KSU’s “Starting Blocks” project launched in Fall 2024. Block scheduling serves multiple purposes, all designed to enhance the academic experience and support student success. It streamlines the registration process for easier enrollment, ensuring students make appropriate selections of courses, including introductory English and math, during their first semester. It helps minimize potential credit loss if students change majors, and it provides students with the optimal opportunity to register for a full-time (15 credit hour) schedule. Additionally, block scheduling is meant to enhance social integration, facilitate the formation of study groups, and foster community building. Additional information is available at https://advising.kennesaw.edu/orientation/starting_blocks.php.
This project is aligned with two of our “Top 5 Strategies,” namely increasing the number of freshmen taking 15 hours or more, and increasing the number of students who have completed 30 hours or more by the start of their second fall.
Assessing the impact of block scheduling will involve various methods to measure its effectiveness in achieving its intended goals and benefits. Academic performance metrics, course enrollment data, and student feedback around belonging will all be considered.
KPIs:
- First-year full-time retention rate (assessed yearly)
- Percentage of first-time, full-time cohort enroll in 15+ credit hours (assessed yearly)
- NSSE Survey Results (assessed every 3 years)
Baseline measure (for each KPI):
- Fall 2023 cohort: 76.7%
- Fall 2023: 53.1%
- 2023 NSSE Survey Results
Goal or targets (for each KPI):
- Fall 2024 cohort: 82%
- Fall 2024: 71%
Next survey: No statistical difference when compared to our R2 peers when first-year students are asked whether they feel like part of the community at KSU.
Block scheduling was successfully launched for the first time in fall 2024. Students enrolled in over 350 major blocks and over 200 English/Math blocks. In total, 83% of first-time freshmen enrolled in one or both blocks. Enrollment growth was larger than anticipated and not all new freshmen were given the opportunity to enroll in blocks. Lessons learned over the past year were carefully tracked. Feedback from the colleges, advisors, and students has been gathered and is being incorporated as we plan for fall 2025.
Blocks for fall 2025 will be created. Modifications will be made to allow for additional students to participate in block scheduling. For example, more blocks will be built this year than last. Also, additional courses will be included in the blocks to provide more options for students with prior credit. Students will register for the blocks over the summer at orientation. Enrollment will be closely monitored. Pre-orientation advising materials will be updated throughout the summer. Lessons learned will be carefully tracked.
A potential challenge could arise if enrollment patterns differ significantly from projections, resulting in too few blocks being available.
We plan to reach out to other universities to explore if they have automated any processes in block scheduling. Specifically, we’re interested in understanding if they have systems in place to automatically transfer open seats to all students when a block doesn’t reach full capacity.
