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2020 Strategy Survey Preview

The strategy survey is available to complete here.  

Printable preview.

In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the work that institutions do toward college completion, a campus strategy survey accompanies the narrative update on CCG activities.  The strategy survey is an opportunity for institutions to indicate each strategy that they are pursuing or have pursued in the past year, allowing them to focus more in depth on those that are of the greatest impact and priority on their campus in their narrative comments. 

The survey for 2020 asks a wide range of questions to better understand the work that is underway across the state. Campuses are asked to indicate which of the strategies they are engaged in. There is no expectation that any campus will undertake activities across all areas. 

You can save a draft of your survey at any point and return to it to complete it.  Unless otherwise noted, questions are "Yes/No." Only the institution is required. Each section includes an optional free response text box for additional notes and details.

Access and Transition to College

  1. Does your institution have targeted transition activities for any of the following communities:
    • Part-time students     
    • Adult learners (undergraduate students 25 years of age or older)   
    • Military and former military students          
    • First generation college students      
    • African American Students   
    • Hispanic/Latino students
    • Low income students (Pell eligible)  
    • Students with disabilities      
  2. Does your campus offer ANY after school or summer programs preparing middle school and high school students for college success (tutoring, mentoring, campus visits, college exposure workshops, etc.)?

Transition to College

  1. Do you have a director for student transition to college?     
  2. Do you offer a new student orientation?

If Yes,

  1. Do faculty or staff from Academic Affairs participate in New Student Orientation?
  2. When do you offer new student orientation? (select all that apply: Spring Preview Days; Summer; Fall (before term begins))
  3. How long is your new student orientation? (Select all that apply: Less than one day/half day; One day; Two days; Three days; More than three days; Varies)
  4. Do you charge a fee for orientation?
    1. If yes, please indicate how much.
  5. For 2020, were any of your new student orientations for on campus students conducted virtually?

If yes:

  1. What platform did you use?
  2. Please indicate the mode: [all asynchronous; hybrid asynchronous/synchronous; all synchronous; varied]
  3. How many students did you orient in a session?
  1. Do you have differentiated orientation/first-year programming for specific communities (e.g., first generation, African American Males, non-traditional students, military and former military, transfer students)?
    1. If yes, Please indicate the communities/students for which you have specialized/targeted orientation, if any.
  2. Do you traditionally have a parents/family program for orientation?
    1. If yes, for 2020 did you have a virtual program for parents and families
  3. Do you communicate with parents/families throughout the year?
    1. If Yes, what platform/mode do you use?
  4. Does your institution offer a summer bridge program for select students?
    1. If Yes, for 2020, what changes did you make to your summer bridge program? (none; conducted entirely online; hybrid; delayed until fall; suspended for 2020; other)
  5. Do you require all freshmen to participate in a first-year seminar/experience?
    1. If yes, How many credits is your FYE/FYS course? (0, 1, 2, 3, varies, other)
  6. Do you have ongoing transition programming outside of FYS/FYE for students?
  7. Do you have "week of welcome" or similar activity on your campus?
    1. If yes, how many days does this activity last? (1-30)
    2. Do faculty or staff from Academic Affairs participate in this activity?

Academic Mindset Survey

  1. How will you administer the 2020 Mindset Survey? (select all that apply: New Student Orientation; First Year Experience/Seminar course; Other First Year Course; Email to students; Other...)

Transparent Pathways

Credit Intensity/15 to Finish

  1. Does your institution have a credit intensity/15 to Finish initiative?

If yes,

  1. Does your institution provide marketing materials at registration/orientation about taking 15 or more credits per semester?
  2. Are advisors trained to encourage students to take 15 or more credits per semester ?
  3. Are first-time full-time freshmen defaulted into 15-credit schedules?
  4. Is student success tracked by credit hours attempted/earned?
  5. Are students are encouraged to use summer to “make up” credits?

Focus Areas

  1. At what point do students identify their focus area? (select one: On the application; pre-orientation advising; orientation; students do not identify a focus area (direct placement into major); other)
  2. At what point in their academic career are students required to select majors or programs of study? (Select one: at enrollment; within 15 credits/1 semester; within 30 credits/2 semesters; within 45 credits/3 semesters; within 60 credits/4 semesters)
  3. Are default schedules available for students in majors or academic focus areas?
  4. Does your institution offer block schedules for students in academic focus areas or majors for the first semester or first year?
  5. Does your institution use student selection of academic focus areas to alert them to co-curricular activities in their area of interest?
  6. Does your institution use focus areas to cohort/group students for communications/resources/outreach/etc.
     

Program Maps

  1. Are program maps available to students on your institutional website?
  2. Are program maps used by advisors and students for planning and registration?
  3. Are program maps consistently formatted across all programs?
  4. Do program maps constrain choice by outlining a limited number of recommended electives?
  5. Do program maps provide students clear “off-ramps” to related areas of study without high credit loss?
  6. Is the math on program maps specific to the degree requirements?
  7. Are course milestones and checkpoints a part of program maps to indicate when students are 'off track?'
  8. Do program maps include co-curricular and extracurricular milestones?
  9. Are program maps used to predict course demand and identify program bottlenecks?

Supporting Students

  1. Does your institution have an Adult Learning Committee or another team at your college that focuses on Adult Learner strategies?
  2. Do you have an “Embark Point of Contact” who supports your currently enrolled students who have been in the Foster Care system or who’ve experienced homelessness?
  3. Do you have a Minority Advising Program (MAP) or a similar program supporting minority students if you are a Predominantly White Institution (PWI)?
  4. Do you have a campus-based food pantry available for your students?
  5. Does your institution have a policy or procedure for emergency housing assistance for students?
  6. Does your institution offer any micro-grants to those who are on track to graduate, but are having significant trouble paying for school?
  7. Does your campus offer any financial aid in exchange for student participation in service learning or other campus programs?
  8. Does your institution have activities to help students complete their FAFSA?
  9. Does your institution have a financial literacy program for all students that includes information about student loans and other forms of financial aid?
  10. Do you have a campus mentoring program that supports your currently enrolled students?
  11. Do you have campus-based childcare available for your students?

If yes,

  1. Does your center have a sliding scale fee structure for Pell Eligible students?
  2. Does the center allow drop-in care?
  3. Do you have any of the following Federal or TRIO programs on your campus or in partnership with another organization? (select all that apply: Educational Talent Search; Upward Bound; Student Support Services; Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement; GEAR UP; None)

Academic advising to keep students on track to graduate.

Advising Model

  1. What office is responsible for academic advising? (Select: Academic Affairs; Academic and Student Affairs; Student Affairs; Other
  2. Are all students advised through the same model?
  3. Please indicate the advising model in place at your institution: (Select: Professional-Centralized; Professional-Decentralized; Faculty; Other)

If all students are not advised through the same model:

  • For the following student types, please indicate the advising model (Freshmen; Transfer Students; Learning Support Students; Online Students; Special Admission Students; Athletes; Declared Majors; Students returning from Academic Suspension; Non-Traditional Students)

Predictive Analytics & Early Alerts

  1. Does your institution track student progress toward a degree (e.g., via Degree Works or other software)?

If Yes,

  • Are audits conducted on students with 45-60/105-120 credits but have not applied to graduate to determine gaps?
  • Please indicate what tool(s) you use to track student progress.
  • Does your institution identify students who may need special interventions in the semester (e.g., early alerts)?

If yes,

  • Does early alert system include both affirmative (in response to positive action or behavior) and corrective alerts for students?
  • Do early alerts place “holds” on student accounts?
  • Do staff conducting interventions have access to the student's full academic record?
  • Are early alert interventions triggered automatically (e.g., from gradebook) or manually? (Automatically; Manually)
  • Do you use special software to manage alerts/interventions?
  • Please indicate what software your institution uses to manage early alerts.
  • Does your institution use predictive analytics to help identify students who are off track and to help students understand their likelihood of success in particular programs?
  • If Yes,
    • Does your institution identify students who are 'off track' in their programs using clear criteria?
    • Does your institution use enrollment data to predict course demand?
    • Please indicate what software your institution uses for predictive analytics

Dual Enrollment

  1. Does your institution participate in dual enrollment programs for high school students?

(Select all that apply:  Yes, on our campus with our faculty; Yes, at a high school or third location with our faculty; Yes, at a high school with high school faculty; No)

  • If “Yes, on our campus with our faculty,” What strategies does your institution use to provide required textbooks to dual enrolled students while minimizing the expense to the institution?
  • Do you have a Dual Enrollment Coordinator to support High School students taking college courses while in high school?
    • If yes, what department and staff member (name/email) serves as the lead contact with this initiative?
  • What admission requirements does your institution apply to students with 30+ hours earned prior to high school graduation? (Select: All freshman requirements must be met; all transfer requirements must be met; both freshmen and transfer requirements must be met; freshman requirements or transfer requirements must be met (whichever benefits the students); Other)

Credit by Examination and Review

  1. Does your institution engage in any credit by examination program or activities

If Yes,

  • Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate examinations
  • Does your institution award credit based on portfolio review?
  • Does your institution award credit based on ACE credit recommendations?
  • Does your institution award credit based on assessment of prior learning via
  • CLEP or DSST scores?

Transforming Remediation

  1. Does your institution offer learning support?

If yes:

  • Please provide the following details about your corequisite learning support model for English and Mathematics (two sections):
    1. Are corequisite learning support classes taught by the gateway course instructor?
    2. Are all Learning Support students in a collegiate section assigned to the same Corequisite Learning Support section?
    3. Do your collegiate courses contain a mixture of Learning Support and Non-Learning Support students (comingled)?
    4. Do you have standardized syllabi for gateway courses in English/Math?
    5. Does your institution provide specific training/professional development for learning support instructors?
    6. Do you provide Corequisite Learning Support for online sections of the collegiate course?
    7. Do you provide Corequisite Learning Support as an online course?
    8. How many credits is your learning support English/Math course? (Select one: 1, 2, 3)
    9. How many contact hours is your learning support English/Math course? (Select one: 1, 2, 3)
    10. What is the maximum class size for your English/Math Collegiate course?
    11. What is the maximum class size for your English/Math Learning Support course?
    12. How is corequisite learning support delivered? (Select all that apply: in classroom; Emporium model; Lab model; Online; Other)

If Other;

  1. Please describe your corequisite learning support delivery model.

Restructure instructional delivery to support educational excellence and student success

  1. Does your institution formally recognize excellence in instruction?

If Yes,

  • Please describe how excellence is recognized and promoted?

Continuity of High-Quality Instruction

In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, institutions had to transition to virtual/online instruction. This section asks about your work in responding to this work.

  1. Do you provide professional development for faculty who teach online? If yes, 
    1. Is this training mandatory?
  2. Which instructional continuity resources are in place at your institution? [Options: Instructional design rubrics; Course design review; Faculty certification for teaching online; Course templates/shells in the LMS; Other...]
  3. Do you have minimum standards or requirements for faculty use of the LMS? If yes, 
    1. What LMS elements are required? [Optoins: Syllabus; Content; Discussion; Assignments; Quizzes; Gradebook; Other...]
  4. Have you made any of the following provisions for remote delivery of instruction for students with limited access to technology?[Options: Laptop/device checkout; Wifi Hotspots: Low-bandwidth instructional delivery; Other...]

High Impact Practices

  1. Has your institution implemented any of the following LEAP High-impact practices?
    Click here for descriptions of LEAP High Impact Practices.
    [Yes/No; Primary Contact (if yes)]
    • First-Year Experiences
    • Common Intellectual Experiences
    • Writing-Intensive Courses
    • Collaborative Assignments and Projects
    • Undergraduate Research
    • Diversity/Global Learning
    • Service Learning, Community-Based Learning
    • Internships
    • Capstone Courses and Projects
  2. Will your institution be using the Banner Element to record HIPs in Fall 2020?
  3. Does your institution provide courses with peer supplemental instruction or mentoring?
  4. Has your institution undertaken course redesigns to improve student outcomes?

If yes:

  • Optional: please indicate which courses and the approach adopted to redesign.

Online Learning

  1. Please indicate whether your institution offers the following:
    • Entirely online programs
    • Online courses in the Core
    • Online courses in upper division of majors
    • Courses via hybrid instruction,
    • Courses via flipped classrooms
    • Courses via emporium-model instruction.
    • Courses with open educational resources (OERs; free, open source textbooks)
    • Peer supplemental instruction or mentoring

Associate Degree You Deserve

Awarding degrees to students through the reverse transfer of credit.

The following questions appear for associate degree-granting institutions:

  1. Does your institution require students to sign document at matriculation indicating that associate degrees may be awarded automatically when requirements are met?
  2. Does your institution require students to apply to graduate?
  3. Does your institution automatically audit all students with 60 or more credit hours to determine degree eligibility?
  4. Does your institution ask students transferring in to opt-in to allow receiving institution to send academic information back to the sending institution for the purpose of awarding associate degrees?
  5. Does your institution publicize the possibility of earning associate degrees via reverse transfer to its students and the community?

The following questions appear for all institutions:

  1. Does your institution have a partnership with an associate degree granting institution for degree transfer.
  2. Are students informed upon transfer of the possibility of receiving a degree through reverse transfer.
  3. Does your institution have a process for contacting students identified as potentially eligible for reverse transfer?
  4. Does your institution have a process for transferring student records to an associate degree granting institution?
  5. Does your institution charge a fee to graduate?

If yes:

  • Is this fee charged to all students for award of degree?
  • Is this fee charged only to student who wish to participate in graduation ceremony?

Momentum Approach

Student Success Process

  1. Does your institution have a formal student success team or cabinet? If yes:
    1. How frequently does it meet [responses: weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, biannually, other – specify]
    2. What offices/institutional functions are represented on this team?
  2. Does your institution have a student success dashboard? If yes:
    1. How is this dashboard generated?
    2. Who on your campus has access to this dashboard?

Housing and Residential Life

  1. Does your institution offer programming (academic/non-academic) in housing?
  2. Does your institution provide tutoring, peer instruction, or other academic support activities in housing?

Student Life

  1. Does your institution participate in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) or the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSE)?
  2. Does your office of student life measure engagement of students in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities? (if Yes, What measures do you use? What technology, if any, do you use to track this? Is student engagement data shared with others on campus?)

Financial Aid

  1. Does your institution offer “merit aid” to continuing students? If so, does it track the demographics of who is awarded the merit aid?
  2. Has your institution adopted the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet from the US Department of Education? If so, have you updated the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet to the most recent version?
  3. Does your institution “waive,” “forgive.” or grant away partial student related account balances in order to reduce “stop-outs?”

Career Services

  1. Does your institution have an Office of Career Services?
  2. Does the Career Services Office participate in New Student Orientation, FYE/FYS courses?
  3. Are your institution’s academic internship programs associated/affiliated with the Office of Career Services?
  4. Does the Office of Career Services partner with capstone course for student seeking Associate Degree and bachelor's degree programs?
  5. Does your institution subscribe to local career services and databases? For example: Georgia Career Information Center (GCIC), BLS, DOL or other career related service?
  6. Does your institution provide students with the opportunity to create their our “internship/externship” experiences for academic (institutional) credit?