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Program Maps and Pressure Testing (Gordon State College-2023)

Strategy/Project Name: 
Program Maps and Pressure Testing
Momentum Area: 
Pathways
Change Management
Category: 
Advising
Career/Major Exploration
Co-curricular Pathways
Program Maps
Milestones/indicators in programs
Strategy/Project Description: 

Retention and graduation rates have increased nationally due to the implementation and design of well-crafted program maps with an emphasis on students taking fuller schedules categorized by the 15-to-finish initiative. Gordon State College made early efforts to create program maps with co-curricular milestones using the theme of Gordon’s Highlander EDGE. After careful review we noticed that some of the program maps had not been pressure tested and we have now determined a plan to carefully review, and pressure test our program maps annually.

Activity Status: 
Refining/Maintaining
Evaluation/Assessment plan: 

Evaluation Plan and measures:

KPIs:

  1. Change in three-year graduation rate for associate degree students
  2. Change in six-year graduation rate for bachelor’s degree students
  3. Number of hours per associate degree graduate
  4. Number of hours per bachelor’s degree graduate

Baseline measure (for each KPI):

  1. Change in three-year graduation rate for associate degree students
  2. Change in six-year graduation rate for bachelor’s degree students
  3. Number of hours per associate degree graduate
  4. Number of hours per bachelor’s degree graduate

Associate Graduation Cohort

Gordon State College

2017

11.8%

2018

14.2%

2019

13.6%

 

Bachelor Graduation Cohort

Gordon State College

2015

12.3%

2016

17.0%

2017

15.1%

Goal or targets (for each KPI):

  1. Change in three-year graduation rate for associate degree students
  2. Change in six-year graduation rate for bachelor’s degree students
  3. Number of hours per associate degree graduate
  4. Number of hours per bachelor’s degree graduate
Progress and Adjustments: 
  1. Implementation of the new IMPACTS core is underway.
  2. The history Area F is in the process of being changed to eliminate the foreign language requirement.
  3. Changing prerequisite/corequisite for ENGR 1100 and 1111 to MATH 1111 from MATH 1113.
  4. Program alignments under discussion with TCSG.
  5. Area G (institutional options—physical education—is under review to reduce the potential number of credit hours to complete a degree.
Plan for the Year Ahead: 
  1. New IMPACTS implementation: Spring 2024
  2. New history Area F implementation: Spring 2024
  3. Resolution of physical education requirement: Fall 2024
  4. Changing ENGR 1100 and ENGR 1111 prerequisite/corequisite: Fall 2024
  5. Work with TCSG to make transfer to bachelor’s degree more seamless: Fall 2024
  6. Review of all program maps is ongoing.
Challenges and Support: 

Challenges:

  1. One challenge is data warehousing and access since we do not have an IR director.
  2. We are critically short of staff in some areas, which makes a bigger picture focus more challenging.

Supports Needed:

  1. New data tools from the USG are very helpful—we would like to see more of that.
Primary Contact: 
Mr. Jerry Oliver Jr., Director of Student Success, Advising and Testing
Dr. Victor Vilchiz, Dean of School of Nursing, Health, and Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry
Dr. Ed Whitelock, Department Head of Humanities and Fine & Performing Arts and Professor of English
Dr. Steve Raynie, Dean of Education, Math & Applied Sciences & Professor of English