Front Door Project 2006-2007 Final Report
Community Front Door
High School and Community Outreach
Many students who come to RVCC directly out of high school are unprepared for the rigors of higher education. In addition, there is a need to provide a more seamless connection between secondary and post secondary sectors without creating the “grade 13” mentality.
Strengthen and clarify information about Concurrent Enrollment
The Concurrent Enrollment Program (CEP) is a partnership between Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) and high schools whereby qualified high school juniors and seniors enroll in a credit-bearing college course as a part of their high school day. CEP is designed to meet the educational, economic and social demands of the Twenty-first Century as identified by high school faculty, students, and parents: addressing dissatisfaction felt among capable senior high school students who have completed most of their graduation requirements by the end of their junior year; offering creative and alternative means of financing four years of higher education; and fostering partnerships between secondary and post-secondary institutions of higher education that provide improved educational services. The program has received validity of grades within English I, and there has been consistency in standards and assessment. A number of colleges are interested in expanding this program, and enthusiastic testimony from students who have gone on to college is compelling evidence of the success of the program. Information on Concurrent Enrollment is hard to find on the College’s website and the registration process can be discouraging to students as well as those administering the program. A new director of Academic Outreach has been hired to coordinate all high school outreach efforts. One of her many goals will be to streamline the process for students to enroll and pay for the program. BANNER should be fully utilized to ensure consistently correct registration for these courses. In addition, the professional development afforded English faculty and adjuncts by Title III can be extended to CEP faculty to help reduce the need for remediation among College freshmen, and an annual meeting should draw together counselors from participating schools to address possible problems and suggestions for change. In the future, the program should be expanded to new schools as well as new subjects such as math and foreign language. Also, the ASPIRE program at Franklin High School should be more visible and integrated into the outreach to teachers for professional development.
Strengthen and clarify information about Early Credits
The High School Scholars Early Credits Program at RVCC is a program for high school juniors and seniors. These students may enroll in college level courses on the campus and receive College credit upon satisfactory completion of those courses. Depending on the course(s) taken, credits may be used for satisfaction of degree requirements at RVCC or another college. Similar to the CEP, information on this program is hard to find and once found it is listed in multiple places giving conflicting information. The College should create a simple consistent process for students to register for these courses. Improvements have been made for the registration process for upcoming semesters, but due to the recent resignation of program’s coordinator, the program is need of leadership in order to create consistency in the program.
Strengthen Somerset Academy for Health and Medical Sciences
America’s best and brightest students in the areas of math and science are already two years behind their international counterparts by the eighth grade, and it becomes necessary for colleges and universities to help them catch up. In order for the American economy to remain competitive in a global marketplace, innovation in the areas of math, science, and technologies is increasingly crucial. Vocational education is often disconnected from the contexts and rigor of traditional academic education and interdisciplinary teaching. Advancing content knowledge in the domains of math and science is an ongoing need in the secondary school sector. The curricular connections between the secondary and postsecondary sectors are disconnected rather than seamless, particularly in the skill sets essential in math, science, and composition. The Health Academy has recruited cohorts of the most gifted and talented students in math and science from bicounty high schools, and prepared for them an accelerated curriculum that allows them to graduate with a high school diploma and associates degree in four years. Somerset Academy for Health and Medical Sciences is a four-year, full-time program dedicated to advancing the educational and personal development of all students seeking careers in the allied health field as doctors, nurses, medical technicians, medical assistants, and health care managers. The partnership between Somerset County Vocational & Technical H.S. and Raritan Valley Community College will give exceptional students enrolled in the program a chance to earn an Associate Degree in Allied Health from RVCC while still in high school. The Academy encourages collaborative conversations among College and secondary school faculty in the areas of English, math, and science. The Academy curriculum encourages interdisciplinary teaching, service-learning, applications of technology, and the integration of vocational perspectives into academic course-work. The program should be included in all high school outreach. Continuous work is needed to ensure the success of Academy students in their early college coursework. The content must also be aligned to the content standards of the high school and college curriculum.
Strengthen and clarify information about the University Center
The University Center at Raritan Valley Community College offers a convenient way for adult learners in Somerset and Hunterdon Counties to obtain baccalaureate and graduate degrees certificates, from an expanding number of accredited colleges and universities. The University Center offers a wide range of degree programs to choose from, whether you want to return to college to continue your education, or you need an advanced degree or certificate to move forward with your career. Given the resignation of the program’s coordinator, the University Center is in need of leadership, as well as updated information. The mission of the University Center should be clarified, and the position of the Assistant Dean filled immediately. An internal steering committee should be formed to review existing and future educational pathways as well as the overall operations of the University Center. Further, the University Center needs greater visibility with space and signage, a real “front door”. Also, the information, both in print and on the website, needs to be clarified and updated.
Strengthen the Writing Agenda
The first report of the National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges, The Neglected ‘R,’ issued in April 2003, recommends that “Higher education should address the special role it has to play in improving writing.” In fact, it calls for “a writing revolution” that places the teaching of writing at the center of schooling nationwide. All prospective teachers, no matter their disciplines, should be provided with courses that demonstrate how to teach writing. Meanwhile writing instruction in colleges and universities should be improved for all students. The second report, The Ticket to Work, extends this need to improve writing in the workplace, and the third report, issued in May 2006, looks at School Reform. In spite of its place at the center of schooling, writing is the “Neglected ‘R,” and the Commission calls for a “Writing Revolution.” The RVCC website should have information that is easy to find. Also, a timeline should be created so that information and programs are created and published in a timely fashion.
Marketing and Recruitment
Implement BANNER Recruitment Module
Currently, not all student contact information (for students in the early phase of the recruitment process) that is collected is stored in the BANNER student information system. Targeted marketing and recruitment toward CCE and other internal subgroups is weak. Data about Alumni that identifies outcomes is not collected. Follow-up work is needed on additional recommendations developed in the CLARUS reports. RVCC has a variety of recruitment events that attract students, and RVCC Alumni are successful both in career and transfer. There is also a large group of potential students in the Police academy and CCE. CLARUS study and high school outreach programs have established baseline information on the College’s image in the community.
Increase targeted marketing and recruitment
Create transition procedures to utilize the BANNER recruitment module to track and report on outreach to students and student contacts. Begin targeted marketing and recruitment of Policy Academy graduates.
Showcase faculty and student achievements
RVCC faculty have a depth of knowledge that exceeds their areas of expertise that should be showcased. Such publicity would assist in the recruiting process, and prospective students would benefit from interaction with and relationships begun with faculty during the recruitment process. Highlight success stories of Alumni on both the college website and during the recruitment process. Increase the use of faculty in the recruiting process.
Consider hiring a consulting service
Consider employing a professional consulting service to establish college “branding” (companies to consider include Noel/Levitz, Goal Quest, and SAS Educational Practice).
Continue to address issues raised in the CLARUS high school scan
Recommendations from this scan included capturing RVCC’s “high tech” aspect more effectively in the recruiting material (both print and on-line) and targeting high school students’ parents and guidance counselors more effectively. These issues have begun to be addressed, and such efforts should continue.
Bound Brook
In 2006, the College and the Bound Brook schools entered into a mutually beneficial partnership aimed at addressing the following identified needs: the acute learning resource needs of Bound Brook High School (in terms of technology, media, and facilities support); the needs of the district to offer enhanced learning opportunities for high school students as well as parents of school students who need to learn to speak English; and the College’s need for a facility to offer a range of courses to this otherwise underserved community and thereby extend the post-secondary access for some individuals and create convenient close to home/work scheduling options for others. The number of courses running and students being served is growing, creating on-going challenges for coordination and seamless service. In the Fall 2006 semester, 58 students were enrolled and in the Spring 2007 semester, that number more than doubled to 126 students in 9 sections. Further growth is projected for the 2007-08 academic year, with semester enrollments projected to be in the range of 175-200 students. The College has used some available grant resources for start up to pay for minimal staff coordination, laboratory, and technical enhancements.
Fund the Bound Brook initiative
The College needs to allocate operating funds for a part-time coordinator to address and resolve the many issues that arise on an ongoing basis. Funding is also needed to continue the hourly position of Building monitor who at once serves the security needs of the school building as well as the “front door” by greeting and signing in faculty and students as they enter the building.
Franklin Center
The Franklin Center, created in 2000, was founded to offer an RVCC education to students who did not want to travel to the main campus. The Franklin Center is accessible by public transportation and located near a variety of other services such as restaurants and shopping. The location offers an education to a community from within that community and has the ability to provide public outreach and leadership. However, the Franklin Center’s course offerings are inconsistent, and support is not provided to the Franklin Center to provide all of the services provided at the main campus. Academic advising, academic support, student accounting and student activities are examples of services not fully provided to students at the Franklin Campus.
Strengthen support for the Franklin Center
In recent semesters, academic advising and academic support has increased for students at the Franklin Center. However, students are not able to complete a degree at the Franklin Center as many courses are not offered there. The College should make a commitment to provide all of the courses for selected degree programs at the Franklin Center. By combining good academic advising, specialized courses could be offered on an annual basis allowing students, with the correct planning, to complete their entire degree at the Franklin Center. Also there are extreme timing delays in processing information from the Franklin Center. A system should be created to allow information that is received at the Franklin Center that must be processed by the main campus to be done so within a timely fashion.