Both Ends of the Spectrum: Examining the Effectiveness of an Honors Program and a Pre-College Academic Program for Conditionally Admitted Students

Transcription

1 Both Ends of the Spectrum: Examining the Effectiveness of an Honors Program and a Pre-College Academic Program for Conditionally Admitted Students Neil Pagano, Associate Dean School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Columbia College Chicago Contact: npagano@colum.edu /

2 Session Halo Evolution of the Assessment Mandate (1990s to present) Employ all of the tools on our campuses Remember your primary audience your campus Have the courage of our convictions students learn and develop (and graduate and pay their loans and become positive contributors to society )

3 Columbia College Chicago Private, Open Admission Enrollment: 11,000 undergraduates Major Programs: Arts, Media, and Communications (Film, Art and Design, Photography, Television, Marketing, Arts Management, Music, Theatre, Dance, Interactive Arts and Media)

4 Challenges Changing Demographics Retention Rising ACT Composite National and International Recruitment Changing Expectations Evaluation of Institutional Effectiveness Graduation and retention Loan default rates

5 Bridge Program Established in 2000 Situated in Student Affairs / Moved to Academic Affairs in 2005 Math, English, and Student Development

6 Bridge Program Assessment Retention and Graduation Rates Student Perceptions (Focus Groups, Surveys) Findings: High passing rate Low retention High indebtedness Lack of integration with academics

7 Revisions to the Bridge Program (2007) Elimination of the Student Development Day Connect curriculum to first-year courses in Writing and Mathematics Criteria for Passing the Program: Academic Performance Behavior of a College Student Attendance Expand program s focus and extended the day: Guest Faculty Lectures Orientation to Columbia Campus Orientation to City of Chicago

8 Revisions to the Bridge Program (2007) Change Bridge Preview Sessions: Emphasize Community College Option Ensure Completion of FAFSA Participate in New Student Orientation Full Disclosure to Bridge Faculty

9 $25,000 Mean Family Debt of Bridge Drop-Outs by Entering Class $23,556 $22,739 $20,000 $18,705 $15,000 $15,842 $16,987 $11,697 $10,000 $5,000 $

10 The Breakdown: By going to school and dropping out, students essentially make $1,300 less a year. 10

11 The Breakdown: 11

12 Bridge Program: Then and Now THEN (2003) Pass Rate: 97% Fall-to-Fall Retention: 38% Register in Prior to the Start of Fall Classes Late Application for Aid NOW (2010) Pass Rate: 70% Fall-to-Fall Retention: 50% Register at New Student Orientation in Summer Complete FASFA by Spring

13 Survey: College Level Expectations

14 Survey: Understanding of Columbia

15 Survey: Positive Experience

16 Honors Program Essentials Final Honors Taskforce ( ) Within the LAS Core Curriculum Honors Student Eligibility: Continuing: Cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher Incoming Freshmen: Invited by Admissions Begun Spring 2010 Semester (5 courses) Fall 2011 Semester: 29 sections/311 seats

17 The Honors Program Coursework that emphasizes: Greater academic expectations Applied and active learning (Seminar-style) Interdisciplinary focus and opportunities From Honors Faculty: Opportunities for students to take greater risks Students more receptive to new ideas Students appreciate the value of abstract intellectual inquiry and discourse

18 Student Experience to Honors Courses

19 Student Experience in Honors Courses

20 Honors as a Recruitment Vehicle Academic Preparation Index 6 Status Admit Enroll Pct. Non-H 1, % AdmitH % Academic Preparation Index 5 Status Admit Enroll Pct. Non-H 1, % AdmitH % Fall 2011

21 Honors as Retention Vehicle Fall 10 to Fall 11 Academic Preparation Index 6 Retained Honors Courses 84.5% No Honors Course 78.3% p value.114 Academic Preparation Indices 5 and 6 Retained Honors Courses 84.7% No Honors Course 75.3% p value.018

22 Sample Honors Courses Victorian Illustrated Poetry, Ken Daley Oral History: The Art of the Interview, Erin McCarthy Reviewing the Arts, Jim DeRogatis and Lloyd Sachs

23 Sample Student Work Fun Home by Alison Bechedelis bookended by two images of a young girl flying. In both, she soars while her father, Bruce, remains on the ground. Interwoven with these images is the Classical Greek story of Icarus, the boy who flew too close to the sun. From the beginning it is assumed that Alison will be this story s Icarus, while her father will play the role of Daedalus and in many ways he does just that. He nurtures her intellectually and instills in her a passion for literature and academia, something that will become her career. Yet, in an odd symbiotic dichotomy that pervades the story, Bruce is also Icarus. Both trapped in their own closets, their respective exiles, it is only when Alison gains her wings and flies from the island, that Bruce is able to imagine following. But it is too late for him now, and he fears the sun s warmth. So maybe Bruce is an Icarus for our times, too afraid of the sun s warmth, as he instead dives for the sea.

24 Both Ends of the Spectrum: Examining the Effectiveness of an Honors Program and a Pre-College Academic Program for Conditionally Admitted Students Neil Pagano, Associate Dean School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Columbia College Chicago Contact: npagano@colum.edu /