In This Issue:
- Letter from the Editors
- Webinar: Guided Pathways: Design and Results
- Virtual Table Talk: Facilitating Transfer Pathways Between Institutions and Into High-Demand Careers
- Reminders & News
As we head into May, we hit the chaos of exams, the year-end, and commencements. At the same time, our focus is already shifting to incoming students, orientations, and new initiatives. Data will soon be coming in to help us assess our key indicators, and we will be evaluating whether our interventions have moved the dial on our intended outcomes.
In this month’s webinar and table talk, we’ll be addressing the perspectives and issues related to pathways, and to sending and receiving transfers. We’ll be looking at both the individual student perspective and the institutional/system/higher ed perspective. Transfers are a key component to enrollments, and are a common route to graduation for many students. They deserve our attention!
Enjoy this season of commencement celebrations!
Warmly
KD, Gila, Jerry, Lisa, and Victoria
frontierset@venturewell.org
Webinar
Guided Pathways: Design and Results
Tuesday, May 21 at 1:00pm ET
Hosts: Thalia Wilson, Fayetteville State University; Julie Alexander, Alicia Giovanni, Miami Dade College; and Paul Markham, Sova Solutions
Target Audience: All personnel involved in the planning of guided pathways and the support and tracking of students as they progress through them
Description: The data shows it works: College students are more likely to complete a degree in a timely fashion if they follow a guided pathways approach, mapping out a highly structured, educationally coherent program that aligns with students’ goals for careers and further education. Within that structure, colleges align support and the achievement of milestones along the way.
After an overview of guided pathways, hear from two Frontier Set sites, Fayetteville State University and Miami Dade College, who have adopted these principles both within their own institutions and also in conjunction with collaborating institutions (including other Frontier Set sites) with whom they share students and pathways. State legislative policies have driven these changes, and indications are that it’s making a big difference for students. Learn more about MDC’s Shark Path and transfer articulations, and the pathways and financial incentives built into FSU’s $10K Challenge.
Virtual Table Talk
Facilitating Transfer Pathways Between Institutions and Into High-Demand Careers
Monday, May 20 at 3:00pm ET
Hosts: Art Recesso, University System of Georgia and Randy Schulte, Tennessee Board of Regents
Target Audience: Policy-makers and professionals involved in transfer, pathways, and workforce partnerships
Description: Transfer students (inbound and outgoing) are a key sub-population within any institution’s enrollment. A 2015 NSC report found that 37.2% of college students changed schools at least once within six years, and of these, 45% changed their institution more than once. Transfers are often motivated and directed . . . and yet, their pathways are not always direct or easy.
What articulation is needed, between and within institutions, and with the workplaces where the students may be headed? What infrastructure is needed to map out their transitions, so they don’t lose precious time – and money, not to mention drive – to graduation and employment.
Tennessee Board of Regents will describe how they have facilitated transfer pathways and clarified expectations for students who transfer from a community college to a university. The University System of Georgia will describe their Nexus degree, partnering with high demand workplaces to give students the opportunity to develop experience and demonstrate key competencies.
Reminders & News
Frontier Set Videos
Some Frontier Set members were interviewed during the annual convening, and in addition to the convening highlights video that was produced for our internal community, a short video was made for a broader audience describing our work. Take a look here.
Frontier Set Exemplars
At the Annual Convening, each Frontier Set site presented on an exemplar. The slide decks are posted here here and are a fruitful way to glean ideas for programming and/or contacts/resources within our community. Browse through to kickstart your networking (look for the daily sessions on ‘Leveraging Site Exemplars’)!
Connection Fund Activity
A team from Lorain County Community College visited the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College campus, exploring NWTC’s cultural-responsiveness training, student support services, the NWTC writing lab, and the overall NWTC student success center model. For more info, contact Erin Wood or Jonathan Dryden on the Frontier Set Community platform.
Tagging and Searching for Topics: Frontier Set Community Platform Tip
Did you know that you can tag searchable topics to your posts on the platform? Watch this video to learn how to tag topics to your posts and how to search for topics on the Frontier Set Online Community platform.
Post Secondary Data Partnership
- Early May:
- Beta release of the PDP Dashboards to System of Institutions
- Survey will be sent to all Institutions to gather feedback on the Beta Release
- May 8: Virtual Office Hours WebEx* – bring questions and feedback on the beta release
- May 29: Beta Feedback and Survey Results WebEx
- Early June:
- Dashboard refresh
- Analysis Ready Files Released to Institutions
Frontier Set Sites News Roundup
In case you missed it, we rounded up some articles and news from the past month that spotlighted Frontier Set sites:
- Miami Dade and Indian River Community College: Success with student outcomes wins 2 Florida community colleges Aspen Prize
- Portland State University: 4 colleges to test expanded resources or single moms
- Harper College: Rolling up the sleeves for apprenticeships
- Arizona State University and University of Central Florida: What a predictive analytics experiment taught 11 colleges about sharing data
To review past newsletters, click here.