Complete College Georgia Forum 2015
The 2015 CCG Forum gathered 80 representatives from 28 USG institutions in Atlanta on October 16th to review the progress, successes and challenges of the college completion work across the state. Presentations from two years of USG-supported Innovation Grants provided a foundation for conversations around high-yield, high impact campus-led activities to support student success. These remarks were broadly organized around the use of data and advising, open educational resources and pedagogical innovation, and curricular and instructional advances.
Institutions were further invited to provide their experiences with Complete College Georgia (CCG) and how the initiative integrated into their campus work. Through open conversations, participants shared their work and observations on the nature of this unique institution-oriented, System- facilitated program. The results of these conversations coalesced around five general interests:
Regional Collaboration
Discussion at the Forum made clear the need for regional meetings to network institutions in developing and implementing high-impact strategies. At these future meetings, the CCG team will bring experts to campuses and/or regions so faculty and staff can have a better understanding of the issues and the research on best practices. The System Office can provide the resources for these meetings, and also invite institutions to help coordinate and identify stakeholders that should be present.
Faculty Development
Faculty needs to be more engaged and involved in the Complete College Georgia work. We need to address their fears of compromising quality and rigor of education in order to meet completion goals. Faculty will be key stakeholders at regional CCG meetings, which will allow them to gain exposure to CCG information and activities. The System Office will also reach out to faculty via the appropriate Regents Advisory Committees.
Data
While nearly every institution acknowledges the need for quality data for decision-making, access to data and the ability to use data effectively varies among institutions. Ensuring that all institutions can obtain the data necessary to inform strategic planning and measurement of outcomes is a high-priority. The Office of Academic Affairs at the System Office will work with Research and Policy Analysis to address these challenges.
More Comprehensive Approach to Students
Connected to the use of data, it is critical to devise effective strategies to address students as a whole. In particular, effective advising must be a strong focus, since advisors touch on several aspects of student life. Complete College Georgia efforts should not only be found in Academic and Student Affairs, but also in financial aid, student accounts, housing, student organizations, etc.
Changing Process for Complete College Georgia Status Reports
The status reports were envisioned as a tool for institutions to capture their milestones and explore their growth and development from the previous year. These reports strongly reflect the robust goal setting that is occurring on each campus and it is evident from the reports that many institutions made significant progress towards their Complete College Georgia goals over the past year. Reflecting on comments during the CCG Forum, however, it is also clear the CCG team needs to change its approach to the annual reports to make the process easier to complete. The report system will be updated to make for a more streamlined process, including simplified report review and more thorough guidance on the format and goals to be included in the updates.
Next Steps
The feedback the University System Office received through the CCG Forum 2015 is vital to the process of planning for upcoming CCG investments and activities. In brief, the CCG team will begin follow-up with these steps:
- Institutions should expect regional meetings among pilot institutions in the spring and summer of 2016 that will include faculty and staff participation, including advisors. The primary goal of the regional meetings will be to help institutions move forward and deepen their commitment toward completion work.
- Conversations on improving access to, and use of, data are already ongoing and will continue throughout the year. The University System Research and Policy Analysis and CCG teams will report out on progress to the institutions as available.
- The process for updating campus plans will be further refined to emphasize their role as part of a comprehensive, campus-wide planning process and to reduce the burden and labor associated with them. Furthermore, we will return to these issues for the 2016 CCG Forum in fall of next year.
To view an agenda for the 2015 CCG Forum, click here.
