Columbia Gorge Community College Default Management Plan Dept. of Education ID#

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1 Columbia Gorge Community College Default Management Plan Dept. of Education ID#

2 Columbia Gorge Community College Student Default Management Taskforce Lead Lisa Deswert, Controller Taskforce Members Lori Ufford, Chief Academic & Student Affairs Officer Will Norris, Chief Financial Officer Sara Viemeister, Financial Aid Director Mike Taphouse, Director of Advising Dawn Sallee Justensen, Registrar

3 Columbia Gorge Community College building dreams, transforming lives December 16, 2015 To Whom It May Concern, Please find attached the Default Management Plan for Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC). It is a top priority for the Board of Education, my executive team, and myself to reduce the Cohort Default Rate (CDR) for Columbia Gorge Community College. To that end, I have established a task force to monitor and track progress to reducing CGCC s CDR. I would like to outline some relevant background information that may help in understanding our college. CGCC became independently accredited in July 2013; prior to that the college was accredited under a contractual agreement with Portland Community College (PCC). Under that agreement, PCC administered federal aid for CGCC students. Due to this, CGCC students were combined with PCC s students and included in Portland Community College s CDR. The cohort default rate is CGCC s first CDR independent of Portland Community College. CGCC began awarding aid in Because of the timing of our awarding, our cohort is very small in this initial report (25 students in default of 79 in repayment). As we move forward, our cohort numbers will increase, thus reducing our CDR. This is reflected in the current estimated numbers from NSLDS (53 students in default of 246 students entering repayment). This calculates to a 21.5% default rate. Although under the 30% threshold, we believe this remains too high. We have set a goal to achieve of a CDR of 18% by 2014 cohort default year, which would make CGCC one of the top three community colleges with the lowest rate in the state of Oregon. In the attached plan, you will find the strategies we believe will be effective in achieving this goal. If you need any further information, we would be happy to provide that for you. Sincerely, Frank Toda President Columbia Gorge Community College 400 East Scenic Drive, The Dalles, OR (541) cgcc.edu

4 Columbia Gorge Community College Default Management College History Located on the Columbia River and in the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) is one of 17 community colleges in Oregon. CGCC has two campuses and serves residents in five rural counties: Wasco, Hood River, and Sherman in Oregon; and Klickitat and Skamania in Washington. The college serves about 10,000 square miles with a population of 82,199. In 1977, Columbia Gorge Community College began a contractual agreement with Portland Community College which is accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), to provide services allowing CGCC to deliver comprehensive instruction and services under the umbrella of PCC s accreditation. In 2008, CGCC began the process of becoming independently accredited and was granted accreditation in July In the 38 years since its opening, CGCC has grown considerably. College enrollment during the height of the last recession was 1,270 full-time equivalent students. College enrollment has since followed state-wide patterns, declining roughly 25% to 964 fulltime equivalent students in the last full academic year. CGCC began administering financial aid independently of Portland Community College in , which was the highest enrollment year the college has experienced. The college administered over $6 million dollars in financial aid for the academic year of serving 917 students. Because of our contractual arrangement with Portland Community College, prior to , all CGCC students were included in PCC s cohort default rates. The cohort default rate is CGCC s first independent CDR. Our cohort is very small in this initial report just 104 students (25 in default and 79 in repayment). In future years, as the number in the cohort increases, we expect the numbers of students in repayment to increase while the number of those in default to decline. Our current estimated numbers from NSLDS indicate CGCC to have 53 students in default and 246 students entering repayment, bringing the estimated default rate, at the time of this report, to be 21.5%. Since the first year that the college administered financial aid independently of Portland Community College, we have been implementing policies and procedures to continue to improve processes that will positively impact the CDR. The college has set a goal to achieve a cohort default rate of 18% by 2014 cohort year (2012 = 31.6, current= 21.5%).

5 Financial Aid History Columbia Gorge Community College awarded $5.75 million in federal financial aid in Of the students awarded federal student aid 84% received Pell Grants, while 58% received direct loans. In total, 44% of enrolled students received financial aid. Currently, in academic year, we have seen a decline in the numbers of students receiving aid to 35%. Direct loan awards have seen the biggest decline in that three year time frame, with the number of awarded students receiving loans down from 58% to 35%; while Pell numbers have not declined as significantly. Year Direct Loans Pell Grants loans $2.5 million $3.18 million loans $1.26 million $1.6 million In an effort to meet the goal of an 10% CDR by 2020, the Administration of Columbia Gorge Community College has taken a proactive stance to reduce the current CDR. The president has appointed a cross representational task force to monitor and implement strategies that will see success. Challenges Most of the college s students in CGCC s service area reside in economically challenged communities. Spread over a 10,000 square mile region, the number of people living below the poverty level ( ), for Wasco County is 18.2%. In North Wasco County School District, 64.8% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. In order to meet the President s target of increasing the proportion of college graduates nationwide by 50% by the end of the decade, CGCC must be able to continue to administer federal student aid to ensure access to a college education for the residents of our region. The challenge becomes addressing the financial need of our students in balance with educating students about the responsibility assumed when receiving loans to pursue their education. The college must establish a wide variety of processes to reach all students. Because the college is fairly new in administering aid, policy and procedure have been developed and implemented in educating students in financial literacy. A great deal of focus has been placed on onboarding students into federal financial aid. As we move forward in addressing the default rate, addressing the needs of students as they complete and educating them on their responsibilities after leaving the college are a large piece of this plan.

6 Another challenge the college faces is related to institutional research. The college has struggled with finding and keeping a qualified institutional researcher. CGCC is currently contracting services with another community college while working to address this need. Task Force The college established a task force to monitor and implement interventions that address the educational needs of our students while reducing the cohort default rate. The task force is comprised of cross departmental members from many areas of the college. Controller/Financial Aid Specialist Lisa Deswert (lead) Chief Academic & Student Affairs Officer Lori Ufford Chief Financial Officer Will Norris Financial Aid Director Sara Viemeister Director of Advising Mike Taphouse Registrar Dawn Sallee Justensen As we move forward with this work, members will be added as necessary, ie. math and pre-college faculty positions and a student representative. The task force will monitor the activities of implementing the plan through regular meetings, data review and communication across campus. Data Below is the data related to this cohort of students in default: Defaulted Student Characteristics for the 2012 CDR: 100% of defaulted borrowers did not complete exit counseling 72% of defaulted borrowers withdrew after fall term 88% of defaulted borrowers failed to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress one or more terms 56% of defaulted borrowers were male 80% of defaulted borrowers have an EFC of 0 52% of defaulted borrowers reported no income on FASFA

7 44% of defaulted borrowers were between years old 56% of defaulted borrowers are single 60% of defaulted borrowers were part time students 52% of defaulted borrowers stated attending school to explore career options 40% of defaulted borrowers declared a General Studies degree Areas of concentration: o Satisfactory Academic Progress o Withdrawal or incomplete completion after one term o Exit Counseling Current Strategies SALT CGCC has a contract with SALT as a financial literacy partner. SALT representatives come on campus at least once a year during our fall term new student orientation to explain their services. We offer SALT information packets to all of our students, any student requesting federal direct loans receive a flyer on the SALT services. The college is using SALT financial literacy classes for students in SAP. SALT also offers an ambassador program for colleges to participate in and CGCC is working with SALT to become a participating school. New Student Orientation The College offers a new student orientation at the start of each fall, winter and spring term. Orientation provides students an opportunity to meet college personnel, tour the campus and attend breakout sessions related to topics that will impact a student s ability to be successful (financial aid, academic advising, student clubs, tutoring etc.). There is also a panel discussion and a question and answer period. One of the most highly attended sessions is on financial aid. The college has a slide show that is presented with an overview of the process of financial aid as well as information on the types of financial aid. Orientation is well attended and strongly recommended. Work is underway to make orientation a mandatory event for all new students in the academic year. Enrollment Reporting When the college was accredited under Portland Community College, enrollment reporting was the responsibility of PCC. Today the college reports all of its enrollment data to the National Student Clearinghouse and NSLDS. Current practices have been streamlined such that the college reports on time and late roster notifications have not been received in the last six months. Continued diligence to report accurately will ensure CGCC has the most accurate and current enrollment data possible to inform decisions.

8 CG The College has created a set of classes for students to help students navigate the college environment by providing information and techniques for personal responsibility as a means for creating college success. The classes introduce developing skills for navigating a culturally diverse learning environment and utilizing college resources and services. The task force will be working with faculty to evaluate the course outcomes to include outcomes based on financial literacy. Students Must Request Loans In the cohort year loans were automatically packaged for students. This practice assumed students would take all aid available, including loans, often without complete understanding of the responsibilities of doing so. Since then, in an effort to begin to reduce the default rate, CGCC has developed a direct loan request form that requires students request loans in order to receive them. Implementing this process allowed the financial aid office to have more in-person counseling opportunities with each student requesting loans. The form used to request loans requires students to disclose their loan balance and work out the estimated monthly payments so that they are aware of the debt they are acquiring. Strategies for Improvement CDR Lead -The College is working on incorporating CDR work into its current processes. This would ensure consistent responsibility of oversight, communication and monitoring. Exit Counseling- The data show that none of our defaulters completed exit counseling. The college will begin working on requiring students to participate in some form of exit counseling. A small group is working to identify the learning outcomes desired as a result of exit counseling as well as tools to utilize that will help a student understand the financial responsibilities they have when they leave the institution. Increased Use of Data to Make Informed Decisions-The College has contracted with ECMC, Educational Credit Management Corporation, as a third party servicer to work with students related to their loans. By contracting with ECMC, the college will have the ability to obtain the needed data regarding the cohorts of defaulters and students in repayment so as to better understand the commonalities and implement appropriate interventions. ECMC provides dash board software that will give the college real time CDR as well as data for the students who make up the CDR. The software will also allow the college to create CDR goals and recommend a plan of how to achieve them. This can be updated as goals are reviewed. By partnering with ECMC the college is also gaining additional capacity to fully address student learning as it relates to financial literacy. The contract with ECMC takes effect January 1, Increased Communication Across Campus- Development of an informational campaign targeted at faculty to help outline the role they play in helping the college

9 manage its cohort default rate is underway. Helping faculty understand how enrollment reporting, adds, drops and late enrollments impact student success and retention, in turn impacting the default rate. The task force will work with faculty to outline the import of addressing the CDR and highlight their role, tools they have at their disposal and the need to refer a student to the financial aid office so they can be well informed of their options regarding withdrawing and the impact of doing so on their financial aid. Meeting frequently with Instructional Counsel is one method of increasing the communication that is planned. Early Identification of At-Risk Students- Our data show that students in default had multiple risk factors for not being successful. Identifying students that attend only one term or withdraw before completing the academic year will be a priority. Processes will be developed to institute ongoing and frequent communications and follow up with atrisk students. Prospective interventions will focus on retaining the student, keeping them on their educational path, and completion. Given the structure of CGCC, it is likely Academic Advising will be involved. It is conceivable that a retool of advising will be necessary to address the needs of at-risk students perhaps utilizing a case management approach. Continual Improvement CGCC recognizes the impact of data and the understanding of research in regards to best practice. In comparing our rates with similarly sized community colleges in Oregon, we have identified other schools that have either lowered their rate or have been able to sustain their rate over a period of time. The CDR task force will network with these colleges to identify their best practices and seek to incorporate them into the college s improved processes. Gauging Effectiveness The institution will evaluate these activities upon the completion of each term and adjustments will be made as necessary. The following data elements will be monitored: Enrollment statistics from NSLDS Education plans created compared to prior terms Student referrals by faculty to financial aid when considering dropping a class Number of students that complete exit counseling ECMC success rates Term-to-term retention of financial aid students Percent of students actively participating in SALT

10 Columbia Gorge Community College 400 East Scenic Drive The Dalles, OR (541) cgcc.edu It is the policy of Columbia Gorge Community College and its Board of Education that there will be no discrimination or harassment on the grounds of race, color, sex, marital status, national origin, religion, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable local, state, or federal law in any educational programs, activities, or employment