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PROMISING EARLY EFFECTS OF A MULTIFACETED PROGRAM TO BOOST

GRADUATION RATES FOR AT-RISK STUDENTS

DREAM 2013Anaheim, California

February 6, 2013

Sue Scrivener, MDRC Daniela Boykin, City University of New York

Richard Rivera, Kingsborough Community College

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Session Outline• Context and importance of

Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP)

• ASAP’s history, goals, and model• ASAP at Kingsborough Community

College• Early effects for students• What’s next• Q & A

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Context• Only about 1/3 of community

college students get a certificate or degree within 5 years

• Recent unprecedented national focus on the importance of increasing graduation rates for community college students

• Many reforms have been tried

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Past MDRC Research• Studied several reforms, including

enhanced academic advising, student success courses, learning communities, performance-based scholarships

• In general, programs can improve academic outcomes, but effects typically modest and short-lived

• College completion rates remain stubbornly low and field still seeking reforms that can substantially help students

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Why Look at ASAP?• The City University of New York’s

(CUNY’s) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) is multi-faceted and long-lasting– Brings together many promising reforms– Provides services for three years

• One of the most ambitious efforts in the country to boost graduation rates for at-risk community college students

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CUNY ASAP:Who We Are

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CUNY Community College Students

79%

In need of remediation

66%

Re-enroll after a year

13%

Graduate in 3 years

Source: CUNY Office of Institutional Research 2011

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Address barriers and streamline student experience

• Students are poorly prepared• Education is

often competing for their time• Colleges are

large with many departments, majors and procedures  

“Minimize students’ uncertainty to increase engagement.” Chancellor Mathew Goldstein

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ASAP History• Goal: At least 50% of students

will complete an Associate’s degree within three years

• 2007: – CUNY funded by Mayor’s

Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) at $6.5 million annual budget for three years

– ASAP launched 1,132 fully skills proficient students* across six CUNY community colleges

*28% of fall 2007 ASAP students had some developmental needs when recruited and addressed over summer.

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ASAP History• Fall 2009:

– ASAP begins to admit students with developmental needs

• Spring 2010: – ASAP exceeds 3-year

graduation goal with fall 2007 cohort

– ASAP funding now a permanent allocation to CUNY

• Fall 2011: – Fall 2009 cohort 2-year

graduation rate four times higher than comparison group

– CUNY Chancellor announces plans to expand ASAP

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ASAP Today…– Recruited 1,500+

new students in fall 2012

– Serve 2,200+ students

– Expanding to 4,000+ students by fall 2014

28%

In 2014, ASAP will serve

of first-time full-time degree seeking students

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Play Video here

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ASAP Design Principles• Required full-time study • Limited number of majors

• Sample Majors: Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Accounting, Human Services, Early Childhood Education

• Consolidated class schedule • Cohort design by major • Winter and summer course taking• Dedicated full-time staff at each college• Rigorous evaluation and use data

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ASAP Resources and ServicesASAP Financial Resources:

• Tuition waivers• Free use of textbooks • Monthly MTA MetroCards

ASAP Services:• Case management advisement• Academic support services• Faculty engagement• ASAP Seminar• Career development services• Special programs

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ASAP Structure

ASAP Central

ASAP Bronx Community

College

ASAP BMCC

ASAP Hostos

ASAP Kingsborough

ASAP LaGuardia

ASAP Queensborough

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ASAP at Kingsborough Community College

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KBCC Profile• 70 acre campus located in

Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn

• Founded in 1963; only community college in Brooklyn

• Serves over 30,000 students in credit and non-credit courses

• Offers 2-year Degrees: Associate in Arts (A.A.), Science (A.S.) and specialized careers (A.A.S.)

• Offers nearly 700 courses in 30+ majors

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ASAP College Staffing Structure

Under Provost:• College Director• 6 Advisors (1:100)• Career Employment Specialist• Administrative Assistants• Supplemental Instructors & Tutors

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What Makes ASAP Effective…Support students by:

• Removing financial barriers to full time study

• Organizing classes in block schedules (morning, afternoon and evening blocks) to accommodate work &/or other commitments

• Assigning them to an advisor to help address many of the stresses that deter students from receiving degrees

• Developing a connection to the college and building community

• Accessing comprehensive and relevant support services

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Admissions Criteria • Must be a New York City

resident

• Agree to study full-time in an ASAP

• Continuing students must have less than 15 credits and a GPA of 2.0 or above

• Be fully skills proficient or have no more than two developmental course needs

• Receive some need-based financial aid (PELL and/or TAP)

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ASAP Program Components• Financial Incentives:

– Tuition waivers (PELL/TAP recipients)

– Free use of textbooks

– Unlimited monthly MTA MetroCards

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ASAP Program ComponentsASAP Services:

• Intensive Academic Advisement

• Blocked Courses• Priority Registration• Supplemental

Instruction & Tutoring• Career Development

Services• Leadership

Development• Laptop Loaner

Program • Academic & Cultural

Opportunities‐ Honors Program‐ Travel Abroad

Program

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The Recruitment Process• Recruitment begins in the

Spring Semester & runs through August

• ASAP students & staff present to continuing students in classes during Spring Semester

• Work with Testing & Freshmen Services to screen academically eligible students

• Academically eligible students must then provide FA confirmation

• Students meet with ASAP Staff to review requirements & expectations

• Students with developmental needs are encouraged to attend summer immersion

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Building A Community• Students with a

developmental need are strong encouraged to attend summer immersion classes

• Students (parents invited too) are required to attend a Summer Orientation Meeting

• Students are required to attend a two day summer orientation (1st Day ASAP focused & 2nd Day Campus Fest)

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Developmental Policies • Students w/ more than 1

developmental need are required to enroll in Summer Immersion

• All students are expected to take developmental courses immediately & continuously

• Students take a mix of blocked remedial courses and workshops

• Tutoring is required for students w/ developmental needs

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Supportive Community• ASAP Seminar

and workshops• Career

Employment Specialists

• Additional campus supports

• Advisement

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ASAP Advisement • Dedicated full-time staff

with a 1:120 caseload• Work with advisor

through graduation• Contacts builds

relationships and student comfort – number of contacts per semester are determined based on needs of students

• Assess and address academic and personal needs

• Follow-up with faculty about attendance and progress via mid term progress reports

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MDRC’s ASAP Evaluation

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The Evaluation• MDRC is studying the implementation

of ASAP and its impacts on students’ academic outcomes

• Study is taking place at three of CUNY’s six community colleges: Kingsborough, Borough of Manhattan, and LaGuardia

• Study began in 2009 and will continue through 2014

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Random Assignment Research Design

Target

• Targeted population invited to participate in study

Consent & Data

• Participants give consent• Baseline data collected

Random Assignment

• Program group – Students can enroll in ASAP• Control group – Students can receive standard

college services

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Students in the Study• Low-income students who needed

one or two developmental courses and were willing to attend school full time

• About 900 students randomly assigned in 2010– Almost 2/3 women–Most relatively young– Racially diverse

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Early impacts are very promising

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Increased Full-Time Enrollment in First Semester

*p ≤ .10 ***p ≤ .01

2.5*10.6***

Enrolled Enrolled Full-time0

20

40

60

80

10096.4 95.894.0

85.2

Program group Control group

Enro

llmen

t (%

)

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Increased Average Credits Earned in First Semester

Program group

Control group Difference

Total credits earned College-level Developmental

11.48.52.9

9.37.61.7

2.1***

0.9***

1.1***

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Helped Students Complete Developmental Courses in First Semester

0

20

40

60

80

100

Program group Control group

Com

plet

ed d

evel

opm

enta

l req

uire

men

ts (%

)

14.7***

***p ≤ .01

46.6

31.9

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Increased Enrollment in Second Semester

9.8***

20.6***

***p ≤ .01

Enrolled Enrolled Full-time0

20

40

60

80

100

90.3

80.580.4

59.8

Program group Control group

Enro

llmen

t (%

)

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Comparing Impacts on Credits Earned in First Semester Across

Studies

ASAP

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Impacts on credits earned in MDRC's higher education experimental evaluations

Estim

ated

Impa

ct

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Conclusions and What’s Next

• Early findings very promising• Too early to speculate about

longer-term outcomes like graduation

• Future reports will present two- and three-year impacts, including graduation rates, and full implementation story

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Source: CUNY Office of Institutional Assessment and ASAP Colleges

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ASAP Expansion• Core program elements recommended for

consideration across CUNY to improve retention, movement through developmental education, and graduation.

• structured degree pathways• immediate and continuous developmental course

taking• mandatory advisement• incentives for full-time study

• Expansion over next 3 years; expected enrollment of 4,000+ students by 2014

• Expansion planning efforts supported by CEO• Central & college planning teams developed

plans • Launched a citywide outreach & marketing

campaign • Additional funding to be raised by CUNY

Academic Affairs

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Sue Scrivenersue.scrivener@mdrc.org

Daniela Boykin daniela.boykin@mail.cuny.edu

Richard Riverarichard.rivera@kbcc.cuny.edu

Contact Information