In case you haven't noticed, there is a heightened awareness lately regarding college completion rates. At the national level, the so-called "completion agenda" is being driven by the fact that the United States -- in terms of the percentage of adults who have earned a college degree -- has gradually slipped from number one to number nine in the world. Obviously, this has negative implications for our nation's ability to remain economically competitive. The Obama Administration has set the goal for the U.S. to regain its number one status among nations by 2020.
Here at Clinton Community College, we are building our strategic plan within this national and global context. First, let's acknowledge that not everyone who enrolls in a community college intends to pursue a degree. Many people enroll to learn some particular skill or achieve competency in a particular area without earning a credential. Second, let's not use the first point as an excuse to back away from the completion agenda, which is imperitive for our future. Many people who do aspire to a degree are leaving college before they complete. We know that there is always room for us to do better.
In our effort to help more students earn at least an associate's degree, Clinton Community College is taking a two-pronged approach. To those on campus, these two prongs will have a familiar ring: access and success. Over the next five years, we intend to provide increased access to certificate and degree programs, especially for working adults. While the final details have yet to take shape, increased access is likely to involve one or more of the following: evening programs, weekend programs and/or online programs. But providing access is only one part of the equation. Once students cross our threshold, we must do a better job of helping them to be successful. Some of this help will come in the form of academic support services, that is, extra help outside of the classroom. But academic research leads us to believe that student engagement is also an important factor in student success.
Student engagement has to do with the degree of connection that exists between the student and their college life. Especially at a commuter campus, some students "check-in" and "check-out" of class each day without taking advantage of the rich learning opportunities that exist outside the classroom. This causes them to miss so many learning opportunities. These learning opportunities occur when students interact with others in the library, during faculty office hours, and in co-curricular and extracurricular activities. Students learn from each other and from faculty and staff as they interact in and out of the classroom. Research has shown that students who engage in college life in these kinds of ways feel more connected to their college, are academically more successful and are therefore more likely to persist and to complete their degree programs.
As part of Clinton's emerging strategic plan, we are actively developing strategies to further engage students in the richness that is college life. In the years to come, I expect that we will have programs, activities and living/learning spaces that help students to get the maximum benefit from their experience at Clinton. In turn, these strategies will increase our retention rates, our graduation rates, and ultimately, our national, state and local competitiveness.
That's what I think. I am interested to know what you think. Please e-mail me at presidentsblog@clinton.edu.
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