Www.inquiry2improvement.com How a Culture of Inquiry & A Focus on Completion Can Help You Move the Needle on Student Success Dr. Rob Johnstone Texas CC

www.inquiry2improvement.com

How a Culture of Inquiry & A Focus on Completion

Can Help You Move the Needle

on Student Success

Dr. Rob JohnstoneTexas CC Instructional Administrators

Fredericksburg, TXMay 31, 2015

www.inquiry2improvement.comNati onal Center for Inquiry & Improvement

Acknowledgements Much of the content in this presentation in conjunction with

national projects such as Completion by Design, the Aspen Prize for CC Excellence, and Bridging Research, Information & Cultures (BRIC)

Content has also been developed by and with a host of national partners, including:

• Community College Research Center (CCRC)• Jobs for the Future• JBL Associates• Public Agenda• The Research & Planning (RP) Group

Infographics were primarily designed by Greg Stoup

http://www.inquiry2improvement.com/


Formalistic Doublespeak…

• Give your 1st reaction to the following list of words:• Accountability• Accreditation• Assessment• Continuous Improvement• Data-Driven Decision Making• Evaluation• Institutional Effectiveness• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)• Learning Outcomes Assessment• Performance-based Funding• Program Review• Strategic planning



Recapturing the Movement…

• Vivid imagery from previous slide• Faculty, Student Services folks & leaders have been beaten over the head with these phrases they are correct to analyze that they too often

haven’t led to authentic improvement and the more formal the process, often…

•There is good news for our improvement efforts – you can do all of the things captured by those words in more authentic and less formalistic ways



Changing the Conversations…

• We have to make the conversation about things faculty, staff & administrators care about – students, their learning, and improving their outcomes and lives

• Not everybody will come along – but we don’t need everybody

• Org Change Thought: Red light / Yellow light / Green light

• People need to see their expertise acknowledged and integrated – and the effect of their efforts on outcomes


6www.inquiry2improvement.com

A Culture of Inquiry & Action

A RESOURCE for INSTITUTIONAL change

April 2014

www.inquiry2improvement.comNati onal Center for Inquiry & Improvement 7

An Applied Inquiry Framework for Student Completion (CBD)

Stage 1 – Explore how to improve outcomes

Stage 2 – Gather meaningful evidence

Stage 3 – Discuss evidence broadly

Stage 4 – Use evidence to inform change

Stage 5 – Measure the impact of change



What is a Culture of Inquiry?

Institutional capacity for supporting open, honest and collaborative dialog focused on strengthening the institution and the outcomes of its students.



Explore how to improve student outcomes

Focus inquiry on designing approaches that improve student outcomes

STAGE 1


How We Spend Our Time Matters…

When was the last time you sat in a standing committee meeting on your campus that used evidence to explore a key student outcome for more than 20 minutes?

What types of questions do we spend most of our organizational resources answering?



Malcolm Gladwell talks about the right question…

11

• Link to full video: http://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce


http://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce




The Right Question in the CC World… Placement Tests & Cut Scores

12

• What was the problem we were trying to solve?• I’d posit it was something like:

“Can we find a short instrument that will help us assign incoming students to various levels of math & English?” Or…

“How do we ensure higher levels of course success in transfer-level math & English courses?

• Are these the best questions? Why or why not?

Note: current system of placement tests may not even be the best solution for this question: LBCC / CCRC



What if we tried to solve…

13

• What placement process is the most predictive of transfer-level course success?

Or….• What is the optimal curricular structure to ensure that the greatest number of students pass transfer-level math / English courses with appropriate rigor?

Or….



More questions…

14

• What is the optimal math curriculum that produces computational learning outcomes that most students will need in the real world?

Or…• Is writing about literature the optimal way to teach students the writing skills they need in their general education courses? What about in the real world?



Organizing Question of Improvement Science:

What problem are you trying to solve?



An Example from AB Tech in Asheville, NC…

16

• We have to make sure our improvement efforts to trying to solve the right problem “Right” is slippery – the problem at hand may be

important, but it might detract us from a larger problem that is of much higher impact to improving student outcomes

• AB Tech’s “One Stop” Onboarding process Original problem they were trying to solve: “How

do we address the chaotic and disconnected nature of the onboarding of our new students?



One Stop Address the Chaotic Onboarding Problem, but…

17

• As the AB Tech folks reflected on their efforts, they realized they might unintentionally communicate to students that it’s possible in four hours or one day to: assess interests match interests to careers pick a program register for classes figure out financial stability issues be ready for opening day be prepared for any bump in the road that might occur



Perhaps…

18

• A better question / problem to solve might be: “How do we ensure that students get the services they need – when they need them – as they move through their educational trajectory at our college?”

• Note that this still covers having a more streamlined onboarding experience – but recognizes that it sits in a larger context to be addressed



To sum up the starting line stage…

19

• More focus on asking the right question, and ensuring we know what problem we are trying to solve – actually less focus on the data per se

• Sometimes exploring the data can help you realize you’ve been asking the wrong question - The Right Pepsi vs. The Right Pepsis

• Traditional questions: enrollment, course success, material covered

• Emerging questions: improving outcomes - completion, progress, learning, labor market, equity



Gather meaningful evidence

Collect high-quality, meaningful evidence at the student support, classroom, program,

and institutional levels

STAGE 2


When gathering evidence, make sure you are focusing on the right data…



Progress Example:Look for Examples from

Four-Year Schools: Retention & Progress at

Georgia Statehttp://

www.edtrust.org/higher_ed_practice_guide

for more examples


http://www.edtrust.org/higher_ed_practice_guide





A Mystery…

• The graduation rate at Georgia State University was 31% in the early 2000s

• Not unusual for an urban, regional 4-year state university

• As they evolved their culture of inquiry, they asked a range of questions designed to identify factors they could work on changing to move the needle and improve this outcome

• So they looked at a common metric – Fall-to-Fall retention, but didn’t stop there…



First Year to Second Year Retention, Georgia State University

24

Fall '00 Fall '01 Fall '02 Fall '03 Fall '04 Fall '05 Fall '06 Fall '07 Fall '08

80% 82% 81% 83%80% 81% 82% 83% 83%

Retention



First Year Retention & Progression Rates - Georgia State University

25

Fall '00 Fall '01 Fall '02 Fall '03 Fall '04 Fall '05 Fall '06 Fall '07 Fall '08

80% 82% 81% 83%80% 81% 82% 83% 83%

22%27% 28%

33% 35%39%

49%

62%67%

Retention Retained & Sophomore



Ten Years later…

• GSU has implemented a wide range of targeted strategies – such as strong freshmen LCs, more structured programs of study, monitoring progress and customizing interventions / support strategies, accelerated dev ed

• The culture at GSU has continued to evolve into a deep culture of inquiry, action & improvement

• The graduation rate at Georgia State University is now 54% - a 75 percent increase in the last decade – with the same student population they started with



Discuss evidence broadly

Engage a variety of campus stakeholders in evidence-based discussions about

improvements in practice

STAGE 3


Key Concept: Data do not speak for themselves

Time & Space Needed to Explore Data, Make Meaning & Generate

Insight

28



Exploring Data Example: English & Math Preparedness

& Success in GE Courses


Not in an English course

Engl 826

Engl 836

Engl 100

Engl 110

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

31%

48%

68%

75%Not in an English course

64%

67% 33%

Success Rate of those same students in Psychology 101

English course taking profile for students in Psychology 101

Note: Enrollments from Summer 2000 to Spring 2009; Success is defined as A/B/C/CR grade

Success in Psychology 101 for students simultaneously enrolled in an English course

English 826(Two Below)

English 836(One Below)

English 100(Transfer A)

English 110(Transfer B)

Not in a Math course

Funda-mentals

Beginning Algebra

Intermediate Algebra

Transfer Level

0%10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

43%

51%

63%

76%Not in an Math course

64%

63% 37%

Success Rate of those same students in Psychology 101

Math course taking profile for students in Psychology 101


Success in Psychology 101 for students simultaneously enrolled in an Math course

Fundamentals Beginning Algebra

Intermediate Algebra

Transfer Level Math

0%10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

31%

48%

68%

75%


Success in five highly enrolled GE courses by English enrollment level

Psychology 101 Speech 101 Economics 101 History 101 HSCI 101

54% 57%

73%

82%

27%

56%

73%79%

48%43%

51%

64%60%

74%

82%88%





0%10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

48%

58%

68%

76%


Success in five highly enrolled GE courses by English enrollment level

Fitness 334 Accounting 101 Music 202 Biology 250 Sociology 101

37%

50%

66%

73%

31%

64%

74%80%

40%

60%65%

50%

59%

74%





40%

N/A


Use evidence to inform change

34

Implement changes in practice and policy based

on analyses and discussion of college evidence

STAGE 4


Use evidence to guide innovation

● In this context, research and applied inquiry are fundamentally interventionist in nature.

● We are not seeking absolute truths; rather we are looking for patterns of evidence that inform action-oriented decisions.

● Failure can be seen as an opportunity for learning, especially when outcomes are shared and used to inform further improvements in practice.

35


The process of inquiry is not a search for an absolute truth

Domain of possible solutions

We answer the questions that eliminate dead end solutions

And what do we do when the evidence is ambiguous?

Gregory M Stoup, Cañada College

What to do when you reach the limits of your research and yet still face multiple choices?

Trust your expertise & choose !


Measure the impact of change

37

Evaluate the impact of practice changes on

student outcomes

STAGE 5


Final Thoughts on a Culture of Inquiry & Improvement


Final Reflections

• Creating or evolving your culture of inquiry isn’t magic; there are clear steps and resulting artefacts of such a culture

• Don’t focus too much on the data – the questions you ask are exponentially more important

• Remind yourself and your team to constantly ask: “What problem are we trying to solve?”



What we are shooting for…

• Great statement of the desired end state from a CC President at the Aspen / ATD Leadership Symposium:

“A wider range of people on a campus ask a better set of questions about outcomes & act on their reflections to improve

them.”



Walking Through a Student’s Exploratory Process: A Website Journey


Demonstration: A Student Interested in Psychology

• Institution was selected at random

• If you think it’s different at your college / within your system, click on a couple of pages of your college’s website

• Yes this is the website and we have advising – but it’s still the primary source for most students – and the face of the college

• http://www.sc.edu/ - see appendix for screenshots


http://www.sc.edu/

http://www.sc.edu/


Post-Mortem…• Can’t stress this enough – this is but one example

of hundreds at 2/4-year colleges…

• Also important to keep in mind that for CC students – this is a huge simplification over what they need to navigate, as the 4-year student has a single goal – graduating with a BA / BS…

• CC students have with the options of short term certificates, long term certificates, “terminal” AA degrees, transfer + AA degree, and transfer without AA degree all as options



Redesign for Completion:A Guided Pathways Overview

Status Quo Pathways• Little upfront career and college planning• Paths unclear, poorly aligned with end goals• Too many choices; requirements confusing• Developmental dead-end• Students’ progress not monitored• Limited on-going feedback and support• Poor alignment with hs and other feeders

GPS Design Principles Help students with goal-setting from the start

Simplify their choices with clear roadmaps

Redesign intake with goal of helping students choose and successfully enter a POS

Monitor students’ progress, giving frequent feedback and support as needed

Empower faculty and staff to lead the redesign process


Four Big Ideas for Redesign

1. Mapping Paths to Student End Goals

2. Helping Students Get on a Path

3. Keeping Students on a Path

4. Ensuring that Students are Learning

*Based on the work of Davis Jenkins & Rob Johnstone



Clarifying Curricular Paths

1. Are our programs well-designed to prepare students to enter further education and employment in fields of importance to our region?

2. How clearly are programs mapped for our students – especially to the common transfer institutions?

3. Do students know what courses they should take in what sequence?

4. Are the courses critical for success in each program clearly identified?



Helping Students Get on a Path

1. What do we do to help new students choose a program of study?

2. Do we integrate the exploration of career options as part of their onboarding experience?

3. How well do we help students succeed in gatekeeper courses not only in Math or English but in the main program areas (e.g. A&P, ACTG 101)?

4. Do we ensure that required math courses are aligned with the students field of study?

5. What do we do for students unlikely to get into limited access programs such as nursing?



Keeping the Students on Path

1. Do students know exactly how far along they are in their programs – and what they have left to do to complete?

2. How effective are we in ensuring that students are following their plans and staying on track?

3. Are we able to identify when students are at risk of falling of their path? How effective are we at intervening when this happens?

4. Do we ensure that students can take the courses they need when they need them?



Ensuring that Students Are Learning

1. Are learning outcomes clearly defined for each of our programs, including pre-transfer?

2. Are learning outcomes aligned with requirements for success in further education and employment outcomes (by program)?

3. Do faculty assess whether students are building skills across their program?

4. Do faculty use results of learning outcomes to improve the effectiveness of instruction?



Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions

About Redesigning Colleges to Improve Completion


Top 10 FAQs - Redesigning for Completion

1. Won’t we lose enrollment when we get rid of the swirl with increased structure?

2. Isn’t college a meritocracy, where the strong / smart succeed, and the weak / underprepared / unmotivated don’t succeed?



3. Isn’t free choice the cornerstone of American higher education?

4. Don’t students benefit when they “find themselves” by what looks like wandering to the observer?




5. Aren’t we going to sacrifice quality when move to more structured pathways?

6. Don’t we lose a liberal arts education when we make things more structured?

7. Isn’t all of this “hand-holding” going to create graduates that can’t navigate the workplace and the “real world”?




8. How can students be expected to make career decisions when they are 18 or 19?

9. Don’t students change careers four to seven times? Given this, why would we put them on structured pathways?

10. Won’t faculty lose control over what is taught in their discipline?




Find Out More

• The National Center for Inquiry & Improvement websitewww.inquiry2improvement.com

• Dr. Rob Johnstone, Founder & [email protected]

• CBD Inquiry Guides on Applied Inquiry & Nuances of Completion: http://www.inquiry2improvement.com/publications-resources


http://www.inquiry2improvement.com/publications-resources



Documents

Www.inquiry2improvement.com How a Culture of Inquiry & A Focus on Completion Can Help You Move the Needle on Student Success Dr. Rob Johnstone Texas CC