Columbus State University
As part of our ASPIRE Top Five Strategies, Dalton State College is working with Georgia Highlands College (GHC) and Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) to create pathways for GNTC graduates to receive degrees at DSC and GHC using courses completed at GNTC. These pathways indicate the degrees students can earn and the courses they will complete at GNTC to obtain those degrees. They also show to which DSC or GHC programs the students can transfer their GNTC courses.
As part of our ongoing commitment to student success and retention, another of the key areas we are focusing on is enhancing the resources and support provided by our Center for Career Design. The plans for this area were in great flux when the original Momentum plan was created, so they were not listed as an activity.
Align academic advising systems, protocols, and training to ensure that students receive consistent, timely, and proactive support throughout their academic programs.
Support students financially through the enhanced use of data, coordinated student communications and outreach across units, and initiatives to address financial stop-outs and students losing HOPE.
Create structures focused on the first-year experience –scaled summer bridge program, freshman learning communities, meta-major based curricular and co-curricular activities-to promote student belonging and to guide students into right-fit academic majors in the first year.
Columbus State University (CSU) is a state regional public institution offering over 90 undergraduate and graduate degree options, including nationally recognized programs in the arts, business, education, and nursing. Our online degree options and continuing education programs are designed to help students balance education with work and family life. Across all programs and majors, Columbus State’s curriculum is grounded in academic excellence and creativity. We challenge students to think in new ways, turn ideas into innovation, and build a career for today’s global economy.
Strengths with respect to student success
For 2022-23, we identified three student success activities in which we were striving to excel:
- structuring at least 3 HIPS into each baccalaureate program,
- encouraging a growth Mindset in students, and
- enhancing the co-curricular experience.
Of these, we are having the greatest success and making the most progress with the last one, enhancing the co-curricular experience, which encompasses a variety of activities:
Determine observational, emotional, and cognitive engagement in and out of the classroom
Cougar Scholars:
- Targets commuter students in the murky middle
- ENGL 1101 supported by wrap around services
- Adding in FYE course + Mindset for SU/FA23
Cougar Launch
- Targets residential students in the murky middle
- Early Move In
- Wrap around academic services and social belonging activities
- Mindset Workshop New for Fall 23
Academic Mindsets are the attitudes or beliefs one has about oneself
in relation to coursework. The four academic Mindsets involve the sense that students belong to an academic community, the sense that (with effort) their ability and competence can grow, the sense that they can succeed, and the sense that the academic work has value to them. In short, the four academic Mindsets involve the sense of belonging, improving, succeeding, and adding value. This initiative is to promote and encourage growth Mindsets in students and in faculty.
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