Demonstrating Student Achievement

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Major Students Success /Achievement Indicators

The 2018 Principles of Accreditation:

Foundation for Quality Enhancement include standards specifically focused on student achievement. Principle 8.1 is a core requirement and states: “The institution identifies, evaluates, and publishes goals and outcomes for student achievement appropriate to the institution’s mission, the nature of the students it serves, and the kinds of programs offered. The institution uses multiple measures to document student success. (Student achievement) [CR]” (SACSCOC, 2017). To demonstrate compliance with this standard, SOWELA Technical Community College must “demonstrate its success with respect to student achievement and indicate the criteria and thresholds of acceptability used to determine that success” (SACSCOC, 2018)

  • The criteria are the items to be measured (and published); the thresholds of acceptability are the minimal expectations set by the institution to define its own acceptable level of achievement – a minimum target.
  • The institution is responsible for offering a justification for both the criteria it utilizes and the thresholds of acceptability it sets. The items measured and the thresholds of acceptability should be consistent with the institution’s mission and the students it serves. (SACSCOC, 2018)

Proposal

ELT identifies some of the followings as criteria of student achievement:

  1. Graduation Rates
  2. Retention Rates-Fall to Fall
  3. Transfer-out Rate

Graduation Rates:

Graduation rates of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates within 150% of normal time to program completion is one of the criteria of student achievement.

The threshold of acceptability (minimum expectation) for the graduation rates of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates within 150% of normal time to program completion met or exceeded the average of peer institutions (30% expectation and target).

Figure 1: Graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates within 150% of normal time to program completion

figure 1

Rationale

Examination of SOWELA and PEER institution data support the establishment of the graduation threshold of acceptability, goal, and aspirational achievements. Figure 1 depicts SOWELA graduation rate trends and graduation rates of comparison groups. The trend points to SOWELA’s increased graduation rates over the last three years and meeting the expectation of 30% graduation rate.

Retention Fall to Fall

Figure 2: Retention rates of full-time, first time degree/certificate seeking students (Fall 2014 to Fall 2015, Fall 2015-Fall 2016, and Fall 2016 to Fall 2017

figure 2

Fall to fall retention rates of full-time, first time degree/certificate seeking students is also another criterion for student success.

The threshold of acceptability (minimum expectation) for the retention rates of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates are met or exceeded for Fall 2016-2017 at 58%.

Rationale

Examination of SOWELA and PEER data support the establishment of the retention threshold of acceptability, goal, and aspirational achievement. Figure 2 depicts SOWELA retention rate trend and retention rates of comparison groups. Benchmark rate of 58% seems to be justified based on the 3-year average and SOWELA ‘s has reached that level in Fall 2016-17.

Transfer-Out Rates:

Figure 3: Transfer-out rates of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates within 150% of normal time to program completion

figure 3

Transfer-out rates of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates within 150% of normal time to program completion as a criterion of student achievement.

The threshold of acceptability (minimum expectation) for the transfer-out rates of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates within 150% of normal time to program completion are met or exceeded the average of peer institutions (16%).

Rationale

Examination of SOWELA and PEER data support the establishment of the transfer-out threshold of acceptability, goal, and aspirational achievement. Figure 3 depicts rates and trend of transfer-out rates of SOWELA and its comparison groups. Benchmark rate of 16% seems to be justified based on the 3-year PEER average rate and SOWELA has exceeded that level in Fall 2016-17.

Special Note: PEER data is used from IPED’s COMPARISON GROUP

Comparison group data are included to provide a context for interpreting your institution’s statistics. Since SOWELA did not define a custom comparison group for this report by July 13, 2018, NCES selected a comparison group for us. In this case, the characteristics used to define the comparison group appears below.

Using some of your institution’s characteristics, a group of comparison institutions was selected for you. The characteristics include Associate’s Colleges: High Career & Technical-High Traditional, public and enrollment of a similar size. This comparison group includes the following 25 institutions:

  • Anoka Technical College (Anoka, MN)
  • Blackhawk Technical College (Janesville, WI)
  • Denmark Technical College (Denmark, SC)
  • Hazard Community and Technical College (Hazard, KY)
  • Lake Area Technical Institute (Watertown, SD)
  • Lamar Institute of Technology (Beaumont, TX)
  • Lamar State College-Orange (Orange, TX)
  • Lurleen B Wallace Community College (Andalusia, AL)
  • Mesalands Community College (Tucumcari, NM)
  • Minnesota State College Southeast (Winona, MN)
  • Mitchell Technical Institute (Mitchell, SD)
  • Montcalm Community College (Sidney, MI)
  • North Georgia Technical College (Clarkesville, GA)
  • Northeast Alabama Community College (Rainsville, AL)
  • Northeastern Technical College (Cheraw, SC)
  • Ogeechee Technical College (Statesboro, GA)
  • Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College (Orangeburg, SC)
  • Ranger College (Ranger, TX)
  • Southeast Arkansas College (Pine Bluff, AR)
  • Southeast Technical Institute (Sioux Falls, SD)
  • Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf (Big Spring, TX)
  • State Technical College of Missouri (Linn, MO)
  • Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology (Lancaster, PA)
  • Western Dakota Technical Institute (Rapid City, SD)
  • Williamsburg Technical College (Kingstree, SC)

References: