2013 Institute on High Impact Practices and Student Success:
Manchester Community College
ACTION PLAN
(Revised Fall 2013)
BACKGROUND
Manchester Community College advances academic, economic, civic, personal and cultural growth by providing comprehensive, innovative and affordable learning opportunities to diverse populations. We are a learning-centered community committed to access, excellence and relevance.
Student learning and engagement, academic excellence, diversity and equity provide the focus for MCC’s mission statement. MCC is an open access institution that consistently reviews its curriculum to include high impact practices to improve student learning. The goals for the Institute include the development of tools necessary for students to better plan and prepare for their academic careers. One of these tools will be an Educational Mapping program accessible to all students and their advisors to highlight milestones (e.g., 15 credits, 30 credits, 45 credits) and ensure that students stay on the road to graduation. Our plan is to use the Educational Mapping program with some of our underserved and/or non-traditional students in our Adults in Transition (AIT) program STARS and our Brother 2 Brother (B2B) and Sister 2 Sister (S2S) Programs before rolling it out to all of our students.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND GOALS
Integrative learning is an institutional priority at MCC. The College spotlighted integrative learning in its Strategic Plan in 2009, making integrative learning a primary, college-wide, strategic goal.MCC’s Strategic Goal of Academic Excellence, moreover, included an integrated general education core curriculum that models and builds integrative skills across academic disciplines and the co-curriculum, skills such as problem solving that requires the use of multiple perspectives and experiences.These integrative skills require use of High Impact Practices (HIPs) such as cohort learning, NACADA’s proactive advising, civic engagement and service learning.
Manchester Community College’s participation in the Roadmap Project aims to help every student identify a clear pathway to success from their first expression of interest to meeting their educational goals. MCC provides access and pathways for students whether they are college ready, need developmental work, are pursuing credit, non-credit learning, or are lifelong learners. MCC’s Roadmap project will make transparent the variety of models and opportunities available for our diverse community of learners. This project aims to broaden student understanding of integrative learning and provide consistent exposure to High Impact Practices throughout their educational career at MCC. The MCC Roadmap Team’s goal is to design and embed “Educational Mapping” as a virtual game model. The embedded “Educational Mapping” component will help students identify coherent educational pathways that optimize integrative skills and knowledge in disciplinary and cross-disciplinary learning within the college’s general education core and academic programs.
MCC’s Roadmap will provide an access point in facilitating student understanding of the diverse educational pathways open to them while providing coherence in navigating this process. This virtual game model will help students, advisors, mentors, faculty, and professionals in Student Affairs, Registrar, and Financial Aid offices more effectively and comprehensively serve students as they prepare, plan and navigate their academic careers. This Educational Map can be embedded into specific courses such as First Year Experience, developmental English, Adults in Transition, Summer Training and Academic Retention Service (STARS) as well as MCC’s recently launched Foundations in Retention, Success, and Transition (F.I.R.S.T.) Program. It also has the potential to be embedded in New Student Orientation, Student Government Association, student clubs, Student Retention Services and Student Advising Seminar sessions, and ultimately available to all students.
BARRIERS TO ACCOMPLISHMENT
The Roadmap Project most likely will succeed if the College has sustained leadership among the key positions of President, Dean of Student Affairs and Dean of Academic Affairs. Draconian budget cuts across our new ConnSCU system have already triggered major changes in the initial Roadmap application, rendering the initial goal of a one-credit Educational Mapping course unsustainable if not impossible. A new Strategic Plan for MCC is set to launch in 2014. Roadmap must be a vital part of this new Strategic Plan. Integrative learning and intentional application and assessment of HIPs must remain a core element of this plan for Roadmap to continue to have life, as well. The ConnSCU merger could either impede or enhance the implementation, evolution and sustainability of the team goals. Seamless transfer agreements would enhance the project by making it easier to track a student’s progress towards transfer to a senior institution. The merger might also create a more favorable funding formula for MCC, and perhaps, a better ratio of full-time to part-time faculty (the senior institutions are contractually required to have a 60-40 full-time to part-time ratio by contract). Greater retention and graduation rates might also lead to a more favorable funding formulaif the ConnSCU System adopts a plan to base funding upon graduation and retention rates. On the other hand, the merger might lead to more confusing transfer agreements that differ between MCC and the senior institutions, making our road diverge in a yellow wood, to paraphrase Robert Frost.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUPPORT
A new Strategic Plan will be launched in 2014. Linking Roadmap to the Strategic Plan will position the program for funding opportunities.In addition, in 2009, the President of MCC created an Innovation Fund to help finance programs that cannot be funded through normal department budgets. The MCC Foundation, an organization that raises money for scholarships and other initiatives that directly impact student learning and success, also accepts applications to fund special projects. AAC&U offers some funding for Roadmap projects.
ENGAGEMENT PLAN FOR STAKEHOLDERS
In order for our Roadmap Project to be successful, the major stakeholders need to be identified.Students, advisors, employers, Regional Advisory Council, MCC Foundation members, faculty and staff need to be participants in the creation of this Educational Map. Engaging students, advisors, faculty and staff should be carried forward through our College Senate and Academic Senate as well as Professional Day Workshops, teas and breakfasts. Employer engagement can emerge from Advisory Council meetings that all of our workforce development programs rely on to keep their programs relevant.
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Many opportunities exist to engage the MCC community in the creation of this Educational Map. Roadmap Team brainstorming sessions (in fall 2013) have created a mixed method student focus group survey to help identify roadblocks to student success in enrollment, persistence, retention and goals. Opening Day Workshops, College Senate, Academic Senate, and Professional Days will provide constituents on campus several opportunities to take ownership of the Educational Map. The Regional Advisory Council and employers can be approached through MCC Foundation meetings and program advisory board meetings.
TEAM ACTIONS AND TIMELINE
Action / Purpose/Details / WhenRoadmap Team meetings / To present proposal developed at AAC&U / Early Fall 2013; twice monthly meetings
Engage Graphic Design faculty / Develop visual map to be displayed throughout the campus and attached to all syllabi / Summer 2013
Engage ETDL staff/IT / To determine the best software program to create an electronic version of the Educational Map / Summer 2013 through Spring 2014
Imbed Educational Map in target programs / To implement the first stage in target programs / Fall 2014
Track, assess and modify as needed / To evaluate strengths and weaknesses / Spring 2015 and ongoing
Identify second stage target programs / To expand use of Educational Map / Fall 2015
RECOMMENDED TIMELINE FOR CAMPUS WORK
Action / Who / WhenRoll out proposal to the rest of the Roadmap team / Four team members that attended AAC&U / Completed Fall 2013
Create Visual Educational Map / Graphic Design/Game Design Faculty / Fall 2013; Prototype to be completed by December 15, 2013
Create Electronic Educational Map / Digital Graphics faculty / Prototype to be completed by the end of the Spring 2014 semester
Identify first stage target programs / Faculty and Staff / Recommendations made, Fall 2013
Track, assess and modify Educational Map / Campus community / Spring 2015
Identify second stage target programs / Faculty and Staff / Fall 2015
EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS (How will we know we’re making progress?)
Evaluation of evidence of success should be visible in retention and graduation of students. The plan is to track student progress towards milestones through multiple measures including “check in” points developed within the Educational Map. The “check ins” would be a diagnostic tool that would also identify students “lost along the road.”Success could also be measured through a comparison of the timeline of student graduation pre-Educational Map and after implementation. Graduate surveys will also be valuable for determining strengths and weaknesses of the Educational Map. Counselors’ and academic advisors’ input provides another measure of the viability of the Map.
A digital copy of this template is available at: