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Redesigning the Student Journey
Redesigning the student journey: Navigating a good start
College of Lake County’s strategic plan is built on the foundation of a student-centered design framework focused on creating an ideal and equitable student experience for everyone. This integrated seamless experience for every student begins with the first point of contact and continues through the student’s awareness and college-knowledge, planning for success, experiential learning, academic progress, timely completion and transition to the workforce or university.
Informed by best practices at community colleges across the country and a national studentfocused organization called Achieving the Dream, purposeful changes are being made to the CLC student experience from the very beginning, so students can progress quickly, saving their most valuable resources of time and money.
Linking new students to the college
Whether they’re entering as a high school graduate or adult learner, all new students will get the help they need navigating the start of college.
“Starting college can be a challenging experience without the appropriate support in place,” said Director of Student Recruitment and Onboarding Dr. Sharon Sanders-Funnye (pictured left). She is dedicated to creating a legacy of lifelong learners. “CLC has been hard at work instituting inclusive strategies to help all new students create a personalized success plan that builds confidence and gets them started on the right path toward a college degree or certificate.”
Additionally, it’s natural for new students to have many questions. “We need to answer them with the student in mind first, then ensure that each student has a personalized success plan in place,” said Sanders-Funnye.
Starting in fall 2020, all students have one point of contact from the moment they inquire about attending CLC. While there are many teams working behind the onboarding scene, prospective students don’t need a long list of contacts to answer questions. Students work with a reliable, friendly navigator to determine exactly what they need to get started.
“This welcoming relationship building fosters a sense of belonging,” said Sanders-Funnye, who leads the team of College and Career Navigators. These strategic staff members become coaches and mentors who guide new students at the beginning of their college path.
The navigators assist new students with learning about CLC, career exploration, selecting a field of interest and program of study, first semester course selection, academic and financial planning and transitioning into college life. What’s more, CLC has partnered with several area high schools to embed a staff member at the school, giving unprecedented access to students exploring what lies beyond senior year.
“I graduated from Waukegan High School and I didn’t have a navigator. There wasn’t a guide person,” said Carolina Rodriguez who is an embedded College and Career Navigator at Wauconda High School. “I look back and wonder why no one told me about College of Lake County. Why didn’t anyone tell me I could’ve saved money, that there were all these scholarships available? My role is to help students in high school who are like I was when I was a high school student.”
Rodriguez is among nearly a dozen navigators who are laying the program’s foundation in its first year. Rodriguez is already seeing the positive impact at the high school level, even given the pandemic induced fluctuations at areas schools.
“Students benefit from getting the information right from the source. I can go into the classroom and all the students know who I am,” said Rodriguez. “It’s been such a pleasure to connect on a very personal level and really understand from their viewpoint why they’re going into a particular field of interest. Of most of the students I’ve connected with, many are really interested in starting at CLC and transferring to a four-year college or university.”
Before the college and career navigators came on board, the college operated in a more traditional manner with recruiters seeking out prospective students who then handed them off to advisors. Previously a college recruiter, Sarah Nyquist is now a navigator devoted to adult learners and transfer students.
“It’s really exciting, not just for the students, but for us as the first semester advising team,” said Nyquist. Navigators map out a personalized success plan for all students to help guide them during their first semester. “Everyone’s had an overwhelmingly positive response to the program and the work we can do to serve our students, and really be able to serve them in a very individual capacity.”
STUDENT SUCCESS
e /’st(y)oodnt/ s k’ses/
(noun)
Achieving educational attainment for every student by providing personalized, culturally relevant student learning experiences, grounded in equitable practice in an inclusive student-ready environment.
This speaks to the equity and inclusion work CLC is doing to serve every student because education is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. The college is committed to ensure all policies, procedures and processes are free of barriers and provide a seamless experience to all who come to CLC.
“We have students coming from so many different backgrounds and being a navigator allows us to work with those students ‘one-on-one’ to overcome their barriers,” said Nyquist. “Sometimes students need help with something simple, such as getting records. Other times, it’s more complicated, like finding childcare during class, transportation getting to class or technology to do the coursework. All students can be successful when given the appropriate support services, like they are at CLC.”
Students aren’t the only ones benefiting from the new model. When someone chooses to further their education, it touches every aspect of their lives and that of their community.
“The high schools are getting so much out of the navigator program for their community,” Nyquist added. “They’re getting a great CLC partner who connects with their students. They’re also getting someone who can specifically offer college knowledge and ensure their students are taking advantage of scholarships.”
College navigators have constant training to prepare for the academic first semester advising they use to guide new students. As the initial point of contact, they help students enroll in their first semester of college, or even preliminary work to ensure they start earning college credits as soon as possible. They work with students to coach them through developing academic, financial, transfer and career plans.
Launching all students on a successful first-year experience
New student orientation is the next important step to the start of a student’s successful career at CLC and it’s a crucial experience many students were missing. That’s because the college’s event-based program was offered in limited capacities and participation was only required for credential-seeking students who graduated from high school within the past two years.
Student success research from CLC shows those who participate in new student orientation are more likely to continue their education from first to second semester. This same data also revealed an unintentional equity issue: Black and African American students were less likely to encounter the orientation program because they were more likely to take a break between high school and college, compared to Latinx and white students. To address equity and advance this early success milestone, 100 percent of new students will engage in a personalized, culturally-relevant onboarding experience starting in fall 2021, regardless of age.
“This redesigned model pulls apart the idea of orientation as a program and shapes it into an integrated experience,” said Director of Student Success Strategy Nick Branson. “It’s a series of steps and conversations, as well as on-demand resources when students are ready for the next piece of information. Each of these touch points builds a deeper connection with students on an individual basis.”
At an institution with tens of thousands of students, it takes college-wide collaboration to do great student success work. Branson organizes and empowers faculty and staff in both their day-to-day role and large collegewide initiatives to improve the CLC student experience.
Starting in the fall, a new convocation ceremony will be offered at the start of every semester. This event builds a sense of belonging and makes students excited for the start of semester. Attendees learn about key resources and hear from the college president, other students and faculty about what it means to be a member of the CLC Lancer community.
It’s also the moment when the students transition from their personal navigator to the academic success advisor who will guide them through the rest of their time at the college. These academic advisors are experts in the student’s field of interest, so they know exactly what courses they should take, saving students time and money.
Additionally, the college created a new College Success Seminar that is integrated into the experience of credential-seeking students. Taught by qualified teaching faculty who are personal development experts, the course covers topics like growth mindset, success strategies and behaviors, CLC resources, financial literacy, self-advocacy and self-identity in a diverse world.
“We expect students who take this class to be more likely to earn more credits toward their credentials and continue to pursue their educational goals,” said Branson. “This is one piece of our broader plan to build an equity-minded success framework which moves CLC to being studentready. It’s designed as an early opportunity for all new students, so they get access to information about resources and support systems, as well as develop skills to help them be successful in college.”
Students earn credits earlier with accelerated English and Math classes
All college students need to have a certain level of English and math skills to begin taking for-credit college classes. Students now begin earning credit toward a credential earlier, instead of taking two semesters to reach credit classes. New accelerated course work is an initiative CLC is doing to intentionally advance student success through strategic, prioritized efforts grounded in equitable practices.
The English department’s Accelerated Learning Program provides developmental English students access to college-credit courses sooner by allowing students to take college-level English along with a small group, workshop-style support class.
The math department partnered with advising to promote a general education math pathway that allows students who might have otherwise spent a semester in a non-credit, developmental math course to instead enroll in another math course where they can earn credits that count toward a credential.
