A NONTRADITIONAL UNIVERSITYFOR NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS

July 1, 2012

TODAY’S SESSION• Who is CSU-Global?

• Assessing Your Knowledge

• CSU-Global Addresses the Gap

– Admissions– Articulation– Student Advising

• Panel Q&A and Discussion

• Closing

WHO IS CSU-GLOBAL• Nation’s first 100% online, fully accredited public university

– Statutorily independent by order of the Colorado Governor– One of 3 universities in the CSU System– No State financial support

• 2008 to present

– From 200 students to 5900 active students– 83% retention rate 1st to 3rd Term– 70/30 Bachelor’s degree completion/Master’s degree– 22% Underserved– 28% First Generation– Age range 25-64 years old; average age is 36 years old

• SOC Member – ‘Military Inclusive’

WHY CSU-GLOBAL?• GAPS in degree attainment– Industry needs vs. education levels– Traditional vs. non-traditional students

• Addressing the GAP– Created to serve the 36+ million* adults nationwide with

some college and no degree– Helping people get and keep jobs through education– Degree programs: applicability vs. demand

All processes and departments designed to address the unique needs of nontraditional adult learners

*Lumina Foundation, March 2012

Assessing Your Knowledge on Nontraditional Students

ASSESSING YOUR KNOWLEDGE-11. How many adults (nationwide) have some college, but no

degree?

ANSWER: 36 million (plus) (Lumina Foundation 2012)

2. What _____% of today’s students are juggling some combination of families, jobs, and school?

ANSWER : 75% of today’s students are non-traditional (Complete College America, 2011)

3. Adults who have completed a Bachelor’s degree will earn _____% more than an adult with some college but no degree.

ANSWER: 40% (Education Pays, 2010)

ASSESSING YOUR KNOWLEDGE-2• Completing a Bachelor’s Degree– Higher Earnings among all groups– Decreases gender earnings gap

• New Gap—race/ethnicity & college– 1998-2004, enrollment gap of 8-10% between

Caucasian/African American Students– By 2008 the gap had grown by 14+% points

ASSESSING YOUR KNOWLEDGE-3Degree attainment is less likely for:• Different race/ethnicities – Demographics vary by State

• Older students– Age 25+

• Part-time Students– 24.3% will earn a BS within 8 years– 7.8% will earn an associate within 4 years

• Students from distressed economic backgrounds– Cost of education is higher, low debt tolerance

Complete College America, 2011

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 American Community SurveyAmong non-traditional learners (aged 25-44)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

3.8

17.7

24.3

8.8

31.5

13.8

30.7

27.2

21.2

6.9

10.8

3.2

Whites Minorities

Gaps in Educational Attainment (2009)

THE REALITY

• Completion rates are lower for:

– Students attending part-time– Some demographics

• (particularly African American & Hispanic students)– Older students– Poorer students

(Complete College America, 2011)

African American

Hispanic Older Low Income

Attending Full Time 30% 46.5% 27% 45.2%

Attending Part Time 14.5% 16.7% 10.6% 17.3%

REFERENCESBaum, S., Ma, J., & Payea, K. (2010). Education pays 2010. Retrieved

from http://trends.collegeboard.org/education_pays

Colorado Department of Higher Education. (2010, November). The degree dividend. Denver, CO: Author.

Complete College America. (2011). Time is the enemy. Retrieved from http://www.completecollege.org/docs/Time_Is_the_Enemy.pdf

Lumina Foundation. (2012, September). A stronger nation through higher education. Retrieved from: http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/A_Stronger_Nation-2012.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau. (2009). American community survey. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/acs/www/

WHAT IS CSU-GLOBAL DOING TO ADDRESS THE GAP?

• Admissions/Enrollment: Rachel Masters

Admissions Counselor

• Articulation: Deanna Adami

Manager of Transcript Evaluation

• Student Advising: Ranee Tomlin

Student Advisor

ADMISSIONS

Rachel Masters, Admissions Counselor

⁻Where we used to be:

Experimental

⁻Where we are today:

Stable

⁻Where we are going:

Large scale growth

• Non-traditional studentsResponsible, persistent, enthusiastic, grateful

• What we uncover in initial interaction (MAPS)Motivation, Admissibility, Payment, Start

• Main motivationCareer opportunities and/or advancement

THE BASICS“providing access to dynamic degree programs”

• Streamlined Admissions ProcessMultiple start datesTranscript request serviceAdmissions decision turn-aroundRetention (90%) through 1st week of class

2008-2010: EXPERIMENTATION

• Success Advisors– Department specialization

• Underutilized metrics

• Ease of enrollment process

• Dynamic policy development– Based on student needs

2010-2012: STABILIZATION• Clearly defined enrollment goals– 50 new students after add/drop for 8-week enrollment period– 100 +/- students in pipeline– 6-8 week average enrollment period

• Increased & regulated enrollment opportunities– Degree program & specialization options– Free SuccessReady Workshops (academic development)– Shift from “ease” to quality and success

• Policy establishment– Admissions Committee to review provisional applicants– Transfer summary/evaluation completed in 3 business days– Enrollment Summary (graduation/credit/cost)

PROGRAM OPTIONS2010: 8 Program Options4 Bachelor’s degree programs• Business Management• Organizational Leadership• Public Management• Applied Social Sciences• Information Technology3 Master’s degree programs• Management• Organizational Leadership• Teaching & Learning

2012: 14 Program OptionsNew Bachelor’s degree programs• Accounting• Communication• Criminal Justice & Law Enforcement Administration• Healthcare Administration & ManagementNew Master’s degree programs• Criminal Justice & Law Enforcement Administration• Healthcare Administration & Management

LARGE SCALE GROWTH• 2015 = 20,000 students• How will we do it?• At least 200-250 new students/year/counselor

• 2013: 10 Admissions Counselors = 2,000 – 2,500 new students• 2014: 15 Admissions Counselors = 3,000 – 3,750 new students• 2015: 20 Admissions Counselors = 4,000 – 5,000 new students• 9,000 – 11,250 total new by 2015?

2009 2010 2011 20120

100020003000400050006000

Active Students

Active Students

CHALLENGES & SUCCESS

• Transfer students enroll differently• New staff training & retention

• What we do well: We provide information so that the student can make the best decision for his/her professional and educational goals. We are not “salesy.” Everything we do is in the student’s best interest. If that means we feel our school is not the best fit, we will tell the student so.

TRANSCRIPT EVALUATION

Deanna Adami, MA, Manager of Transcript Evaluation

⁻ Where we used to be

Discovery

⁻ Where we are today

Building a Solid Foundation ⁻ Where we are going

Continued Growth and Collaboration

DISCOVERYWHERE WE USED TO BE

2008:

⁻ Assumption: All students needing degree completion already have associate degrees

⁻ Reality: degree completion involves a lot more than helping students with completed associate degrees earn bachelor’s degrees.

⁻ State Statute⁻ Need for transcript evaluation recognized

EVALUATION MODELS- 2008 – the model of “No”

- No general education courses (degree completion)- No credit by exam- No non-traditional credit (ACE, Military, etc…)- No PLA Program

- Today – The model of “Yes”- Developed limited general education courses- Joint Statement on the Transfer and Award of Credit

- Looking for ways to recognize nontraditional learning

- Developed a PLA Program

BUILDING A SOLID FOUNDATIONWHERE WE ARE NOW

2011-2012

- Continual review and evaluation of policies and procedures

- Frequent collaboration with admissions, faculty, and student advising

- Implemented the use of our degree audit system

- Outreach to community colleges

TRANSFER FACTS- Evaluations completed per month

- Evaluation summaries- Official evaluations- Updated degree plans- Change of majors

- All Students are transferring credit- Average transfer is ____ credits, though the range of

transfer is between 13-90 - Average age of credit is ____ years

- Source of incoming transfer credit- 4 year institutions- 2 year institutions- Non-traditional sources

- Where are our students coming from?- Colorado

CONTINUED GROWTH AND COLLABORATIONWHERE WE ARE GOING

- Continued assessment and evaluation of transfer guidelines and policies

- Processing of evaluation summaries move closer to admissions

- Continued outreach to community colleges

- Final thoughts and best practices

STUDENT ADVISING

Ranee Tomlin, Ph.D., Student Advisor

⁻Where we used to be:

Reactive

⁻Where we are today:

Proactive

⁻Where we are going:

Evaluative

REACTIVEWHERE WE USED TO BE

2008:

⁻ 200 students: fluid staff numbers and responsibilities

⁻ No defined advising department or role

⁻ Advising Model: Reactive⁻ Took steps after the fact

PROACTIVEWHERE WE ARE TODAY

2012: ⁻ 9 Student Advisors

⁻ Caseload varies, depending on numbers of incoming and outgoing students

⁻ 24-hour maximum weekday response time⁻ Pre-determined registration goal each term

⁻ 3 Military Student Advisors⁻ Caseload varies, but smaller numbers

⁻ Approximately 5900 Active Students⁻ Retention Rate: 83.3 % 1st-3rd term⁻ 1,074 graduates through June 30, 2012

PROACTIVEELEMENTS

Advising Model: A Proactive Approach

– Holistic: Understand our students as complex individuals and provide assistance with this information in mind.

– Humanistic: Exhibit a genuine concern for others; a student-centered acknowledgement of potential and choice.

– Developmental: Meet students where they are; possess realistic expectations of students and their unique levels of academic maturity and life experience.

PROACTIVEADVISING

⁻ Our model relies heavily on Burns Crookston’s developmental view of advising as teaching and also encompasses Creamer & Creamer’s work on developmental theory, Terry O’Banion’s relationship-based advising model, Jennifer Varney’s call for intrusive advising with at-risk students, and Wes Habley’s framework for the components of advising

⁻ Requires thinking ahead to present creative solutions

⁻ A great fit for our working adult population

– Build relationships with students through regular contact

– Assist students in planning degree completion

– Equip students for success with guidance in accomplishing goals

PROACTIVEGLOBAL DIFFERENCE

⁻ Help students become responsible for their own education

⁻ Self-registration⁻ Specialization and elective

choices

⁻ Empower students to take action

⁻ Determine which terms work best for their schedules

⁻ Provide effective academic advising

⁻ Degree planning sessions and alternative credit discussions

⁻ Outreach to struggling students

EVALUATIVEWHERE WE ARE GOING

⁻ Continue to evaluate current model ⁻ Based on student population changes⁻ Best practices⁻ Graduation and retention trends

⁻ Internal changes⁻ Student Advising Center⁻ Career Center⁻ Advising syllabus

⁻ Sustainable proactive model for growth in the next several years

FINAL THOUGHTSBEST PRACTICES AND PARADIGM CHANGE