RECIPES for success
Community colleges must: 1. C larify academic goals. Our students need a great deal of help clarifying their expectations and creating opportunities that are consonant with their educational preparation and personal situation. To that end, the ideal community college must provide individualized intake procedures for each first-time student. S tudents should be required to spend one or two days at the college prior to admission. During this time, a battery of basic skills exams, aptitude exams and individualized consultation with a trained professional should take place. The result would be a “My Academic Plan� (MAP) that would guide the student throughout the college experience. This is important because many of the students who attend our colleges have had a bad experience in high school and come to us with low self-esteem. Others come to us after being out of high school for a period of time and need assistance in understanding the academic maze. Still others have had a bad experience at another post-secondary institution and need a safe place to regain their bearing. Of course, there is a population of students who are clear about their goals and come to us because of convenience or because of cost. To expect all students to fit the same pattern is folly. Many of our students are in an at-risk population that needs intense academic intervention. Effective student support services are an imperative for the necessary development of each student. 2. P rovide Intensive Acculturation to College: The Freshman experience is difficult for even for students who are very well prepared. Community colleges must recognize that the freshman class is composed of students with many different levels of understanding of the college experience. Some require no help; others need to be told even the basic things, such as purchasing textbooks. A thorough orientation to college life is imperative for success. 3. S egment the freshman class into cohorts. It works! Students who come to a community college need to identify with a group. Many come with different understandings of what is required of them; many, especially the adult students, will not ask questions. Creating Learning Communities or Academies or similar grouping enhances the chances of success. Many colleges recognize the value of this approach. At CUNY we have successfully implemented the Accelerated Studies in Associate Programs (ASAP)viii ASAP is designed to help motivated community college students earn their degrees as quickly as possible, with a goal of graduating at least 50% of students within three years. Key ASAP program features include a consolidated block schedule, cohorts by major, small class size, required full-time study, comprehensive advisement, and career development services. Financial incentives include tuition waivers for financial aid eligible students and free use of textbooks and monthly Metrocards for all students. As of September 2010, CUNY ASAP has surpassed its original graduation target and helped 623 students, or 55% of its original Fall 2007 cohort of 1,132 students, earn an associate’s degrees within three years. A comparison group of similar CUNY community college students had a 3-year graduation rate of 24.7%. The ASAP graduation rate is more than three times the national 3-year graduation rate of 16% for urban community colleges.ix, x 4. S egment remedial programs: Some have posited that students who score close to the demarcation between needing remediation and not, do as well when placed in college level courses.xi Perhaps, what we need to do is to create an intensive remedial program for those who place very low on the remedial scale and, forthrightly, let them know that they are not ready for college level work. We must protect these students from using their financial aid while engaged in these immersion programs. CUNY is experimenting with a methodology, CUNY Startxii,
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