WCET Annual Meeting Presentation

1. Closer Than You Think!
Collaborating for Student Success

2. MNSCU Presenters
• Diane Dingfelder, Winona State University
executive director of outreach and continuing education
ddingfelder@winona.edu
• Carol Lacey, Metropolitan State University
professor of interdisciplinary studies
carol.lacey@metrostate.edu
• Paul Wasko, MNSCU Office of the Chancellor
eStudent Services (CENTSS/eFolio) paul.wasko@so.mnscu.edu

3. Associate/Baccalaureate pathway
• The National Center for Public Policy and
Higher Education identifies two/four transfer
as the “single most important means for low-
income and minority students to attain their
baccalaureates”.
• Effective state policies are critical to make this
happen

4. Graduate Minnesota: Lumina initiative
• Target audience: adult students (25+), primarily with 20 or
fewer credits left to complete their degree, recruited to
return to MNSCU and University of Minnesota campuses.
• Graduate Minnesota designed to connect former students
with advisers who can help them find the best and fastest
route to complete their associate or bachelor's degree.
• In the first two years of the program, a statewide media
campaign featured radio spots, online advertising and
newspaper ads.
• In addition, letters and emails were sent to more than
35,000 individuals who recently attended a Minnesota
state college or university and earned a significant number
of credits but did not earn a degree.

5. Associate degrees: stepping stones
• Completing an associate’s degree is often an
intermediate steppingstone to a baccalaureate
degree.
• The National Center for Public Policy and
Higher Education identifies two-four transfer
as the “single most important means for low-
income and minority students to attain their
baccalaureates.”

6. Individualized degrees
• Individualized B.A. options build on what
students have completed (including associate
degrees, articulation agreements, etc. as well
as experiential learning.)
• MNSCU procedures for individualized degrees
require specific program plan (guided by
faculty)
• Plans can be thematic, interdisciplinary or
disciplinary

7. Examples of existing options
• Metropolitan State Individualized B.A. (CIS)
• University of Minnesota Inter-College Program
• St. Cloud State University Bachelor of Elective
Studies
• Winona State University Professional Studies
degree

8. Ramp up CPL (credit for prior learning)
• CPLA or PLA hallmarks of Graduate MN lead
institutions (Inver Hills/other CCs-credit by
exam, Metropolitan State-SDL/PLA/theory
seminars)
• MNSCU Board of Trustees policy
• CPL survey of institutional practices/policies
• Subject Matter Experts (SME) expansion
campuses and statewide
• Veterans/Military initiatives (Congressional
award)

9. Graduate MN Accomplishments
Enrolled/Earned Degrees Collaborator with New Ventures
• 1833 (8.9%) of the 20,566 • Dual or joint admissions
contacted re-enrolled. • Smart Transfer
• These students completed • Reverse Transfer
8,387 credits. • Veterans’ CPL/PLA
• 19% of the above Initiatives
completed degree.
• Veterans: 99 enrolled, 16
earned degrees.

10. Catalyst for broader initiatives
• Streamline admission and transfer processes
• Improve retention and completion of both
associate and baccalaureate degrees is
particularly critical in a state such as
Minnesota, which has the third highest
transfer rate in the nation (1:5 students)
• Expansion of individualized baccalaureate
degrees and adult-learner opportunities

11. An evolving initiative: Winona
• Recognized for exemplary traditional
undergraduate, residential education on
Winona campus
• 10.4% of undergraduate enrollment of 8,700 is
age 25+
• Urban Rochester, MN branch campus, co-
located with the community/technical
college, serves as a hub for adult learners

12. Evolving initiative continued . . .
• Need to provide academic and career
pathways for associate degree graduates from
MnSCU community and technical colleges
• National/state initiatives addressing workforce
needs and serving adult learners throughout
their life and career stages
• Shrinking high school enrollments and
declining population in our service region

13. Incentives for change
• Internal: “Next Chapter” grants -- small
grants provided by administration to build
upon HLC self-study report and to spark
innovation
• External: Increasing competition from other
higher education institutions to serve adult
learners
• MNSCU Graduate Minnesota and other
initiatives

14. Adult Learner Focused Institution
(ALFI) Toolkit
• Institutional Self-Assessment Survey
• Adult Learner Inventory (ALI) by Noel-Levitz
assesses adult learner priorities and
satisfaction in 8 key areas:
– Academic instruction and advising
– Registration, financial aid, admissions
– Campus climate, safety/security, services

15. AFLI Toolkit continued
• Used together, the ISAS and ALI compare
faculty and administration perceptions with
adult learner perceptions
• National benchmarking data to compare
results with other adult learner institutions
• Noel-Levitz research

16. “Next Chapter” Emerging Efforts
• Repurpose/redesign the Professional Studies
degree with more online courses and services
for adult learners.
• Assess current PLA practices through formal
report and consultation with CAEL.
• Improve online student services in response to
CENTSS “audit”.

17. MNSCU 2012 Strategic Framework
• Dramatically increase retention, transfer and
completion, and reduce time to completion.
• Continue implementation of the “Smart
Transfer Plan” to significantly improve
transferability of credit and eliminate barriers.
• Create clearer and easier pathways for degree
laddering within MnSCU and with other
institutions.

18. MNSCU 2012 Initiatives
• Implement a reverse transfer initiative to
award students the degrees they have earned.
Recognize (systemwide) completion of
Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (gen eds)
• Improve process for granting credit for military
training (PLA, etc.)
• Reconsider articulation agreements for certain
associate degree programs.

19. MNSCU inter-institutional cooperation
• Universal application process
• Dual or joint admissions
• Improved inter-institutional advising
• Articulation agreements
• Pilot efforts establish quality nursing
curriculum standards across the system
• Improved transfer procedures including
reverse transfer

20. “2+2” to “2 within 4” advising
• Students pursuing associate degrees earn
many lower division credits that approach the
maximum that can apply toward a bachelor’s.
• Improved advising tools GPS
Lifeplan, Uselect, eFolio) help students make
more informed curricular choices
(prerequisites for upper division work, upper
division curricular options )

21. Smart Transfer
• Access to course outlines on institutional
websites facilitates evaluating transfer credits.
• Evaluate and encode all courses into the
degree audit reporting system (DARS) for
display in uselect accurate transfer planning.
• Provide information on institutional and
system-level appeal processes and transfer on
institutional websites.

22. $500,000 new Lumina grant leverage
• Establish system-wide steering committee for
centralized reverse transfer
• Enhance u.select to technology automatically
import courses.
• Upgrade DARS (degree audit reporting system)
to u.achieve to allow search for courses
needed to complete a degree.
• Advise students identified as early transfers.
• Train advisors and transfer specialists.

23. Reverse Transfer
• MNSCU institutions are piloting development
of transparent reverse transfer procedures
while also pursuing their baccalaureate
degrees.
• Developing a fully automated reverse transfer
system has been shown (Texas, etc.) to
increase reverse transfer and graduation rates
dramatically.

24. Reverse Transfer Stages
• MNSCU: Focus first on early transfer students
within MNSCU state universities (which receive
73 percent of college transfers to public
universities).
• UM: By spring, 2013, execute memorandum of
understanding with University of Minnesota and
state colleges in the Twin Cities.
• Privates: Then, build on existing articulation
agreements among MNSCU and private
Minnesota colleges.

25. Lessons learned/best practices
• Effective “You are closer than you think”
message
• Centralized call center provided accurate
information and referral to campus advisors.
• Financial incentives did not make significant
impact on response/reenrollment.
• Graduate Minnesota website including Tools
for the journey (with links to MNSCU/UM
campuses)

26. Questions?
• What options or challenges regarding
interdisciplinary degrees do your campuses
experience?
• What cross institutional collaborations are in
the works in your state?
• Sustainability: how do we keep these going?
(changes in institutional practice and/or
culture, working smarter and better)