June 2009 Perspectives

The budget has been the number one topic at every research meeting lately. Many are asking how we can balance our research agendas to expand student learning assessment and institutional effectiveness research, while responding to the increased demand for enrollment management and fiscal reporting. Here is something to read without any bad news. Enjoy your summer everyone.

In this issue:

We welcome the new RP Board members! 

Provide updates from the Center for Student Success and the Hewlett Leaders Program

Read about SSS Conference Presentations, Data on Demand and Online Training

Consider RP's Proposal for a CC Studies Network

Read how GIS is used at LA City College

Wrap up the RP/CISOA 2009 Conference

and get a final reminder about RP Summer Institute

There are over 20 graduate programs with a specialization in community college studies in California.  The California State University system now offers a doctoral program with a specialization in community college leadership in six to seven of its campuses; UC has two campuses with such programs, and the privates such as USC, University of Pacific, Claremont, University of LaVerne and a few online programs add up to an extraordinary variety of opportunities to study community colleges at the graduate level.  Hundreds of community college professionals are enrolled in these programs, all of them required to complete a masters thesis or a doctoral dissertation as the culminating experience for their degree.

The RP Board is exploring the possibility of sponsoring a California Community College Studies Network consisting of program faculty and students as well as research and planning professionals from the colleges with the goal of expanding the research and knowledge base of the California community college system.  Three members of the RP Board, Michelle Barton, president-elect; Ken Meehan, former RP President; and myself are working with Elizabeth Cox, Assistant Director of the UC Riverside California Community College Collaborative (C4) to organize the network that will,

The RP team is completing a broad survey to as many of the program directors as we can find to assess their interest in these ideas and to recruit a small steering committee to work on the project.  If you are interested in this project or know someone who should be, please contact me at Gabriner@sfsu.edu.

Robert Gabriner is a member of the RP Board and Director of the Center for Student Success.  He is the former Vice Chancellor at City College of San Francisco and is now director of SF State Doctoral program in Education Leadership for Schools and Community Colleges. 

Over 200 researchers, information systems officers, and vendors attended this year’s RP/CISOA conference. The 2009 event featured a keynote presentation by Chancellor Jack Scott who spoke of the importance of using evidence to inform decision-making especially when so many demands are being made on budgets across the State. The CISOA keynote, Mark Milliron, gave a very entertaining and interesting presentation on emerging technologies and how those technologies relate to college students of the 21st century. Researchers had over 30 RP and CISOA sessions to choose from during the conference.

A wide range of research conference sessions were offered including topics on logistic regression, forecasting FTES, probability based advising, the Chancellor’s Office (CO) new Data on Demand tool, factor analysis, Cal-PASS, focus groups, the CO research agenda, mixed methods research, project management with limited resources, the impact of remediation, and GIS.

Based on workshop evaluations, attendees strongly felt that the sessions were interesting, relevant, and that the presenters were knowledgeable. For instance, one attendee made the following comment: “This was a great session. Wonderful information for all…”In addition to attending conference sessions, the researchers attended the traditional business meeting and awards dinner on the last night of the conference. Over 40 researchers attended the dinner and expressed their views on what they would like to see RP focus on, such as an increased emphasis on planning. In addition, the 2009 RP Group Award winners were acknowledged at the dinner.

The RP Group’s Center for Student Success (CSS) is beginning a new project with DeAnza College, where CSS will serve as the external evaluator for a national grant DeAnza won from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education for Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions.  Only six institutions nationally received this award in its first year.  DeAnza’s IMPACT AAPI (Initiatives to Maximize Positive Academic Achievement and Cultural Thriving focusing on Asian American and Pacific Islander students) project will test different approaches to increase the access, college readiness, success, and persistence of Asian American students from underserved groups, such as Vietnamese, Cambodian, Samoan, and Filipino populations. 

CSS is also launching a project with the University of California, Berkeley that will develop case studies on institutional- and classroom-level impacts of the Basic Skills Initiative.  Sixteen colleges, representing various approaches such as learning communities or integrating basic skills with career technical education, will be profiled to describe the institutional decisions made, document how these institutional decisions are reflected in the classroom, and determine whether these changes resulted in measurable changes in student outcomes.

As these new projects begin, we want to acknowledge a few others that are coming to a successful end.  After two years of intense study, the Transfer Leadership Center (TLC) has completed the quantitative analysis that tracked student cohorts to investigate variables that predict transfer success. Some of the findings of interest include how the following variables all increase the likelihood of transfer:

• attendance at multiple colleges,

• summer term enrollment,

• starting at a higher level of math and English,

• taking math and English courses in the first year of enrollment,

• receiving an AA in the first three years of enrollment, and

• receiving a loan or work study award.

The final report is currently being drafted and is expected to be available later this summer.  In addition, a new module for the Chancellor’s Office Data Mart - the Transfer Cohort Report - is expected to be online later this month and will provide interactive reporting capabilities on transfer cohorts with selectable time windows, demographics and special group membership.  The TLC also included a qualitative study that identified six transfer-promoting factors found at colleges with higher-than-expected transfer rates (http://www.rpgroup.org/css/TransferLeadershipCenter.html). 

Also coming to a conclusion is the Basic Skills Outcomes Capacity (BSOC) project, a Hewlett Foundation-funded internal system review of how basic skills outcomes are currently used on the 110 campuses.  The project reviewed available measures both within and outside the California system and has developed recommendations for a simple set of measures that can be used by all California community colleges. In addition, this study examined the capacity of colleges to digest and understand performance data and has developed recommendations on how to build this capacity in the future.  The project is currently finalizing its recommendations and the full report will be available this summer.

Finally, the Contextualized Teaching and Learning (CTL) project has released an informative document, offering California community college faculty a closer look at contextualized teaching and learning as a promising set of strategies and practices that can be expanded through the Basic Skills Initiative.  You can view the report online at: http://www.cccbsi.org/Websites/basicskills/Images/CTL.pdf.  Developed for instructors, counselors, administrators, and basic skills staff, this report provides: (1) a case statement for CTL that draws on relevant research and learning theory, (2) a review of a range of CTL practices, and (3) a set of considerations for community college faculty and leaders as well as funders and policymakers interested in the potential of CTL to strengthen student success.  This fall, the RP Group will augment this report with a series of video shorts produced in partnership with the Career Ladders Project that will feature students participating in innovative CTL programs.

We are very pleased to welcome RP’s newest board members:

Priya Chaplot, Educational Research Assessment Analyst, Mt San Antonio College

Tim Garner, Director for Planning & Research, College of the Sequoias

Barry Gribbons, Assistant Superintendent, College of the Canyons/Vice President, Institutional Development, Technology & Online Services, Santa Clarita CCD

Catherine Jackson, Director of Research & Planning, Shasta College

Andrew LaManque, Supervisor, Institutional Research, Foothill DeAnza CCD

Daniel Martinez, Associate Director of Institutional Research & Cal-PASS Regional Coordinator, Riverside CCD

We feel that this group will provide excellent perspectives and support as we move forward with our plans to address intermediate topics for researchers & planners, serving smaller and rural colleges, supporting assessment activities, and working closely with faculty and administrators.  Thanks to everyone for voting and to the many qualified candidates who ran this year!

This summer we also say good bye to ten-year veteran and former President Ken Meehan of Fullerton College (who will remain involved in our services for administrators and research & evaluation projects), Keith Wurtz of Chaffey College (who will continue work on the Student Success Conference and the RP Awards), and Bayinaah Jones of San Jose/Evergreen Community College District (who will share findings from the Achieving the Dream project at her district).

The Chancellor's Office new Data on Demand website provides a powerful suite of tools for tracking student outcomes.  The system allows researchers to delve deeper into various system-derived accountability metrics. On July 10, from 9:30-12:30 at Mt SAC, Chancellor's Office staff will provide an overview of the system and demonstrate how the tool can be used to create college-derived cohorts. This session is a hybrid presentation and demonstration. Questions and observations from the audience are encouraged. Although the event is free, registration is required. Details available at:http://www.rpgroup.org/events/workshops.html.

The RP Group received nearly 100 outstanding proposals for sessions at the Strengthening Student Success conference, making for many difficult choices in finalizing the program for the upcoming event (October 7-9, San Francisco Airport Marriott).  The program committee was deeply impressed by the breadth and depth of proposed topics – clearly excellent work is being done across the state to learn from assessment.  A complete listing of the selected sessions has now been posted to the website http://www.rpgroup.org/events/SSS09.html including:

• High Expectation and High Support: How Colleges Are Changing the Formula for Student Engagement  and Success

• What To Do With Assessment Data

• Sustaining Pilot Programs: Lessons from the Field

• Assessing Creative Thinking

• Will This Be On the Test? Creating a Campaign to Build Students’ Habits of Mind

We are also pleased to announce our keynote presenters:

• Joyce Romano of Valencia Community College, a Florida school with a successful model for meeting the needs of basic skills students

• Jeff Duncan-Andrade of the Educational Equity Initiative at San Francisco State University’s Cesar Chavez Institute, on using critical pedagogy to engage low-income urban students

We’ve kept registration fees low ($375), the conference location is accessible by public transportation, and the Bay Area is beautiful in October – you can reduce costs by carpooling with others, doubling up in rooms, or staying with friends in the area.

In anticipation of reduced travel and professional development budgets, the RP Group has secured the donation of an online tool that will enable RPers to access resources without having to put in an expense request.  Using the Epsilon platform, RP will be creating online communities focused around topics (such as student learning outcomes) and subgroups (such as regional research groups).  Within these communities, we will post resources including streaming video clips, downloadable tools, informative reports, calendars, and topical examples you can use to share knowledge at your own institution.  You will be able to rate these examples, post your own related content, join in threaded conversations, and search for information using intuitive content tags.

The Student Learning Outcome community will debut in mid July, followed by three additional groups that will be created in conjunction with the Strengthening Student Success conference in October, and pilot projects with three of the regional research groups during the fall.  We will also be experimenting with webinars as a way to share information.

If you’re interested in being involved in posting material or testing our beta sites, please contact KBooth@rpgroup.org.

After reviewing the data for all California community colleges and selecting 12 for site visits by a team of distinguished practitioners, three colleges were selected as Hewlett Leaders in Student Success this year. They are: Chaffey College, College of the Canyons, and Mendocino College.

A May 8 gathering in Sacramento celebrated the announcement of the 2009 Hewlett Leaders. Members of the program's visiting team and representatives of all seven of the Hewlett Leader colleges from 2008 and 2009 participated in a colloquium to explore the findings of the program with guests including representatives of the Chancellor's Office, the Legislative Analyst Office, Senate Office of Research, the Senate Budget Committee, and others.

Hewlett Leaders in Student Success recognizes colleges that demonstrate promising and innovative approaches to student success in basic skills. Their purposeful efforts yield a coherent, structured, systematic approach with college investment in assessment activities and actual improvement in basic skills success. These colleges have gone beyond serving discrete groups of students to implementing strategies of integration for scaling up and sustaining basic skills success. They have demonstrated success in moving students to transfer level work in English and math. The Hewlett Leaders come from a variety of colleges in our diverse system. This year’s Leaders join those of 2008: DeAnza, Columbia, Santa Barbara City, and Southwestern colleges.

The Hewlett Leaders are willing to share their strategies with others. Preliminary information about them and video excerpts demonstrating the breadth of perspectives and approaches to basic skills from the colloquium can be found at http://hewlettleadersinstudentsuccess.org/ Contact information for faculty and staff active in basic skills planning at each college is listed there as well. You can also engage with the Hewlett Leaders at the Strengthening Student Success Conference in October in San Francisco. 

The RP Summer Institute will be held at the Kellogg West Conference Center in Pomona, CA from July 12 to July 16. Space for the Summer Institute is filling up fast. You still have time to register. Cost is $550, which includes classes and all meals. Lodging is $95 per night. To register, go to www.rpgroup.org. The Summer Institute will equip research and planning professionals with a variety of skills that will enhance their effectiveness. Specifically, Summer Institute participants will:

• Become more efficient and effective in their research activities, which increases the IR office’s capacity and productivity

• Become knowledgeable on best practices in strategic and master planning

• Develop knowledge, skills and abilities relating to institutional planning, enrollment management, program review, Basic Skills Initiative assessment, test validation, and accreditation self-studies.

• Become familiar with key data reports and operational definitions to ensure more consistent and better quality data are available at your college

• Conduct in-depth analyses of your college’s basic skills and ARCC data

• More effectively present data and help the campus community interpret data

• Build connections with seasoned research and planning professionals who can provide guidance and support with on-going research and planning concerns

• Become more proficient managing Student Learning Outcome assessment

We hope you can take advantage of this opportunity. If you have any questions, contact Frances Wu-Barone at sfwu-barone@pasadena.edu.

Last summer I learned the RP group was organizing a geographic information system (GIS) course. Before this, I knew little about GIS or its capabilities. I had come across beautiful and useful maps produced by others but I never thought that I would be able to create something similar. The Introduction to GIS course was only 5 days long; however, within that short time we were able to present maps using data for our own college’s needs. Hosted by Rio Hondo College and organized by the RP group, the participants consisted of researchers from Pasadena City College, College of the Sequoias, Barstow Community College, Long Beach City College, El Camino College, Citrus College, and Los Angeles City College. The friendly and engaging professor, Warren Roberts, motivated us with his wealth of knowledge on multiple subjects. Working as a team with researchers from neighboring community colleges enriched the experience. I would like to say thank you to the CCC GIS Collaborative for the availability of all 72 California Community College district shape files. This is a valuable resource and having these files made it possible to prepare maps for our own district and colleges.

Currently at Los Angeles City College (LACC), we use GIS for a wide variety of projects. Some examples include: maps in the College Fact Book such as LACC Feeder High Schools. We also make maps showing our service area demographics by ethnicity, average age distribution, percent of foreign born within total population, percent who speak little or no English, educational attainment, and household median income. Recently, I was asked to find the number of LACC students from a particular City Council District for a grant application. I used geo-coding to find 600 students with a street address within the boundaries of the council service area. Now it will be easy to provide demographic data or track success information for the cohort of students living in that district. 

Two maps became large displays for the Public Relations Office at LACC. Lisa Fitch, Public Relations Specialist noted, “I find the maps really come in handy helping to visualize student statistics.With one glance, I can tell that the Median income of the households surrounding LACC ranges from less than $20,000 a year to just $40,000. Another L.A. County map, which I have posted in my office, shows the distribution of LACC fall 2007 students, overlapping the median household income map.When prospective advertisers meet me in my office, I point to this map and let them know I’m not interested in advertising out of our area, not just because of the concentration of dots, but because the map also shows the locations of the other community colleges, and as a rule, we try not to overlap advertising territories. This map also helped me demonstrate the value of advertising on the MTA Red Line in fall 2008, as a lot of low-income prospective students use public transportation.”

To put it simply, I have fallen in love with GIS! This software is a welcome tool for many institutional effectiveness reports. I can hardly wait for census data to be published so I can prepare more fascinating visual data maps. As a community college researcher, I am grateful for the opportunity to attend GIS training. Thank you, RP group, for this informative learning experience.