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East Georgia State College Campus Plan Update 2019

Institutional Mission and Student Body Profile

East Georgia State College (EGSC) is an associate degree granting, liberal arts institution providing access to academically transferable programs of study and targeted baccalaureate degrees at low cost to its students. As a unit of the University System of Georgia (USG) within the State College Sector, EGSC extends its access mission from its home campus in Swainsboro to instructional sites in Statesboro and Augusta. EGSC has been included on both of the U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center annually updated Lowest Tuition and Lowest Net Price national lists of four-year public colleges since July 2017.

EGSC began offering its initial baccalaureate degree, a Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree in Biology, in Fall Semester 2012 and has awarded the degree to 17 students. Since adding an Associate of Science (AS) Degree in Biology in Fall Semester 2017, 5 students have earned the AS degree.

The College launched its second bachelor program in Spring Semester 2016, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in Fire and Emergency Services Administration (FESA) and added an Associate of Arts (AA) FESA degree option in Fall Semester 2017. The FESA Program is based on the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) curriculum created at the National Fire Academy. The FESA BA Degree has been awarded to 5 students and the FESA AA Degree has been awarded to 3 students.

A third baccalaureate program, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN Bridge) Degree, was launched in Fall Semester 2017. Two cohorts have completed the program since its inception and 23 students have earned their BSN Degree. Both the BSN and FESA programs are offered entirely online for the convenience of working professionals and are among the lowest cost programs of their type in the nation.

Consistent with its access mission and its Carnegie Classification as a Baccalaureate/Associate’s Dominant College, EGSC expanded the number of associate degrees it offers in Fall Semester 2017. Until that semester, the College offered an Associate of Arts Degree, Core Curriculum (AACC). In addition to the AACC, EGSC now offers 10 associate of arts and 5 associate of science degrees with disciplinary distinctions. These degree options encourage EGSC students to focus early on specific programs of study that are aligned with baccalaureate degrees offered by EGSC and other USG colleges and universities. In the first two years that these academic programs have been available, 172 EGSC students have graduated with associate of arts and 55 have graduated with associate of science degrees with disciplinary distinctions. (A list of EGSC’s degrees earned by program for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 fiscal years is presented in Table A1 in the Appendix.)

As presented in Table 1, EGSC enrollment peaked in Fall Semester 2011, but has declined in recent years.

Table 1: Enrollment by Location/Delivery Mode: Fall Semester 2009-2018

Fall Semester 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
High School    12 23 115 101 96
Online Only 59 82 151 131 164 171 232 260 383 443
Augusta    92 307 468 462 429 386
Statesboro 1,699 1,840 1,979 1,635 1,523 1,343 1,327 1,249 1,078 1,075
Swainsboro 996 1,141 1,305 1,178 1,078 1,077 951 1,066 1,012 942
Total Enrollment 2,754 3,063 3,435 2,944 2,857 2,910 3,001 3,152 3,003 2,942

Throughout the Complete College Georgia initiative (2012 to 2019), EGSC’s four largest demographic cohorts have been African-American (Black) Females; African-American (Black) Males; White (Non-Hispanic) Females; and White (Non-Hispanic) Males. A percentage breakdown by campus of these demographic cohorts for Fall Semester 2019 is presented below in Table 2.

Table 2: Fall 2019 Enrollment by Gender and Ethnicity for Each Location and Delivery Mode

Fall 2019 Enrollment Augusta Statesboro Swainsboro High Schools Online Only Overall
Female 58.7% 55.0% 62.9% 66.7% 65.4% 60.1%
Black or African American 33.7% 24.0% 34.4% 18.2% 25.1% 28.8%
White (Non-Hispanic Origin) 18.2% 24.4% 22.5% 48.5% 32.8% 24.8%
Other 6.8% 6.6% 6.0% 0.0% 7.5% 6.5%
Male 41.3% 45.0% 37.1% 33.3% 34.6% 39.9%
Black or African American 20.4% 18.8% 18.1% 9.1% 11.7% 17.4%
White (Non-Hispanic Origin) 13.6% 20.2% 15.7% 18.2% 19.8% 17.8%
Other 7.3% 5.9% 3.3% 6.1% 3.2% 4.7%

As indicated in Table 2, 46 percent of EGSC’s Fall Semester 2019 enrollment are Black students. This is consistent with the previous five fall semesters when EGSC’s enrollment Black student ranged from 45 to 49 percent of total enrollment. In contrast, the percentage of enrollment consisting of Black students for the USG State College Sector ranged from 29 to 32 percent for the same fall semesters. The characteristics of EGSC’s student body differ from that of the USG State College Sector in several other important ways. Over the fall semesters from 2014 through 2018, EGSC averaged fewer Asian (1 percent), Hispanic (5 percent) and white (43 percent) percentages of its student body compared to the sector’s Asian (4 percent), Hispanic (13 percent) and white (49 percent) students as average percentages of the sector’s student body.

For the same fall semesters, EGSC had a lower proportion of adult students at 7 percent compared to 13 percent for the sector. In contrast, the average percentage of EGSC full-time undergraduates was almost 80 percent compared to 66 percent for the sector over the same period. Even so, the average percentage of EGSC undergraduates who completed 30 or more credit hours in an academic year was 13 percent compared to 16 percent for the sector.

Similar differences between EGSC and the USG State College Sector extend to the first-time freshmen (FTF) fall semester cohorts in the proportions of African American, Asian, Hispanic and white students. However, the average percentage of FTF earning 30 or more credit hours in their initial academic year is 15 percent for both EGSC and the sector.

In the area of learning support (LS), EGSC percentages of both black and white FTF students who take both math and English courses in first academic year are higher than comparable average percentages for SC sector black (67 percent) and white (71 percent) for the Fall 2013 through Fall 2017 cohorts. However, EGSC (30.9 percent) lags SC sector (38.9 percent) in average percentage of LS English and math FTF who passed both math and English with a C or better during the same period.

Momentum Year Update

EGSC has continued to diligently work on Momentum Year Projects and taken mindful actions to improve student success rates. Among the actions taken are:

  1. EGSC continues to hone the New Student Orientation (NSO) programs. The Mindset workshops include a session on Growth Mindset and electronically link students into the CATS 1101 online course component. The Focus 2 Career-Discernment instruments are still being used to identify appropriate student majors based on aptitude and abilities. During NSO, a student life session is presented to foster a sense of student connection and belonging to the college. The college also provides interactive sessions (majors fair) with faculty wherein students receive initial counseling on careers and majors. They also receive their two-year academic plan during the majors fair. Mindset is formally taught in the First Year Experience (FYE) through EGSC’s Critical and Academic Thinking for Success course.
  2. Students are being pre-registered for Area A courses and are being advised to enroll in a minimum of 15 credit hours per semester. Approximately 89 percent of our new students are enrolled in Area A. Previously, only 34 percent of our students completed Area A courses within the 30-credit time frame mandated by USG policy. The appropriate choice of math courses was determined by the student’s chosen major. Prior to Fall 2018, EGSC had no alternative math pathway for non-stem majors. Students were also registered for 9 credits of focus courses. Pre-registration created learning communities in blocks of Area A courses.
  3. EGSC has implemented the eight-week format for Area A courses during the fall term 2019. Twenty percent of our offerings in Area A are presented on an eight-week schedule. We anticipate creating eight-week cohort classes (core classes) where students can take five courses in a semester using a 3-2 model.
  4. EGSC utilizes two- and four-year degree plans for all programs of study. These plans have been programmed into DegreeWorks, and students are advised to register for courses aligned with their degree plan.
  5. EGSC, for the second year, provided training for faculty related to faculty mindset during its fall workshop, and plans to incorporate mindset training via the Faculty Academy to support this work across the curriculum. Since student mindset is often impacted by faculty mindset, an expected outcome is more effective communication during classroom instruction and office consultations.  

EGSC has implemented a new Early Alert Policy, requiring faculty to alert the Retention Team   when any student misses two or more classes or when students receive early warning grades by week five of the semester. The retention team includes counselors, the director of student conduct, the director of housing, a social worker on the faculty, and other faculty.

Work planned in the Spring Term and Beyond

The Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning has begun working closely with the Chancellor’s Learning Scholars in the effort to train faculty on Mindset. This collaboration began with the Fall 2019 Faculty Workshop where the Faculty Learning Scholars held a half-day workshop to train faculty on how to cultivate a Growth Mindset during instruction. At some stage in this academic year, additional training on faculty mindset will be offered during the new professional development series, Faculty Academies.

EGSC is implementing in-house advising in the Swainsboro student housing facilities. The plan is to place a full-time academic coach in an office situated within a dormitory. The role of the advisor will include, but not be limited to, scheduling regular meetings with students to monitor class attendance and grades in classes, reviewing academic best practices (for example, time management and study strategies), providing academic consultations, and exploring career pathways.

The college will continue to participate in the Gateways to Completion (G2C) system initiative. The college has added three courses: Quantitative Skills-Reasoning (MATH 1001 & MATH 0097 – counts as one course, including support), English Composition I (ENGL 1101), and English Composition II (ENGL 1102). Work will begin to redesign these courses using standardized course design (MATH only) and incorporating high-impact practices into the design components.

The faculty have begun using Academic Action Plans as they consult with students who are at-risk of failure. These plans help to scaffold students’ persistence and self-management by providing insight into their academic goals, class attendance, and the number of missed exams and assignments. Additionally, students are provided with specific and unique actions that will enhance their academic achievement.

Challenges

  1. EGSC does not have a career services office for students. Human Resources provides limited access to resources, but there is no active, sequenced, or intentional engagement with students.
  2. EGSC needs to develop funding sources for professional development. Presently, we have very few resources. 
  3. EGSC needs to continue to focus on retention initiatives.

Other Institutional High-Impact Strategies, Activities & Outcomes

During the 2018-19 academic year, EGSC continued focused on the following four strategies to promote college completion:

  1. Increase Degree Awards to Most Challenged Students
  2. On-time Degree Completion
  3. Increase Dual Enrollment Opportunities
  4. Enhance Co-requisite approaches

High-Impact Strategy 1: Increase Degree Awards to Most Challenged Students

  • Increase in the number of undergraduate degrees awarded to low income students (Pell eligible students)
  • Increase in the number of undergraduate degrees awarded to first generation college students

Related CCG Goal

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

General Description of Activity

As an open access institution, EGSC strives to serve all students that choose to pursue their education at the college.  EGSC is disproportionately chosen by the most challenged students that need financial aid and/or have weak previous academic preparation. As a result, the college prioritizes supporting these students as they work toward degree completion via student assistance provided in the EGSC Academic Center of Excellence (ACE), support courses, mini-session offerings, advising, and many other methods.

Summary of Activities 2018-2019

Table 3 below is excerpted from Table A5 in the Appendix and shows the usage of the Academic Centers for Excellence (ACE) for AY 2018 and AY 2019 based on data drawn from GradesFirst. Course Success Rates are determined by students earning Cs or better in courses where they sought assistance from the ACE. In addition, Table A5 in the Appendix documents the increasing rates of course completion based on the percentages of credit hours earned to attempted since FY 2011-12.

*Note: The Swainsboro ACE Staff had a significant issue with EGSC students not checking into the GradesFirst kiosk. This creates insufficient data regarding utilization of the Swainsboro ACE.

Table 3: ACE Use Rates for AY 2018 and AY 2019

  Term Student Visits ACE Usage (Minutes) Student Success Rates
Swainsboro: Fall 2017 3,295 223,366 77.0%
  Spring 2018 1,166 31,031 72.0%
  Fall 2018 1,053* 35,105 68.7%
  Spring 2019 1,545* 79,664* 69.0%
Statesboro: Fall 2017 666 36,000 64.4%
  Spring 2018 1,982 54,888 74.0%
  Fall 2018 2,789 119,843 70.7%
  Spring 2019 3,639 141,641 76.6%
Augusta: Fall 2017 125 2,110 65.3%
  Spring 2018 321 6,541 83.8%
  Fall 2018 953 39,817 73.9%
  Spring 2019 2,133 90,309 67.0%
Overall: Fall 2017 4,086 261,476 68.8%
  Spring 2018 3,469 92,460 76.6%
  Fall 2018 4,795 194,762 71.1%
  Spring 2019 7,317 311,614 70.8%

Results and Lessons Learned

Presented in Table 4 are the number of EGSC’s Fall Semester 2019 FTF broken down by whether they are first generation college students. Although the number of EGSC’s Fall Semester 2019 FTF is preliminary and subject to change, the overall percentage of 29 percent being first generation matches the percentage for EGSC’s Fall Semester 2018 FTF cohort. Also note that 40 percent of EGSC Fall 2019 FTF students took courses exclusively online. In addition, while the percentage of EGSC FTF being first generation was similar to that of the USG State College Sector at about 23 percent in Fall Semester 2015, the percentage of USG State College Sector FTF who are first generation has since declined to 18 percent by Fall semester 2018. As can be seen, EGSC now has 11 percent more first-generation students than the average for the USG State College Sector.

Table 4: Fall 2019 First-Time Freshmen First Generation by location and Delivery Mode

Fall 2019 First-Time Freshmen Augusta Statesboro Swainsboro Online Only Overall
First Generation 48 127 123 33 331
% First Generation 26.5% 28.5% 29.6% 40.2% 29.4%
Not First Generation 133 319 292 49 793
Total 181 446 415 82 1,124

Presented in Table 5 below are the number and percentages of EGSC graduates since the 2012 academic year (AY) who received Pell grants and who were first generation students. Note that almost 45 percent of our graduates throughout this period received Pell grants and that there were higher percentages of first-generation graduates within the Pell category compared to the No Pell category. Table A2 in the Appendix presents the contents of Table 4 broken down by academic year.

Table 5: EGSC Graduates AY 2012 – AY 2019 by Pell Grant and First Generation

Pell and First Generation Overall Number Overall Percentages
No Pell 1,173 55.1%
First Generation 318 27.1%
Not First Generation 855 72.9%
Pell 957 44.9%
First Generation 382 39.9%
Not First Generation 575 60.1%

 

The academic year 2011-2012, including Fall Semester 2011, served as our baseline year for Complete College Georgia (CCG). The College set 2020 goals based on specific CCG measures. Presented in Table 5 below are baseline CCG metrics compared with the most recent results for the College. In Table 6, the progress of two beginning freshmen cohorts are tracked based on a larger cohort of first-time (FT) freshmen and a smaller first-time, full-time (FTFT) freshmen sub-cohort.

Table 6: EGSC CCG Baseline Metrics Compared to Most Recent Results

CCG Measurement Fall 2011 Base EGSC Goal Current Results Students Tracked
3-Yr FTFT Graduation Rate 6.0% 20.0% 12.5% EGSC FTFT Fall 2015 Cohort
1-Year FT Retention Rate 42.9% 65.0% 49.8% EGSC FT Fall 2017 Cohort
1-year FT Retention + Transfer Rate 53.3% 75.0% 58.8% EGSC FT Fall 2017 Cohort
Overall Course Success Rate 57.1% 70.0% 64.4% EGSC Fall 2018 Students
Annual Number of Graduates 168 207 Ave 322 EGSC FY 2018-19 Graduates

FTFT refers to First-Time, Full-Time Freshman; FT refers to all First-Time Freshman

As discussed more fully in Section 4, EGSC has developed tactics to resolve some of the issues that Most Challenged Students face with, for example, a Housing Academic Coach, promotion of 15+ to Finish, creation of peer tutors, and development of 8-week cohort classes.

High-Impact Strategy 2: On-time Degree Completion

  • Change institutional culture to emphasize taking full-time course loads (15 or more credits per semester) to earn degrees “on time”
  • Materials or information on taking 15 credits or more included in orientation for new students
  • Advisors trained to encourage students taking 15 or more credits a semester

Related CCG Goal:

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

General Description of Activity

As described below, EGSC pursues varied methods to facilitate On-time Degree Completion from academic plans and software innovations to pathway emphases.

Summary of Activities 2018-2019

During Spring Semester 2018, two-year academic plans were prepared for each associate of arts and associate of science program of study. These two-year plans were distributed to all new students during the Fall Orientations conducted during summer of 2018. These plans are also being utilized by our returning students and made accessible online on the College’s website. Additionally, students were introduced to the Focus2 Career Assessment during Fall Orientations to aid them in choosing the appropriate program of study/transfer pathway for their work interests. A new math pathway was developed for students who are not STEM majors. DegreeWorks was reintroduced to all academic advising staff and faculty to promote consistent advisement. Four-year plans were developed for baccalaureate programs, and these plans also incorporated the appropriate math pathway for the major. Students were pre-registered for all Area A basic skills courses and for the courses listed in their degree plans for the fall term. Table 7 below, excerpted from Table A6 in the Appendix, summarizes the progress made in increasing the number and percentage of EGSC students taking 15 or more hours per semester. In addition, Table A7 in the Appendix documents the percent completion of overall credit hours earned based on credit hours attempted by semester from Summer Semester 2011 through Spring Semester 2019 and by mode of delivery.

Table 7: Numbers and Percentages of EGSC Students taking 12 or More Credit Hours

Term Population Full-time Attempting 12-14 Hours Attempting 15+ Hours % of Population (15+ Hours) % of Full Time (15+ Hours)
Fall 2011 3,435 2,742 2,456 286 8.3% 10.4%
Spring 2012 3,130 2,201 1,893 308 9.8% 14.0%
Fall 2018 2,942 1,992 1,442 550 18.7% 27.6%
Spring 2019 2,507 1,674 1,093 581 23.2% 34.7%

 

Results and Lessons Learned

Table 8: Comparison of EGSC and State College Sector FTFT Cohort 2-Year and 3-Year Associate Degree Graduation Rates

Fall Semester First-Time, Full-Time Freshmen
(FTFT) Cohort
EGSC 2-year Graduation Rate (%) USG State College
2-year Graduation Rate (%)
EGSC 3-year Graduation Rate (%) USG State College
3-year Graduation Rate (%)
2007 725 3.4% 4.0% 8.4% 11.5%
2008 979 2.8% 3.9% 5.6% 10.4%
2009 990 2.6% 3.3% 5.8% 10.0%
2010 1,074 2.4% 2.5% 6.5% 8.6%
2011 1,541 1.7% 2.6% 6.0% 9.4%
2012 1,171 3.4% 3.1% 10.8% 11.8%
2013 929 3.8% 4.7% 12.1% 13.4%
2014 973 5.5% 5.2% 13.7% 13.8%
2015 1,044 5.0% 5.9% 12.5% 12.9%
2016 980 6.3% 6.2% N/A N/A

Presented above in Table 8 are the two and three-year associate degree graduation rates for beginning fall semester freshmen (FTF) at EGSC compared to the USG State College Sector. The 2-year and 3-year graduation rates of EGSC’s fall first-time, full-time freshman cohorts have increased in recent years to those of the USG State College Sector. One contributing factor was the approval EGSC received from the USG and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC) to begin offering associate degrees to its EGSC Statesboro students in AY 2013-14. Prior to these approvals, the 60 percent of EGSC’s student body located in Statesboro had only one option, to transfer to another USG institution.

EGSC CCG graduation goal was to produce an average of 207 graduates a year between 2012 and 2020. As can be seen in Table 9 below, the number of graduates has surpassed that number for six consecutive years. Listed in Table 8 are the number of associate degree graduates, and the numbers of these graduates who earned their degree within two and three years, irrespective first term attended, first term full-time, or whether the student was awarded their associate degree by EGSC  as a reverse transfer student after leaving the College. For example, 40 of the 295 students who were awarded an associate degree in AY 2019 were reverse transfer students. The table shows the increasing percentages of graduates who earn their associate degree in three years or less. The percentage of graduates who completed their associate degrees in two years increased from 37 percent in AY 2016-17 to 51 percent in AY 2017-18 and AY 2018-19. Those graduating with associate degrees in three years increased from 62 percent in AY 2016-17 to 77 percent in AY 2017-18 and to 78 percent in AY 2018-19. Table A3 in the Appendix presents the number and percent change from the initial base AY 2011-12 of associate degrees awarded each academic year to EGSC’s four major demographic cohorts.

Table 9: Number of EGSC Associate Degree Graduates by Semester for AY 2013 through AY 2019

Academic Year Total AY Grads 2-Yr Grads % 2 Yr Grads of Total Grads 3-Yr Grads % 3 Yr Grads  of Total Grads
AY 2013 176 24 13.6% 40 22.7%
AY 2014 213 20 9.4% 81 38.0%
AY 2015 244 70 28.7% 143 58.6%
AY 2016 359 84 23.4% 176 49.0%
AY 2017 343 126 36.7% 213 62.1%
AY 2018 297 152 51.2% 229 77.1%
AY 2019 295 151 51.2% 231 78.3%

 

High-Impact Strategy 3: Increase Dual Enrollment Opportunities

  • Participate in dual enrollment/Move On When Ready programs for high school students

Related CCG Goal:

Shorten time to degree completion through programs that allow students to earn college credit while still in high school and by awarding credit for prior learning that is verified by appropriate assessment.

General Description of Activity

As an access institution within the USG, EGSC seeks to expand post-secondary opportunities in its Southeast Georgia service area. Since substantial number of its students are first generation college students, the College encourages high school students to take college-level courses on EGSC campuses and on location at area high schools.

Summary of Activities 2018-2019

Recruitment activities during the 2018-2019 season included high school recruiter visits by our DE counselor, attending sponsored area high schools DE events and hosting DE events on our campuses (Augusta, Statesboro, and Swainsboro) and at our four off-site locations. EGSC targeted Columbia and Richmond county for additional DE offsite locations and established one in each for fall 2019. The ACE implemented remediation tutoring for students who missed the entrance score by 50 points or less that was very successful

EGSC’s dual enrollment (formally MOWR) program has grown dramatically since the beginning of its Complete College Georgia plan as presented in Table 10 below.

Table 10: Annual Growth of the Dual Enrollment Program

Fall Semester Dual Enrollment Number Annual % Change
Fall 2015 104 93%
Fall 2016 349 236%
Fall 2017 385 10%
Fall 2018 408 6%
Fall 2019 308 -25%

The High school grade point average (GPA) for EGSC’s dual enrolled students during AY 2018-19 was 3.54 on a 4.00 scale. The overall GPA for the EGSC courses taken by dual enrolled students was 3.28 on a 4.00 scale.

EGSC will continue to use the dual enrollment program to encourage high school students to commit themselves to pursuing high education and graduating faster, as measured by increases in the College’s 2-year and 3-year associate degree graduation rates.

Results and Lessons Learned

During fall semester 2019 EGSC enrolled 308 dual enrollment students, this represented a 25% (100 students) drop from fall 2018. Two of the high schools the College served in AY 2018-19 decided to send their students to different nearby institution (65 student headcount loss) and other feeder locations sent us less students than they have in previous years.  Competition in our region for dual enrolled students has increased with Georgia Southern University lowering their standards to match ours and aggressive area Technical College’s recruitment efforts with lower admittance standards. The loss would have been greater, but we added two new locations this fall, and both are showing growth potential. One of the schools we lost for fall 2019 has reported they will return spring 2020 for at least one course. In the current competitive market for dual enrolled students EGSC needs to be more proactive in serving students in our service region. Next Steps:

  1. EGSC will implement alternate dual enrollment formats such as e-core and distant learning technology (Zoom) to broaden our reach to students in our region.
  2. EGSC has developed a proven remediation program to assist students in improving test scores for entrance into dual enrolled courses. This program will be packaged and delivered to area schools.
  3. In order to maintain and strengthen relations with area feeder schools, the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs will make visits each semester.

High-Impact Strategy 4: Effectively Target Remediation

  • Ensure that all remediation is targeted toward supporting students in the skills they need to pass the collegiate course

Related CCG Goal:

Increase the likelihood of degree completion by transforming the way that remediation is delivered.

General Description of Activity

Support courses are increasingly essential to help EGSC freshman succeed in their first year as the data below shows. In addition to the varied sections offered as full semester courses, to encourage students to complete Area A of the Core Curriculum within their first year at the College, twenty percent of all English Composition I and II and the first college mathematics courses are being offered in 8-week sessions to facilitate daily interactions between faculty and students and increase success rates.  

Summary of Activities 2018-2019

New math pathways have now been implemented at the College. In Fall Semester 2018, EGSC shifted Core Curriculum Area A math offerings from nearly 100 percent College Algebra to 66 percent Quantitative Skills and Reasoning and 34 percent as College Algebra. Students in non-STEM majors are placed in the Quantitative Skills and Reasoning course, while STEM majors continue to take College Algebra, if they meet the cut-off scores. This ratio will be examined each year to match the needs of our students. Presented in Table 11 below is an excerpt from Table A4 in the Appendix showing the success rates in MATH 1001 and MATH 1111 in the AY 2018 and AY 2019 fall and spring semesters.

Table 11: MATH 1111 and MATH 1001 Success Rates AY 2018 and AY 2019

Semester MATH 1111 MATH 1001
Fall 2017 51.1% 59.4%
Spring 2018 41.0% 41.3%
Fall 2018 60.1% 57.0%
Spring 2019 59.2% 47.3%

 

The co-requisite programs in English and mathematics began on two campuses (Swainsboro and Augusta) in Fall 2014 and was expanded to the third campus (Statesboro) in Fall 2015. The alternative pathways model in mathematics has only recently been implemented in fall 2018 with the increased offerings in MATH 1001 Quantitative Skills and Reasoning and also MATH 1101 Introduction to Mathematical Modeling.

All Math and English courses are now offered in the co-requisite model, in keeping with USG policies. EGSC eliminated all Foundations Learning Support courses in the Spring 2018 semester and offered the entirety of its Area A Math and English courses via the co-requisite model.

Results and Lessons Learned

In Fall Semester 2018, EGSC embraced the open access model with no admissions test scores required. Students without qualifying test scores (Accuplacer, SAT, and ACT) were automatically placed into co-requisite learning support courses in mathematics and English. Additionally, incoming freshmen were pre-registered for AREA A mathematics and English which resulted in up to 80% of the incoming freshmen (new freshmen without any transfer credit) taking both gateway courses the first semester of their freshman year (88% Area A Math, 87% Area A English). This resulted in a higher percentage of learning support students in Fall Semester 2018 taking co-requisite courses. Among new freshmen, 92 percent required Learning Support Math and 93 percent required Learning Support English.  All of these are higher percentages compared to previous fall semesters since Fall Semester 2012.

As an associate degree dominant open admissions college, EGSC is committed to its access mission and will continue to assist those who need learning support.

EGSC continues to work on its delivery of co-requisite courses and plans to hire dedicated instructors for learning support and to deliver the learning support courses in the Academic Center for Excellence, where peer tutors can be embedded. EGSC has also standardized its approach to Quantitative Skills and Reasoning across sections. All sections not only use the same textbooks but use open-resource materials. In the past, poor success rates were partially due to lack of textbooks for students who could not afford them or who waited for the receipt of financial aid prior to purchasing the books. The use of open-source textbooks, especially in Area A Math, has saved our students approximately $114,962.25 (907 students in MATH 1001 * $126.75 for MyMathLab) in Fall Semester 2018.

Section 4: Observations and Next Steps

During the 2019-2020 academic year, EGSC will focus on the following activities to increase student success.

  1. To address the academic needs of the Swainsboro housing students, we intend to place an “Academic Coach” on site in housing. The role of this specialist will include meeting with students singly or in groups to discuss attendance issues, course grades, review academic best practices, and assist with career planning.
  2. We will utilize the Faculty Advising Champions to promote 15+ to Finish among the general faculty. While the average percentage of FTF earning 30 or more credit hours in their initial academic year is 15 percent for both EGSC and the sector, the overall average percentage of EGSC undergraduates who completed 30 or more credit hours in an academic year was 13 percent compared to 16 percent for the sector.  EGSC will continue to work to lift its percentages after the first year to the norm.
  3. We plan to train peer tutors for the purpose of increasing the academic success of students. Peer tutoring occurs when students act as both academic tutors and tutees. What makes this type of practice strategically important is that high performing students are paired with low performing students to study difficult academic concepts.
  4. We will study the feasibility of creating 8-week cohort classes, so that students can utilize the 3-2 model to earn 15 hours of coursework per semester. The eight-week format for Area A courses does not appear to be very effective in the English discipline. Faculty feel the abbreviated time does not facilitate Most Challenged Students’ success. The format does better with certain disciplines such as Math.  Creating eight-week cohort classes (core classes) where students can take five courses in a semester using a 3-2 model may reveal whether students’ overall academic performance will improve or even if their performance in English improves with the 8-week cohort model.
  5. Momentum Year Projects (including integrating Mindset) have proceeded at EGSC and will continue to do so.  Approximately 89 percent of our new students are enrolled in Area A. Previously, only 34 percent of our students completed Area A courses within the 30-credit time frame mandated by USG policy.
  6. The Cohort 2 G2C emphasis on Gateway courses first year milestones include the creation of a steering committee, a course analytics process, the administration of the SALG survey (Student Assessment of Learning Gains), review of performance indicators, creation of an action plan and attendance at the Teaching and Learning Academy and attendance at the Gateway course Experience Conference. The EGSC English and Mathematics disciplines are in the process of redesigning ENGL 1101, ENGL 1102 and MATH 1101 to improve student success in these courses.
  7. EGSC (30.9 percent) lags State College Sector (38.9 percent) in average percentage of LS English and math FTF who passed both math and English with a C or better during the same period.  It is also noted per Table A5 that success rates in Gateway courses are generally lower in the Spring than Fall.  EGSC will try to determine why that might be and how to resolve the problem.
  8. EGSC needs to develop funding sources for professional development.  Presently, we have very few resources.

EGSC continues to fulfill its access mission within the USG to provide opportunities for higher academic degree attainment. As presented in Table 12 below, over 300 former EGSC students have graduated with baccalaureate degrees from Georgia Southern University in each of the three most recent academic years. In each of these years, over 150 former EGSC students have graduated with baccalaureate degrees from other USG institutions, as presented in Table 13 below.

Table 12: Former EGSC Students Earning Bachelor Degrees at Georgia Southern University AY 2013 – AY 2019

Bachelor Degrees AY 2013 AY 2014 AY 2015 AY 2016 AY 2017 AY 2018 AY 2019
Female 155 142 159 167 195 184 171
Black 33 47 53 53 70 64 61
White 116 88 98 102 115 104 92
Other 6 7 8 12 10 16 18
Male 122 90 124 117 133 124 142
Black 21 19 23 31 40 28 41
White 93 62 91 82 79 81 92
Other 8 9 10 4 14 15 9
Total 277 232 283 284 328 308 313

Table 13: Former EGSC Students Earning Bachelor Degrees at Other USG Institutions AY 2013 – AY 2019

Bachelor Degrees AY 2013 AY 2014 AY 2015 AY 2016 AY 2017 AY 2018 AY 2019
Female 37 53 65 78 106 118 96
Black 6 13 21 21 39 43 43
White 30 34 41 48 61 69 47
Other 1 6 3 9 6 6 6
Male 24 29 39 39 51 71 58
Black 2 6 5 10 12 16 16
White 20 20 30 25 33 50 35
Other 2 3 4 4 6 5 7
Total 61 82 104 117 157 189 154

Student Success and Completion Team

The members of the EGSC Student Success and Completion Team are presented below.

Mr. Jim Beall Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs jbeall@ega.edu
Dr. Carlos Cunha Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences ccunha@ega.edu
Mr. David Gribbin Director of Strategic Planning and Institutional Research dgribbin@ega.edu
Mr. Mike Moran Assistant Director of Learning Commons mmoran@ega.edu
Ms. Karen Murphree Director of Learning Commons kmurphree@ega.edu
Ms. Brandy Murphy Coordinator of Dual Enrollment bmurphy@ega.edu
Dr. Sandra Sharman Interim Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs sharman@ega.edu
Dr. Jimmy Wedincamp Dean, School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences wedincamp@ega.edu