Student Success Inventory for Student Learning Communities (East Georgia State College-2023)

Over the last year, the Quality Enhancement Plan team has focused on training faculty to prepare them for creating, teaching, and assessing Student Learning Communities. As the Director, Jessica Todd has assisted with training faculty and led presentations to assist faculty with their learning objectives, teaching strategies, and assessment.

On February 25, 2022, at least 25 faculty members attended a training workshop which Jessica Todd led on using the backward design process to create an SLC.

On March 25, 2022, a faculty workshop was held to review how to complete and submit an SLC Application. In addition to training, at least 4 faculty members who taught an SLC shared their insights on their past experiences of teaching an SLC. For instance, faculty discussed some approaches and assignments they used with their English and History linked courses. In addition, other faculty shared their experiences with their linked Wellness and English courses. Each faculty member shared how SLCs can be improved and a few challenges that they encountered.

In April 2022, Jessica Todd coordinated SLC classrooms visits with Harley Smith, our Marketing and Community Relations Coordinator. Mrs. Smith visited classrooms to interview the professors and students about their SLC experiences. These video interviews and photos were used in the new promotional materials on campus (i.e., freshman orientation module and QEP banners).

On May 17, 2022, Dr. Ren Denton led a workshop to discuss direct and indirect assessment. The workshop was designed to assist faculty with developing assessment methods for their SLCs and to aid in the completion of the SLC Faculty Self-Assessment Form. Jessica Todd assisted with the workshop and led a Zoom discussion with some of the attending professors.

On June 9, 2022, at least 10 faculty members attended a training workshop, which Jessica Todd led. During the workshop, topics such as student success strategies for SLCs, interdisciplinary learning, and activities to engage students were addressed. Resources from the K. Patricia Cross Academy were shared with faculty, so they could explore activities to incorporate into their classrooms. In addition, the importance of being transparent about course objectives, links between the two SLC courses, and course policies were addressed (TILT). 

On July 12, 2022, 15 faculty attended a training workshop, which Jessica Todd led. She reviewed how to create learning objectives, how to assess objectives, how to assess a course, how to create effective lesson plans, and how to promote student engagement. This workshop was in response to faculty feedback from the previous workshop on June 9, 2022. 

On September 9, 2022, Jessica Todd took part in the Faculty Professional Development workshop. She reviewed the Quality Enhancement Plan and its purpose for new faculty. She also discussed some of the feedback she received from the Spring 2022 faculty concerning their SLCs (reported on their self-assessments). She also discussed some activities that she was using in her ENGL 1101 Composition course to foster the connection between the students, their linked ART 1100 Introduction to Art course, and the campus community. She encouraged other faculty to share how their SLCs were doing and any strategies they were implementing. Lastly, she discussed some free webinars for educators hosted by Adobe.

On September 22, 2022, EGSC Augusta faculty participated in the Augusta University reading of the Amendments for Constitution Day. The professors not only participated in the reading, but they also brought their SLC students from their American History and American Government classes to the event. At least 16 of their 20 students attended the 2-hr. celebration with readings, voter registration information, and snacks.

In November 2022, the students in Jessica Todd’s Student Learning Community with Mr. Purcell, ART 1100/ENGL 1101 class, showcased an exhibit of artwork created with AI. The students’ work was displayed in the EGSC Art Gallery and was the basis of a collaborative effort for students to argue whether art created by AI was considered “true art.”

In November 2022, Jessica Todd worked in conjunction with the EGSC Library  to develop a Faculty LibGuide to help with Faculty Development and the QEP: https://ega.libguides.com/faculty_development.  Topics on the LibGuide include interdisciplinary teaching, high-impact practices, student learning communities, and faculty/student mindset. We tried to incorporate many eBooks and online sources, so that faculty on any campus would have access to the resources without having to request them through GIL or Interlibrary Loan. 

In December 2022, Jessica Todd attended the SACSCOC Annual Conference in Atlanta. As the QEP Director, Jessica Todd attended various workshops and seminars related to the QEP and retention in order to help benefit the college with our current QEP regarding Student Learning Communities (SLCs).

In Spring 2023, there were four SLCs. Of these four, two SLCs were conducted on the Statesboro campus, one was conducted on the Swainsboro campus, and one was conducted online. During the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 semesters, the QEP team met to discuss new approaches and strategies for implementing SLCs due to decreasing enrollment and scheduling issues. From these discussions, a new approach to SLCs was proposed. The QEP Director, Jessica Todd, presented the new thematic approach to SLCs to faculty on February 2, 2023. Faculty were able to express their opinions and vote whether they approved of this new approach. Jessica Todd also contacted faculty to gauge which faculty would be interested in working with students in the residence centers, clubs/organizations, and/or teaching thematic SLCS for the Spring 2024 semester. Note: Survey was sent out on Feb 10, 2023. Only 5 faculty completed the survey.

On April 7, 2023, Jessica Todd presented the new thematic approach to SLCs to the APCC where it was approved. On April 21, 2023, Jessica Todd presented the new thematic approach to SLCs to the Faculty Senate where it was approved. On April 28, 2023, the new thematic approach to SLCs went to the President and was approved. Note: No SLCs were planned or implemented during fall 2023 because of the change in approach. The fall 2023 semester was spent on informing and training faculty/staff about the new approach to SLCs and planning and creating new SLCs for spring 2023 and fall 2024.

On Aug 8, 2023, Jessica Todd met with the Learning Support Directors to plan which courses and themes might be best for students in Learning Support English and Learning Support Math. This team created two possible Learning Communities around the themes of Community and Literacy.

On Aug 9, 2023, Jessica Todd met with the Director Student Success, to discuss a few possible SLCs and the best times for scheduling these courses. Jessica Todd discussed the two SLCs targeted toward Learning Support Students (Community and Literacy) as well as two other SLCs which focus on the minority experience in the United States and entrepreneurship. Dr. Georgia Sanders felt that the themes and topics would interest and engage our students. We discussed the best times for the SLCs, and Director Student Success noted that students tend to be more successful in classes that start around 9:30 am and end by 3:15 pm. She noted that students tend to focus and engage more in classes that fall between these time frames.

On Aug 18, 2023, Jessica Todd led an information session to inform faculty of the policy and structural changes for SLCs. For instance, the co-requisite model will no longer be used, and the thematic approach will replace it. The reasons behind the change were illustrated to faculty; the QEP Team wants students to have flexibility with scheduling and the ability to withdraw from a class if they are at risk of failing.

The QEP Director held an information and training session on Sep 8, 2023, to demonstrate how faculty will form thematic groups. In addition, Jessica Todd discussed the process of creating the SLCs’ themes, learning objectives, and how to complete the SLC Thematic Group Proposal Form. Training materials and links were also provided on how to construct measurable learning objectives and how to use Bloom’s Taxonomy in the development of learning objectives.