The Mountain View College Quality Enhancement Plan Redefining Our Student Cohort: A Consequential Mid Course Correction A Presentation for the 2017 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Annual Meeting Dallas, Texas Conference Presenters Geoffrey Grimes MVC Professor of English and Faculty QEP Co-Chair Jody Cunningham (former) MVC Senior Research Analyst Darius Frasure MVC Professor of English and Chair of the QEP Culture of Writing Initiatives Luke Story Director, the MVC Academic Center for Writing and the QEP Champion The Presentation Focus The mid-course correction MVC has taken in its QEP initiative to address student persistence toward completing a college degree 1
Participant Outcomes From this presentation, you should be able to 1) Identify types of assessment instruments we used in collecting student data 2) Explain the differences between QEP s use of course-level and program-level rubrics 3) Apply to the composition of your own QEP elements the stylistic principles we used to create congruency between the QEP document and other related program elements 4) Identify factors that influence or might determine the success or failure of your own QEP initiatives The Presentation Outline Part 1: Qualitative/Quantitative Data Mining Refining the search for a topic Part 2: Data Collecting and Its Assessment Using data to institutionalize the QEP Part 3: Data Navigating Following the data trail to a critical dead end Part 4: Data Forecasting Blending data streams from both the student services and the academic sides of the house to make recommendations Part 5: Reflecting on Data Setting a new course to help students to achieve their dreams about Mountain View College 2
about Mountain View College about Mountain View College The QEP Mandate: A Definition from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Handbook for Review Committees The QEP describes a carefully designed and focused course of Quality Enhancement Plan action that addresses one or more critical issues related to enhancing student learning. In January 2010 a QEP Planning Committee began its search for a topic. 3
The Presentation Outline Part 1: Qualitative/Quantitative Data Mining Refining the search for a topic Geoff Grimes 2010 Institutional Research Student surveys Faculty surveys Student focus groups Community consultation Literature review MVC Institutional Research Faculty/Staff committees 2010 Topic Selection developmental math health science critical thinking experiential learning public speaking art appreciation academic advising 4
2011 Topic Selection completed Reading Critical Thinking Writing MVC Writing Assessment 1970 1985 Creation of the Learning Skills Center Implementation of CLS 100, ENGL 1301/CLS, and ENGL 1301/DWR 1986 1996 Implementation of the ENGL 1310 Exit Exam 2007 2015 GenEd Core Assessment/THECB Assessment Implementation of ENGL 1301 End-of-Year Review The Permanent QEP Committee The Library Public Information VP of Instruction Student Life Institutional Research Student Advising Steering Committee Student Government Advisory & Engagement Assessment Professional Development Culture of Writing Literature Review 5
Initial Purpose To improve student writing Goal 1: To improve mastery of writing skills Goal 2: To increase writing within the disciplines Goal 3: To nurture a culture of writing Mechanisms to achieve the QEP Goals: 1) Creation of Writing-Intensive Courses To improve mastery of writing skills 2) Creation of Writing-Enhanced Courses To increase writing within the disciplines 3) Creation of an Annual Writing Festival To nurture a culture of writing Mechanisms to achieve the QEP Goals The Centerpiece: Creation of a Comprehensive Writing Center 6
A SACS-COC Hiccup Our mission is too broad! A Return to the Data: A SACS Hiccup Our mission is too broad! Data Mining Findings: Fewer than 4% of former Developmental Writing students graduate each spring A SACS Hitch Our mission is too broad! The revised mission: To increase the graduation rate of our Developmental Writing Students 7
September 27, 2012... The SACS-COC Visiting Team delivers its report: This QEP will not only serve the institution well... but could be a model for other campuses.... This plan frames itself around the needs of the most vulnerable students... and casts its net as wide as possible to serve the needs of all the students. The Presentation Outline Part 1: Qualitative/Quantitative Data Mining Refining the search for a topic Part 2: Data Collecting and Its Assessment Using data to institutionalize the QEP Luke Story Mechanisms to achieve the QEP Goals 8
Mechanisms to achieve the QEP Goals The Assessment Plan Mechanisms to achieve the QEP Goals The Centerpiece: The College QEP Writing Rubric Mechanisms to achieve the QEP Goals The Centerpiece: The College QEP Writing Rubric 9
Mechanisms to achieve the QEP Goals The Ink Spot The measure of success! Mechanisms to measure success: 1) The Ink Spot A standard for success! 2) Internal/External Assessment of Student Writing 3) CCSSE Survey of Perceptions 4) Faculty/Student Surveys 5) Expansion of WICS/WECS course sections and their instructors 6) Campus branding of the QEP 7) Expansion of the Culture of Writing initiatives QEP results between 2013 2015: 1) More than 6,000 students used the Ink Spot each year, reporting marked improvements in their writing skills. 2) WICS/WECS sections expanded from the initial 18 to more than 130 sections, representing every academic division of the college. 3) On surveys students expressed satisfaction for the additional help received in their WICS/WECS courses. 4) We have identified critical thinking and sentence grammar as targets for improvement. 10
QEP results between 2013 2015: 5) The Culture of Writing Festival has connected students to the broader community of Dallas/Fort Worth writers and expanded their opportunities for networking. 6) We ve created The Kevin Williams Lounge, a student writing club that produces the college newspaper, The Lion s Roar, and an annual journal of student/staff writing, The Lion s Pride. 7) The QEP Committee has created more than twenty-five staff development workshops and a dozen QEP-related videos. QEP results between 2013 2015: 8) The Library staff developed a professional QEP literature review, highlighting and promoting QEP-related scholarly readings each month. 9) Funding continued through both existing grants and operational accounts spread across the college divisions and services. 10) College researchers tracked former DWRI students through the enrollment in WICS/ WECS courses. The Presentation Outline Part 1: Qualitative/Quantitative Data Mining Refining the search for a topic Part 2: Data Collecting and Its Assessment Using data to institutionalize the QEP Part 3: Data Navigating Following the data trail to a critical dead end Prof. Darius Frasure Institutional data and state mandates that forced major changes in our QEP initiative 11
An Enrollment Hiccup: Dead on Arrival The MVC QEP Student Cohort September 27, 2012 SACS-COC visiting team approves the target QEP cohort of former DWRI students December 1, 2012 The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) recommends mainstreaming DWRI students An Enrollment Hiccup: An Internal Shift The decline in Developmental Writing students Findings: To reduce duplicate spending, the THECB has: Eliminated one tier of Developmental Studies courses in state-supported colleges. Lowered the writing/reading standards on the state TSI college entrance test in order to mainstream what earlier would have been DWRI students. Revised Texas State Laws Texas House of Representative HB 2223 mandates the use of co-requisite remediation as the required model for students in DEV ED courses. Co-requisite remediation places students in college-level, or gateway English and math courses, but pairs those courses with additional support. The new law gives all of the state s public colleges and universities that have DEV ED programs until 2018 to have 25% of the DEV ED students enrolled in a corequisite course. The mandate increases to 50% by 2019 and to 75% by 2020. 12
An Enrollment Hiccup: An Internal Shift The decline in Developmental Writing students Only one paper in a random sampling of 54 end-of-year papers reviewed by the QEP Assessment Committee in 2015 was written by a former Developmental Writing student. Interpretation: Fewer and fewer former DWRI students were enrolling in and completing WICS/WECS courses. An Enrollment Hiccup: The decline in DWRI students Result: Our original QEP student cohort of former DWRI students was simply vanishing, absorbed into the general pool of FTIC students each fall. An Enrollment Hiccup: The decline in DWRI students The implication: We needed to re-examine even the fundamental mission of our QEP. 13
The Presentation Outline Part 1: Qualitative/Quantitative Data Mining Refining the search for a topic Part 2: Data Collecting and Its Assessment Using data to institutionalize the QEP Part 3: Data Navigating Following the data trail to a critical dead end Part 4: Data Forecasting Blending data streams from both the student services and the academic sides of the house to make recommendations Jody Cunningham The New QEP Focus To increase, from fall to fall, the persistence rate of first-time-in-college, higher education degree-seeking students Some Definitions: FTIC First Time In College does not include students who are currently dual credit. FTIC Fall typically includes students who attended for the first time in the summer and also in the fall. DEGREE SEEKING Students who indicated on their student profile that they were interested in pursuing a certificate (code 2), an associates (code 3), or transferring to a university (code 4). 14
Some Definitions: PERSISTENCE Persistence is defined as returning in a subsequent semester. For the purposes of this report, we are using Fall to Fall comparisons. RETENTION Retention is defined as a student remaining in a course until the completion date. All withdrawals, regardless of reason, are considered non retention. Students who failed a course, but did not withdraw are considered as retained in that course. Courses that were dropped prior to certification/census date are not included. Cert or # Transfer # Cert or MVC Transfer Associat Student Transfer Enrolled Success Percent Withdrawn Retained Percent % not Associate DS Degree Students D, E, F, N Success e (MVC) courses DS % pass Retention courses Seeking % Retained in DS includes Retained taken Retained Course Retained dev ed 2012 Fall 2747 1710 62% 698 25% 339 2408 88% 2195 1917 87% 552 491 89% 2013 Fall 2820 1655 59% 801 28% 364 2456 87% 2178 1879 86% 642 577 90% 2014 Fall 3347 1998 60% 947 28% 402 2945 88% 2578 2262 88% 769 683 89% 2015 Fall 3239 2076 64% 808 25% 355 2884 89% 2578 2296 89% 661 588 89% 15
In 2015 Fall there were 300 students who did not declare their reason for attending this may be distorting the percentage for 2015. 16
The New QEP Focus To increase, from fall to fall, the persistence rate of first-time-in-college, higher education degree-seeking students The Presentation Outline Part 1: Qualitative/Quantitative Data Mining Refining the search for a topic Part 2: Data Collecting and Its Assessment Using data to institutionalize the QEP Part 3: Data Navigating Following the data trail to a critical dead end Part 4: Data Forecasting Blending data streams from both the student services and the academic sides of the house to make recommendations Part 5: Reflecting on Data Setting a new course to help students to achieve their dreams Geoff Grimes Where We Are Today: Goal 1: To improve student writing skills More than 60% of MVC students each semester have sought help in The Ink Spot : The Academic Center for Writing and achieve 20% higher course grades than those who don t. 17
Where We Are Today: 1 Tell us how writing in this course helped you: # Question A great deal Moderately A little Not at all Total 1 Gain confidence as a student. 44.61% 91 26.96% 55 11.76% 24 16.67% 34 204 2 Improve as a learner. 47.06% 96 28.43% 58 10.29% 21 14.22% 29 204 3 4 Decide to take other heavy writing courses. Commit to complete a degree. 23.38% 47 28.36% 57 19.90% 40 28.36% 57 201 52.50% 105 21.50% 43 9.00% 18 17.00% 34 200 1 Tell us how writing in this course helped you: 18
Where We Are Today: Goal 2: To increase the amount of student writing In 2015-16 MVC faculty facilitated 162 sections of WICS/WECS courses. Where We Are Today: Goal 3: To nurture a culture of writing The Culture of Writing Festival continues to attract major area writers and communicators, serving students and the college service area. The QEP Committee facilitates professional development workshops on more than thirty QEP writing-related topics. Where We Are Today: Goal 3: To nurture a culture of writing The Ink Spot staff facilitate an MVC Writing Club open to students and staff. Students and staff publish articles and creative writing in the MVC newspaper and annual journal, The Lion s Roar and The Lion s Pride. 19
Where We Are Going Tomorrow: We are realigning our QEP initiative to meet the challenges of The State of Texas 60X30 Educational Goals The Dallas County Community College District s You re Hired! campaign, and The demands of our re-branded image as Mountain View: The Write to Work College Where We Are Going Tomorrow: The QEP Video Where We Are Going Tomorrow: We are engaged in a ten-year initiative, committed to improving student learning and assisting them with their retention, persistence, and success as learners in college and in their becoming future productive citizens. 20