This project aims to encourage students to take fuller schedules to keep them on track to graduate. Specific activities include:
- Pre-registering new students through the orientation process
- Campaigns to students taking less than 12 credits and no summer classes
- Incorporating the graduation message college-wide
Evaluation Plan and measures:
To assess the effectiveness of this plan, we will review the number of students enrolled in full-time (12+) schedules, and those who are taking 15+ hours in a term. We will compare those numbers year-to-year, Fall-to-Fall, to account for the effect our QEP and Momentum has had on this effort. We are tracking a variety of characteristics and measures, including average hours taken by student types and percentage of students falling into FT/HT/PT classifications.
KPIs:
Baseline measure (for each KPI):
- Average Hours for Fall 2021 all students: 9.4 hours
- Average Hours for Fall 2021 New Freshmen: 11.5
- Percentage of all students with Full-Time Schedules for Fall 2021: 38.6%
- Percentage of New Freshmen with FT schedules: 70.8%
Current/most recent data (for each KPI)
- Average Hours for Fall 2022 all students: 9.8 hours
- Average Hours for Fall 2022 New Freshmen: 12.2
- Percentage of all students with Full-Time Schedules for Fall 2022: 41.1%
- Percentage of New Freshmen with FT schedules: 74.8
- Average Hours for Fall 2023 all students: 9.6 hours
- Average Hours for Fall 2023 New Freshmen: 11.5
- Percentage of all students with Full-Time Schedules for Fall 2023: 38.7%
- Percentage of New Freshmen with FT schedules: 65.2%
Goal or targets (for each KPI):
For Fall 23, we set a goal of 75% of New Freshman students carrying FT loads.
We want to see the average load for a New Freshman at 12 hours or more.
Time period/duration: We will measure this Fall over Fall enrollment.
In the fall of 2022, the average course load for all students was 9.8 hours, while for new freshmen, it stood at 12.2 hours. About 41.1% of all students maintained full-time schedules during that semester, and an impressive 74.8% of new freshmen also had full-time schedules.
Moving to the fall of 2023, the average course load for all students decreased slightly to 9.6 hours, and for new freshmen, it was 11.5 hours. The percentage of all students with full-time schedules dropped to 38.7%, and 65.2% of new freshmen carried full-time schedules during the same period.
These statistics provide a snapshot of our progress and the need for ongoing efforts to encourage higher course loads among our students, especially among new freshmen. We also need to account for a higher number of new students starting in our October-start term, as these students are not encouraged to take a full load since they are beginning midway through the semester.
We will maintain close collaboration with our academic chairs to align course scheduling with our students' preferred times and days, as determined by the data from the Pre-Orientation questionnaire. We will also persist in engaging students in discussions about the advantages of enrolling in a more comprehensive course load.
Furthermore, our Advising department is actively developing a D2L class to support the transition of new students into college life. Within this D2L class, we will establish a module dedicated to emphasizing the significance and benefits of fuller course schedules, informed by the data we've gathered.
Challenges:
Student Awareness and Engagement: Convincing students about the benefits of taking fuller schedules and ensuring their active participation in the D2L class can be challenging, as it may require effective communication and motivation strategies.
Scheduling Constraints: Coordinating course schedules to align with students' preferences can be a logistical challenge, as it may necessitate complex scheduling adjustments and compromises to accommodate diverse needs.
Supports Needed:
We really need scheduling software to streamline and optimize our course scheduling processes.
