Welcome

Texas Completion by Design

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Welcome

Texas Completion by Design

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

What is CBD?

Five year community college reform effort aimed to help more low-income young adults complete more quickly and with greater rates of success

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide nearly $40 million over five years to four states

The largest investment to date in higher education for the Foundation

Who is CBD

After a rigorous application process, only four grants were awarded in the nation:

Florida – Miami Dade College

North Carolina – Guilford Technical Community College

Ohio – Sinclair Community College

Texas – Lone Star College System

Texas CBD Cadre

Alamo Colleges

Dallas County Community College District

El Paso Community College

Lone Star College System

South Texas College

Why CBD?

By 2018, 63% of all jobs will require education beyond high school.

As a nation, the U.S. ranks 8th in the number of students who complete a degree

As a state, Texas ranks 45th in attainment of Associate’s degrees, 42nd in residents aged 25-35

with an associate’s or higher

The TX CBD cadre represents 255,000 students – 1/3 of all college students in the state

The Challenge of

Completion

For Colleges:

Financial Incentives aligned with

access, not completion

Under-resourced

Innovations tend to be isolated

Change is hard, even when the will is there

For Students: Easy to enroll, easy to drop out Many enter without a clear plan, and need developmental education Lack of confidence, financial resources and family support

Question

How can a community college raise completion rates for large numbers of students while containing costs, maintaining open access and ensuring quality?

Answer

Develop strong completion pathways, defined as integrated policies, practices and programs designed to maximize students’ progress from start to finish.

How?

Analyze and understand the common barriers and momentum points that students experience

Implement and integrate proven and promising practices to provide students with the quickest, straightest path to a degree

Create the conditions for change by empowering interdisciplinary, cross-campus delegations of faculty, staff and administrators

Build infrastructure for continuous improvement

Supporting Student Success: PREVENTING LOSS, CREATING MOMENTUM a system designed for student completion

CONNECTION Interest to Application

ENTRY Enrollment to Completion

of Gatekeepr Courses

PROGRESS Entry into Course Study

To 75% Requirements

Completed

COMPLETION Complete Course of

Study to Credential

with Labor Market Value

How do we help

prospective

students prepare for

college-level

programs?

Which student

supports, incentives

and requirements

encourage students

to remain engaged

and make progress

in their program?

How do we work

with prospective

and current

students to help

them understand

their options, goals

and select a

program of study?

What incentives

and supports

encourage students

to complete,

transfer and/or

attain employment?

Supporting Student Success: PREVENTING LOSS, CREATING MOMENTUM a system designed for student completion

Technology capacity

Leadership focused on completion

Faculty/staff engagement

and professional development

Student centered change

Culture of Improvement

and use of data

Objectives

Raise the number and percentage of students who enter a program of study, and shorten the period between when students first enroll and when they enter a program

Increase completion rates for students who have entered a program of study, and shorten the period in which they achieve completion

Ensure that academic programs prepare students for a 4-year college or university, and that career-technical programs help prepare students for entrance into and/or advancement in the labor market

CBD Initiative

Develop Policies & Advocate for

Systemic Change Within States

Policy Leads & Participating

Colleges/Campuses

Implement Institutional

Change Strategies to completion

Managing Partners & Participating

Colleges/Campuses

Design, Deliver & Coordinate Technical Assistance

CDAT Staff & National Assistance Partners

Provide Thought Leadership, Resources &

Financial Support

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

COMPLETION BY DESIGN INITIATIVE

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Completion by Design is a five year community college redesign effort focused on increasing community college completion rates for large numbers of students while containing college costs, maintaining open access, and ensuring the quality of community college programs and credentials. The initiative uses a data-driven approach to help colleges strengthen pathways to completion for students and build the capacity and culture necessary for ongoing improvement.

Outcome

The majority of low-income community

college students under 26 earn a degree or

credential that prepares them for further

education or success in the workplace.

State Partners

National Partners

Partner Expertise Resources Provided

CDAT (Completion by Design Assistance Team)

Educational practice, data analysis and utilization, leadership, finance, systems change and policy

CDAT will provide each managing partner with the expert technical assistance required to address the full range of postsecondary educational matters

The Bridgespan Group Cost and Productivity Analysis Briefs on cost analysis for community colleges; search for the Senior Partner position

Community College Research Center (CCRC)

Data Analysis Ongoing support for data submission; pathway analysis; orientation to pathway analysis results

Jobs for the Future (JFF) Policy Analysis State policy scan through the lens of completion; support to policy lead to develop completion-focused policy agenda

Public Agenda Facilitation Training Facilitator and recorder training

Pyramid Communications Completion by Design website www.completionbydesign.org

WestEd Research and Knowledge Management Publication of Action Guide; Development and technical assistance of Knowledge Center

Building Capacities

State System Capacity: Characteristics of the state policy environment that enable diffusion of the pathway • State-level champions: Policymakers, higher

education, business and community leaders committed to completion

• Expertise in Completion-Practices: Community College leaders and policymakers knowledgeable about practices to support completion

• State policy aligns to completion: State policies incentivizes adoption of completion pathway design principles

Completion Pathway: The integrated set of policies, practices, programs and processes intentionally designed to maximize student completion across the loss-momentum framework. Design Principles

1. Anchored in clearly-defined learning competencies (to allow for quality, flexibility, and acceleration )

2. Prioritizes accelerating academic catch-up

3. Differentiates/customizes instruction and support to optimize each student’s credential attainment

4. Leverages technology to significantly improve learning, student services, and manage costs

5. Promotes enrollment in structured and coherent programs of study

6. Provides timely data to inform decision making (for students, faculty and administrators)

7. Integrates seamlessly with K-12, transfer partners and employers

High-Performing College Capacity: The capacities/skills essential to designing and maintaining the completion pathway • Learning-focused leadership: Leadership at all

levels (trustees, administrators, faculty, student services) makes student learning and completion top priority

• Data Analysis Capacity: Expertise in sophisticated analysis of student outcome and financial data to inform practice improvement and resource allocation

• Technology Capacity---uses technology to increase efficiency of service delivery and support sophisticated data analysis

• Culture of Improvement and Innovation: Staff at all levels (trustees, administration, faculty, student services) engaged in continuous innovation to improve experience for most students

Phases

Three Distinct Phases: Phase I – Planning – 12 months TX CBD will design a model pathway to completion that will help

more young people stay in college and complete. The pathway will be founded on proven practices and data-based evidence.

Phase II – Implementation – 24-36 months (beginning Fall 2012) If the model pathway is approved by the

foundation, it will be implemented at colleges within the TX cadre.

Phase III – Scaling – 12 months Following successful implementation, this phase

will focus on policy implications and changes, and the scaling up of the project for national impact.

Inquiries

Amy Welch State Director, Texas Completion by Design

Government Affairs & Institutional Advancement

Lone Star College System

amy.m.welch@lonestar.edu

www.texascompletion.com

www.completionbydesign.org