Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)

Topic Proposal

Title of proposed QEP:  Early Academic Engagement Program

Description:  How is the proposed topic transformative in terms of student learning?  What student learning outcomes are addressed?  

The Early Academic Engagement (EAE) program will transform student learning by helping to prepare students for college success during the critical first semester at NOVA.  A premise of this program is that many students who enter NOVA are under-prepared in both academic and non-academic areas.   They are unclear about the appropriate courses to take for success and require support beyond what is offered in their classes. NOVA faculty and students identify the following as major barriers to success: students’ lack of information about policies, procedures and resources at NOVA; unclear expectations about the requirements for college success; unclear personal academic goals; poor study skills; and poorly developed critical thinking skills. (AtD focus group data).   Students participating in the Early Academic Engagement program will be provided with specialized support in making the transition from high school to college by receiving advising prior to registration for fall and spring semesters and being required to meet with an advisor/mentor during their first semester in college.  Meetings with advisor/mentors will help students develop a connection to the college, important for college persistence and success.  Students will learn NOVA policies and procedures and gain a clear understanding of college-level academic expectations.    Additionally, interactions between mentors and mentees will support appropriate goal-setting and development of plans for the future, encourage personal responsibility for academic performance and provide encouragement for students.  

Major components:  Students will be assigned a faculty advisor/mentor prior to fall registration. Through early advising, students will be aided in choosing the most suitable courses for their success and progress toward graduation.  Students will choose from a pre-selected cluster of courses that have been identified as appropriate for incoming students.  This cluster of courses will be comprised of entry level courses required for graduation, developmental courses appropriate to students’ academic placement, credit courses recommended for students who are placed in developmental courses and a student development course (SDV). During the first semester, these students progress will be monitored.   During the semester, mentees will be required to meet periodically with their mentor and prior to registration for spring semester.  An Early Alert system will be instituted for the identification of students experiencing difficulties in classes early in the semester. Student success coaches, whose focus will be to coordinate the EAE program will be alerted to student’s difficulties.   They, in turn,  will inform mentors who will  meet with students to provide information about appropriate college resources, as well as help in generating possible solutions to their difficulties.

The following student learning outcomes are addressed:

                Students will be familiar with the choice of courses most appropriate to their college success

                Students will be familiar with college policies and procedures

                Students will be familiar with and able to use campus, college, and community resources

                Students will explore goal-setting and begin to clarify their own goals

                Students will begin to develop academic plans

                Students will become aware of expectations for college success

                Students will develop mechanisms for establishing personal responsibility for academic success

                Students will be engaged in critical thinking and problem solving required for college success

                These learning outcomes are related to the following general goals identified by the college: personal development and critical thinking. They are important contributors to adjustment to a new academic setting and early academic success.  These learning outcomes will contribute to achieving the major goals of Achieving the Dream:  improvement in graduation rates, improvement in success rates in gatekeeper courses, progress through developmental education courses, and student persistence.

Congruence with Mission and Strategic Vision 2015:

The Early Academic Engagement program will offer students entering from high school a program designed to aid them in their adjustment to NOVA. They will be provided resources designed to provide a solid foundation for adjustment to college.  During their first semester, students will receive advising about the courses most appropriate for them and mentoring to support them as they become adjusted to the rigors of college.  First semester success is critical for increasing student persistence, success rates, and college completion.  This supports the following strategic goals of the college (Gateway to the American Dream:  Strategic Vision 2015): to increase completion of developmental courses, increase retention, increase graduation rates, and increase transfer rates. 

Method:  How do you envision NOVA carrying out your proposal?

The Early Academic Engagement program will be available to full-time enrollees who are first-time degree-seeking students entering from high school.  This group has been identified by NOVA’S Achieving the Dream initiative as a vulnerable group, with high rates of placement into developmental courses and a relatively low rate of academic success at the college.   This program will be piloted with a subset  (1000 students in the first year, 2000 students in the second year) of this group of students.    Based on a thorough evaluation, successful components will be brought to scale. While this program is directed toward incoming students from high school, the concept of providing more structure and assistance to new students is applicable to all programs and campuses. The components of the Early Academic Engagement program are:

�  English and math placement exams given before registration

�  Faculty advisor/mentor assigned before fall registration

                 The faculty advisor/mentor will be assigned before fall registration. The faculty advisor/mentor helps   the student to identify courses for the first two semesters and is available through the first semester as        a mentor.  Students will be required to meet periodically with their mentor. The advisor/mentor is                 alerted                 if the student experiences difficulty during the first semester.  The student is required to meet       with the advisor/mentor under these conditions.  The student is required to meet with the advisor/            mentor before registration for the second semester.

�  Student success coaches

                Student success coaches will work with faculty advisors and coordinate the EAE program.  The student success coach will receive information from the Early Alert system about students experiencing difficulty             early in the semester and will alert the faculty advisor/mentor.

�   Identified courses for first year students

                  Courses will be identified as recommended for first year students. These courses will be comprised of                core courses for graduation, developmental courses required for advancement to credit courses, credit         courses recommended for students in developmental courses and a student development course.         Faculty, identified as Early Academic Engagement faculty, will offer courses providing   special support        for entering students.  These courses may be taught in a learning community, offer an embedded                 tutor/mentor or supplemental instruction, contain an SDV component or be redesigned for first-year          students.   These courses will give mid-term feedback to students and utilize an Early Alert program.

�  Outreach: The Early Academic Engagement program will be promoted in high schools and the community as a program developed to smooth the transition to college and increase the likelihood of academic success.

Assessment Plan:  Address the expected outcomes and how they can be measured.

The expected outcomes are increased persistence, overall increased course-success rates, increased developmental course-success rates, and eventually increased graduation, certificate and transfer rates.  Outcomes can be directly assessed through tracking student success of participants.

Resources:  What kind of resources (personnel, training, technology, etc.) do you anticipate will be needed?

References (if applicable):

NOVA’s Achieving the Dream Implementation Plan, May 2008

Achieving the Dream focus group data

The First Year Experience (draft), First Year Experience Working Group, Fall 2009

Gateway to the American Dream: Strategic Vision 2015