Greater Completion:What Trustees Can Do

2012 Complete College Ohio Conference

Columbus State Community College, Columbus, OHNovember 13, 2012

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Anne D. Neal, PresidentAmerican Council of Trustees and Alumni

Taking Action

“Change in institutional strategy can only come from trustees. . . . Reviewing an institution’s academic strategy and deciding whether change is called for is a trustee’s most important responsibility.”

Benno C. SchmidtChair, CUNY Board of TrusteesPresident, Yale University 1986-1992

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How do OH schools do when it comes to graduation rates?

InstitutionFour-year

(National avg = 31.3%)Six-year

(National avg= 56.0%)*Bowling Green State University 36% 60%

Central State University 8% 19%Cleveland State University 9% 30%

Kent State University 25% 50%Miami University 68% 80%

Ohio State University 49% 78%Ohio University 46% 65%

Shawnee State University 11% 21%University of Akron 14% 35%

University of Cincinnati 21% 56%University of Toledo 23% 45%

Wright State University 18% 42%Youngstown State University 13% 37%

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Source: IPEDS – 2004 cohort

*Note: Six-year graduation rate, public institutions, BPS (2003 cohort): 59.5%

What Do Low Graduation Rates Cost?

For full-time students who started college in fall 2002 seeking a bachelor’s degree but failed to graduate six years later, approximately

• $3.8 billion was lost in income;• $566 million was lost in federal income taxes; • $164 million was lost in state income taxes nationwide

Schneider, M., & Yin, L. (2011) The high cost of low graduation rates: How much does dropping out of college really cost? (Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research) http://www.air.org/highcost/

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How can you advance the completion agenda?

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National Trends: Public Research Universities, 1993-2007

• Tuition (inflation adjusted) up 79.4%

• Enrollment up 14.6%

• Administrative spending up 36.9%

Jay Greene, “Administrative Bloat at American Universities, Goldwater Institute, nr. 239 (August 17, 2010) ; Institute for College Access & Success, The Project on Student Debt (2011)

Ohio: 68% graduate with student debt (#9 nationally), carrying an average of $28,683 per student (#7 nationally).

Spending Twice+ the Average

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OECD (2012), Education at a Glance 2012: OECD Indicators, Chart B1.2 (truncated), OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2012-en

… and Sub-Average Results

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Figure 1.11. Proportion of students who enter tertiary education without graduating

From The Condition of College & Career Readiness (ACT)

“Twenty-five percent of all 2012 ACT-tested high school graduates met all four College Readiness Benchmarks, meaning that 1 in 4 were academically ready for college coursework in all four subject areas” of English, Reading, Mathematics, and Science.

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•City College of New York (CUNY)• Tuition Assistance Grants (TAG) -

Massachusetts

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Questions to ask

What are we doing to make college more affordable?

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Classroom Utilization

The University has invested heavily in both the construction of classroom and laboratory facilities and the renovation of existing facilities. …Too often, these facilities are not fully utilized—and the University constructs additional facilities—because of lack of use outside of certain “prime time” class periods or times of the day. Classroom space at University Park, for example, is near fully utilized between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on a typical day, but much capacity is under-utilized at other times of the day. While a notable reduction in classroom utilization has occurred at 8:00 a.m., in response to student (and some faculty) preferences, mid- and late-afternoon scheduling remains significantly lower. Priorities for Excellence. The Penn State Strategic Plan 2009-2010 through 2013-2014

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Classroom Utilization

13Space Utilization Dashboard for Fall 2011University of North Carolina

Questions to ask

How can we schedule classes more effectively to ensure timely completion and wider access?

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How do OH schools do when it comes to core curriculum?

Institution COMP LIT LANG HIST ECON MATH SCIBowling Green State University • • •

Central State University • • • •Cleveland State University • • •

Kent State University • • •Miami University • • •

Ohio State University • • •Ohio University • •

Shawnee State University • •University of Akron • • •

University of Cincinnati • ½ ½University of Toledo • • • • •

Wright State University • •Youngstown State University • • •

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ACTA’S Study of the Core Curriculum, What Will They Learn? ™

1,070 Colleges and Universities:•Less than 5% require an Introduction to Economics

•Less than 20% require Foundational Study of American History or Government

•Only 14% require intermediate level foreign language

•Less than two in five (38%) require literature.

•61% Have Three or Fewer General Education Requirements 16

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Core curriculum saves costs

“Effective, efficient core curricula improve educational quality while lowering cost of instruction. The basic general education core that every student needs can be delivered much more cost effectively than the array of boutique courses so often offered in lieu of a well-defined core.”

goactablog.org - “Regents making a difference in Tennessee” 18

Questions to ask

How can we more effectively direct student choice?

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• Academically Adrift | Social Science Research Council• Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA)• Class of 2009: 36% with no significant learning

improvement

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Academically Adrift

“Large numbers of college students report that they experience only limited academic demands and invest only limited effort in their academic endeavors.”

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Richard Arum et al., Improving Undergraduate Learning: Findings and Policy Recommendations From the SSRC-CLA Longitudinal Project, Social Science Research Council (New York: 2011)

National Perspectives on Historical IlliteracyACTA (August 2012) Survey of college graduates• Lady Gaga 96%

• George Washington as general at Yorktown 48%• James Madison as Father of the Constitution 20%• Abraham Lincoln as author of the words: “Government of

the people, by the people, for the people” 17%

22Omnitel – GfK Custom Research North America, August 10-11, 2012

Source: Richard Arum, et al., Improving Undergraduate Learning: Findings and Policy Recommendations From the SSRC-CLA Longitudinal Project

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The View Of Employers

•23.9% find graduates overall preparation “excellent.”

•64.5% say “adequate.”

•26.2% find their writing skills “deficient.”

Linda Barrington and Jill Casner-Lotto, Are They Really Ready to Work? Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century U.S. Workforce (The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, The Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the Society for Human Resource Management, 2006)

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National Assessment of Adult Literacy

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Assessment as a Tool for Benchmarking Progress

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Before CAAP (Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency), we really did not have the mechanism other than anecdotes to show that our universities have increased the knowledge of students. But if you want to use data-driven decision making, anecdotes just don’t do it.

Lesta Turchen, South Dakota Board of Regents Chief Academic Officer

Assessment as a Tool for Benchmarking Progress

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The South Dakota solution:

•Four CAAP tests (Writing Skills, Math, Reading and Science) after 48 credits

•Students must pass to move to upper level classes

•Regents produce annual “CAAP Gains Report” to governor and legislature

•Results: More focus on writing, math to schools that need it. Early warning of academic weakness

Assessment as a Tool for Teaching and Learning

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The principal goal of the CLA (Collegiate Learning Assessment) is to assist faculty in improving teaching and learning.

Roger Benjamin, President of the Council on Aid to Education

Questions to ask

How can we ensure that completion leads to a quality degree?

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ACTA’s Resources for Trustees

• Board consultations• Trustee seminars• Strategic planning• Guidance on best practices

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