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East Georgia State College Campus Plan Update 2014

Campus Plan Updates for 2014

Complete College Georgia is a statewide effort to increase the number Georgians with a high quality certificate or degree. Under the leadership of Governor Nathan Deal, it has continued to build momentum since its launch in 2011. The University System of Georgia (USG) and the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) have advanced highimpact, research-driven strategies aligned with the primary goal of the initiative: to increase student access to, progression through, and successful graduation from institutions of higher education.

The past year has seen a number milestones and accomplishments as institutions across the system integrate the core work areas of CCG into their institutional mission. USG hosted symposia on new learning models and predictive analytics, as well as meetings on transforming remediation, strategies for on-time completion, and reverse transfer of credit for the purpose of awarding degrees. System staff collaborated with institutional representatives on a number of policy initiatives that resulted in new policies and procedures to reduce barriers to student progress and success. The System office was also able to continue to provide short-term funding to support innovative projects at institutions aligned with completion goals that have the potential to be scaled up to be implemented across the system.

To capture the progress of the previous year, each campus provides updates on strategies, processes and outcomes in the enclosed status reports. The updates contain a self-assessment of the progress made to date, any substantial changes from last year’s plan, and reflect on lessons learned throughout the year. This year’s reports were streamlined and focused, with institutions asked to align goals, strategies, and measure of progress and success with their institutional profile and mission. This year’s report also provides a summary of System Office CCG activities. The plans that follow serve to update the campus plans that were first submitted in 2012 as well as to provide an overview of the breadth of work that is underway in Georgia to achieve the ambitious goals of Complete College Georgia.

Campus Plan Update (PDF version)

Institutional Mission and Student Body Profile

East Georgia State College (EGSC) is an associate degree granting, liberal arts institution providing its students access to academically transferable programs of study. EGSC also offers targeted bachelor degrees. Two of its students graduated from the College's first baccalaureate program, a Bachelor of Science in Biology, at the end of Spring Semester 2014, following the program's initiation in Fall Semester 2012.

EGSC is currently listed by the U.S. Department of Education's College Affordability and Transparency Center (CATC) as among the 50 colleges in the country having the "Lowest Tuition" and the "Lowest Net Prices" (http://www.collegecost.ed.gov/catc/#). According to the recently released U.S. DOE report based on 2011-2012 data, the national tuition average is listed as $7,407 with EGSC's listed as $2,862.The lowest (bottom 10%) net price was calculated using 2011-2012 in-state cost of attendance minus grant and scholarship aid. While the national average net price was $11,582, EGSC's net price is $5,974.

The College extends its access mission from its home campus in Swainsboro and from its branch campuses in Statesboro and Augusta. EGSC has been offering classes at EGSC Statesboro since Fall Semester 1997. Working in collaboration with Georgia Southern University, the College offers courses both on the Georgia Southern campus and at its EGSC Statesboro Academic Facility. After being granted permission to offer associate degrees to its students in Statesboro beginning in Fall Semester 2013, 26 Statesboro students earned their EGSC associate degrees in the Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 semesters.

In Fall Semester 2013, the College opened EGSC – Augusta on the Summerville Campus of Georgia Regents University (GRU) with 94 students. Enrollment at EGSC – Augusta is expected to exceed 300 for Fall Semester 2014. Course offerings are being expanded at EGSC-Augusta in Fall Semester 2014. The memorandum of understanding between EGSC and GRU envisions the eventual granting of associate degrees by EGSC to its Augusta students.

Each semester, one-third or more of EGSC's new freshmen are first-generation college students. In addition, 85% or more of them are supported by financial aid. Both the number and percent of students who are 25 or older has been declining over the last five years. This change results from the age composition of students on the College's home campus in Swainsboro. In Fall Semester 2009, 21.7% of the College's entering cohort and 27.6% of its enrolled students on the Swainsboro campus was age 25 or older. In Fall Semester 2013, 6.5% of the College's entering cohort and 18.7% of its enrolled students on the Swainsboro campus was age 25 or older.

Since Fall Semester 2011, EGSC has experienced enrollment declines following two years of double-digit enrollment increases. Underlying overall enrollment changes are changes in the compositions of the four most important student demographic cohorts at EGSC – Swainsboro and EGSC – Statesboro. These cohorts are listed below.

  • African-American Females
  • African-American Males
  • White (Non-Hispanic) Females
  • White (Non-Hispanic) Males

The enrollment of African-American students at both locations increased substantially from Fall Semester 2009 to Fall Semester 2011, and then decreased through Fall Semester 2013. The increase was more pronounced at EGSC – Swainsboro, while the subsequent decrease was more pronounced at EGSC – Statesboro. The number of African-American students at EGSC – Statesboro went from 757 in Fall 2009 to 1,071 in Fall 2011, a 41.4% increase. In Fall 2013, 788 these students were enrolled at EGSC – Statesboro, a decline from Fall 2011 of 26.4%. The number of African-American students at EGSC – Swainsboro went from 294 in Fall 2009 to 547 in Fall 2011, an 86.1% increase. At EGSC – Swainsboro, the number of these students in Fall 2013 were 449, a decline of 17.9%. One reason for the more moderate enrollment decline of African-American students at EGSC – Swainsboro is the popularity of on-campus housing among these students since housing became available in Fall Semester 2011.

The enrollment fluctuations of non-Hispanic white students were less dramatic during this period. The enrollment of white students at EGSC – Statesboro actually decreased from 836 in Fall 2009 to 816 in Fall 2011, a decline of 2.3%. From Fall 2011 to 2013, white enrollment decreased to 725, a decline of 11.1%. At Swainsboro – EGSC, white student enrollment increased from 703 in Fall 2009 to 771 in Fall 2011, up 9.7%. In Fall 2013, there were 713 white students on the Swainsboro campus, a decline of 7.5%.

East Georgia State College's access mission guides it toward completion goals and strategies that make higher education a priority among youth who are least likely to complete a college degree. The College's learning support program, its student engagement efforts, and its teaching strategies are all being reformed to focus its students on pathways to on-time degree completion. 

Institutional Completion Goals and Strategies

East Georgia State College is pursuing the following top five high-impact strategies, each presented below with their associated goals.

Complete College Goal

High-impact Strategies

Goal 1: Increase in the number of undergraduate degrees awarded by USG institutions.

USG Strategy 1.1: Target increases in access and completion for students traditionally underserved in postsecondary education.

EGSC Strategy 1.1 Implementation: Provide a range of academic support services to remove obstacles and provide clear pathways to college completion.

Goal 2: Increase the number of degrees that are earned "on-time" (associate degrees in 2 years, bachelor's degrees in 4 years).

USG Strategy 2.1: Change institutional culture to emphasize taking full-time course loads (15 or more credits per semester) to earn degrees ‘on time.’

EGSC Strategy 2.1 Implementation: The (g2)2 or ‘Get to Graduation in Two Years’ is a ‘15-to-Finish’ program paired with the ‘Commit to Completion’ initiative, sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa. The College received a USG Innovation Grant to assist in funding this program.

Goal 5: Award degrees to students who may have already met requirements for associate degrees via courses taken at one or more institutions.

USG Strategy 5.4 Automatically conduct degree audits of all students with 60 or more credit hours at associate degree institutions to see whether they have met requirements for degrees. If so, an associate degree would be awarded unless students have opted out or did not have the opportunity to sign off on the initial permission for automatic award of degree.

EGSC Strategy 5.4 Implementation: EGSC began auditing students with 60 or more credit hours in Fall Semester 2013.

Goal 7: Increase the likelihood of degree completion by transforming the way that remediation is accomplished.

Strategy 7.3: Ensure that all remediation is targeted toward supporting students in the skills they need to pass the collegiate course.

EGSC Strategy 7.3 Implementation: Provide academic support programs that prepare students to successfully complete college courses across the core curriculum.

Goal 8: Restructure instructional delivery to support educational excellence and student success.

Strategy 8.2: Implement alternative delivery models, such as hybrid instruction, flipped classrooms, and emporium-model instruction.

EGSC Strategy 8.2 Implementation: Math and Science faculty have prepared video lectures that allow them to effectively flip their classrooms.

Summary of Goals. High-Impact Strategies and Activities

East Georgia State College's progress on its top five CCG goals/high-impact strategies is presented below.

Goal 1

Increase in the number of undergraduate degrees awarded by USG institutions.
High-Impact Strategy 1.1 Implementation
Provide a range of academic support services to remove obstacles and provide clear pathways to college completion.

1.1 Summary of Activities
  1. Increase student usage of tutoring and academic advising services in the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE).
  2. Extend operational hours in the evening for ACE.
  3. Refine the Early Warning System and integrate it into the academic services of the ACE.  Utilize intrusive advising techniques, with assistance from course instructors, to assist students.

1.1 Interim Measures of Progress

1.  In Swainsboro, most of the students coming to the ACE were looking for math assistance, but came to the ACE for 44 different courses.  In Statesboro, most were in math and 38 different courses (some from GSU classes).  In Augusta, most were in math and 16 different courses. In Swainsboro the most common course was MATH 1111.   In Statesboro and Augusta it was ENGL 1101.  A study of the Spring 2014 usage shows the accompanying success of students who utilize the ACE for tutoring. 

Hour Utilization in Fall 2013:

»     Swainsboro – 6,519 (41% of all students use ACE)

»     Statesboro – 5,548 (52% of all students use ACE)

»     Augusta – 734 (65% of all students use ACE)

      Students/Hrs/Success Rates in Spring 2014:

»     Swainsboro – 510/5810/85.2%

»     Statesboro – 569/4385/81.0%

»     Augusta – 89/1505/84.4%

2.  Hours in ACE have been expanded in Swainsboro to Monday-Thursday 8-6, Friday 8-5; in Statesboro to Monday-Thursday 8-8, Friday 8-5; in Augusta to Monday-Thursday 8-4.

3.  In Fall 2013, 60% of LS students were counseled about their early warning grades.  39% of the Swainsboro students showed improvement in their final grades, but only 25% passed all of their classes.  In Spring 2014, 181 LS students in Swainsboro were counseled about early-warning grades.  53% showed improvement in their grades and 46% passed all of their classes.

4.  There were a number of academic success measures which have shown the overall success of these activities.  The academic success data shows an increase in the percentage of students making Dean's List, an overall percentage decline of students receiving poor academic standings (exclusions, probations, and warnings), an increase in the overall course success rate, a general increase in the success rate in gateway courses (MATH 1111, ENGL 1101, and HIST 2111/2112), and an increase in student success in learning support classes.  The following table shows the academic success data for the fall and spring semesters for the last two years.

Academic Success Data
 

Dean's List

Unsatisfactory Academic Standings

Overall Course

Success

MATH 1111 Success

ENGL 1101 Success

HIST 2111/2112 Success

Learning Support Success

Term

%

%

Rates

Rates

Rates

Rates

Rates

Fall 2012

8.3%

38.1%

63.7%

53.9%

56.6%

58.5%

47.6%

Spring 2013

7.5%

37.8%

62.9%

44.9%

48.5%

53.4%

43.2%

Fall 2013

9.8%

33.9%

68.3%

54.8%

67.2%

53.2%

49.8%

Spring 2014

9.1%

34.0%

65.4%

45.2%

55.9%

58.5%

53.3%

Measures of Success

An increase in the overall usage of ACE is a factor leading to the success of students in individual courses and ultimately their success in completing their degree.  Collection of the academic success data which includes data on the Dean's List, students receiving academic bad standings, overall course success rates, and success rates in gateway courses and learning support classes is vital to assess activity success.  With 85% of our students on some form of financial aid, students not making satisfactory academic progress is a retention and success factor to be measured and analyzed. 

Goal 2

Increase the number of degrees that are earned "on-time" (associate degrees in 2 years, bachelor's degrees in 4 years). 
High-Impact Strategy 2.1 Implementation
The (g2)2 or ‘Get to Graduation in Two Years’ is a ‘15-to-Finish’ program.  To expand the program, it was paired with the ‘Commit to Completion’ initiative, sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa. The College received a 2014-2015 USG Innovation Grant to assist in funding this program.

2.1 Summary of Activities

The (g2)2 program is for those students who plan to finish an associate degree in two years.  The mission of the program is to assist students to achieve that plan by (1) providing active attention from the Academic Affairs staff and direct assistance from the faculty and staff mentors, (2) providing assistance in developing and following an academic plan focused on graduation, (3) waiving of the graduation fee for (g2)2 students, (4) providing a learning community of like-minded students to support each other, and (5) recognizing those students who successfully achieve their (g2)2 goals. 

2.1 Interim Measures of Progress

An analysis of the data for the graduates of East Georgia State College for the previous five years (Fall 2009 - Summer 2013) shows approximately 10% of our graduates finish a degree in two years from entry and 30% finish a degree within three years of entry. 

The number of graduates for each academic year (fall-to-summer) has increased from 143 graduates in AY 09-10 (fall 2009-to-summer 2010) to 173 graduates in AY 12-13 (fall 2012-summer 2013).  During the same time period the number of students graduating in two years has declined from 15 (10.5%) in AY 09-10 to 14 (8.1%) in AY 12-13 and the number of students graduating in three years has declined from 54 (37.8%) to 43 (24.9%) in the same period.

Goal 5

Award degrees to students who may have already met requirements for associate degrees via courses taken at one or more institutions.
High-Impact Strategy 5.4 Implementation
EGSC began auditing students with 60 or more credit hours in Fall Semester 2013.

5.4 Summary of Activities

East Georgia State College annually does degree audits and contacts students who can complete their associate degree within one term.  In addition, students who plan to transfer are informed about reverse transfer.

East Georgia State College has made preliminary contact with Georgia Southern University and Georgia Regents University to develop a formal agreement to simplify the reverse transfer process.  East Georgia State begins tracking students for reverse transfer when they get close to transfer to the university.  The Advising Center works with the Transfer Coordinator to develop a graduation plan which focuses on reverse transfer.  Both Georgia Southern and Georgia Regents do special transfer information sessions for EGSC students prior to transfer during their last term a EGSC students.  Students will be asked to commit to do reverse transfer and will be tracked by East Georgia advising personnel into the university if they agree to commit.  The university will provide access to information about the student to EGSC during the tracking.  In addition, university students who have not been successful at the university will be informed of the option to transfer to East Georgia to finish an associate degree.  MOUs are currently being developed to formalize the process.        

5.4 Interim Measures of Progress

According to USG Summary data for EGSC, the number of students reaching credit hour benchmarks increased from FY 2008 to FY 2013:

»     15 hour benchmark from 774 (FY 2008) to 1,126 (FY 2013)

»     30 hour benchmark from 579 (FY 2008) to 884 (FY 2013)

»     60 hour benchmark from 132 (FY 2008) to 289 (FY 2013)

Eleven former EGSC students have been successfully reverse transferred back to receive their associate degrees from East Georgia State College since Fall Semester 2012.

On July 15, 2014 EGSC was chosen to partner with Georgia Southern University and Georgia Regents University in a USG pilot program in reverse transfer.  East Georgia and Georgia Regents were chosen for the East Region pilot.

5.4 Measures of Success

The most important measure of success will be the number of graduates who complete their degrees.  Other indicators of success will be a reduction in the number of extra hours beyond 65 students complete before the awarding of their degree and the number of students who reverse transfer courses to complete a degree. 

Goal 7

Increase the likelihood of degree completion by transforming the way that remediation is accomplished.
High-Impact Strategy 7.3 Implementation
Provide academic support programs that prepare students to successfully complete college courses across the core curriculum.

7.3 Summary of Activities
  1. Promote the use of all components of the Academic Center of Excellence (ACE), including tutoring services and academic advising services.
  2. Implemented the Intensive Academic Program (IAP) directed at successful COMPASS testing.   The IAP is a program of intensive tutoring by our ACE staff in which the student is given 20 hours of intensive instruction in math, English, and/or reading before being allowed to retake a COMPASS exam.
  3. Implement a Jump Start Summer Academy – a summer-bridge program to college.  The Jump Start program is not appropriate for fall and spring term, but will be continued each summer.  The program is for students who are not eligible to attend East Georgia State College because of low COMPASS scores.  Currently the program is focused on mathematics, English, reading, student success class, and an additional elective if required.  Depending on their COMPASS scores, students are allowed to enroll for learning support English or English composition; learning support math, college algebra, or pre-calculus; learning support reading; student success; and another core course.  The results from this program are used to allow students to be admitted or become eligible for admissions to EGSC who previously had been denied admissions.    

7.3 Interim Measures of Progress
  1. As shown in a previous section, the use of all ACE services has increased this year compared to previous years.
  2. In Fall 2013 83% of IAP students were able to increase COMPASS score to be successful.
  3. 15 students were in Jump Start in Summer 2013 and 20 students were in Jump Start in Summer 2014.  Exit rates from LS classes in 2013 ranged from 50% to 67% and there was a jump in the percent of students who met admission requirements from 47% to 93%. 

7.3 Measures of Success

The overall usage of ACE, the use of IAP opportunities, and the availability and usage of the Jump Start program is a measure of the success of the academic support services.

Goal 8

Restructure instructional delivery to support educational excellence and student success.
High-Impact Strategy 8.2 Implementation
Math and Science faculty have prepared video lectures that allow them to effectively flip their classrooms.

8.2 Summary of Activities

For the past five years various EGSC faculty have been experimenting with new ways to restructure delivery.  One key idea has been to provide instructional material for the student that is available anywhere and anytime.  To this end, tablet PCs with video production software was made available to most instructors in the Math & Science Division.  The end result is that a number of instructors have produced several hundred videos that are short, to the point, address areas in which students struggle, and are available on-line 24/7 for access by the students.

A number of faculty in Math & Science have worked to flip their classrooms. One additional asset that has already proved beneficial at EGCS is to provide short 1-4 minute instructional video on how to work or approach a homework problem or discussion topic. Examples of flipping the classroom include:

»     Flipping the classroom in Biology requires students to utilize a wide variety of resources (e.g. short videos, scientific articles, podcasts, websites) in addition to their textbook to learn key concepts and supporting subject information. During class, students actively participate in their own learning by completing tasks that focus on critical thinking, problem-solving, and practical application of concepts.

»      Students viewed (reluctantly at first) these videos before class and all class sections were devoted to working calculus problems that involved critical thinking in problems setup and a discussion and further elaboration on calculus concepts. In his Calculus I class, it was noted in fall 2012 that students struggled with certain concepts in Calculus such as "The Chain Rule", "Relative Rates", and "The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus."  In spring 2012, the instructor created additional videos summarizing many of these concepts and also held two special ‘extra review and working sessions’ to further strengthen students' understanding.  In fall 2013 the instructor began flipping the classroom by creating a YouTube Channel entitled ‘Calculus In a Nutshell.’

In spring 2014, our lead Chemistry instructor flipped his classroom for his Introductory Chemistry class CHEM I.   The instructor began producing videos of nearly all his CHEM I lectures, each about 25-30 minutes in length.  The students were asked to view the videos BEFORE a given class.  At the beginning of nearly each class, the students were given a short (~10 minute) quiz based on the video(s) they watched.  Because the students had viewed the lectures already, the instructor used the class time to answer questions, doing demonstrations relevant to the topics, and emphasizing particular points that the students seem to be missing based on the quizzes.

The ‘flipped classroom’ method of instruction continues to expand to other math/science areas, as well as into the social sciences and humanities areas.  Faculty are being trained in the use of the ‘flipped classroom’ in our Teaching and Learning Center. 

8.2 Interim Measures of Progress

One Biology instructor transitioned to fully ‘flipped’ courses in Microbiology) and Introductory Biology

A summary of the very positive outcomes include:

  • Increased overall student success rates (proportion of students getting a C or better)
  • Increased student productivity (% completed assignments)
  • Increased concept comprehension (exam scores)
  • Increased critical thinking skills (essays and case studies)
  • Increased student engagement (think-pair-share exercises)
  • Adoption of successful study skills (preparatory quiz scores)

The instructor also believes that the shift in focus to critical thinking, and flipping the classroom, facilitated an increase in student evaluation scores in several key areas: organization, assistance, critical thinking and student learning.

In the table below we show the success rates in Calculus I and the class GPA for these students as the class went from traditional lecture to various phases of being totally flipped.  No lectures were delivered in class in AY2013 for the students.  The classroom session involved hands on problem solving and discussion of various calculus concepts.  After an initial period of adjustment, the students began to realize the value of the flipped classroom.  All comments were positive and the students were pleased with their improved understanding of the concepts learned in the course.

Calculus I

AY 2012

AY 2013

Fall Un-Flipped

Spring Un-Flipped
Special Topic Videos

Fall – YouTube      Flipped

Spring YouTube           Flipped With DVDs

Success Rate

63.3%

80.0%

83.3%

86.2%

Class GPA

2.26

2.82

2.80

3.07

8.2 Measures of Success

Ultimately the success of restructuring instructional delivery is tied to the success of students taking the classes and the expansion of the delivery methods to courses in other academic disciplines. 

Observations

Most Successful Strategies:

One of our most successful strategies is increasing the usage of our ACE.  The combination of tutoring and academic advising has helped to show an improvement in our course success rates.  The (g2)2 program, even with its limited start, appears to be having an impact on the number of students who graduate on time.  The financial support to expand the program from the USG Innovation Grant is greatly appreciated.  Success rates in learning support classes have increased and it appears this is due to increased usage of tutoring in ACE and to intrusive use of the early-warning grades.   The ACE still is the centerpiece of our Complete College Plan because it facilitates faculty and staff contact with students.  

We continue to restructure instructional delivery to increase student success.  Most of the activity is focused on ‘flipping’ courses.  The restructuring shows in the increase in the overall and gateway course success rates. 

We have studied our online classes and have adopted Quality Matters to assure the quality of our online courses.  We have developed a D2L Faculty Manual, a Basic Instructor Training Manual, and tutorial handouts to assist faculty with D2L. 

East Georgia State College is participating in a pilot of the Desire2Learn Analytics and Student Success System (S3) software. Initially planned for spring 2014, the USG OIT moved the pilot to summer 2014. Six professors are participating, with eight courses in the pilot. S3 provides a predictive algorithm which alerts the professor to students who are ‘at risk’ or ‘trending downward’ during each week of the course.

Least Effective Strategies:

We have implemented the co-requisite strategy for learning support, but have had limited response from students likely because our cut scores have limited the co-requisite option to few learning support students.  While this may appear to be ineffective, we plan to make adjustments to increase the number of students who can take advantage of that option.  In Fall 2014 we will begin to use adjusted cut scores to allow approximately 50% of students to be placed in the co-requisite college algebra and companion co-requisite course. 

Adjustments Made to Completion Activities:

We continue to expand our promotion of the ACE as we saw its potential to assist students to succeed.  Although we have some 40-50% of our students visiting the ACE, those students are usually in learning support or English and/or math.  We need to expand the usage to other non-English, non-math classes. 

We have increased and will continue to increase our utilization of the early warning grade. 

We have increased our focus on graduation, not only for on-time graduation but also to reverse transfer and to graduation within three years. 

We have seen a decline in the percentage of students who have an unsatisfactory academic standing (a decline from 43% to 33% in a 3-year period) as we increase the various student success activities.  It is still not at the level we want and we have adjusted our discussions on college completion and other college enrollment studies to students not making satisfactory academic progress (SAP).  With 85% of our students on some form of financial aid, SAP is a significant factor in their decision to stay in college.    

With the increase in the number of online offerings and the number of faculty involved in teaching online classes, a need was seen to assure the quality of those classes delivered in the online format.  We began the process of making sure we are 508 compliant and adopted Quality Matters, a nationally recognized peer-review system of online courses.

East Georgia State College is participating in a pilot of the Desire2Learn Analytics and Student Success System (S3) software, a predictive algorithm which alerts the professor to students who are ‘at risk’ or ‘trending downward’ during each week of the course.