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Tennessee Proposal Narrative Statements
Proposal Narrative Statements
All proposals are required to include an implementation plan addressing one or two of the Innovation Challenge focus areas. Applicants will outline their state’s implementation plan, how the proposal was developed and how the work aligns with state labor needs. States will provide explanations of the capacity and authority of their leadership teams and timelines of process benchmarks for implementing work. The narrative portions of the proposal will also explain how the state will leverage its existing work to improve college completion.
Applicants must address all of the following points. Visuals are welcome.
1) State’s college completion goals. Maximum length: 250 words
Describe the state’s existing college completion goals.
Increase the number of degrees awarded 4.0% annually, adding 26,000 total new degrees (associate’s and bachelors) by 2015 and 210,000 by 2025, bringing Tennessee to the national average for degree attainment by 2025.
Tennessee lags national averages in educational attainment, and remedying this deficit drives the sweeping Complete College Tennessee Act of 2010 (CCTA). Virtually all growing career fields will require a postsecondary credential, yet currently only 30% of Tennessee’s adults aged 25-64 hold an associate’s degree or higher, compared to an average of 37% nationally. Meeting the national average requires Tennessee to essentially “double the numbers” by increasing productivity among currently enrolled students, closing enrollment and achievement gaps among underserved groups, and reaching out to new populations. This statewide completion goal appears in Tennessee’s 2010-2015 Public Agenda, formally adopted in November 2010 by THEC and developed through collaboration of system and campus leaders, the Governor and legislative leaders, and the business community.
Tennessee’s goal was determined through developing a student flow model that simulates the effect of modeled improvements in high school attainment and college participation, retention, and graduation rates. Annual growth rates goals were assigned to each system:
University of Tennessee (UT) system: 4.8%
Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) Universities: 3.4% Community Colleges: 2.7%
Private non-profit institutions: 3.5% For-profit institutions: 8.4%
2 2) State’s work to achieve its college completion goals.
Maximum length: 750 words
How does the state plan to achieve its state-, state system-, and campus-level goals? How do system and campus-level completion goals align with the statewide goals? What specific steps have already been taken, and what are the anticipated critical next steps?
How is data collection embedded into a higher education accountability system? How have the state and its implementation partners demonstrated success in prioritizing and achieving measurable progress in improving college completion? Achieving Tennessee’s goal of meeting the projected national average in educational attainment by 2025 will require annual degree production gains of four percent statewide. To be successful, the state’s colleges and universities essentially need to double the numbers of current annual degree production by 2025.
Doubling the numbers cannot be achieved by changing one policy or program, but by fundamentally changing how the state approaches higher education and measures progress, while reinforcing deep commitment to the completion agenda. Tennessee has already taken ambitious and comprehensive action to this end, most visibly with passage of the CCTA. The CCTA established a direct link between the state’s economic development and its educational systems, and effectively recognized increased educational attainment as the state’s primary need relative to higher education. The higher education reform discussions surrounding the CCTA and the resulting statewide initiative involved the Governor, legislators, campus and system leaders and national higher education experts, building a community of stakeholders that “spoke the completion language” in Tennessee.
Both the UT and TBR systems are committed to the integration of completion goals into each campus strategic plan, using the state goal as a reference. In this way, campus completion goals will be deeply informed by institutional missions and by the distinct populations each institution serves, and each campus will be able to customize goals to align with its strategic plan. Furthermore, all campuses will set retention and completion targets.
Sustaining this supportive environment has been essential in carrying out the provisions of the Act, which together function as the new Public Agenda for Tennessee Higher Education. The systems have successfully built partnerships and working relationships with each other on an unprecedented level, recognizing the need for culture shift to sustain momentum. The Act has prompted the following changes in higher education practice and policy – the vehicles to achieve our completion goals – grouped below by CCA focus areas:
Development, adoption, and utilization a new outcomes-based public higher education funding formula which bases the entire institutional allocation of state appropriations on outcomes. This includes, but is not limited to, degree production, student progression and graduation rates at universities, and successful remediation, job placements, student transfer and degree and certificate production at community colleges. A 40% premium is placed on adult and low-income students completing degrees and passing “progression points.” Data from the Student Information System drive fund allocation and the tracking of institutional progress.
3 Reducing time-to-degree:
o Availability of a universally transferable common general education core and over 50 pre-major pathways, which all public community colleges and universities now offer and accept, as well as common course numbering.
o Concurrent admission of a student to a community college and a university for the purpose of facilitating student transfer to the university after completion of the associate degree.
Transforming remediation. Since 2006, TBR has piloted instructional redesign of developmental math and English courses at six institutions, utilizing technology, web-based learning, modular and co-requisite instruction, and diagnostic testing to tailor programs to student needs. TBR began phasing in the redesign system-wide in fall 2010, with full implementation planned for fall 2013. Beginning 2012, all remedial and developmental classes, previously offered at all state institutions, will be offered only at Tennessee’s community colleges. The importance of remedial and developmental success is reinforced in the community college funding formula, which includes a related metric.
Restructuring delivery using block scheduling and cohort programming at community colleges. Tennessee Technology Centers have been uniquely successful in producing certificate holders by utilizing a highly structured block scheduling/cohort pathway design with embedded remediation. The TBR system is currently piloting expansion of this type of programming into the community colleges with assistance from Lumina Foundation.
Development and adoption of a new higher education Public Agenda that focuses on increasing educational attainment and concentrates on implementing the CCTA, identifies policy levers for addressing higher education needs, and annually reports performance measures that are indicative of success in implementing the completion agenda.
Tennessee’s state-level strategy has prompted numerous campus innovations. Next steps include collecting these innovations and determining their ability to be successfully scaled. This information will contribute to planned “Tennessee Completion Academies,” enabling campuses to share best practices and strengthen their own completion plans. Also, recognizing that we cannot achieve our goal solely by increasing postsecondary success among recent high school graduates, Tennessee is honing adult/returning student state policy focus by piloting innovative adult student services at six institutions, reaching out to employers, and holding annual Adult Learner Conferences.
4 3) State’s use of metrics.
Maximum length: 500 words
Describe how the applicant’s state-level and, if relevant, campus-level Common Completion Metrics were used to inform this proposal.
Describe how the state is currently using and will continue to use the Common Completion Metrics.
Tennessee used the Common Completion Metrics in combination with Census data, literature reviews, campus focus groups and insights gained from past and current completion initiatives to inform this proposal. Examination of the Metrics not only supported previous research, but revealed several opportunities for improvement around time to degree for students, adults in particular.
Table 1 indicates that part-time and adult students are at a disadvantage in timely completion; it takes part-time adults almost 2 years longer than part-time students overall to earn an associate degree. Even full-time adult students at 4-year schools will take 4 additional semesters of classes. The longer it takes students to complete, the more likely it is they will not complete at all.
Table 1 (From Outcome Metric 4)
Additional # of months over 2 years spent obtaining a 2-year
degree
Additional # of months over 4 years spent obtaining a 4 year
degree
Part Time Full Time Part Time Full Time
Students 25
and older 30 19.2 28.8 12
Overall 9.6 6 25.2 15.6
In addition, a 2009 Policy Audit conducted by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), supported by the Lumina Productivity Grant Initiative, identified adult students as a high-need group, resulting in the implementation of pilot projects to provide support services for this population.
Postsecondary attainment levels of Tennessee’s adults place Tennessee in the bottom quintile of states on this measure. More than a quarter of Tennessee adults have insufficient knowledge and skills to equip them for living wage jobs. Only 6.5% of working age adults in Tennessee has an associate degree and 23.4% has a bachelor’s degree. Table 2 provides a comprehensive view of the presence and success of adult students in postsecondary education. Adults make up a majority of the part-time student body at all but one Tennessee community college and over 40% of the part-time student body at universities. Part-time enrollment of adults has increased, but fewer are attending full-time. Surprisingly, however, five of nine universities have seen increases in both full- and part-time enrollment of adults.
5 Table 2 (from Campus Context Metric 1)
School % of FT students 25 and older % of PT students 25 and older % of total student body 25 and older
% Change in FT students 25 and older % Change in PT students 25 and older PSCC 18.5% 43.8% 31.2% (12.4) 8.8 ChSCC 25.6% 53.3% 41.5% (12.9) (1.5) CLSCC 28.9% 58.8% 42.5% (13.4) (2.5) CoSCC 19.1% 50.0% 35.8% (25.0) 6.9 DSCC 26.8% 58.7% 42.7% (6.6) 21.2 JSCC 23.6% 55.7% 39.1% (5.4) 23.9 MSCC 18.1% 51.6% 34.3% (13.8) 15.4 NSCC 30.1% 56.5% 46.8% 6.5 36.3 NeSCC 29.8% 54.9% 42.8% 2.2 9.3 RSCC 24.0% 53.7% 38.3% (16.9) 1.6 STCC 29.7% 56.1% 44.5% (19.8) 5.1 VSCC 23.4% 55.6% 40.3% (2.0) 9.4 WSCC 22.2% 50.7% 35.5% (23.0) 10.1 All CCs 24.6% 53.5% 39.9% (11.0) 11.1 ETSU 18.4% 45.9% 27.3% 0.9 (4.9) APSU 31.2% 61.8% 44.8% 13.7 13.9 MTSU 14.3% 39.1% 22.8% 1.2 5.5 TSU 18.0% 49.0% 29.2% 12.9 23.7 TTU 11.3% 31.7% 17.7% 3.8 (17.8) UoM 21.2% 54.5% 33.5% 6.3 4.3 UTC 10.3% 39.4% 18.1% (9.3) (15.9) UTK 6.2% 20.2% 10.0% (16.5) (25.4) UTM 13.2% 45.0% 23.1% 22.1 47.5 All 4yr 14.7% 42.7% 24.0% 3.9 3.4 ALL TN 17.8% 48.5% 30.4% (4.9) 8.0
6 More adult students were enrolled in Tennessee public institutions than those that entered college directly from high school1 – approximately 32% more. Yet adults aren’t seeing comparative gains in degree production.
Tennessee’s Use of the CCA Metrics
Shortly after Tennessee became one of only 15 states to submit the Common Completion Metrics to CCA in October 2010, THEC staff initiated plans to integrate annual public reporting of the Metrics alongside those outcomes and performance measures embedded in the CCTA. They will be available online in an interactive format on the Complete College TN website (http://thecresports.state.tn.us, under “Resources”), enabling higher education organizations and the public to create datasets and tables, and providing a snapshot of how Tennessee is addressing its completion needs, especially those of critical subpopulations. Annual reporting will help campuses and systems understand where they are making their greatest improvements and what areas need more attention, allowing campuses, systems and policymakers to initiate changes that could result in increased performance and student success. The Metrics will also inform the Tennessee Completion Academies planned for 2011 and 2012; campus-level metrics will be distributed prior to the Academies. THEC also plans to release a report on findings from the CCA Metrics in 2011 for statewide distribution.
1 Students from the “Other” category – ages 20 – 24 – made up the majority of the Tennessee student body, over 100,000. Many of them have characteristics more similar to those of adult students.
7 4) Proposed plan for implementing initiatives in one or two of the Innovation Challenge
focus areas.
Maximum length: 1700 words
Describe the structure of the plan and how it addresses one or two of the focus areas.
Describe how the state will implement this plan and the implementation timeline. Describe the leadership team that will drive the plan’s implementation and how the composition of this team reflects the proposed work.
Describe the role that institutions and state system boards will play in implementing the proposed work.
Tennessee’s Plan: Using transformative technology to scale up widespread use of tools by students and campuses to ensure efficiency in time-to-degree
Having set in place structure and incentives designed to increase credential production that address four of five CCA policy focus areas, Tennessee’s next steps must address time to earn a credential. THEC staff conducted campus focus groups as part of proposal development and heard two consistent themes: campuses are in persistent need of enhanced advising tools, and adult students face significant barriers to completion.
Tennessee’s plan is a two-pronged approach to reduce time-to-degree and accelerate success:
1) Deploy the Adaptive Advising Tool (AAT), innovative, user-friendly technology that enhances the advising process and simplifies information for students to choose their academic paths and;
2) Expand and elevate prior learning assessment (PLA) to the state level by developing guidelines for widely-used, effective programs, training faculty and advisors, and utilizing the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning’s (CAEL) LearningCounts.org Virtual PLA Center.
Adaptive Advising Tool
Tennessee has the unique opportunity to implement pioneering academic advising technology – the Adaptive Advising Tool (AAT) – recently developed by the provost at Austin Peay State University (APSU) and profiled in the April 10thChronicle of Higher Education. The portal, based on a provisionally patented algorithm utilizing predictive analytics and grade-based collaborative filters, provides students with suggested courses in which they are likely to succeed and fulfill the program of study. The information generated by AAT is translated into “course suggestions” for students and advisors which correspond to general education requirements, pre-requisites, or major requirements. The AAT does not funnel students into “easy” classes, but rather classes that represent a good fit where students can be most successful.
During tests over the past year, AAT predicted courses in which the student would achieve a C or better with 90% accuracy within half a letter grade. In research conducted prior to release of AAT, the grades students actually received in courses that would have been suggested by AAT were on average .46 of a letter grade higher than in other courses.
8 The overarching benefits of AAT are three-fold: 1) it provides a “nudge” for students to choose classes that pertain to their course of study and in which they will do well; 2) it provides the ability to predict which classes a student will succeed in, and conversely those in which a student may struggle, allowing faculty to recommend interventions in advance; and 3) it assists faculty advisers in recommending courses outside their own discipline. These benefits hold substantial promise to ultimately improve completion in Tennessee.
We propose expanding usage of AAT to two additional 4-year institutions and one community college, providing the opportunity to refine the tool and adapt it to different institutions’ platforms, with the intent that student success will be significantly improved.
In addition, grant funded activities will facilitate expansion of AAT not only to predict course performance, but also to recommend majors to students. The addition of that aspect of advising is invaluable, since delay in choosing a major and frequent changing was identified in focus groups as a primary challenge to students completing degrees in a timely fashion. The addition of the major suggestion tool would be integrated at all three AAT sites.
We will initiate AAT communications campaigns featuring benefits and piquing interest in usage at replication sites beginning spring 2012 in preparation for roll-out. To build ownership, institutions will invite faculty participation in identifying project-related needs specific to their culture and student body. The APSU Provost will be integrally involved in the campus-specific planning and software deployment as the AAT Project Director. Measurement of student success is built into the tool; however, institutional research staff at replication sites will take ownership of tracking success measures.
Institutional and System Roles
The systems will help select replication sites based on platform capabilities and institutional willingness to implement AAT and track outcomes associated with its usage on campus. The systems will support participating institutions throughout development and implementation and will promote adoption of the tool by other institutions.
Institutions will apply to be replication sites and those chosen will commit to assembling campus personnel to aid in development of the tool as it relates to their campus culture, distinct student body, and course offerings.
9 Adaptive Advising Tool
Activity Timeline Dates
Choose replication sites August – September 2011
Hold campus-based development meetings
September 2011 – January 2012
Install AAT at replication sites April 2012
Develop academic major recommendation tool September 2011 – May 2012 Install academic major recommendation feature at replication
sites August 2012
Initiate communication campaign Begin Spring 2012
Track student use, progress, success and retention August 2012 – August 2015
Statewide PLA Initiative
The NCHEMS Policy Audit identified state policies and practices that could be strengthened to improve higher education access, success, and productivity in Tennessee. NCHEMS determined that even assuming best-in-the-nation performance with respect to traditional age students, Tennessee would fall short of attaining international competitiveness by over 300,000 degrees by 2025. The data dictate that educating “re-entry” students will be necessary to meet our completion goals.
Most re-entry adults have spent time in the workforce, and many of them have gained knowledge and skills that could translate into credit hours. However, PLA policies vary by institution, and the number of students translating experience and on-the-job training into college credit varies by campus. Although all Tennessee public college catalogs have a section on lifelong learning credit, institutions differ in number of PLA credits accepted, courses and degrees to which PLA credit can be applied, and PLA evaluation methods.
Benefits to Students
A 2010 CAEL study of over 62,000 students from 48 U.S. institutions showed that PLA students had higher degree earning and persistence rates and shorter time-to-degree than re-entry students without PLA credit:
56% of PLA students earned a credential within seven years, compared to 21% of non-PLA students;
Compared to non-PLA students, associate degree earners with PLA credit saved 1.5 to 4.5 months of time in earning their degrees, and bachelor degree earners with PLA credit saved 2.5 to 10.1 months; and
Follow-up research by CAEL revealed low-income African American and Hispanic who PLA students had higher graduation rates and shorter time-to-degree than their non-PLA counterparts.
10 Benefits to Institutions
With the passage of the CCTA in 2010 came a shift in focus from enrollment to completion. Institutions will feel this change most tangibly in their state funding allocation as determined by the outcomes-based funding formula. With a 40% premium on degree completion by adults and low-income students and “rewards” to institutions for student progression at certain points (12, 24, and 36 credits earned at community colleges; 24, 48, and 72 credit hours earned at four-year schools), a statewide PLA initiative makes sense – for students and institutions. Credits earned through PLA will be applied to institutions’ relevant funding formula outcomes, with minimal expenditure required from the institution itself. Meanwhile, re-entry students – many of whom are part-time – are not required to take classes that cover material in which they are already competent, reducing the time to earn a postsecondary credential.
A statewide PLA initiative will consist of the following elements:
Create a statewide task force to develop, implement, and oversee rigorous state PLA guidelines and promote PLA accessibility and transferability consistent with regional accrediting agency requirements for awarding and accepting credit for experiential learning. Elevating the issue to the state level will create awareness for potential PLA candidates and institutions and allow for consistent policy across the state. The climate is conducive to such a statewide initiative because, under CCTA, colleges and universities are establishing success pathways across institutions that will reinforce collaboration in a statewide PLA initiative. Prior to the first meeting, campus and system administrators will participate in CAEL PLA training, creating a group of “champions” and PLA promoters.
Provide CAEL training to: 1) faculty assessors for campus-based or online PLA; and 2) career advisors to assist in recommending PLA and helping adults with academic paths that leads to jobs. Recognizing comfort with institution-specific PLA assessment practices may make some campus leaders resistant to PLA, training provides them the opportunity to learn first-hand the rigorous process required to evaluate PLA and allows them to use this knowledge to be informed participants in institutional PLA policy development and promotion. Additionally, as all participants will receive training from the same source (CAEL) on the same material, they will be operating from the same knowledge base. We hope that this will allow greater acceptance of transferability of PLA between institutions, as claims of “low-quality evaluators” at other institutions would not hold weight.
Develop institutional policies to build more robust PLA programs. Inherent in the design of a statewide initiative is the need to ensure that institutional administrative structures allow access to PLA and that it is implemented effectively.
Through regional summits, reach out and market to the community through employer-partners and community leaders such as CAEL, the Tennessee Business Roundtable (TNBR), the State Chamber of Commerce and the Tennessee Municipal League to encourage employers to offer tuition reimbursement for PLA earned credit, provide information on potential return on investment, and build employer capacity for promoting PLA to their employees.
Implement a communications campaign consisting of: 1) a central PLA website containing information, guidelines, available programs, resources, testimonials, and – if developed by CAEL as anticipated – an online PLA “credit estimator”; 2) materials distribution to community colleges, unemployment offices, businesses and workforce development boards; and 3) production of viral videos featuring PLA students to be posted on business and education websites.
11 Institutional and System Roles
The systems will support institution- and level elements of the PLA initiative, ensure system-level staff attendance and involvement in all related meetings, participate in the Statewide PLA Committee, and support institutions in utilizing PLA.
Statewide PLA Initiative
Activity Timeline Dates
Convene system and academic leaders for introductory PLA
meeting August – September 2011
Assemble state PLA task force and initiate meetings to develop
guidelines August – September 2011
Reach out to institutions to participate in PLA initiative
June 2011 – November 2011
CAEL trains faculty portfolio assessors
January 2012 – mid-March 2012
CAEL trains career advisors
January 2012 – mid-March 2012
Institutions will develop PLA policies Prior to Summer 2012 Market PLA to community, workforce system and employers Begin October 2011 Initiate public communications campaign Begin August 2011
Develop of a Tennessee PLA website January 2012
Track student use, progress, success and retention August 2012 – August 2015 State Leadership Team
Will Cromer, Policy & Research Director, Office of Governor Bill Haslam Richard Montgomery, Chairman, House Education Committee
Dolores Gresham, Chair, Senate Education Committee Chancellor John Morgan, TBR
India Lane, Associate VP of Academic Affairs, UT Richard Rhoda, Executive Director, THEC
Linda Doran, Chief Academic Officer, THEC David L Wright, Chief Policy Officer, THEC Tristan Denley, Provost, APSU
Ellen Thornton, TNBR
The team represents a cross-section of expertise and influence at operational and policy levels, and team membership represents the constituencies that will be affected and must be engaged. The team will oversee progress of each project, receiving regular reports from the program lead and the implementing groups, offer feedback and suggestions, promote the projects to their appropriate constituencies and colleagues, identify obstacles, and help resolve issues that could potentially hinder progress.
12 5) Description of how the state’s plan advances the goals of the other focus areas and how
this plan will integrate with and accelerate the state’s larger completion goals. Maximum length: 1200 words
Describe how use of these funds will leverage progress in the state.
Describe why funding for the selected Innovation Challenge focus area(s) is critical to creating measurable increases in completion in the state.
Describe how the proposed work will improve completion given the challenges and barriers the state faces.
Describe how the proposed work responds to the needs of the state’s labor market. Describe how the proposed work addresses racial and socioeconomic completion gaps in the state.
Describe the state’s prior success in this area and how this plan builds upon previous and existing work.
Tennessee’s completion agenda to date has been comprehensive, addressing four of the five CCA focus areas. The focus of the state’s Higher Education Public Agenda is firmly rooted in increasing educational attainment, and policies have been implemented to make increased degree completion a reality:
A new funding formula based entirely on student outcomes;
Developmental redesign, piloted at six institutions, to be fully implemented statewide in 2013; Implementation of a universally transferable general education core and corresponding common course numbering;
Piloting block scheduling and cohort programming – a hallmark of the Tennessee Technology Centers –in Tennessee’s community colleges; and
Offering high school students the opportunity to earn college credit through dual credit. While we believe our big goal to be attainable, we cannot achieve it without a dedicated focus on underserved populations such as adult students, and without reducing time-to-degree for traditional and low-income students. Fortunately, Tennessee’s proposal builds upon our completion agenda generally, and our work to reduce time-to-degree specifically.
Our recent time-to-degree student success initiatives include:
Negotiated dual admission agreements and the development of the universally transferable common general education core, promoting seamless transfer to ensure that credits aren’t wasted and students aren’t required to repeat classes;
Provided incentives in the new formula that: reward institutions when students accumulate certain progression points and promote increasing graduation rates and degrees per FTE; and Capped credit hours required for the majority of programs at 120 for a bachelor’s and 60 for an associate’s, making it possible for the majority of students to complete a degree in 2 or 4 years.
By promoting shortened time to degree in this proposal, we encourage schools with financial incentives through the formula, we promote institutional innovations, such as AAT, save students time and money, and we build upon recent policy reforms and the systems’ partnership in developing the
13 transfer pathways to create state-level PLA assessment and articulation guidelines. Tennessee is uniquely positioned to pursue such an innovative agenda, due to recent legislation and completion efforts that have built a strong foundation from which to work.
How AAT Furthers State Completion Goals
Expanding the use and development of AAT focuses on the issue of choice. In campus focus groups, we heard that a key hurdle to students completing on time was unnecessary credit accumulation when a student hadn’t yet chosen a major or changed majors often. The predictive analytics that shape the recommendations of AAT can also predict grades in classes a student hasn’t yet taken, enabling faculty advisers to intervene early in the semester with student supports, like tutoring. For low-income students close to losing financial aid and scholarships based on academic qualifications, this could mean the difference in continuing in school or dropping out. The AAT – in its current form as a course advising tool and its future form as a major recommendation tool – shows promise in preventing stop-outs by: 1) helping students choose classes in which they will succeed; 2) helping those who have chosen majors develop a plan for finishing a degree in 2 or 4 years by recommending courses that fulfill requirements; and 3) using the grade predictor to intervene with tutoring and other student supports with those students that are academically “on the edge” of losing financial aid or being placed on academic probation.
As previously mentioned, this tool does not recommend “easy” classes, but rather classes that are a better fit for the student. It does not use opinion-based data, such as is used to rate professors; it uses academic and enrollment data to make recommendations, and thus is “transformative technology.” How the Statewide PLA Initiative Furthers State Completion Goals
Developing a statewide PLA initiative targets a large student population that takes longer to complete and earns more credits to degree than necessary. The cooperative model employed by the public systems to create the fully transferable common core and pre-major pathways will be used in assembling the PLA task force to develop guidelines and standards and address credit transfer and acceptance. Often when adult students have rigorous occupational training, they are forced to repeat learning in credit-bearing courses when they pursue a postsecondary credential. Our goal is to make experiential learning as portable to colleges and universities as credit, reducing time-to-degree and redundancy for adult students who often can only attend part-time.
The experience of Middle Tennessee State University is of note: since 2007, 215 students submitted PLA portfolios, receiving an average of 21 credit hours; this does not include other PLA credit, such as CLEP or ACE credit. MTSU requires that students be 25 or older and have five years of work experience to be eligible for portfolio assessment. However, all too often, institutions underutilize the PLA option, transfer rules are inconsistent, and faculty disagree about what PLA credits they will accept. Primarily this occurs because there is a misconception that these credits are “watered-down” and of low quality. Yet PLA credit is awarded for learning, not experience, and assessments should be based on standards and criteria.
CAEL, with whom we will be partnering, has developed standards for assessing learning and will advise the state task force in developing these for Tennessee, as well as establishing a monitoring system. As the determination of credit awards should be made by trained experts, we have proposed to fund such training through the grant, along with training career advisors at all participating institutions to
14 understand career pathways as they relate to local and regional labor needs, to recommend a variety of PLA options to adults, and to help identify academic programs that will help these students obtain a credential of labor market value in the shortest amount of time based on their work history.
In sum, Tennessee faces challenges in increasing degree completion to the level required to be competitive in the global workforce. Our adult students take much longer to complete a degree, many more credit hours than are required, and primarily attend part-time, which often means they don’t complete at all. The number of low-income students in our colleges and universities is increasing, yet their time-to-degree is much higher than average. We cannot reach our goals by simply targeting “traditional” full-time students who attend college after graduating from high school, live on campus, and remain financially dependent on their parents. We must focus both on helping currently enrolled students graduate in a timely manner and on offering adults an opportunity to leverage their experiential learning into college credit.
Our proposal takes into account state economic realities. By 2018, almost 200,000 new jobs and over 500,000 open jobs (from retirements and vacancies) in Tennessee will require postsecondary education.2 Overall, 54 % of Tennessee jobs – 1.8 million – will require some postsecondary training by that time. However, Tennessee ranks 41st in proportion of its 2018 jobs that will require a bachelors degree. That means our problem is two-fold: 1) we need people with postsecondary credentials to fill jobs we expect to open up; and 2) transforming the state’s economy must begin with a better-educated workforce. To be competitive, we must have the capacity to grow and attract industry and to develop business from within with human capital that is ready for the knowledge economy.
2 Carnavale, Anthony, Nicole Smith and Jeff Strohl. Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018: State-Level Analysis. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, June 2010.
15 6) Benchmarks against which the state will evaluate its progress against this plan.
Maximum length: 350 words
Provide ambitious and realistic 3-month, 6-month, 12-month, 18-month, 24-month and 36-month benchmarks for the proposed activities.
Provide a three-year outline for sustaining work that explains how the proposed actions will continue to improve completion rates beyond the grant period. Describe the implementation team’s plan and process for assessing which changes in state- and campus-level metrics are attributable to work implemented through the Innovation Challenge.
Adaptive Advising Tool
Date Benchmark
3 month Nov-11 Replication sites selected Initial implementation meetings
6 month Feb-12 Campus-wide development meetings at replication sites Implementation of major recommendation tool at APSU
(hub site)
Analysis of APSU grade data on recommended courses and effect of AAT on course-taking behavior from first semester
Communications initiative underway
12 month Aug-12 Implementation of course recommendation at replication sites complete
Analysis of APSU grade data on recommended courses and effect of AAT on course-taking at replication sites
Implementation of majors advising tool at replication sites 18 month Feb-13 Analysis of grade data on recommended courses and effect
of AAT on course-taking behavior at all sites State report issued on progress and impact
24 month Aug-13 Analysis of grade data on recommended courses and effect of AAT on course-taking behavior at all sites
36 month Aug-14 Analysis of grade data on recommended courses and effect of AAT on course-taking behavior at all sites
16 Statewide PLA Initiative
Date Benchmark
3 month
Nov-11 Garner statewide understanding of and support for PLA through introductory meeting
Project coordinator hired
Qualitative benchmark data collection complete Institutional outreach for PLA participation complete
State PLA Task Force Launched
Guidelines development underway
Outreach to community, workforce system and employers underway
Communications campaign initiated
6 month Feb-12 State-level guidelines development complete
Secure participation of at least 10 community colleges and 3 universities
26 portfolio assessors trained
20 career advisors trained
Video production complete
PLA website developed
12 month Aug-12 52 additional portfolio assessors trained 40 additional career advisors trained
Secure participation of all community colleges and 5 universities
Institutional PLA policies developed
Regional workforce summits complete
Poster distribution complete
Video posted on websites of participating institutions, THEC and relevant workforce development boards
18 month Feb-13 State report issued on progress and impact Institutional PLA policies implemented 24 month
Aug-13 Goal: Number of PLA participants doubled since inception of initiative
36 month Aug-14 Continued increase in PLA usage Assessing impact
AAT
Tracking student outcomes such as correlations between predicted and earned grades, and GPA effects are built into the predictive analytics utilized by the AAT. Campus research staff will be responsible for producing reports on frequency of usage, time and credits to degree, and numbers of Undeclared students.
17 PLA
Prior to assembling the task force, THEC staff will survey institutions regarding current PLA offerings, number of students served, and average PLA credits earned. PLA students will be flagged in the Student Information System and tracked according to success measures that correspond to CCA Outcome and Progress Metrics. To assess outreach strategies, students will be surveyed on how they heard about PLA.
Sustainability Outline
THEC will track and report time-to-degree in the annual legislative report and on the Complete College Tennessee website. Sustainability is further built into the structure of the proposal in the following ways:
AAT First Year
Tracking correlations between predicted/earned student grades and recommended/enrolled courses will provide an understanding of usage frequency and its impact on student success. The team can then adjust accordingly.
Second Year
The development of AAT across sectors and systems will result in a software package that can be deployed to other campuses beginning in Years 2 -3.
Rolling out a package based on lessons learned from replication sites allows for smooth adoption of AAT by other institutions.
Third Year
AAT Director will assist institutions that implement AAT and provide feedback on implementation in 2nd generation sites.
PLA First Year:
The focus is on capacity-building, establishing state guidelines, and reaching out to employer-partners, and training. Those trained will return to their institutions, train counterparts and inform current and prospective students about PLA.
A communications campaign will reach potential adult students and create awareness for working professionals.
Second Year:
Campus PLA policies will be implemented and integrated into the formal institutional structure. Third Year:
Communicating PLA outcomes in reports and translating those into impact on institutional funding formula outcomes will sustain viability of the initiative past the grant term.
18 7) State’s proposal development process.
Maximum length: 250 words
What institutions, agencies and individuals does the state intend to collaborate with in the proposed plan?
Describe the roles and input of these collaborators in the development of this proposal.
Tennessee’s proposal continues the seamless collaboration that enabled the implementation of the CCTA. The composition of the leadership team, which includes the Governor’s Office, Chairs of House and Senate Education Committees and higher education leaders, is illustrative of the deep commitment to ensuring the success of the proposal.
Collaboration will take place in all areas of the proposal:
AAT – The state leadership team, in consultation with both systems of higher education and under THEC’s guidance, will select three institutions to serve as AAT replication sites. With THEC coordinating efforts, the AAT Director will work with replication site staff to ensure proper implementation and continual tracking of AAT effects on student success.
PLA – Beginning with a PLA Task Force consisting of faculty representatives from every institution, the comprehensive state PLA policy will be formulated in direct partnership with CAEL. The statewide training in support of PLA implementation will be conducted in partnership with the Tennessee Business Roundtable, with CAEL providing technical assistance.
The grant development process began with several campus focus groups. THEC staff listened to student advisors and faculty to ascertain which hurdles their institutions faced in improving student success. This proposal is a direct product of their input.
That feedback, combined with data analysis, translated into an actionable plan after consultation and receiving approval from each system head of the Board of Regents and the University of Tennessee, with particularly close involvement by the Chief Academic Officers of each system.
