League for Innovation in the Community College March 2018 | Page 26

“
For too many students, the end results
are a few years of courses and no
degrees, resulting in poor wages and
unrewarding careers.
Table 1 depicts graduation rates and certificate completion that will enable students to attain higher education goals and
rates in 2014-2015 for students who began their higher successful careers.
education studies at MC.
“Approximately two years ago, we saw the need to redesign
TABLE 1: COMPLETION RATES BY TIME
TO COMPLETION
Students graduating/obtaining a
certificate in three years 22.30 percent
Students graduating/obtaining a
certificate in four years 25.90 percent
Students graduating/obtaining a
certificate in six years 34.50 percent
processes so that students have a clear direction and path in
their higher education goals,” explained MC President Steve
Thomas. “We decided it was time for game changer strategies
that will permanently send completion rates upward. We did
extensive research as to how we could best empower our
students for this goal attainment. Employee teams have been
researching and planning these strategies through a program
titled Guided Pathways to Success.”
The longer it takes students to graduate, the more it costs As a result, the college restructured all its programs of study
students and the taxpayers who subsidize them. An extra into eight major areas of interest from which students can
semester of college costs Midland College students choose a degree path. Thomas noted that the restructuring
almost $1,500. is a cultural shift for the college and has even prompted the
development of the Support Our Students (SOS) network.
Spending money isn’t the only consequence of running the The SOS project is employee driven and provides counseling,
clock. The longer it takes students to graduate, the more life mentoring, and financial support to students.
gets in the way. As the calendar turns, st udents find their
lives increasingly taken over by jobs, relationships, marriages,
children, and mortgages. For too many students, the end
results are a few years of courses and no degrees, resulting in
poor wages and unrewarding careers.
In a time when only about half of today’s college students in
the U.S. graduate and when our nation faces a skills gap that
holds us back and threatens our future, we need strategies
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The League for Innovation in the Community College Innovatus
Guided pathways decrease time to completion, thus
helping students achieve their goals.