Full Description
This volume provides practical ways colleges can focus on the College Completion Agenda. Originally begun as an economic workforce issue for the Obama administration, the College Completion Agenda has been adopted by myriad educational institutions, public and private funders, and others. The identified Big Goal is to increase the proportion of Americans with high quality college degrees and credentials from 39% of the population to 60% by 2025. To date, much advice has been offered to colleges about what the issues are and what needs to be done. However, there is considerable work being done at colleges around the country to address the identified issues. This volume introduces some of these policies and practices the thinking behind them, research supporting them, roles to be fulfilled, and impact on the student experience This is the 164th volume of this Jossey-Bass higher education quarterly report series, an essential guide for presidents, vice presidents, deans, and other leaders in today's open-door institutions, this quarterly provides expert guidance in meeting the challenges of their distinctive and expanding educational mission.
Contents
EDITORS' NOTES 1 Brad C. Phillips, Jordan E. Horowitz FOREWORD 5 Walter G. Bumphus 1. Leadership Matters: Addressing the Student Success and Completion Agenda 7 Byron N. McClenney Transforming institutional culture to focus on student success is a key role of leadership. The over nine years of observations of leadership coaches in Achieving the Dream provide insight into making this transformation. 2. Maximizing Data Use: A Focus on the Completion Agenda 17 Brad C. Phillips, Jordan E. Horowitz Community colleges are data rich but information poor. A transformative model is presented for engaging educational institutions in using data to inform policy and program decisions focused on increasing completion. 3. Get With the Program ... and Finish It: Building Guided Pathways to Accelerate Student Completion 27 Davis Jenkins, Sung-Woo Cho Placing students in defined pathways upon entry has been shown to dramatically increase student completion. A growing number of colleges and universities are redesigning academic programs and support services to create guided pathways. 4. Acceleration Strategies in the New Developmental Education Landscape 37 Andrea Venezia, Katherine L. Hughes New approaches to increasing remedial/developmental educational success are being tested and showing promise, helping more students prepare for, and move into, college-level courses more quickly. 5. Working Across the Segments: High Schools and the College Completion Agenda 47 Shelly Valdez, David Marshall An intersegmental approach to vertical curriculum alignment can increase student preparation for higher education and improve student success. New content standards make teaming with local high schools even more important as these standards are implemented. 6. Tuning Toward Completion 57 Marcus Kolb, Michelle Kalina, Adina Chapman Tuning has significant benefits in supporting the completion agenda, and community colleges have a significant role to play in this national movement. 7. Unmet Need and Unclaimed Aid: Increasing Access to Financial Aid for Community College Students 67 Julia I. Lopez Community colleges must make financial aid receipt a priority for lowincome students if they hope to increase completion. INDEX 75
