Project Compass atBridgewater State
College:
Implementation Year One(2008-2009)
Project Compass at BSCInstitutional Overview:
Bridgewater State College –
•Founded in 1840
•The largest state college in MA
•Considered the comprehensive public college of Southeastern MA
Project Compass at BSC
Motivation for Participation:
Retention and graduation rates indicate a disparity in success between the populations of students of interest in this project and the majority students of the College.
Additionally . . .
Project Compass at BSC
Motivation for Participation:
Sustaining the College’s mission to serve economically and socially disadvantaged students remains central despite growing demand for the College’s programs.
ADMISSIONS 2004 2008
Applied 5570 7229
Accepted 4251 4505
Enrolled 1317 1502
Selectivity 76% 62%
Yield 31% 33%
Project Compass at BSC
Institutional Overview: Fall 2008
Total FTE: 8,120
Undergraduate FTE: 7,324•60% Female•10% SOC•84% Full-time (36% are residential)
Graduate FTE: 796
Project Compass at BSC
Project Compass Cohort: Fall 2008
Total number of first-time freshmen: 1,502
Full-time96% (n=601)
Part-time 4% (n=24)
Not Compass58%
(n=877)
Compass42%
(n=625)
Project Compass at BSC
Project Compass Cohort: Fall 2008
Among resident* freshmen (n=1,496):• 23% (339) are first-generation students• 20% (293) are low-income• 13% (189) are SOC
*Excludes non-resident aliens (n=6)
Project Compass at BSCIntervention Areas:
I. Advising
II. Faculty Development
III. Research
Project Compass at BSCAdvising Strategies
Strategy 1.1: Structured study groups for high DFWI courses required in majors with high-concentrations of students in underserved groups
•Three sections of MATH 100 (Pre-calculus)•One section of MATH 110 (Statistics)•Peer Study Fellows
Project Compass at BSCAdvising Strategies
Strategy 1.2: Extend first-year engagement activities (structured book club participation, writing, and research support) to our target population
• Three sections of ENGL 102•One section: students with ESOL challenges•Two sections: students who pass ENGL 101 and earn less than 2.20 GPA and 12 college credits in 1st semester
•Book club, writing, and research components
Project Compass at BSCAdvising Strategies
Strategy 1.3: Integrated and intentional co-curricular advising: the Portfolio of Excellence
•Developed to create an integrated advising structure•Students meet with advisor to learn about co-curricular opportunities and reflect on their experiences in them to further academic and post-college success
Project Compass at BSCFaculty Development Strategies
Strategy 2.1: Programming aimed at bringing Project Compass data and culturally inclusive, engaged learning pedagogies to all faculty members
•Support for faculty/librarians in the enhanced use of culturally inclusive pedagogies.
•Hands-on workshops•Book clubs•Lunch discussions
•Speakers (External and Internal)
Project Compass at BSCFaculty Development Strategies
Strategy 2.2: Institutionalize goals of Project Compass via public relations/outreach efforts and permanent institutional structures
• Faculty/librarian awards• Center for the Advancement of Teaching & Research (CART) colloquia
•Mission of CART is to “foster the development of scholarship and teaching for faculty and librarians”
•Information distribution (e.g., Bridgewater Review)•Permanent structures (e.g., DIRI, DTL)
Project Compass at BSCFaculty Development Strategies
Strategy 2.3: Faculty Advising Coordinators for high-target population majors
• Faculty members representing three highest-use departments selected (Fall 2008) and trained (Spring 2009)
Project Compass at BSCResearch Strategies
•Improve the College’s ability to identify students in each of the three target populations (SOC, first-generation, low-income);•Through our enhanced ability to identify populations, improved tracking of academic performance, retention, satisfaction, and graduation will be made possible;•Improved tracking will in turn enhance the COP’s ability to recommend intervention strategies and assess program’s achievements.
Project Compass at BSCQuestions/Comments? •Jeanne Aurelio: [email protected]•Cathy Holbrook: [email protected]•Joel Litvin:
[email protected]•Wing-kai To:
[email protected]•Marlene Clapp: [email protected]