Learn

about good practices and sound policies that accelerate the effective adoption and use of technologies in teaching and learning.

Background

Increasing student degree completion and graduation rates is a significant national policy issue and one you are likely facing at your institution. WCET is actively working within the e-learning higher education community to bring together resources and experts to uncover and disseminate effective policies, practices, and strategies for student success and completion.

WCET Student Completion Activities

WCET's Student Retention Common Interest Group

Though primarily focused on retention issues, the CIG is working to help establish institutional and state-wide metrics for student completion. Come join us.

WICHE's Non-Traditional No More (NTNM) Project

WCET's Russ Poulin is consulting on the NTNM Project, which is funded by Lumina Foundation for Education. The project works with select states to identify and serve 'ready adults' –those former students who amassed a substantial amount of credits, but have not earned their degree or returned to college. To increase college completions within this population, NTNM helps states use their data systems to identify "ready adults" and helps their institutions improve their policies and practices to better fit the needs of the returning adult.

WCET Annual Meeting

The 2011 WCET Meeting had numerous sessions on completion including:

• Student Retention CIG Meeting.
• Data Driven in Everyday Education.
• Helping Students with 24/7 Online Tutoring.
• Building Student Success.
• Creating Collaborative Connections.
• Using Analytics to Increase Student Success.
• A New Way to Count the Beans.
• Return, Restart, and Finish.

Register for the annual meeting and view the schedule.

Student Completion Resources

Complete College America, a national nonprofit focused on increasing the number of Americans with a college degree and closing attainment gaps for traditionally underrepresented populations, has comprehensive information on national and state-wide completion rates, statistics, and links to resources.

The Lumina Foundation funds and conducts research that supports their mission to expand access to post-secondary education in the United States. Lumina is working with various organizations and partners to increase the percentage of Americans with post-secondary degrees and credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025. The Lumina website provides information about grant opportunities, research reports, and details their strategies for improving completion rates.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is highly involved with research and grant work for post-secondary education attainment through college preparedness and completion. The Foundation focuses on completion for low-income students and their goal is to double the number of low-income students who earn a college degree by age 26. Read about their post-secondary success plan and how technology plays a part in completion.

In April 2010, the American Association of Community Colleges and five other organizations pledged to increase student completion rates by over 50 percent in the next decade. Read the statement of commitment and see which institutions are involved.

Other notable completion initiatives at WCET member organizations:

• Kentucky's Adult Learner Initiative
• Truckee Meadows CC Non-Traditional No More Committee
• Texas' Accelerated Adult Degree Program
• Louisiana Adult Completion Program
• Washington State Community and Technical College's Student Completion Initiative

Research

The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems is a nonprofit organization that works to improve strategic decision making in higher education. NCHEMS conducts research to help states become more efficient and effective. The NCHEMS Information Center website is an extensive resource for state by state statistical comparisons including data on retention and graduation rates.

See how your state doing in terms of completion.

Promising Practices

Prior Learning Assessment effectively facilitates degree completion by awarding college credit for relevant work and experience, saving the student time and money which increases the likelihood of degree completion. The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) has developed standards for Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) practices which provide guidance for institutions considering implementing PLA programs. Read CAEL's new PLA Research Study.

The American Council on Education recognizes the importance of supporting our military students and veterans and through their "Serving Those Who Serve" initiative which provides access and support to military students seeking to complete their degrees.