ACC will welcome facilitators from the Achieving the Dream (ATD) organization to the college on October 27-29. The two-day visit comes as the college’s Student Success Initiative enters its second year as a participant in the national initiative to help community college students succeed. The facilitators will meet with the Student Success Initiative Steering Committee and others who are focused on the ATD planning and implementation strategies.

ATD plays an important role in the college’s Student Success Initiative, or SSI, the overall name for institutional efforts to improve student learning. ATD focuses particularly on student groups that have historically faced major barriers to success, such as ethnic minority students, students who are the first in their families to attend college, and students from low-income families.

Through use of national and local student performance data, ATD works with community colleges to build a strong base for student success by “creating a culture of evidence, engaging with diverse groups, and implementing systemic reforms.” ATD now works with more than 100 colleges in the United States, including half of all Texas community colleges.

Funded by a grant from the Greater Texas Foundation, ACC was chosen to participate in the two-year ATD program in June 2009, and included ATD as a component of its Student Success Initiative. After last year’s planning phase, ACC and ATD are now working to implement four intervention strategies:

• Required orientation for First Time in College (FTIC) students to increase persistence from semester to semester, and year to year.
• The Developmental Math Advisor Program to support developmental math students’ transition to college-level courses.
• The Developing Mathematical Thinking (MATD 0385) course as an alternative for developmental math students who do not need college algebra for their degree.
• A Faculty Coach Program to facilitate faculty use of student performance data, at the department level, in curriculum revision and redesign.

You can learn more about Achieving the Dream and your role in student success at the SSI website, austincc.edu/success.

2,500 FTIC Students Attend Orientation

Student orientation has been identified as an important component of student success and is now required for all FTIC students. Student Life, which runs TOP (The Orientation Program) provided live, on-campus orientation sessions for 2,500 students in August alone. Starting Oct. 1, students unable to attend a live TOP session have the option to complete an online version developed by Instructional Development Services. In-person TOP sessions continue to be the preferred method of delivery in order to generate a more personal, interactive, high-touch orientation environment.

Faculty Coaches Added

Twenty academic departments in FY11 have joined the original 18 departments that are part of SSI’s Faculty Coach Program. Faculty coaches serve as liaisons between academic departments and the institution in the analysis and application of student performance data. They lead departmental discussions regarding the “so what?” question in terms of what the research data imply for:

• Revisions of the curriculum
• Creation of supplemental learning opportunities
• Faculty orientation and professional development
• Improvements to support services that are needed to increase student success.

For more information, visit austincc.edu/success/facultycoaches.

Retreat to Explore New Data

SSI includes an annual Data Retreat on October 29 at the Holiday Inn across from the Highland Business Center. It will bring together the SSI Steering Committee, faculty coaches, and designated faculty, staff, and students for a meeting with ATD facilitators Kay McClenney and Brad Phillips to review the latest student performance data.

This year’s retreat is designed to profile extensive data related to one course from each of the eight dean areas. The data will address student performance across all student cohorts, course progression, withdrawals, retention, completions, and related student engagement data.

The retreat also will include discussions based on a template of suggested questions for full-time and adjunct faculty and will profile institutional options and resources available to enhance student performance, and to support faculty in doing so.
The SSI Steering Committee is hosting this event in coordination with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability (OIEA). Data shared at the retreat will be posted online following the event.

Learn More

Student success is everyone’s responsibility, and all employees have an important role to play: “It Takes a College!” is more than a slogan for SSI – it’s a major goal at Austin Community College. To learn more about what ACC is doing to encourage and amplify student success or to share ideas, visit the Student Success website at austincc.edu/success.