Student Success

Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges September 2011

Measuring Student Success

Student Achievement Initiative data are the starting point

• The Student Achievement Initiative measures annual attainment in terms of achievement gains.

• Achievement gains are function of student enrollments multiplied by achievement points per student.

• Student Achievement measures all students to give an annual accounting – total points.

Today’s presentation

• Analyzes student progress (2 years after start) and longer success rates (4 years after start).

• Students are tracked in cohorts using achievement data (+ other data) over a span of years (different than single year view of annual point gains for all students used to reward colleges).

• Data were presented at the Governance Institute for Student Success, June 2011.

Summary of Findings

Main findings – no surprise

• More work needs to be done to improve transfer and workforce student completion rates.

• While majority of transfer and workforce students make gains, completion rates still relatively low after 4 years.

• Completing college math is barrier for majority of students and particularly difficult for students who need a lot of remedial math to start.

• Students of color – in particular African American, Native American and Hispanic students have lowest progress and success rates. They are less likely than other workforce students to complete 30 college level credits by the end of their second year.

• Fewer than one in five basic skills students go on to college classes after four years.

Four-Year WA System Success Rates: New Transfer Students Entering WA Comm and Technical Colleges, Fall 2006*

Initial cohort: 21,664 students *includes all first-time-ever-in-college WA students, full-time and part-time.

System Total0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

20%

22%

6%

36%All others who made achievement gains before leaving

Still enrolled in year 4 at that college

Transfers without earned degree

Earned tipping point/degree (or, for small number who changed goals, workforce award)

Four-Year WA System Success Rates: New Transfer Students Entering WA Comm and Tech Colleges, Fall 2006* – by Race/Ethnicity

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

20%11% 18% 13% 17% 21%

23%24% 17% 19%

25% 23%

7%6% 7% 8%

7% 5%

38%38% 40% 42%

36% 35%

% All others who made achievement gains before leaving

% Still enrolled in year 4 at that college

% Transfers without earned degree

% Earned tipping point/degree

*includes all first-time-ever-in-college WA students, full-time and part-time.

Math Progress in WA System: New Transfer Students Entering WA Community and Technical Colleges*

Percent Who Completed College-Level Math/Logic Course Two Years After Start, by Pre-College or College-Level Math

Enrollment

Began just below college level Began >1 level below college level

All others*0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

53%

29%37%

(n=8,688)(n=25,393)

(n=30,494)

*Cohort years 2006, 2007, and 2008 combined.

Four-Year WA System Success Rates: New Prof/Technical Students Entering WA Community and Technical Colleges, Fall 2006

SYSTEM TOTAL0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

26%

6%5%

41%

All others who made achievement gains before leaving

Still enrolled in year 4 at that college

Earned short certificate (<45 credits)

Reaching tipping point completions*

*Includes all first-time-ever-in-college WA students, full-time and part-time.

Earned at least 30 college credits by end of 2nd year: New Prof/Technical Students Entering WA Comm and Technical Colleges

Percentage Who Earned 30 College-Level Credits Two Years After Start

System Total0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

54%46% 48% 48%

56%

Asian/Pacific Islander

Black

Hispanic

Native Amer-ican

White

*Cohort years 2006, 2007, and 2008 combined.

Four-Year WA System Success Rates: New Basic Skills Students Entering WA Comm and Tech Colleges, Fall 2006*

ABE ESL0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

18% 13%

14%

15%

29%

Percent who in-creased one level

Percent earned GED or completed high school

Percent transition-ing

Initial cohort 14,108 students *includes all first-time-ever-in-college WA students, full-time and part-time.

What does this mean in “people terms”?

Of the 21,664 new transfer students who entered a Washington community or technical college in the fall of 2006:

• 4,343 (20%) earned a tipping point /degree within four years

• 4,823 (22%) transferred (before earning a degree)

• 1,239 (6%) were still enrolled in year four at that college

• 7,824 (36%) made some achievement gains before leaving

Of the 14,108 new professional/technical students who entered a Washington community or technical college in the fall of 2006:

• 3,654 (26%) earned a tipping point (at least one year of college + award) within four years

• 818 (6%) earned a short certificate (less than one year of college attainment)

• 714 (5%) were still enrolled in year four at that college

• 5,854 (41%) made some achievement gains before leaving