Access to College Excellence
(ACE): A Learning
Community/Seminar Hybrid
Ann Ching
Renita Cole
Kapi‘olani Community College
(KCC)
• Commuter campus in Honolulu,
Hawai‘i
• 7,200 students
• 38% full-time students
• Majority of new students place into
developmental Math or English
classes
Kapi‘olani Community College
(KCC)
• 60% Liberal Arts majors
• Technical, Occupational and
Professional programs: Business,
Culinary Arts, Hospitality, Nursing,
Health Sciences, and Legal Assistant
programs
• Attrition Rate 1st semester students:
33%
KCC Student Diversity
Filipino
14%
Hawaiian/ Part
Hawaiian
11%
Japanese
21%
Pacific
Islander
3%
Caucasian
13%
Mixed
12%
Chinese
8%
All Other
18%
Evolution of FYE at KCC
• Faculty-driven
• FYE task force established in
2000
• Mandatory New Student
Orientation (NSO) since Fall 2006
• Full-time FYE Coordinator hired in
Fall 2006
FYE Programs at KCC
• New Student Orientation
• ACE
• IS 103: Introduction to College
• Learning Communities
History of the ACE Program
• Established in 1995 to increase
persistence and retention of first-semester
students
• 1995-2006
– Over 800 students participated
– Over 50 faculty members served as coleaders
– 16 different types of clusters offered
Goals of the ACE Program
• Overall Goal: To increase access &
opportunities for first year students
– Guarantee enrollment in a cluster of
courses
– Assist ACE students through informative
weekly seminar
– Provide an informal, out-of-class
environment among ACE students and
faculty
2 Categories of ACE Clusters
• Professional/MajorBased
Culinary Arts,
Hospitality, PreHealth, PreEducation, Pre-Art,
Exercise & Sport
Science
• Underrepresented
Student Groups
ESL, Single Parents,
Neighbor Islands,
Developmental,
Filipino, Native
Hawai‘ian
Unique Aspects of ACE
• Learning community model
(2-3 shared classes + weekly seminar)
• Shared classes comprised of ACE & nonACE students
• Voluntary participation
• 10 students, 2 faculty co-leaders per
cluster
The ACE Seminar
• Weekly, one-hour meetings,16 weeks
• No-credit
• Co-led by instructional & counseling
faculty
• No standard curriculum: Tailored to meet
needs and interests of each cluster
population
• Allows for flexibility & diversity
Varied Activities of the Seminar
– Orientation: campus, financial aid, library&
computer resources
– Academic Support: tutoring, study skills
workshops, class-related activities
– Academic Advising: campus policies, major
requirements, registration preparation
– Career Explorations: guest speakers, field
trips
– Counseling: personal & transitional issues
– Social: Cluster and program functions
Sample ACE Clusters
Bilingual Immigrant
– ESOL 94:
Advanced ESOL
– SP 151:
Personal &
Public Speech
– ACE Seminar
Culinary Arts
– FSHE 102: Intro
to Culinary Arts
– FSHE 103:
Safety &
Sanitation
– ACE Seminar
Marketing Strategies
• Academic advising sessions
• Print advertising
– Brochures
– Inserts in Schedule of Classes
• Online promotion
– Class Availability website
– Online New Student Orientation - videoclip
• Classroom visits
Incentives for Students
• Reserved spaces in core classes
during high-demand times
• Early registration for the following
semester
• Peer group network & friendships
Incentives for
Faculty Co-Leaders
• Seminar curriculum encourages
innovation & experimentation
• Team-teach w/another faculty member
• Develop closer relationships with students
outside of the classroom
• Service recognized as equivalent to a
major committee assignment
Program Evaluation
• Quantitative Data
– Student Success Measures
– Pre- and Post-Surveys (Community
College Survey of Student
Engagement: CCSSE)
Success Measures
ACE
ACE
75% Lib. Arts 50% Lib. Arts
25% Voc. Ed. 50% Voc. Ed
# of Students
Kap CC
Univ. of
Hawai'i
342
558
7,313*
19,463*
Persistence
76.3%
74.4%
67.8%
83.0%
Completion
17.8%
10.4%
11.0%
52.9%**
Earned Credit
Ratio
89.6%
90.3%
85.4%
88.2%
Transfer
12.0%
7.0%
4.4%
NA
2.7
2.5
2.5
2.8
GPA
* Fall 2005, 5 yr. Average
**Graduation rate
Pre-Survey
Beginning of semester
Strongly Disagree
disagree
1 I feel comfortable at KCC.
2 I feel confident about succeeding in college.
3 I feel anxious about being in college.
4 I feel out of place at KCC.
5 I feel comfortable contacting faculty outside of class.
6 I understand the registration process.
I know enough information to select courses for next
7
semester.
8 I know my career goal.
9 I know where to go to get information on campus.
Agree
Strongly
agree
Not
applicable
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Post-Survey (1A)
End of semester
Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly
disagree
agree
1 I feel comfortable at KCC.
2 I feel confident about succeeding in college.
1
2
3
4
Not
applicabl
e
5
1
2
3
4
5
3 I feel anxious about being in college.
4 I feel out of place at KCC.
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
5 I understand the registration process.
I know enough information to select courses for next
6 semester.
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
I made use of KCC facilities (library, computer labs,
7 Holomua Center, etc.)
1
2
3
4
5
I made use of KCC support services (counseling,
workshops, tutoring, etc.)
9 I used email to communicate with cluster co-leaders.
10 I formed friendships with other KCC students.
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
The seminar provided a comfortable learning
11 environment.
1
2
3
4
5
8
Post-Survey (2)
w/ CCSSE items
To what extent did your ACE seminar help you develop
in the following areas?
End of Semester
Very
little
Some
Quite a
lot
Very
much
Not
applicable
1 Working effectively with others
1
2
3
4
5
2 Learning effectively on my own
1
2
3
4
5
3 Developing clearer career goals
1
2
3
4
5
In your ACE seminar, how often did you do the
following?
End of Semester
Never
Sometimes
Often
Very
often
Not
applicable
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
3 Used information you learned in cluster classes in new ways
1
2
3
4
5
4 Discussed ideas that were helpful to my learning
1
2
3
4
5
5 Received assistance when I needed it
1
2
3
4
5
6 Received feedback that gave me direction for improvement
1
2
3
4
5
Worked with classmates and co-leaders on class
1 assignments
2 Talked about career plans with co-leaders
Highest Scores: Pre & Post
Pre-Survey
Total & Averages
Highest Pre-Survey Figures Fall 2003-2006
Number of Students
168
I feel comfortable at KCC.
3.47
I feel confident about succeeding in college.
3.34
Post-Survey
Total & Averages
Highest Post-Survey Figures Fall 2003-2006
Number of Students
127
I feel comfortable at KCC.
3.75
I formed friendships with other KCC students
3.59
Largest Gains: Pre vs. Post
PreSurvey
Total &
Averages
PostSurvey
Total &
Averages
Number of Students
168
127
I know my career goal.
3.12
3.58
0.47
I know enough information to select
courses for next semester.
2.75
3.26
0.52
I know where to go to get
information on campus.
2.93
3.48
0.55
Largest Gains Fall 2003-2006
Change
Btwn Pre
& Post
CCSSE Comparison:
Highest & Lowest Figures
CCSSE Comparison 2006
ACE
KapCC
Difference
Learning effectively on my own
2.90
2.93
-0.03
Developing clearer career goals
3.42
2.58
0.84
2.97
1.90
1.07
To what extent did your ACE seminar help you
develop in the following areas?
In your ACE seminar, how often did you do the
following?
Talked about career plans with co-leaders
Program Evaluation
• Qualitative Data
- Faculty Comments
- Student Comments
Faculty Comments
• “[ACE] provides the unique flexibility…to
address the specific needs of our student ACE
participants. If students are struggling to
balance their academic, personal and job
responsibilities, we are able to devote one or
more sessions to discuss these important issues
and feelings.”
• “ACE makes establishing and cultivating
relationships with students much easier.”
Post-Survey Open-Ended
Questions
•
•
•
•
•
What helped you most in your first semester at
KCC?
What do you wish you had during your first
semester at KCC?
What did you like best about your ACE cluster?
How could the ACE program be improved?
Would you recommend an ACE cluster to other
new students? Please explain.
What did students like best about ACE?
ACE DAT A: 2003-2006
50
47.4
40
30
18.5
20
14.1
8.1
7.4
10
4.4
0
Relationships
Cluster Activities
Extra Help Received
Learning Useful Info
Affective Reasons
Other
What did students like best?
Relationships w/peers & faculty (47.4%)
• “the people who are in my cluster. I feel
I’ve made good friends.”
• “Someone / people to talk to about my
concerns and thoughts”
• “the friendships I made and having people
to help me with class”
What did students like best?
Cluster Activities (18.5%)
• “I could ask questions that I couldn’t ask in
class. Also, ACE party was fun!”
• “Meeting different speakers every week.
Able to discuss various topics.”
• “The presentations helped a lot too. We
were able to learn about the art fields.”
What did students like best?
Extra Help Received (14.1%)
• “Teachers were good and we can help
each other in the class.”
• “I like the good explanation for my English
course from the ACE cluster.”
• “I could react with accidents that new to
the school and I could get help with things
that I had hard time with.”
What did students like best?
Learning Useful Information (8.1%)
• “[Co-leaders] give us a good
information. I’m sure ACE program
help us to success our first semester.”
• “The instructors had really great info
as well as the speakers.”
• “The career information we got from
all the speakers about the fitness
field.”
What did students like best?
Affective Reasons(7.4%)
• “It was a very fun and interesting
seminar.”
• “I felt relax and had so much fun to
meet with the ACE students.”
• “My ACE clusters are nice and helpful”
What did students like best?
Other Comments (4.4%)
• “It disciplined me to participate”
• “I liked it that we were able to register
early”
• “The opportunities given to us is what I
liked best about the ACE cluster”
Would you recommend ACE to other
students? Please explain.
YES= 98%
Building relationships
27.7%
Helpful / Extra Help
24.1%
Adjust/Transition to KCC
14.3%
Affective Reasons
9.8%
Benefit for Major / Career
8.9%
Other Benefits
6.3%
Learning Experience
6.3%
Cluster
Activities
2.7%
Would your recommend ACE?
Student Quotes
•
“Yes. Because being a first semester
student, especially out of high school, I
was kind of nervous and lost when I
entered college. The ACE group
made me feel a little less lost and
more at ease.”
Would your recommend ACE?
Student Quotes
•
“I think that these programs build
relationships and provide help & support
for future achievement.”
•
“Yes, it’s very effective for students who
are confused/lost about college. It
helped me learn more quickly about
KCC, college, major, art, and people.”
Summary of Where We Are…
• Success on a small scale
- Qualitative feedback is overwhelmingly
positive
- Quantitative data seems to support ACE
effectiveness
- Faculty support is strong, yet limited to a
small number of faculty
Current Challenges
•
•
•
•
•
Unfamiliar concept to new students
Inconsistent enrollment patterns
Administrative resistance
Need for greater faculty support
Online registration
Immediate Responses
to Current Challenges
• Work w/ new FYE Coordinator and peer
mentors to fill the offered ACE clusters
• Communicate results of program
assessment to administration, faculty, &
students
• Create more opportunities for professional
development among faculty co-leaders
• Continue & refine program assessment
Responding to Current Challenges:
Future Considerations
• Offer ACE seminar for credit?
• Involve peer mentors in ACE?
• Design a more structured ACE
seminar?
Contact Information
Ann Ching
[email protected]
(808) 734-9324
Renita Cole
[email protected]
(808) 734-9326
Kapi‘olani Community College
4303 Diamond Head Road
Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96816