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East Georgia State College Campus Plan Update 2020

Institutional Mission and Student Body Profile

East Georgia State College (EGSC) is an associate degree granting, liberal arts institution providing access to academically transferable programs of study and targeted baccalaureate degrees at low cost to its students. As a unit of the University System of Georgia (USG) within the State College Sector, EGSC extends its access mission from its home campus in Swainsboro to instructional sites in Statesboro and Augusta. EGSC has been included on both of the U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center annually updated Lowest Tuition and Lowest Net Price national lists of four-year public colleges since July 2017.

EGSC began offering its initial baccalaureate degree, a Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree in Biology, in Fall Semester 2012 and has awarded the degree to 20 students. Since adding an Associate of Science (AS) Degree in Biology in Fall Semester 2017, 10 students have earned the AS Degree in Biology.

The College launched its second bachelor program in Spring Semester 2016, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in Fire and Emergency Services Administration (FESA) and added an Associate of Arts (AA) FESA degree option in Spring Semester 2016. The FESA Program is based on the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) curriculum created at the National Fire Academy. The FESA BA Degree has been awarded to 12 students and the FESA AA Degree has been awarded to 6 students.

A third baccalaureate program, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN Bridge) Degree, was launched in Fall Semester 2017. Two cohorts have completed the program since its inception and 33 students have earned their BSN Degree. Both the BSN and FESA programs are offered entirely online for the convenience of working professionals and are among the lowest cost programs of their type in the nation.

Consistent with its access mission and its Carnegie Classification as a Baccalaureate/Associate’s Dominant College, EGSC expanded the number of associate degrees it offers in Fall Semester 2017. Until that semester, the College offered an Associate of Arts, Core Curriculum (AACC) Degree. In addition to the AACC, EGSC now offers 10 associate of arts and 5 associate of science degrees with disciplinary distinctions. These degree options encourage EGSC students to focus early on specific programs of study that are aligned with baccalaureate degrees offered by EGSC and other USG colleges and universities. In the first three years that these academic programs have been available, 263 EGSC students have graduated with associate of arts and 97 have graduated with associate of science degrees with disciplinary distinctions. (A list of EGSC’s degrees earned by program for the 2017-18 through 2019-20 fiscal years is presented in Table A1 in the Appendices.)

As presented in Table 1a below, EGSC enrollment peaked in Fall Semester 2011, declined, then recovered, but has declined again in recent years. Given more flexible admissions requirements at USG universities in response to the coronavirus pandemic, enrollment at colleges in the USG State College Sector declined in Fall Semester 2020 compared to the previous fall semester. As shown in Table 1a and 1b, another effect of the coronavirus pandemic is the significant increase in the number and percentage of students taking classes solely online.

Table 1a: Enrollment by Location/Delivery Mode: Fall Semester 2011-2020

Fall Semester

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

High School

     

12

23

115

101

96

33

76

Online Only

151

131

164

171

232

260

383

443

493

797

Augusta

   

92

307

468

462

429

386

357

246

Statesboro

1,979

1,635

1,523

1,343

1,327

1,249

1,078

1,075

973

634

Swainsboro

1,305

1,178

1,078

1,077

951

1,066

1,012

942

885

662

Total Enrollment

3,435

2,944

2,857

2,910

3,001

3,152

3,003

2,942

2,741

2,415

Table 1b: Percentage Breakdown of Enrollment by Location/Delivery Mode: Fall Semester 2011-2020

Fall Semester

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

High School

     

0.4%

0.8%

3.6%

3.4%

3.3%

1.2%

3.1%

Online Only

4.4%

4.4%

5.7%

5.9%

7.7%

8.2%

12.8%

15.1%

18.0%

33.0%

Augusta

   

3.2%

10.5%

15.6%

14.7%

14.3%

13.1%

13.0%

10.2%

Statesboro

57.6%

55.5%

53.3%

46.2%

44.2%

39.6%

35.9%

36.5%

35.5%

26.3%

Swainsboro

38.0%

40.0%

37.7%

37.0%

31.7%

33.8%

33.7%

32.0%

32.3%

27.4%

Fall Semester 2019 Comparisons of EGSC with the USG State College Sector

Throughout the Complete College Georgia initiative (2012 to 2020), EGSC’s four largest demographic cohorts have been African-American (Black) Females; African-American (Black) Males; White (Non-Hispanic) Females; and White (Non-Hispanic) Males. As indicated in Table 2 below and presented graphically in the Appendices, for Fall Semester 2019 the ethnic composition of EGSC’s student population differed from the State College Sector overall. EGSC serves a higher proportion of Black students and lower proportions of White, Hispanic, and Asian students.

Table 2: Fall 2019 Student Ethnic Composition

Student Ethnic Composition

EGSC

USG

White

43.2%

48.2%

Black

45.9%

27.2%

Hispanic

5.2%

16.0%

Asian

0.8%

4.4%

Other

4.9%

4.2%

 

For Fall Semester 2019, EGSC’s student population differed from the USG State College Sector in other important ways. EGSC had a higher percentage of full-time students, 78 percent, compared to 65 percent for the USG sector. EGSC also had a higher percentage of students requiring learning support, 71 percent, compared to 38 percent for the USG sector. In addition, 27 percent of EGSC’s students were the first generation to attend college, compared to 12 percent for the USG sector. Graphs highlighting these contrasts between EGSC and the USG State College Sector are presented in the Appendices to this report in Figures A1 through A6.

Fall Semester 2020 Student Profile

A percentage breakdown by location and mode of delivery of EGSC’s demographic cohorts for Fall Semester 2020 is presented below in Table 3.

Table 3: Fall 2020 Enrollment by Gender and Ethnicity by Location and Delivery Mode

Fall 2020 Enrollment

Augusta

Statesboro

Swainsboro

High Schools

Online Only

Overall

Female

61.8%

59.0%

59.8%

65.8%

65.4%

61.8%

Black or African American

32.9%

22.1%

31.3%

23.7%

30.1%

28.4%

White (Non-Hispanic Origin)

19.9%

27.4%

23.6%

32.9%

28.0%

26.0%

Other

8.9%

9.5%

5.0%

9.2%

7.3%

7.5%

Male

38.2%

41.0%

40.2%

34.2%

34.6%

38.2%

Black or African American

20.7%

15.6%

19.9%

5.3%

14.4%

16.6%

White (Non-Hispanic Origin)

11.4%

20.8%

16.3%

26.3%

14.9%

16.9%

Other

6.1%

4.6%

3.9%

2.6%

5.3%

4.7%

Presented in Table 4 below is a breakdown by number and percentage of first-time freshmen (FTF) based on course load for Fall Semester 2020. Most first-time freshmen are full-time, particularly if they take at least one class on campus.

Table 4: Fall 2020 First-Time Freshmen by Course Load

FTF Fall 2020 Course Load

Augusta

Statesboro

Swainsboro

Online Only

Overall

Full-Time Number

81

188

204

95

568

Part-Time Number

21

40

27

83

171

Total First Time Freshmen

102

228

231

178

739

Full-Time Percent

79.4%

82.5%

88.3%

53.4%

76.9%

Part-Time Percent

20.6%

17.5%

11.7%

46.6%

23.1%

Presented in Table 5 below is a profile of first-time freshmen in Fall 2020, including the percentages of FTF who require learning support, are first generation college students, and who receive a Pell Grant.

Table 5: Fall 2020 First-Time Freshmen Profile

FTF Fall 2020 Profile

Augusta

Statesboro

Swainsboro

Online Only

Overall

Require Math Learning Support

41.2%

30.7%

39.8%

43.3%

38.0%

Require English Learning Support

64.7%

43.4%

64.9%

55.6%

56.0%

First Generation

19.6%

25.9%

33.8%

30.3%

28.6%

Receive Pell Grant

58.8%

57.5%

72.3%

53.4%

61.3%

Section 2. Improvement Practices

EGSC has initiated improvement practices (IPs) to remove or lessen the structural and motivational obstacles that students face and to improve the outcomes for our campus. In this section, those IPs will be described according to who is involved in planning and decision-making, the data used to make decisions, how this data is disaggregated and shared, areas in which the data indicate improvement or not, and the areas where the College is closing equity gaps.

  1. First-year residential curriculum with emphasis on academic success, critical thinking skills, navigating campus procedures, increasing students’ understanding and respect for civility, and assisting students in making the transition from high school to college. Presiding over this IP are Angela Storck – Director of Housing (in collaboration with the Director of Academic Success in Residence Halls, Director of Retention, Director of Counseling Services, Director of Student Conduct). Data used in decision-making include survey data, early alert submissions, high school grade point average, enrollment status, academic progress, and conduct referrals. The goal of this initiative is to create a collaborative, data-driven experience for students that optimizes the efficient and effective use of campus resources in support of student success.
  2. Mongoose texting system Mongoose Cadence is a non-emergency text messaging system that is utilized by all EGSC campuses to conduct two-way communications between EGSC units and stakeholders to efficiently convey relevant information such as financial aid deadlines, academic advising, college activities, events, housing and scholarship information. The texts can be targeted to a broad audience or one person (i.e., missing document request). Parents, prospective students, alumni and other stakeholders may also be reached through this service. The Statesboro Director, the Office of Institutional Advancement and President’s Office, and selected departments oversee the system. Administrative users manage the success of the tool and provide functional support. They import and export student data, create and manage Mongoose user accounts, monitor platform usage, initiate larger-scale text message campaigns, text, manage everyday touchpoints and communications, and build relationships with students. Reports showing usage and response rates are exported and evaluated by respective personnel. This IP makes communication with students and other stakeholders more accessible and efficient. In addition, communication can be tracked which provides data for more informed decision-making.
  3. Georgia Southern University Partnership EGSC established a presence in Statesboro in 1997 through a cooperative academic program with Georgia Southern University (GS). EGSC - Statesboro students may co-enroll in select courses with GS and may participate in the GS Army ROTC program and Southern Pride. Students enrolled at EGSC-Statesboro are full members of the GS campus communities and have access to student services and activities on the GS campus. Data used to make decisions include transfer rates; transfer student performance (GPA); co-enrolled student performance (GPA); number of transfer hours; number of graduated transfer students. EGSC and GS continue to improve this partnership removing obstacles and working together to promote the program. This partnership allows students to take advantage of the small, personal classroom setting at EGSC while simultaneously benefiting from the numerous student service opportunities at GS.
  4. New position, Director of Retention Devoted position to ensure that students are aware of resources available to assist in their academic success, including workshops and individual consultations. The Director of Retention works with the members of the retention team, staff from Student Life, Records and Financial Aid, and faculty. Data is drawn from early alert submissions, academic warning information, Bobcat Bridge records, and financial aid alerts. Telephone calls and emails are utilized to reinforce the institutional commitment to student success.
  5. D2L communications with students Posting of announcements in D2L for students that includes information about courses, semester reminders, and other timely and important information for students. For example, information is posted about the Pulse App from D2L and how to download it. This is an additional resource that students have access to and are likely to see any communication that is directed to them. The Director of eLearning, VPAA, Deans, and campus directors are involved in the planning and decision-making. Data used for decision-making is drawn from average number of logins to D2L. There was an average of 8941 logins for the first week of fall semester. Communications in D2L can be targeted to Swainsboro, Statesboro, or Augusta students.
  6. G2C course redesigns Eliminate inequities in student success in gateway English and mathematics courses (i.e. ENGL 1101, ENGL 1102, and MATH 1001), based on sex, race/ethnicity, age, first-generation college student status, and Pell grant recipient status. Planning and decision-making by mathematics and English faculty. Data collected from G2C Project Teams, Student success rates, and course redesign reporting data from G2C platform. MATH 1111 College Algebra was discontinued as a G2C course beginning Fall 2018.
  7. Convocation Academic Convocation is held each year at EGSC to commemorate new students’ entry into higher education, to officially start the new academic year, induct new students into the Freshmen Class with the Bobcat Pledge, build community among the academic family, and to share the College’s mission and expectations to new and returning students. The Convocation Committee co-chaired by the College Deans. A survey is administered to all faculty to select the annual topic.
  8. Early Alerts Utilize GradesFirst Early Alert system to improve student attendance and success. This initiative is managed by the academic deans, chairs, coordinators, directors, faculty; Academic Center for Excellence staff, and the Director of Retention. The data collected is drawn from class attendance and course success rates.
  9. Synchronous Instruction Faculty will teach online courses via Zoom at scheduled times. The academic deans, chairs, coordinators, directors, and faculty manage this initiative. Data used to analyze success are course success rates and outcome achievement.
  10. “Live” Office Hours Faculty conduct office hours remotely and are available to consult with students “live” during these hours. Faculty are required to keep 10 office hours per week. Faculty may use Zoom conferencing, Microsoft Teams, Facetime, or Google Live for the student consultations.
  11. Critical and Academic Thinking for Success (CATS) Restructure Effective Fall 2020 expanded CATS course to include previous course description found in current catalog, as well as a Special Interest element to more effectively engage students in coursework for CATS, with the goal of aiding in student retention. Primary people involved in the planning and decision-making of the IP for CATS included the current Vice President of Academic and Students Affairs, Dean of Humanities & Social Sciences, and Director of First Year Experience (FYE). Secondary participants in the execution of the plan and ongoing decisions include faculty members teaching CATS and the FYE committee. Data used to carry out the IPs for CATS came from several sources. One of, if not the major reason for the restructure was the USG initiative on making connections with students for retention purposes. Also, attendance has historically been low in many CATS sections. The college now incorporates a no-cost textbook to help ease the financial burden of students purchasing a textbook. In order to broaden the base of instructor participation across our campuses, faculty teaching responsibility for CATS now encompasses the School of Mathematics and Sciences, as well as the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Class sizes were restructured at a cap of 20 per class section, as opposed to over 200 per section, previously. It is desired that the pass rate for the class will greatly improve with smaller class sections, as better professional and academic relationships are facilitated. Continued monitoring by the FYE Committee and the EGSC leadership team will be ongoing in nature. Linkages to EGSC’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), faculty learning communities (FLCs), and the development of student communities (SLCs), are all components of a multi-pronged approach to fully implement and integrate the many campus and academic elements of the IP of the CATS program. It is expected that the IP to the CATS program will transform the EGSC community.
  12. Augusta University (AU) Partnership The purpose of this partnership is to use up-to date, relative data to strategically deepen the EGSC-AU partnership. In order to accomplish this, a working group has been created to address areas of improvement by analyzing specific data regarding the success of EGSC-AU students who transfer to AU. The President of EGSC, along with the VP for Enrollment Management at Augusta University, established the key indicators for examination. Various departments from AU, including enrollment management and IT, work to ensure that the data is up-to date. Various departments at EGSC, including the AVP for External Campuses and IT, work to ensure that the data is consistently shared for current information. A Working Group of individuals from both campuses meet frequently to discuss the intricate details of each key indicator and provide updates to data, as needed. A data dashboard with key indicators was created to assess the partnership regarding the number of EGSC-AU students per term, number of transfers, average GPA of EGSC-AU students that transfer to AU, progression to 30, 60 and 90 hours, and graduates. While these key indicators have been selected and are currently being viewed, other projects continue to stem from the working group. For example, the co-enrollment process has been redesigned, which allows EGSC-AU students to take courses with Augusta University. This revamped project should impact the number of students that transfer to AU. Other smaller projects that continue to be addressed include faculty/staff access to AU accounts, ID/Parking Permit retrieval processes, and co-enrollment application/processing/matriculation practices.
  13. Tutor.com Tutor.com is an online tutoring service that provides 24/7 on demand access across over 80 subjects, significantly expanding service to our students seeking instructional support late at night, on weekends, or other times when our Academic Centers for Excellence are closed. Tutor.com offers 24/7 on-demand tutoring services 52 weeks a year. The College subscription to Tutor.com promotes tutoring services for fully online students and off-site students. Tutor.com was set up for a “test run” in Summer 2019 and fully implemented by Fall 2019. With the initial contract, EGSC purchased 500 hours. Students began using these hours in July 2019. By the end of January 2020, there remained only 179 hours of the original 500 hours purchased. An additional 250 hours were then purchased. These additional hours proved to be extremely valuable as the College moved to fully online/remote services in Mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the assistance of CARES Act funding, the College was able to purchase over 2000 additional tutoring hours in June 2020. The college remained fully online through the Summer 2020 semester and reopened in August for Fall 2020. Usage of tutor.com during fully remote services (March through July) = slightly over 216 hours that includes 398 tutoring sessions. Total number of hours used since tutor.com was implemented in July 2019 = 626 hours that includes 1672 tutoring sessions. The average session length is 27.57 minutes. Top subjects: Math = 867 sessions and 378 hours (details of each Math subject are in full report attached) Science = 244 sessions and 131 hours (details for each Science are in full report attached) English = 81 sessions and 34 hours (that is live one on one session times) There were also 30 hours of 24/7 essay review drop offs, bringing the total for English to 64 hours. Tutor.com has proven to be an asset for supplementing tutoring services for our students.
  14. ACE Services Tutoring In-person tutoring is provided for our students at all 3 campus locations: Swainsboro, Statesboro and Augusta. With the assistance of technology, tutoring services provided by our EGSC tutoring staff have been expanded to provide remote tutoring options. Zoom has been the main platform utilized to provide remote services. This was especially needed when the college was required to move to fully remote services in Mid-March due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. There are ACE Coordinators at each site location who are supervised by the Director of the Learning Commons. See Attached Student Usage and Success Rates table for details. Note: Spring 2020: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all University System of Georgia Institutions were required to move all services and courses online mid-semester. Therefore, check-in information from our GradesFirst kiosk in each ACE location was not accessible to students from March 14th until the end of the semester. This greatly impacted our numbers for student visits. However, our tutoring staff continued to assist our students with their tutoring needs remotely utilizing a variety of platforms during this time. Despite the challenges with tutoring remotely, the overall success rate for our students between the 3 campuses rose from 72.5% for the Fall 2019 semester to nearly 80% for the Spring 2020 semester. One positive that has emerged from the pandemic is the knowledge gained in the use of technology and how utilizing technology enhances the opportunities for providing services to our students. Remote tutoring will continue to be offered to all students across all 3 campuses in addition to our fully online and off-site students. Tutors from each ACE location will be utilized to provide services across campuses to increase tutoring services at each ACE location. A calendar has been created highlighting each tutor’s availability and subject knowledge. The schedule is posted for students to view in the newly created Academic Center for Excellence D2L course, which will aid them in scheduling their tutoring appointments. The Academic Center for Excellence D2L course will be launched for the Fall 2020 semester.
  15. Academic Advising Advisement is provided to students with learning support requirements on the Swainsboro and Statesboro campuses by full-time professional advisors. In Augusta, for the 2019-2020 Academic year, advising for students with support requirements was provided by a combination of a full-time professional advisor and faculty advisors. The Director of the Learning Commons and Advising staff, with supervision from the Vice-President for Academic and Student Affairs are responsible for decision-making. Student completion rates and student success rates are the data used in decision-making. In Spring 2020, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, all EGSC services and courses were moved to fully online beginning March 14; therefore, face-to- face advisement meetings were not feasible for half of the Spring semester. During this time, Academic Advising staff met with students remotely utilizing Zoom, phone calls and, also communicated via email. Although the College reopened in August for Fall 2020, Academic Advisors will continue to meet with students in a remote manner due to social distancing requirements.
  16. Quality Enhancement Program (QEP) To ensure the quality of the student learning communities, faculty scheduled to teach linked courses begin training through a series of workshops that the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) and First Year Experience (FYE) Directors are leading. These workshops cover best practices for teaching student learning communities and mindset exercises that address faculty mindset toward students. Including the FYE Director in the training and professional development of faculty teaching these courses impacting first-year students is an improvement plan that was formed after the QEP report was submitted, and it came out of careful consideration of the strategic plan that focuses on learning communities, high impact practices, and mindset. The QEP Director, CETL Director, and FYE Director are the decision-making team.
  17. Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) Faculty Teaching and Learning Series is a new workshop experience for faculty looking to share activities and approaches that have worked for them. The series is designed to encourage greater participation among faculty and to inspire faculty to take ownership of the CETL as a valuable resource to their professional development. Participation numbers in CETL activities have been low (less than 10) since the CETL’s beginning. Increasing faculty participation supports EGSC’s first goal in its strategic plan in that the more that faculty attend workshops designed by faculty for faculty, the greater impact the CETL can have on supporting USG’s and EGSC’s teaching and mindset initiatives.
  18. Chancellor’s Learning Scholars (CLS) The CETL director will sponsor a Kickoff Event via Zoom in early November that allows the CLS to introduce their topics and ask for volunteers to join their Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs). This promotional event is an improvement over the flyers that have previously promoted the CLSs. The promotional flyers did not offer adequate space for generating widespread interest in the FLCs topics. Some CLSs reported poor participation. The improvement plan seeks to improve participation.
  19. Momentum Year (MY) The CETL and the FYE Directors have joined forces to create workshops for faculty teaching student learning communities. These workshops have a mindset component that takes the mindset initiative to the next level: encouraging faculty to develop a growth mindset toward their students. The CETL and FYE Directors have also joined to start mindset workshops for faculty teaching first-year courses to support EGSC’s mindset initiative. Faculty will learn how to develop growth mindset in their students through feedback, language, and reflective assignments. They will also learn how to apply growth mindset to their own attitudes concerning their students’ abilities regardless of the student’s preparation level. The CETL Director and the First Year Experience Director study high DFWI rates in first year courses to make decisions.
  20. New position, Director of Academics in the Residence Halls The Director of Academics in Residence Halls assists students in improving their academic achievement and proactively encourages academic success. The Director works with faculty and staff to provide mentorship with Residence students. Zoom conferences will be held to throughout the fall semester to disseminate academic information. A power point presentation was created to introduce the core curriculum to all new students. A housing video was created and required for all students to view. The advisement session of the video covered information about the core, advisement, and important dates for the fall 2020 semester.
  21. Mandatory Online Teaching Training of all FT & PT Faculty All full and part-time faculty are required to complete online teaching training by September 18, 2020. The options for faculty members included eCore training, the faculty training available at Augusta University (specifically for faculty at the EGSC Augusta instructional facility), and the BOR Faculty Development Series, Going the Distance: Designing and Delivering Quality Online Courses and Degree Programs. Faculty who previously taught or currently teach eCore courses were exempted from the training. The VPASA and college deans supervise this initiative. To continuously enhance student learning, this training is crucial to ensure that faculty are prepared to teach online synchronously and with better online course management skills.
  22. Use of Best Practices (see attachment) During the annual Faculty Workshop (August 2020), faculty were a given a handout Best Practices and Expectations for Online Instructors. The online learning environment presents a unique set of challenges that require clear definition of faculty performance. The best practices identify the minimum level of interaction and management needed between students and faculty to maintain a quality online learning environment. Faculty were asked to sign, date, and return these agreements to their academic dean. The decision to use best practices is based on college retention and graduation data.
  23. Faculty training in High Impact Practices (HIP) During the Faculty Workshop in August 2020, presentations were made to faculty on a variety of HIPs, including a) Growth Mindset, b) TILTing, c) Generation Z Goes to College, d) USG Summer Seminar, e) Techniques to Humanize OL Teaching, f) Reflections on COVID Transition in Spring 2020, and g) Tips for 8-Week Courses. The decision to train faculty in HIPs is based partly on the USG system initiative promoting the use of HIPs and college retention and graduation data.
  24. Use of Faculty Communications Plan At the Faculty Workshop in August 2020, faculty were given a detailed, semester-long communications plan and asked to use it. The purpose of the detailed communication plan is to help foster connections with students, particularly students who have been identified as at-risk for academic failure. The decision to use communications plan is twofold: the College’s priority to enhance the degree to which students feel connected in the classroom and the BOR initiative toward making meaningful connections with students.
  25. Low & No-cost Texts In the effort to make college more affordable, all faculty are encouraged to use low or no-cost textbooks. This information is available on the student schedule, which is available online 24/7. The decision to use low and no-cost textbooks was made based on the high percentage of Pell eligible students and financial aid recipients at the College.
  26. Fall Break Term Short term, This IP is similar to the Maymester term and provides the opportunity for students to take classes during the winter break. The decision to offer the Fall Break Term was made based on enrollment and the focus on offering flexibility in course scheduling. This IP is overseen by the Associate Vice President for Academics and Enrollment Management, the Director of Admissions, and the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs. The measure of success is the number of credit hours sold.
  27. 12-Week Term The purpose of the 12-Week Term is to offer flexibility in course scheduling while allowing students (who enroll late) the time they need to complete the financial aid process prior to the start of classes. This IP is managed by the Associate Vice President for Academics and Enrollment Management, the Director of Admissions, the Director of Financial Aid, and the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. The measure of success will be the number of full-time students enrolled in the 12-Week Term and the number of credit hours sold.

Momentum Update: Observations and Next Steps

Section 3.1 Existing Momentum Work

Pathways 

Strategy or activity 

8-week classes

Summary of Activities 

The college currently offers 20% of our courses in the 8-week format.

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

The course schedule is posted online at www.ega.edu. 

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

The deans routinely insert the 8-week classes into upcoming course schedules. It is our goal to provide more 8-week course options for students who wish to only enroll in 8-week classes, rather than a combination of 8 and 15-week classes. 

Changes because of COVID-19 

 n/a

Strategy or activity 

Co-requisite courses in English and Mathematics

Summary of Activities 

Courses developed for MATH 1111, MATH 1001, and ENGL 1101

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

Success rates (SP2018-SP2019) in the co-requisite courses: MATH 1111 41.0%-59.2%; MATH 1001 41.3%-47.3%; ENGL 1101 40.9%-46.7%; source: 2019 CCG Campus Plan Updates

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

Since students know that they can pass the Gateway course without passing the co-requisite course, attendance in the co-requisite courses has been poor. The faculty will recommend changes to the co-requisite course, specifically, adding requirements such as mandatory ACE visits and professor consultations for the purpose of forcing better student engagement. 

Changes because of COVID-19 

Many classes are now offered synchronously. The College has purchased IT equipment for synchronous instruction in all classrooms.

Strategy or activity 

Register students in 15-hours per semester

Summary of Activities 

All professional and faculty advisors strongly encourage students to enroll in 15-credit hours each semester. The two-year degree plans are used as maps for students to select their courses and chart their progress.

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

FTE and credit-hours sold

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

The College will continue to use the G2C² initiative and will stress the importance of completion (maintaining momentum) during new student orientation sessions. 

Changes because of COVID-19 

We are in the process of creating two-day-a-week schedules for students who live in surrounding counties. Students will be able to complete their degree by attending classes only two days per week.

Strategy or activity 

Students take 9-hours in focus area during their first year in college

Summary of Activities 

The two-year degree plans are written to include 9 hours in the focus area during the first year.

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

Registration information and data from Argos provide materials to analyze progress. 

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

Construct course schedules to accommodate the courses necessary for students to enroll in 9 hours in the focus areas.

Changes because of COVID-19 

There is a great demand for more online courses and the College will provide courses to meet that demand.

Strategy or activity 

Focus 2 Career Assessment

Summary of Activities 

This important assessment is provided for all new students through the student orientation (CATS) courses. Students learn about their innate strengths and weaknesses and what majors may be best suited to their innate abilities.

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

Students may realize a cost savings by staying on their major track from the start. 

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

This is an online inventory that is pre-loaded into the College computers. We should provide more training to faculty who teach the CATS courses on how to interpret assessment results. 

Changes because of COVID-19 

This assessment is administered as an out-of-class assignment and findings are discussed during CATS classes – challenges of asynchronous and synchronous instruction for this important element of the course.

Strategy or activity 

2-year and 4-year degree plans

Summary of Activities 

Created and used by professional and faculty advisors

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

Students are on a directed path to graduation or transfer; borrow less money when they are on clear path

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

Continue to use these plans for advising 

Changes because of COVID-19 

n/a

Purposeful Choice

Strategy or activity 

Know More Borrow Less

Summary of Activities 

Informational sessions presented at new student orientation programs, club meetings, residence hall meetings, and classroom settings

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

Student indebtedness upon graduation or transfer

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

Plan to create an online tutorial on Know More Borrow Less; available 24/7 

Changes because of COVID-19 

n/a

Strategy or activity 

Faculty-Student Research

Summary of Activities 

Research is currently being conducted in two academic areas

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

Students present research at regional and national conferences; students build their professional resume with research experience 

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

Continue to find funding and grant opportunities so that research can continue; build research into lower and upper level course requirements 

Changes because of COVID-19 

Socially distancing in labs has not been difficult

Strategy or activity 

Internships with corporate partners

Summary of Activities 

Forming relationships with two local industries to create internship opportunities for EGSC students

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

n/a 

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

Align internships with majors; possibly provide transportation to and from internships 

Changes because of COVID-19 

n/a

Strategy or activity 

Appointment of Director of Academic Support in the Residence Halls

Summary of Activities 

Conducts advising of all support students in the residence halls, study strategy intervention workshops, career focus, time management, and soft skills development

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

Director has been in place for 9 months; seeks out and arranges consultations with students who struggle academically 

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

The Director continues to create programs, advise support students, and arrange student/faculty mentorships 

Changes because of COVID-19 

Social distancing guidelines make it difficult to host group gatherings of more than 10 students

Strategy or activity 

Appointment of Director of Retention

Summary of Activities 

To provide scaffolding beyond what the students receive from instructors and advisors. The Director of Retention oversees outreach to students who are on academic warning and who receive early alerts during the semester.

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

Director is maintaining records of all outreach efforts and will organize data on student outreach and student pass rates.

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

The Director of Retention works closely with the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs, the Associate Vice President for Academics and Enrollment Management, the Director of Admissions, the ACE Directors and staff, the Director of Financial Aid, and the Director of Academic Support in the Residence Halls. 

Changes because of COVID-19 

Challenges of remote/virtual interventions

Mindset

Strategy or activity 

Formal Mindset Training in Critical and Academic Thinking Skills (CATS) class

Summary of Activities 

In all CATS classes, one unit is devoted to teaching Growth Mindset

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

Students will know the differences between fixed and growth mindsets and they will take steps toward developing a growth mindset

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

Campus publicity for Mindset on all instructional sites needed for subsequent semesters

Changes because of COVID-19 

n/a

Strategy or activity 

Faculty Mindset training

Summary of Activities 

Professional development program presented at Faculty Workshop, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and the Chancellor’s Learning Scholars’ faculty learning communities (FLCs)

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

Faculty will be more effective in the classroom; better student engagement and academic performance

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

Plans for more mindset programs offered through CETL and FLCs 

Changes because of COVID-19 

More virtual training sessions

Strategy or activity 

New Student Orientation Redesign

Summary of Activities 

More focus on making connections with students through campus tours, small group activities, and town hall meetings with professors in major area of study

Outcomes/Measures of progress 

Post orientation student survey 

Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future 

Will continue to modify as necessary 

Changes because of COVID-19 

Online format not optimal for New Student Orientation

Section 3.2 Follow up from Momentum Summit III - “Campus-Wide” Momentum Approach Activities (Beyond the Classroom)

Presented below is the work and institutional activities initiated by the USG Momentum Summit III, with descriptions of strategies that impact student success “beyond the classroom,” including improving student success through financial aid, student life, housing, and career services, or in other aspects of your cross-campus work.

Priority Work Student Housing 

Housing Living-Learning Communities

 

Description of Activities 

Separate housing into a first-year, upper-class, and student athlete residential communities so that the living-learning experience can be better tailored to meet the engagement needs of students.

 

Activity status and plans for 2020 

Fall 2020 marked the first term of residential separation between first-year and returning student populations. First year students were deliberately housed within Bobcat Villas South so that the Director of Academic Support in Residence halls would be in proximity to the students she would be serving. Students within the first-year residence halls will be specifically engaged in the following ways: Informational campaigns targeted toward their specific needs for academic support, campus resource information, bulletin boards of information, early alert outreach and support. First-year housing helps to facilitate a cohort model and helps students to bond over shared experiences—improving important social networks and connections that will ultimately aid in retention. Specific passive programming initiatives are being targeted toward these new students such as cooking and fire safety, academic success in college, mentorship opportunities (via the Director for Academic Success in Residence Halls) etc.

 

Lessons Learned 

Further steps need to be taken toward connecting the co-curricular activities with academics to achieve a true living-learning community model. We hope to connect this living-learning community with specific themes for academic year 21-22 as well as link students to a shared CATS course section when possible. More discussion needs to be had to determine if this is a logistically achievable goal. Engaging students to the level we had planned has been difficult due to COVID-19. Programs have been severely limited in scope and engagement has suffered a bit as a result.

 
   

Priority Work Student Housing 

Residential Curriculum

 

Description of Activities 

Housing CARES (Curricular Approach to Resident Engagement & Support) is a residential curriculum model that is abbreviated and focuses intently on developing a holistic approach toward student support in the first and second years of college. The model focuses on the following areas:

· Support and furtherance of the collegiate mission

· Encouragement of personal growth

· Promotion of resources and amenities conducive to student success

· Emphasis on the importance of public service and one’s role in the greater community

· Exploration of cultural enrichment, diversity and inclusion themes

· Establishment of goals and outcomes that are derived from educational priority

· Foundational links to student development theory

· Educational Strategy Focus

· Integration of and collaboration with Campus Partners

· Appropriate and timely assessment of program objectives

 

Activity status and plans for 2020 

The residential curriculum is still being written and modeled at this time. Next steps include reaching out to campus colleagues to establish clear collaborative links and responsibilities. Now that separate living communities have been established for first-year and continuing students, we hope to pilot this initiative during the 21-22 academic year.

 

Lessons Learned 

Still in the creation stages. It is taking longer than anticipated to develop this curriculum due to conflicting priorities during a time of COVID-19. 

 
   

Priority Work Office of Admissions 

Reinforcing Purpose and Setting the Mindset Early

Description of Activities 

 Admissions restructured its communication plan to make it more intentional in establishing a growth mindset early in the areas of relationship, action, and purpose. The goal is to set the student up with a support system in the College to best assist the student in experiencing successes early-on in his/her post-secondary career.

Activity status and plans for 2020 

 Newly Designed Applicant Communication Plan

Student receives initially “Thank you for applying” email automated through XAP. This is the first step in establishing a mindset of relationship.

The following day, student receives a personalized “Thank you for applying” email followed by a mailed-out hand signed letter from the Director of Admissions. The email and letter are short, quick to the point, but consists of a strong message of gratitude, establishing purpose through encouragement to the student, and action statements.

In the same day, a phone call from an Admissions team member with the goal to establish a mindset of relationship, action, and purpose—acknowledge the student, give thanks for applying, and begin to establish purpose and ownership of his/her higher education by guiding the student through the admissions funnel. The first phone call contact is essential to the mindset process. The student is accepted as family and then guided in how to check his/her admissions status online by visiting www.ega.edu, how to apply for student financial aid through the www.studentaid.gov, and how to submit admissions and financial aid documentation to documents@ega.edu.

Following the initial contact, Admissions sends out EGSC success stories of alumni to the student. The goal is to reinforce a mindset of purpose. In providing the alumni letter of success it is helps the student establish a vision of success (purpose).

In the following days, Admissions reconnects with text messages (Mongoose) to check on the student and to reinforce the mindset of relationship, action, and purpose. This is followed-up with reminder email and hand signed letters of missing documents from the Director of Admissions to push the purpose and ownership of his/her higher education; reminder about financial aid is embedded in the communication as well.

By this time, the student is accepted into EGSC. The first thing the student receives is a phone call of congratulatory by an Admissions team member. In the phone call, the team member reinforces the mindset of relationship, action, and purpose through conversation. The personal phone call covers the mindset of relationship. During the phone call the team member transitions into “guiding the student” and to reinforce the mindset of action to fulfill the mindset of purpose. The team member guides the student in the completion of the New Student Registration Survey/Online Orientation. Guiding the student through this process establishes action while giving the student a sense of purpose and ownership in establishing his/her academic courses.
Follow up to the phone call, an acceptance packet is sent to the student via mail. Everything in the packet is personalized and geared towards the student’s campus selection, major, and financial aid. The packet contains a personalized hand signed acceptance letter by the Director of Admissions, handwritten messages on a postcard from faculty, staff, and students. The purpose of this is to reinforce the mindset of relationship.

The following day after the acceptance phone call and sending of the acceptance packet, a personalize hand-signed email/letter is sent to the student to reinforce the completion of the New Student Registration Survey/Online Orientation, if the student has not already done so.

After the student has completed the New Student Registration Survey, he/she is contacted by Academic Advisors to fully cement the matriculation of the student and launching he/she into purposeful academic coursework that is related to the students’ pathway.

This process is on-going and continuously improving in communication tactics to improve and establish the mindset of the student early before he/she comes to campus.

Lessons Learned 

The change of the communication plan decreased the number of partial applications and increased the number of completed applications (rendered a decision)—Fall 2019: 1223 partial applications compared to Fall 2020: 400 partial applications; Fall 2019: 2,350 completed applications compared to Fall 2020: 2,444 completed applications. These results (source: Enrollment Monitoring Report) are possibly due to the changes in the Admissions communication plan in establishing a stronger mindset of relationship, action, and purpose. However, EGSC was down in new student enrollment—underlying evidence suggests that external forces (COVID-19 and change of system policies) influenced enrollment.

Priority Work 

Office of Admissions

Admissions/Academic Advising Enrolling Students Swiftly and Correctly into Purposeful Pathway

Description of Activities 

EGSC has established a process attached to online Orientation between when the student is accepted and matriculated. Admissions works closely with Academic Advising to ensure the newly accepted student is swiftly being registered into 12-15 credit hours and enrolled into correct Area A and purposeful coursework that is related to the student’s pathway.

Activity status and plans for 2020 

This process is on-going.

EGSC established New Student Registration Days throughout the Spring and Summer 2020 semesters to actively enroll newly accepted students who completed the newly created New Student Registration Survey into Fall 2020 courses. The goal is to enroll the student into 12-15 credit hours, based on the student’s preferences, and into Area A gateway courses and additional purposeful coursework that is related to the student’s pathway. Once enrolled into courses the student is contacted by an Academic Advising team member to discuss the student’s courses and pathway.

The progress of this strategy has been successful, and the plan is to continue to use this strategy in capturing students early while setting clear pathways.

Lessons Learned 

EGSC enrolled 1,018 new students using this strategy as of August 22, 2020 (source: Enrollment Monitoring Report). Strategy has been successful.

 

Priority Work eLearning 

Student Support

Description of Activities 

Supporting Students with Brightspace/D2L Issues

Activity status and plans for 2020 

Continue supporting students with issues with online classes and technology. In Progress: GeorgiaVIEW Brightspace/D2L tutorial for students. A tutorial is currently being created that can be used outside of D2L where students can learn about online classes and the online environment. The tutorial will allow them the opportunity to navigate through the tutorial to see each of the features of the environment and test them out. Plans are to continue working with students to support them and provide information that will help them succeed.

Lessons Learned 

None, at this point since it is still in progress.

 

Priority Work Counseling Services

Counseling services are provided virtually as requested by students. Sessions are guided by the student’s presenting issues and the goals they establish for themselves. Institutional accommodations are provided to students who make a request and provide the necessary documentation. We recognize that students have the responsibility to initiate the request for accommodations in college. Past experiences have taught us that we cannot simply rely on the fact that our students are legal adults who have the right to seek or not seek accommodations. We provide education and close guidance as they initiate and complete the accommodations process. Our guidance includes:

· follow up emails and phone calls to students who started the process but haven’t completed all steps to receive accommodations

· phone calls or emails throughout the semester to see how they are adjusting to college

· remind students to obtain the additional documentation needed to receive permanent accommodations

It is important to support students as they cope with stressors in all areas of life. Collaborating with other departments on campus has proven to be helpful when working with students. The Director of Counseling and Disability Services engages in weekly meetings with Student Conduct, Housing, Retention, and Title IX

Activities for 2020

Stress Management Workshop – Spring 2020, Fall 2020
Substance Abuse Educational Session- Spring 2020, Fall 2020
Conflict Resolution Sessions- Spring 2020, Fall 2020
Suicide Prevention Training- Fall 2020

Priority Work Library

Verizon Hotspot Program

Description of Activities 

The library received the Georgia Humanities grant that allowed for us to purchase 15 Verizon hotspots

Activity status and plans for 2020 

The hotspots were purchased and processed for 7 day check out. Twelve hotspots are in Swainsboro and 3 are on the Statesboro campus. 

Lessons Learned 

Students have shown that there is a strong need for the hotspots, but sometimes the devices need to be reset or have technical issues with cause them to be unreliable for the students (while not a common problem, it has happened)

Priority Work Library

Face to Face and Virtual Reference Consultations

Description of Activities 

Librarians are offering students the opportunity to have reference consultations both in person and virtually.

Activity status and plans for 2020 

While COVID restrictions on enforced, librarians can only provide in person consultations at the helpdesk through dual computer monitors and with a plexi barrier. Librarians are also utilizing Zoom for real time consolations with students virtually. 

Lessons Learned 

Librarians feel that Zoom is more successful because there is a communication impairment caused by the plexi shield.

Priority Work Library

Electronic Resources

Description of Activities 

Library databases are being utilizes for life skills and student success.

Activity status and plans for 2020 

Mango Languages and Universal Class are being used to help students. Mango focuses on languages, while Universal Class focuses on life skills such as cooking, accounting, keyboarding, relaxation, etc.

Lessons Learned 

Students are particularly interested in apps on their phones for these resources.

Priority Work Library

GIL Express

Description of Activities 

GIL Express allows for students to borrow physical library materials from any USG institution at no cost.

Activity status and plans for 2020 

It allows for both EGSC students and other USG institutions to be able to share books back and forth for student needs. This collaboration provides students access to resources, despite any gaps that might exist in our collection. So even vary specific interests, we can provide resources for.

Lessons Learned 

If another shutdown happens, books would not be able to be traded among the institutions.

Priority Work Library

Physical Space

Description of Activities 

Provides a safe environment for students to congregate. There are areas for both collaborative work, and quiet spaces for students who prefer a calmer atmosphere

Activity status and plans for 2020 

While we are not planning to increase foot traffic due to social distancing restrictions, we do want to provide the students who come into the library with a positive experience that helps with creating a successful environment.

Lessons Learned 

Library staff end up policing a lot of mask wearing.

Student Success and Completion Team

The members of the EGSC Student Success and Completion Team are presented below.

Sandra Sharman

Vice President for Academic & Student Affairs

sharman@ega.edu

James Beall

Associate VP for Academic Affairs & Enrollment Mgmt.

jbeall@ega.edu

Carlos Cunha

Dean, School of Humanities & Social Sciences

ccunha@ega.edu

David Chevalier

Interim Dean, School of Mathematics & Natural Sciences

dchevalier@ega.edu

David Gribbin

Director of Strategic Planning & Institutional Research

dgribbin@ega.edu

Karen Murphree

Director, Learning Commons

kmurphree@ega.edu

Georgia Beasley

Director, Retention

gmathews@ega.edu

Deborah Kittrell-Mikell

Director, Academics in Residence Halls

dkittrell@ega.edu

Rob Nordan

Director, FYE

rnordan@ega.edu