EFSC Accomplishments 2018 | Page 6

March-April 2018 College Accomplishments Real World Skills The college held its first Skills Now Conference with student workshops devoted to helping them develop the “real world” skills needed to land and keep a good job. (Student Enrollment, Diversity Initiatives) Highlights: • Several hundred students attended, learning ways to separate themselves from the pack and let employers know they are the right person to hire. • Workshops were based on recent national surveys showing that employers are seeking these traits above all else: The ability to solve problems and work as a team; have good written communication skills; high-end leadership skills; strong work ethic; and ability to make good decisions. • Those skills are especially important because the careers students select in college often are not the ones they eventually pursue either by choice or because economic forces push them in a different direction. At-Risk Students The Academic Advising Department demonstrated success with its Case Management program that targets and helps at-risk students with very low GPAs improve their performance. (Student Enrollment, Diversity Initiatives) Highlights: • The students involved have GPAs that fall below 2.0 and face the possibility of going on academic probation or dropping out. • Case management allows advisors to know those students on a deeper level and work hand-in-hand with them to monitor their progress and address the problems they face. •  Advisors create individualized success plans, connect students with other departments and services, and continually evaluate their progress. • Overall, the advisors helped move 693 students into satisfactory academic standing in the past academic year. • Such efforts are an example of EFSC’s pledge to treat each student as an individual and do everything possible to help them achieve their goals. 6 April 2018 Record Minority Enrollment Minority student enrollment reached a record high at EFSC in the 2017-18 Academic Year, reflecting the college’s many efforts to recruit, retain and assist students from diverse communities. (Student Enrollment, Diversity Initiatives, Financial Management, Trustee Relations, Community Awareness) Highlights: • Minority enrollment was 5,229, representing 33.5 percent of the student population. That is the highest percentage on record and up 2.5 percent since 2014-15. •  Minority students accounted for 40 percent of the 2,136 First Time in College students, also the highest percentage on record. •  Hispanic enrollment was 2,253 students and represented 14.4 percent of the student body, making it the largest minority group on campus. • Some 29.4 percent of all the degrees and certificates awarded by the college went to minorities. • 1,147 minorities received degrees or certificates, making it at least the fifth year in a row that minorities received more than 1,000 degrees or certificates from EFSC. •  The total minority percentage as a share of graduates has increased each of the last three years for Associate in Arts Degrees, Associate in Science Degrees and College Certificates.