Scaffolds to Success: TRiO Learning Communities for

Underprepared Students

Yakima Valley Community College• Kerrie Abb, Dean of Arts and Sciences• Marc Coomer, Asst Dean for Student Support• Wilma Dulin, SD Instructor/Faculty Director OIE• Gordon Koestler, English Instructor

YVCC’s Student Population

• About 11,000 students a year for 4400 FTE• 60% students of color• 2/3 female• 2/3 transfer/workforce students (~6,500)– 95% required to take at least one dev. ed. course– 85% must take two or more dev. ed. courses– 85% report being first generation*– 57% receive Pell grants*– 3% identify as having disabilities**these are optional reporting items, so % reflect of those who provide this data

YVCC’s SSS Target Population

• First Generation AND• Low Income AND• Under-prepared in both English and Math• May have disabilities

Each Fall Quarter, this is about 170 of the 550 incoming first time college student cohort - about 30%

SSS serves about 75 new, incoming students each year - 40% of so of eligible

Elements of the SSS program for incoming students

• Proactive recruitment

• Relationship-Focused Orientation

• Guided First Year Schedule

• Academic Support

Proactive Recruitment

• Role of OIE/Registrar• Both 1st gen & low $• Enrollment Services

Identifying potential students

• Letters• Personal calls• Orientation invitation

Personal Contact

Relationship-Focused Orientation

• Run by TRiO Faculty, Staff, and Students

• Small groups & introductions

• College information & Tours

• Advising & Early Registration

• Book loans• Financial aid support• Welcome Event

Guided First Year ScheduleFa

ll Q

uart

er ENGL 095 +

SD 075

Math

Win

ter Q

uart

er ENGL& 101 +

CMST& 220

Math

Sprin

g Q

uart

er ENGL 102

choice

Math

Why Learning Communities?

Collaboration

Integrate Knowledge and Skills

Relationship building

Learner and Learning Centered

Integrated Focus on Critical Thinking

Critical thinking about • Self • Academic skills • College readiness

Using a recursive teaching style that has students• Reflecting• Responding• Reviewing• Revising

Key Content

Becoming a Critical Thinker!• Who am I?• What do I want to do

with my life?• What education is

needed to do this?• How will I pay for this

education?• Am I college-ready?

Common Elements

• All instructors are academic advisors for SSS

• Use common texts and, whenever possible, open source materials

• Collaborative learning and team assignments

• Study skills integrated in the classroom

• Weekly seminars

Example: How to Seminar Lesson

• Think and Brainstorm: Quality discussions• Set up note taking for video• Show Video• Compare notes• Add to brainstorm• Share rubric• Assign seminar topic• Seminar

Integrated Assignment:Career Presentations & Essays

SD 075 Assignments• Identify personal attributes• Research chosen career– WOIS + 3 resources– Career interviews

• Create a presentation outline

• Create a poster• Participate in a “poster

session”

English 095 Assignments• Summarize and respond to

assessment results • Create a works cited page in

MLA style for resources• Utilize word processing

software• Write an essay on their career

choice, integrating at least four resources, interviews, and personal assessments

Integrated Assignment Example:

Additional Support provided by TRiO SSS

• Math support groups• Financial workshops • Cultural events & Campus visits• Student club• Book loans• Scholarship opportunities• Online Canvas TRiO Toolkit

How do we know this is working?

• We use a matched-cohort protocol for analyzing quantitative outcomes– All students in the cohorts are 1st gen, low-income and

enrolled in English 095 Fall Quarter– SSS Cohort enrolled in the learning communities– SSS eligible enrolled in ENGL 095 but not in LC

• We use pre-/post efficacy surveys, focus groups, and student interviews for gathering qualitative data

2010-2012 three-year averagesSuccess Measure Matched

CohortTRiO SSS Cohort

Difference

Completion of Developmental English 78% 97% +19%

First quarter enrollment in math 70% 87% +17%

First quarter retention 76% 94% +18%

Continuous enrollment in math 43% 69% +26%

Successful completion of English 101 in first year

36% 58% +22%

Reenrollment in a second year (fall 2010 & 2011 cohorts only)

63% 81% +18%

SAI Points per student and Highest Momentum Earned

Momentum Points Matched SSS Difference

Points per Student 2.90 3.01 +.11

No Momentum 8% 0% -8%

College Ready (English or Math) 28% 41% +13%

15 college Level Credits 29% 40% +11%

30 College Level Credits 21% 9% -12%

Quantitative Point 13% 10% -2%

Tipping Point <1% 0% =

Qualitative Data

• College and English Efficacy Surveys: Statistically significant increases

• Focus groups: SGID model; ATD coaches

• Interviews with students: TRiO staff

Bottom line: Students think this works!

Data shows us this program works!

• Higher course completion rates

• Higher retention rates

• More persistence in Math

• Developmental work before college-level work

• Strong student support

Collaborations are integral

• Arts and Sciences Division Funding– Identifying faculty– Scheduling – courses, rooms, computer labs– Writing and Math Center

• Student Services– Admissions and Registration– Financial Aid– Counseling, Advising and Disability Support

• Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE)

What would it take to take this to scale?

• Currently serving about 25% of eligible• Increase the number of sections from the

current two to eight• Train English instructors to integrate the SD

content into existing English courses and/or teach the SD course

• Add counselors to teach the SD course• Guarantee students an annual schedule of

sequenced courses to help us plan

To recap…

To contact us…

• Kerrie Abb kabb@yvcc.edu509-574-4871

• Marc Coomer mcoomer@yvcc.edu509-574-4960

• Wilma Dulin wdulin@yvcc.edu509-574-6832

• Gordon Koestler gkoestler@yvcc.edu509-574-4828