Welcome
to The Report Card, a newsletter containing information on
various topics related to institutional effectiveness. Unlike previous
years, the 2005-2006 Report Cards focus is on institutional
processes rather than institutional data. They have been designed to
inform the college community about how Green River addresses each of its
five Institutional Goals. In doing so, the Report Cards also
inform the college community about each recent institutional
effectiveness presentation to the Board of Trustees – the Monitoring
Report. This issue summarizes the most recent Monitoring Report
presentation to the Board of Trustees on Transfer Students.
Background
Corresponding to Green River’s Vision and
Mission statements, the Board of Trustees adopted five Institutional
Goals on May 25, 2005. In compliance with Policy Governance procedures,
the Monitoring Reports should report on the college’s performance in
achieving its goals, and thus ultimately in fulfilling the Mission.
However, because the college is devoting the 2005-2006 year to
identifying and developing core indicators and related quantitative
measures to assess goal achievement, this is a transitional year for the
Monitoring Reports. More specifically, they have been designed to better
inform the Board about how the college addresses each goal area. The
intention is to provide the Board members with a clear picture of the
mission and functions of the germane instructional and administrative
areas, and a better sense of the kinds of core indicators that should be
used to evaluate performance.
Monitoring Report:
Transfer Students
The Monitoring
Report on transfer students was presented to the Board of Trustees on
February 16, 2006. The presenters were David Hyllegard, Director of
Research and Planning, Diane Martin, Director of Education Support
Services, Allison Warner, Educational Planner for Transfer Services, and
Mark Blaisdell, Instructor, Social Science.
The institutional goal for transfer students states that “Transfer
students will meet the requirements for transfer to successfully pursue
a baccalaureate degree.” The goal is part of the broader institutional
goal for student learning, which states that “Students will benefit from
Green River’s commitment to learning as its highest priority.”
A key mission of the community colleges is to provide students with
rigorous academic programs that prepare them for transfer to
baccalaureate institutions. As such, we provide access to bachelor’s
degrees for many students who otherwise would not be admitted to 4-years
colleges and universities. Indeed, recent data from Washington State
indicate that more non-traditional students earn their bachelor’s
degrees after starting at community colleges than their peers who start
at a four-year college or university. Having exemplary transfer programs
with comprehensive transfer articulation agreements provides the
critical foundation to this vital avenue of social mobility.
Below are a few statistics that highlight Green River’s recent
accomplishments in this area.
-
3,577 transfer
students (FTEs) in fall 2005*
-
730 transfer degrees
conferred in 2004-05**
-
625 GRCC students
transferred in 2004-05*
-
28% transferred to
UW, the most popular destination
-
66% of UW transfers
graduated within three years
-
3.24 average GPA of
GRCC’s UW graduates
* Fourth in State
** Fifth in State
As is evident from these results, Green River is doing an outstanding
job in transfer education.
Transfer Degrees
In the early 1970s Washington adopted the Associate in Arts Degree,
which ensured that students could use their community college credits to
satisfy their lower division general education requirements at the
public baccalaureate institutions within the state, and also gave
priority admissions to those students. Now referred to as Direct
Transfer Agreement (DTA), there are four Associate of Arts-DTAs and one
under development. They are:
-
Associate in
Arts – DTA
-
Associate in
Business – DTA
-
Associate in
Math Education – DTA
-
Associate in
Pre-Nursing – DTA
-
Associate in
Elementary Education – DTA (in progress)
The Associate in
Arts DTA is the appropriate degree for students who intend to pursue a
baccalaureate in the arts, humanities or social sciences. The four other
degrees have specifically selected discipline courses that lead to their
respective major fields of interest.
In the last few years, seven similar state articulation agreements have
been established in the sciences and in science education. The generic
designation is the Associate in Science -Transfer (AS-T) Degree, and the
seven specific degrees are:
-
Bioengineering
and Chemical Engineering – AS-T
-
Computer and
Electrical Engineering – AS-T
-
Mechanical/Civil/Aeronautical/Materials Science Engineering– AS-T
-
Chemistry
Education– AS-T
-
Biology
Education– AS-T
-
Physics
Education– AS-T
-
General
Education– AS-T
These degrees are
slowly phasing out the Associate in Pre-Professional degrees (AP-P), in
which a student works with a faculty member and a transfer college to
design an individual plan for their transfer to that specific college.
Another innovative articulation option is the Associate of Applied
Transfer Degree. Unlike the degrees noted above, it allows students in
some professional technical programs to take the discipline courses at
the community college and transfer to a 4-year institution to obtain
their general education courses. Green River is planning to offer this
“upside down” degree option in the near future.
Academic Certificates are granted to students in recognition of their
concentrated study in certain disciplines. They are intended to
acknowledge the additional achievements of students as they’ve pursued
their AA or AS-T degree. Green River has developed several of these
certificates, including Gender Studies and Speech Communications.
Specific Articulation Agreements
Some areas of study do not fit into the degrees discussed above.
Therefore students occasionally need a pathway to a particular college
or major that is not addressed by the state agreements. Green River
works to develop specific articulation agreements that outline which
courses and credits will be accepted at another college or degree
program. Examples include GRCC and Central Washington University (CWU)
in Aviation, and GRCC and the University of Idaho in Forest Resources.
Our faculty works closely with their counterparts at these universities
to establish these pathways. The college also develops international
agreements for students wishing to transfer to GRCC from foreign
colleges or from GRCC to a foreign institution.
Major Ready Pathways and General Education Reciprocity
As part of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges’ efforts
to increase transfer and educational attainment among the state’s
residents, it signed a Major Ready Pathways agreement with the state
baccalaureate institutions. The agreement outlines goals to:
-
Create
additional Major Ready Pathways;
-
Increase
consistency in prerequisites;
-
Establish
reciprocity in general education requirements;
-
Confer greater
admissions priority to transfer students with Major Ready Pathways,
and;
-
Improve
communication strategies to better inform students of transfer
options.
This agreement with
the 4-year institutions helped prompt the community colleges to
establish the General Education Reciprocity agreement. It ensures that
each community college accepts the others’ general education courses and
distribution credits in the same manner as the original institution. The
agreement ensures that lateral transfers are not penalized by having to
take additional courses or credits that have already been fulfilled.
Transfer Credit
Due to the development of the Major Ready Pathways and the many related
discussions among the various Washington state transfer groups, the
4-year institutions have relaxed their rules on transfer credit. Whereas
last year 90 credits was the maximum number of transfer credits
accepted, many 4-year colleges now accept considerably more. In
addition, several of our 100 and 200 level courses transfer to some
colleges as 300 or 400 level courses, meaning that students fulfill a
portion of their junior or senior level requirements at Green River.
In order to enable our students to easily ascertain specific information
on course transferability, the college maintains the web-based Course
Transferability Checklist. It is a college designed database and process
that immediately notifies our 4-year college partners of any new or
changed curriculum at GRCC. The colleges respond to the inquiry by
indicating how they will accept a particular GRCC course. This has
become a very useful tool for faculty who are creating curriculum and
for students who want to know how their courses will be received for
credit at their transfer college.
Notwithstanding the diligent work by Green River personnel in helping to
establish such extensive transfer options for our students, there are a
number of challenges in this area. These include:
-
Communication
between the 2-year and 4-year colleges: From our vantage point, it
takes a great deal of discussion to come to consensus with the
4-year faculty on transfer issues.
-
Curriculum
changes: In addition to keeping up with industry and education
standards, making a single change to a course can impact any number
of existing articulation agreements.
-
Curriculum
changes: In addition to keeping up with industry and education
standards, making a single change to a course can impact any number
of existing articulation agreements.
-
Upgrading
publications: Last year there were over 800 course changes and more
than 150 changes to degrees.
-
Communicating
changes to students: Given that the catalogue is issued every two
years, it is difficult to keep students informed of all the recent
changes.
Although
communicating with the 4-years has been an ongoing challenge, it has
also been an invaluable opportunity. Through the collaborative process,
they are beginning to better understand and appreciate the needs of the
community colleges, especially the hurdles faced by our students. These
barriers are beginning to come down.
Educational Planning’s Transfer Services
The primary objectives of Educational Planning’s transfer advising are
to thoroughly inform students about GRCC’s transfer degrees and to guide
them in developing and adhering to an educational plan that meets their
transfer goal. To best accomplish these objectives, Educational Planning
developed specialized transfer services for new, exploratory, and
advanced students.
There are two advising services for new students. New Student Advising
Sessions are required for all new students enrolling in credit classes.
At these sessions students are introduced to Green River’s resources,
degree programs and online services. The other is the Transfer 101
Workshops where students learn the basics of the transfer process, such
as the definitions of common college terms, transfer application
requirements, and various college and university degree options.
The Major Decision Workshop is the specialized advising service for
exploratory students. At these workshops, students are given the
opportunity to take a career interest inventory, learn about their
inventory results, and hear from experts in Career Services and
Educational Planning about how the results can help them discover and
focus their educational and career aspirations. In addition to the
workshop, Educational Planning and the Career Development Center often
refer students to each other’s services to assist them in clarifying
their goals.
The targeted transfer service for students with more than 45 credits is
the Application and Personal Essay Workshop. This workshop is
co-facilitated by advisors from Educational Planning and an instructor
from the English Division. Students are given an overview of application
tips and extensive advising on how to write their personal essay for
their application.
In addition to these specialized activities, the following services are
available to all transfer students:
-
Transfer Fairs –
At these quarterly fairs, representatives from several regional
universities come to Green River to provide information on their
institutions. Students have the opportunity to speak with admissions
representatives from multiple campuses at one event.
-
Transfer Center
– This resource, located in the Educational Planning office,
contains a library of transfer applications, college search
materials, catalogs and information to assist with the transfer
process.
-
University
visits – Each quarter individual universities arrange to send
representatives to Green River to meet with prospective students.
They conduct information workshops, advising sessions, speak to
select classes and hold information tables.
-
Online Services
– For information on transfer deadlines, requirements and events,
students can access the Green River transfer services web page.
-
Educational
Planning – Regardless of how far students have progressed in their
studies, Educational Planning is always a resource for them.
Given that many
students cannot attend workshops or meet with their advisor on a regular
basis because of their off-campus commitments, important transfer
information is widely publicized. The main outlets that are used to
communicate this information are:
-
Green River’s
transfer website
-
Quarterly
transfer newsletter
-
Class Schedules
-
Class Schedules
-
School Newspaper
– The Current
-
Email campaigns
-
Fliers, posters,
etc.
Although Educational
Planning has developed exemplary activities and procedures to serve
transfer students, the work is not without its share of challenges. One
is to ensure that new students are taking the appropriate classes for
their academic level. This is because developmental courses often fill
quickly, leaving new students who register later with few options of
getting into these classes. Another is convincing students of the
importance of planning for their baccalaureate major prior to
transferring. This is especially important with the increasing number of
Major Ready Pathways and the push from universities for students to be
major ready prior to transfer. Finally, helping students to ready
themselves for the changes that will occur at their new campuses once
they transfer is a concern that is starting to be addressed. It is not
uncommon for transfer students’ GPA to decline slightly when they
transfer to a university – the decline is a result of multiple factors
at both the academic and student services level. This researched and
documented phenomenon, called “transfer shock,” needs the attention of
both community colleges and universities.
Among the strategies to address these challenges are enhanced
communication and partnerships. Both are currently taking place in the
following ways:
-
Posting
additional transfer resources on the website
-
Delivering
transfer information via email campaigns
-
Educational
Planning and Career Services partnership – the exploratory student
initiatives, for example
-
Partnerships
between faculty and Educational Planning – such as, Steps to
Success, College In-Service day, College Articulation & Transfer
committee
-
Partnerships
between community colleges and universities – University visits to
community colleges, advising days at University campuses, and state
transfer groups.
Faculty and
Transfer Student Success
Whether students “meet the requirements for transfer to successfully
pursue a baccalaureate degree” is largely determined by their academic
experience. Faculty members and the appropriate college committees work
tirelessly to ensure that the various transfer curricula are designed to
provide a solid foundation for students’ further education.
Additionally, instructors in each academic program regularly review and
update their course offerings, textbooks, and supporting materials.
There is also assurance of instructional quality through such means as
teaching observations, student evaluations, and the faculty promotion
process. Beyond these organizational processes, there is little doubt
that faculty members take great pride in their craft and devote
considerable energy to pedagogical concerns so that student engagement
and learning are consistently enhanced.
In addition to their essential role in the classroom, faculty members
also advise students. The goal is to create a faculty-student
partnership, with ongoing personal assistance and a formal meeting at
least once per quarter to discuss academic goals and progress. Faculty
members also acquaint students with campus and community resources and
keep them apprised of changing requirements at the 4-year institutions.
Advising is conducted in different formats, including formal and
informal advising during office hours, group sessions, and any
combination of these during Advising Day.
Faculty members also serve on GRCC’s transfer related committees. One is
the CAT – College Articulation and Transfer Committee – which reviews
GRCC transfer degrees and policies, discusses state-wide impacts, and
communicates transfer issues to the Academic Divisions. Another is the
FCRC – Faculty Curriculum Review Committee – which evaluates all new and
revised course and program proposals in relationship to the college’s
mission and goals. They also serve on various state transfer groups,
including:
-
ICRC –
Intercollege Relations Council
-
ATC –
Articulation and Transfer Council
-
IC – Instruction
Commission
-
JAOG – Joint
Access Oversight Groups
-
MRP – State
Major Ready Pathways Working Groups
In addition to their
participation on these groups, faculty members maintain fruitful
connections with their 4-year counterparts through their collaboration
in developing articulation agreements and in their professional
organizations. Perhaps the most exciting recent joint endeavor for our
students is the GRCC-CWU 2+2 partnership that leads from an AA to a BA
in Elementary Education and a K-8 teaching certificate. The BA is
conferred by CWU, with classes taught at Green River.
Possible Core Indicators of Effectiveness
The college has formed Working Groups to identify appropriate core
indicators and quantitative performance measures for each of the
college’s Institutional Goals. The Transfer Student Working Group, in
addition to assisting on developing the Monitoring Report presentation,
is continuing its efforts to identify appropriate indicators to assess
our success in achieving this goal. Below are some examples of core
indicators that the group is considering:
-
Student
persistence
-
Timely
graduation
-
Number of
transfer degrees conferred
-
Number of
graduates that transfer
-
Number of
students that transfer
