of the undergraduate population who were Pell eligible fell back down to 53.6%.
The University of West Georgia has been committed to providing access to college for students in the western region of the state, as well as students from across the state of Georgia and the nation. Given the makeup of our student population and demographic trends in our region and in response to the Complete College Georgia (CCG) imperatives, the university is taking a more directed approach to helping our students with course progression and degree attainment. This commitment to progression and attainment has helped the university identify five key priorities to help our students be successful in obtaining a degree. Those five are discussed in Part 2: Institutional Completion Goals, High-Impact Strategies and Activities.
This update addresses the five most prominent strategies targeted by the University of West Georgia as the campus engaged in its completion efforts, with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of undergraduate students who earn a bachelor’s degree. The five strategies emerged from the nine College Completion goals and strategies explicitly provided by the University System of Georgia.
With regard to the overarching, mandatory Goal 1, Increase the number of undergraduate academic degrees, all of our completion efforts are designed to help UWG undergraduate students earn their bachelor’s degrees in a timely manner. Our institution has achieved steady, incremental improvement with Goal 1 since the implementation of Complete College Georgia, as evidenced by the following:
The remainder of Part 2 (Institutional Completion Goals and High-Impact Strategies and Activities) addresses UWG’s five most prominent strategies for the 2014-2015 academic year. Each begins with a high-impact strategy and is followed by the aligned CCG goal. Implementation activities undertaken this past year are described with links to measures of progress and success, and lastly, each section concludes with lessons learned.
High Impact Strategy 1 |
Intrusive Academic Advising |
USG Goal 4: Provide intrusive advising to keep students on track to graduate |
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Three major activities supported Intrusive Academic Advising this past year. They are: (1) Advising with Targeted Tier Populations, (2) Encouragement to enroll in 15 semester credit hours, and (3) the Educational Advisory Board’s Student Success Collaborative (EAB-SSC) pilot project, which was designed to precede the campus-wide implementation of the new advising platform that will begin in Fall 2015. |
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Activity 1 |
Advising with Targeted Tier Populations |
USG Strategy 4.3: Use Degree works to track student progress |
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Summary of Activities |
The Advising Center employs professional advisors who serve seven majors during their freshman and sophomore years: Biology, Mass Communications, Criminology, Pre-Nursing, Psychology, Sociology, and those students who have not yet declared a major (i.e., Undecided). The advisor reviews each student’s history and degree progress to place him/her into one of four tiers and to determine the best level of service for that individual. This Targeted Tier Populations model applies specific service plans to best meet students’ needs, while simultaneously making efficient use of institutional resources. The four tiers and a summary of their service plans follows:
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Interim Measures of Progress |
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Measures of Success |
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Activity 2 |
Emphasis on Enrollment in 15 Credit Hours per Term |
USG Strategy 2.1: Change institutional culture to emphasize taking full-time course loads (15 or more credits per semester) to earn degrees ‘on-time.’ |
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Summary of Activities |
Professional Advisors in the UWG Advising Center serve first year (and often second year) students in seven majors, as noted above (Intrusive Academic Advising, Activity 1). In Fall 2014, a number of Advising Center advisors encouraged their students to register for 15+ credits in Spring 2015. The tactic was successful, as the percentage of students enrolled in 15+ hours increased almost 7%, from 20.3% in Fall 2014 to 27.0% in Spring 2015. Six of the seven majors experienced this increase. Additionally, professional advisors in the College of Education, Richards College of Business, and Tanner Health System School of Nursing also encouraged students to enroll in 15+ hours per term. Results over the past four years confirm a steady, incremental increase in the percentage of students taking a full schedule, with 35.2% enrolled in 15+ credit hours in Fall 2014 compared to 33.5% in Fall 2013 and 30.0% in Fall 2012 (see Appendix Table 20). Because these activities produced welcome results, similar efforts will continue in the 2015-2016 academic year with many advisors having set performance evaluation goals connected to this initiative. |
Interim Measures of Progress |
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Measures of Success |
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Activity 3 |
EAB-Student Success Collaborative (SSC) Pilot Project |
USG Strategy 4.2. Use predictive analytics (EAB, D2L, or Ellucian) to help identify students who are off track and to help students understand their likelihood of success in particular programs |
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Summary of Activities |
UWG partnered with the Education Advisory Board – Student Success Collaborative (EAB-SSC) to implement a technology-driven, intrusive advising model that is grounded in predictive analytics. In Fall 2014, the EAB-SSC technical team completed the development of an advising algorithm using 10 years of UWG student data to produce an institution-specific advising platform and predictive workbooks for each major. Faculty identified ‘Success Markers’ for each major in early January, 2015, which set the stage for the pilot project that was implemented in the latter part of the Spring 2015 term. The purpose of the pilot was to test the accuracy and effectiveness of the advising platform and predictive workbooks with three groups of professional advisors: Pre-Nursing, Business, and the Advising Center. Measure of Progress for the Pre-Nursing Spring 2015 Pilot. Early outcomes from the Pre-Nursing pilot project, a joint effort between the School of Nursing and Advising Center, indicate that ‘Success Markers’ made more of an impact on advising conversations with students than did GPA trends, which had been the standard of practice. Success Markers are specific milestones identified by Nursing faculty as critical points for predicting future success in the program. For example, Nursing faculty selected a ‘grade of B or better in Anatomy and Physiology (BIOL 2021) that must be completed between 30-45 credit hours earned’ as one of seven Success Markers for their program. Measure of Progress for the Business Spring 2015 Pilot. Professional Advisors in the Richards College of Business conducted a ‘campaign’ through their pilot project, whereby advisors identified business students who were above a 3.0 GPA for the Spring Semester. Advisors sent congratulatory emails to these students. Early outcomes indicate that students responded positively to the encouragement. For example, K.E., a female business major posted a facebook comment on May 18, 2015, in response to her advisor’s contact that read: “Awesome when you open your email and see that your hard work does not go unrecognized!!! Happy Monday!!! – feeling proud.” Scale-up for 2015-2016. Training for all advisors (both professional and faculty advisors who did not participate in the pilot project) is scheduled for September, 2015, to prepare for full-scale implementation of the EAB-Student Success Collaborative model to advise for the Spring 2016 term. |
Interim Measures of Progress |
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Measures of Success |
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Lessons Learned |
Early during the implementation of the EAB-SSC pilot project, the Advising Center learned that advisors must be assigned directly to individual students in order to most effectively use the advising platform. UWG has not used the direct assignment of advisors in the past, but will do so in the near future because of lessons learned from this project. |
High Impact Strategy 2 |
Dual Enrollment |
USG Goal 6. Shorten time to degree completion through programs that allow students to earn college credit while still in high school and by awarding credit for prior learning that is verified by appropriate assessment. USG Strategy 6.1. Participate in dual enrollment or joint enrollment programs for high school students. |
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Summary of Activities |
In Fall 2014, President Kyle Marrero convened key stakeholders from our region to discuss and commit to an ongoing partnership to improve long-term educational and economic outcomes. The partnership formalized itself as the Carrollton City and Carroll County Education Collaborative (CCEC), with membership representing the University of West Georgia, West Georgia Technical College, Chamber of Commerce, Carrollton City and Carroll County PK-12 School Systems, and Oak Mountain Academy (local private PK-12 school). Dual enrollment is one of the major initiatives supported by this partnership. The Dual Enrollment Committee (subsequently formed as a subcommittee of the CCEC) defined strategies to promote dual enrollment as a viable and beneficial option for local high school students. The collaborative venture worked with UWG, e-Core, West Georgia Technical College, and local high schools throughout 2014-2015. Results of their work include the following:
As of July 24, 2015, Fall 2015 applications for Dual Enrollment (exclusive of the Advanced Academy) are up 97% over Fall 2014 (353 compared to 179 last year). Early enrollment numbers for Fall 2015 are also ahead. |
Interim Measures of Progress |
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Measures of Success |
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Lessons Learned |
The Dual Enrollment Committee listened to local superintendents, high school principals, curriculum directors, and secondary guidance counselors in an attempt to identify and remove barriers to dual enrollment. The Committee learned that barriers revolved around scheduling, transportation, and communication. Listening with a desire to understand and then acting on what was learned led directly to our growing success with the dual enrollment program. |
High Impact Strategy 3 |
Block Scheduling For Freshmen |
USG Goal 2. Increase the number of degrees that are earned ‘on-time’ (bachelor’s degrees in four years). USG Goal 3. Decrease excess credits earned on the path to getting a degree. |
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Activity 1 |
ACCESS (Accelerated Core Curriculum: Expanding Student Success) |
USG Strategy 2.1: Change institutional culture to emphasize taking full-time course loads (15 or more credits per semester) to earn degrees ‘on-time.’ USG Strategy 3.4. Offer block schedules for students in meta-majors or majors for the first semester or first year. |
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Summary of Activities |
The ACCESS Pilot Project received funding for 2014-2015 as part of the USG CCG Innovation Grants program (Incubate category). The program places students in a structured schedule format that enables them to increase the average number of credit hours they take in their freshman year, thus putting them on track to graduate in four years. Students in the B.A. program earn 30 hours their first two semesters, and students in the B.F.A. program earn 36. The project’s original objectives were to 1) increase hours earned and retention of students in a structured scheduling cohort from their first to second year, 2) to support faculty and administrators in collaborative planning for structured scheduling instruction and research on effectiveness, and 3) to scale up structured scheduling at UWG. Faculty indicated that they were able to make cross-disciplinary connections that enriched their teaching of writing and critical thinking skills. They also felt that students matured more quickly with this approach and that both (students and faculty) benefitted from close, collegial relationships with advisors throughout the project. The long-term impact of this project on students is still unknown, as this pilot year was one of creative exploration and implementation. Nevertheless, early outcomes are encouraging. For example:
Modified blocks (i.e., schedules that include a blocked set of classes with non-blocked classes) may be effective options for students who need this type of scheduling flexibility. |
Interim Measures of Progress |
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Measures of Success |
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Lessons Learned |
A number of items from the original grant proposal were not implemented as planned. The timeline for developing the Faculty Learning Community (FLC), for example, was too ambitious. It seems obvious in retrospect, but at the beginning of this project, it simply did not occur to anyone that blocked classes, because they are faster and take up more time, do not allow much time for faculty to participate in the kind of reflection and research that a FLC requires. We do plan to create a formal FLC, but it will likely occur during the 2015-2016 academic year instead. Key challenges from this project include the following:
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Activity 2 |
UWISE (University of West Georgia Institutional STEM Excellence) |
Summary of Activities |
Funded by the Georgia Board of Regents STEM II Initiative, the goal of the University of West Georgia Institutional STEM Excellence (UWise) program is to create a nurturing environment for students who are interested in careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). UWise provides support to STEM majors through a Summer Bridge program, a freshman Learning Community that schedules UWISE students together in courses during their first year, and opportunities to participate in undergraduate research. UWise supports faculty by providing mini-grants for projects that focus on improving instruction and enhancing the success of students in STEM courses, most particularly those taken by students during their freshman year. Activity 2 first describes the ways that UWise supports students. The second part of Activity 2 reports one of the more impressive outcomes of the UWise faculty mini-grants that funded pedagogical research to improve student learning. UWise Student Support The Summer Bridge Program, a four-week term that allows students to earn 6 semester credit hours toward the core, is the strongest component of the UWise program. During the month of July – prior to their first fall term as entering freshmen – the students (1) get to know the faculty and campus, (2) make lasting friendships with like-minded, STEM focused students, (3) learn to support one another emotionally and academically through self-formed study groups, (4) improve their time management skills, and (5) gain confidence that they can, indeed, be successful as STEM majors. The summer program can be summarized as follows:
Student performance data are examined annually as part of the UWISE program evaluation. Evaluators use a consistent research design to compare UWise students with non-UWise students on key performance indicators (Freshman GPA, 1st Year Retention, and final course grades for their freshman year). The UWise cohort is matched with non-UWise students (both groups are STEM majors) to create a ‘treatment group (UWise)’ and equivalent ‘comparison group (non-UWise).’ Matching variables include SAT scores and high school GPA (UWG Freshman Index). UWise students typically outperform their non-UWise, matched comparison group peers on most of their freshman courses, with the exception of the second term of freshman chemistry, CHEM 1212 (see Appendix Table 37). This course seems to present ongoing challenges for UWise students, although causes remain unclear. Additionally, UWise participants tend to graduate on time (4 or 6 years) at rates higher than their matched peers (see Appendix Table 38). Faculty Mini-Grant to Improve Student Success in Algebra and Pre-Calculus One of the most impressive faculty mini-grants was conducted by a faculty member in her fourth year of researching ways to support student success in algebra and pre-calculus. She has used a pre-test at the beginning of her courses to place students into various categories (high risk for failure or withdrawing, moderate risk, low risk), and then has worked with students at high or moderate risk to get help through either supplemental instruction or intervention tutoring. Results indicate students who are at a moderate risk of failure improve significantly with supplemental instruction. Course averages for these students are 81 when attending 10-19 Supplemental Instruction sessions and 91 when attending 20 or more sessions. High-risk students get a greater benefit from intervention tutoring, earning an average course score of 85 when they attend at least 10 intervention tutoring sessions. |
Interim Measures of Progress |
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Measures of Success |
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Lessons Learned |
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High Impact Strategy 4 |
Supplemental Instruction (Si) |
USG Goal 8. Restructure instructional delivery to support educational excellence and student success. Strategy 8.2. Implement alternative delivery models, such as hybrid instruction, flipped classrooms, and emporium-model instruction. |
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Summary of Activities |
The Center for Academic Success (CAS) provides free tutoring using the peer-tutoring Supplementary Instruction model for most core courses. Supplemental Instruction is in high demand by students who are enrolled in ‘high-risk’ core courses, meaning those that usually have DFW rates at or above 30% (See Appendix Figure 1). SI Leaders (peer tutors) participate in required, ongoing training that follows the International Supplemental Instruction guidelines. Each SI Leader has previously taken the course that he or she tutors, earned an A in that course, and facilitates 2-3 collaborative, peer study sessions each week. A total of 61 course sections had SI sessions during the 2014-2015 academic year; of those SI offerings, eight of the top ten most requested courses for tutoring support are STEM courses (first year math, biology, and chemistry). Students who attended more SI sessions during the semester tended to earn a higher grade in the course (about one letter grade). |
Interim Measures of Progress |
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Measures of Success |
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Lessons Learned |
The most successful SI models occur when faculty select their own SI Peer Leader from a pool of former students that they have taught themselves, such that the Faculty-Peer SI Leader relationship is well-established. These SI Leaders attend every class session and work closely with the instructor to ensure consistency between content taught during class and content that is reinforced in the SI tutoring sessions. UWG is expanding its alignment with this best-practices model. |
High Impact Strategy 5 |
Alternative Delivery Methods (Online Offerings) |
USG Goal 8. Restructure instructional delivery to support educational excellence and student success. USG Strategy 8.1. Expand completely online opportunities. |
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Summary of Activities |
UWG administers the USG eCore® program. As an eCore® affiliate, UWG eCore® course offerings are included in those that are offered across the affiliate institutions as part of the system-wide collaborative program. To further the goals of CCG, UWG’s eCore® Administrative Services office expanded its offering of short term courses. Restructuring course delivery, thus shortening time to degree completion, is in direct response to the UWG-Complete College Georgia plan. While the number of fully online courses has tapered off from the 41% increase we saw last year (down 12% from 258 in FY14 to 227 in FY15), the number of online course sections available to students has grown by 5-6% for online (non-eCore) and by 31% for online eCore offerings. Combined undergraduate enrollment in fully online and partially online courses also grew by 8.6% from 20,241 in FY14 to 21,980 in FY15. In FY15, UWG offered a wide array of upper-level undergraduate courses online, an online B.S. in Criminology, and also added a second fully online bachelor’s program in Sociology in Spring 2015. Annual enrollment numbers in UWG’S online B.S. with a major in Criminology program grew by 12.5% from 1,966 students in FY14 to 2,211 in FY15. The B.S with a major in Sociology enrollments will be shared in the FY16 CCG Status Update. |
Interim Measures of Progress |
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Measures of Success |
Number of 100% online undergraduate degrees (Appendix Table 39) |
UWG is experiencing success with our intentional approach to intrusive advising, tiered advising, aggressive recruiting for dual enrollment, supplemental instruction for high DFW courses, block scheduling for freshmen (pilot basis), and online offerings of high-quality programming. Further, we anticipate that the scaled up, campus-wide implementation of the EAB-Student Success Collaborative advising model will significantly improve the quality of academic advising, such that we will see direct results with progression toward degree completion.
In addition, our new Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), formed in November, 2013, continues to expand its offerings to provide faculty with high quality professional development and information about innovative techniques, research, and pedagogy. The role of the CTL in supporting faculty throughout the implementation of their mini-grants (as described above) should be noted. For example, the center formed a special Faculty Learning Community (FLC) to support faculty who were experimenting with new/different pedagogies to strengthen student learning in introductory math and science courses. It was within this FLC that faculty learned to engage with the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), a faculty development model that is producing positive campus-wide results.
Lastly, although certainly not least, UWG is thoughtfully expanding programming to meet the needs of adult learners and is doing so in ways that draw on the expertise and commitment of the faculty to help this under-served population return to college. The Faculty Senate’s unanimous ‘Yes’ vote to support UWG’s participation as a member of the Adult Learning Consortium was followed by a full year (2014-2015) of extensive planning by the College of Social Sciences’ Adult Learning Steering Committee. The committee:
Students who participated in the Summer 2015 pilot will submit their portfolios for evaluation next month. We anticipate that these students’ portfolios will be evaluated and marked ‘successful’ by our trained assessors. With successful evaluations, the students will be awarded academic credit for college-level learning that will accelerate the completion of their bachelor’s degrees. The successful conclusion of the Summer 2015 CPL pilot project has paved the way for next steps, which are to expand CPL options for adult learners within the College of Social Sciences and invite other UWG colleges to participate.
The University of West Georgia will refresh our Complete College Georgia Campus Plan during the next academic year (2015-2016). Our new Provost, Dr. Micheal Crafton, arrived on campus in June, 2014. He spent his first year gaining familiarity with our CCG goals and institutional context. He is now ready to lead the identification, selection, and implementation of new completion initiatives that will naturally evolve from our accomplishments to date. Our FY16 CCG Status Update will reflect these coming changes.