Silas Craft Collegians Program (MS Word)

Silas Craft Collegians Program (MS Word) U.S. Department of Education Request for Information on Promising and Practical Strategies to Increase Post-secondary Success SILAS CRAFT COLLEGIANS PROGRAM Description of the Promising and Practical Strategy The Silas Craft Collegians Program (SCCP) serves a selected group of incoming motivated freshman whose performance has not met their true potential. This learning community offers comprehensive academic and personal support services that are designed to maximize academic achievement, personal growth, retention, graduation, and transfer. Although African American males are a targeted population, the program is open to any recent high school graduate testing into developmental English or math. Students are offered: tutoring; study sessions; study skills; small class sizes; mentoring; academic and personal counseling; career education; leadership development; networking and community service opportunities; and personal growth seminars. The SCCP also promotes social, civic and cultural awareness. The basis for developing this program is to teach, nurture, coach and counsel students in reaching their true potential for academic and personal success and to create a climate that encourages students to empower themselves. The idea for creating the SCCP was generated from Howard Community College’s (HCC) Board of Trustees in 1999 as a retention strategy. Following a year-long planning period, the program was initiated in Fall 2000 with its first class. The program has since served 265 students. Outcome Measurements Howard Community College has established benchmarks for the SCCP to include: fall to spring retention; fall to fall retention two years after entry; fall to fall retention three years after entry; graduation/transfer rates three years after entry, and graduation/transfer rates four years after entry. Silas Craft Fall-to-Fall Retention Rate Two and Three Years After Entry Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Numbers Benchmarks 2 Years 43.8% 64.3% 38.8% 61.3% 19/31 30.7% After Entry 3 Years 7.7% *59.2% 38.8% 38.7% 12/31 15.6% After Exceeded Entry *The low third-year retention rate for the fall 05 cohort reflects early transfers. Other data collected include: monthly progress reports, grade point averages; tutoring, study sessions and class attendance; and student satisfaction with program components. These measures are used to indicate the need for student intervention strategies. In response to the data, the SCCP staff and advisory committee plan and execute academic and/or personal growth interventions. Data are collected by the program staff and the HCC research staff by semester and by year as deemed appropriate. Challenges during Implementation Recruitment: Recruitment was initially a challenge since the SCCP was a new program and students were required to apply directly to the program. An aggressive recruitment campaign was initiated a year before program inception whereby the program was marketed in the local high schools by the admissions staff and through out the county by both the admissions staff and the program staff. Program Funding: This program was initiated during a time of budget constraints. There was an existing budget for learning communities and most of the program’s operational expenses came from this source. An activity fee was attached to the Personal Development seminars which helped cover the cost of activities, trips and a week long orientation and retreat for incoming students. Additional funding when needed has always been supplied by the Vice President of Academic Affairs’ budget. Scholarship Funding: The planning committee did not want the lack of tuition to be a cause for attrition. In response, the Development Office staged an aggressive scholarship campaign. The SCCP not only receives scholarship funding via the college’s general fundraising programs, but is also the recipient of specified donations from individuals and businesses in Howard County, Maryland. Funding for Retreat Facilitators and Guest Speakers: No funding exists for facilitators and guest speakers; however, these are vital to program success. The SCCP draws on the talent from the college and community. Speakers make presentations either at no cost or a small honorarium. The professional facilitators are connected to the program’s namesake and annually provide three days of facilitation at no cost. Initial research into the program’s namesake was critically beneficial. Factors Impacting Success According to students in the SCCP, the top five factors contributing to their success are: personal coaching and counseling from the SCCP staff; caring faculty and staff; study sessions; retreats; and networking opportunities. A success-impacting factor that goes beyond program design is the support received from the entire college which has come from the Board of Trustees and the President; the Development Office; Public Relations; faculty teaching in the program; and all of the college’s student support services. Elements That Did Not Work Study Session: This is the only element that initially did not work. There was very poor attendance initially despite this session being mandatory. These students, who are referred to as “at-risk” in the research literature, would greatly benefit from study sessions. Most; however, reported they “didn’t feel like attending”; “had to work”; “would study another time” or “didn’t have anything to study”. In response to this issue: , Study session attendance was attached to students’ grades in the personal development seminar classes. , Math and English faculty conducted the sessions. , Students who greatly benefitted from study sessions shared their success stories with the cohort. The outcome was a 22% increase in study session attendance. As the percent increased, there was a need for a second math faculty. The original faculty offering tutoring for the Study Session received a stipend. Additional math faculty were credited for providing Study Session tutoring in their annual appraisals. No additional stipends were awarded due to budget constraints. Program Replication The best suggestions for replicating a learning community like the SCCP are to: 1. Allow an adequate period for program planning because of the comprehensive nature of this type of program. 2. Take full use of existing student support services and staff. 3. Execute a fundraising component. 4. Hire full time staff to manage the operation of the program. Replication would be difficult without adequate funding and support from across an institution.