Graduation 101:Am I Done Yet?Presentation to UCAN/NTCCC

Presented by:

Janet Cassidy, M.A. email: janetcassidy@dcccd.eduCecilia Flores, M.F.A. email ceciliaflores@dcccd.edu

Elisa Garcia, M.B.A. email engarcia@dcccd.edu

Overview• Icebreaker (one liners) / Activity• Story of how and why we developed the Graduation 101 workshop• Goals• Preview of workshop content• What went well• What needs to be tweaked• What never to do again• Project accomplishments and highlights• Recommendations and Future Planning• Questions and Answers

Instructions for Activity

•Pick one M&M package out of the bowl (do not eat)•Open it and Pull out one M&M•See what color you have chosen•Match the color with the questions on the following slide•Write down your response according to the question next to your M&M color•Paper and pencils are provided, if needed

Icebreaker ActivityWhat Color is your M & M

• Red – Think about 1 thing you remember (ah ha) moment when you realized you were going to graduate with a degree or certificate • Yellow – Think of someone instrumental, such as a mentor, who helped

you in attaining your graduation goals • Orange – If you walked across the stage during commencement, what

were some of the emotions that welled up in you • Blue – Think of a professor that left an impression on you

• Green – What was the most difficult thing for you during your completion

process (websites, timelines, following degree plan, class availability) Navigating the system• Brown – Think about what rewards education can give you: you gain a

grounded educated opinion with merit, critical thinking skills, opportunity, sense of accomplishment, better jobs, respect, recognition

StoryWe want to Identify with our students including their needs, thoughts and feelings about the road they travel to graduate from college.Since funding has now switched from the total number of students in seats on certification date to the number of students completing a certificate or associates degree. Eastfield developed a team of advisors to focus on this particular new requirementWe found out that our students were not graduating as quickly and seamlessly as possible. They didn’t understand that there was more to graduation than just finishing all of their course requirementsMany of them didn’t understand the difference in graduation and the commencement ceremony and they didn’t know the steps required to actually receive their degree/diplomaSo we developed a workshop to help our students complete the process.

Goals

•Expand interest in attending the Commencement Ceremony•Advise students with 45 credit hours or more•Teach the difference between Graduation/Commencement•Expose student to life after Eastfield College

Introduction of Workshop Presentation

• Importance of following program of study (degree plan). Each student was seated at a computer and followed along with their own program of study• Teaches graduation requirements1. When to apply for graduation and commencement2. How to apply for graduation and commencement3. When and how to receive certificates or degrees after graduation• Expose student to life after Eastfield College1. When and how to start the transfer process (DCCCD transfer website is

one tool we use)2. Career and Job Search including SIGI3 website

What Went Well• Eventbrite sign-up process showed implications of ease and

accessibility • Classroom presentations showed implications of students setting

up appointments with our completion team• Preparation and rehearsals with management allowed for clear

expectations• Inclusion of designated non-grads (those who signed up for

graduation, but didn’t complete) in the workshops, showed sincere interest in learning how to complete • Completion Sheets (advisor filled out with courses still needed)•Workshop Title aided in more hits and student viewing & signing up

(Based upon the data from Eventbrite on who visited the site through the provided button, the title and marketing of the workshop seemed successful.)

Chart E

What Needs To Be Tweaked• Follow-up with students who no-show• Faculty involvement – Ex: Incentives for students who attend. This may

aid in potential workshop growth• Completion sheets are time consuming and a better process is needed

since we expect the workshop to grow• Starting early – there were a number of needed improvements made as

the project progressed. Some of these improvements could have been avoided with some extra preliminary planning• Standardized sessions – based upon some candid feedback, on occasion,

during a random audit, the quality of sessions began to lapse• Eventbrite training – specific components were not utilized, due to lack of

preparation and exposure to the team

What Never To Do Again

•Plan late – although the results of the workshops are very strong based upon the quick formulations by the team, more planning would be beneficial•Schedule classroom sessions late – more timely preparation will allow for more team members to cover more sessions

Project Accomplishments and Highlights

•Student Attendance (30 sessions at 6 sessions a week) 202 signed up and 139 attended or 69% •Preparation Time/Rehearsals•Eventbrite System allowed for student to sign up for the workshop, as well as advisor ability to provide sign up sheets, information for completion sheets and to tally numbers for charts needed•Completion Sheets were successful because we wanted to identify each student and the classes still needed for completion

Project Accomplishments and Highlights Continued

•Surveys - Students took a survey that out of 139 students who attended – 50% completed Survey•Appointments - students who attended the sessions were more likely to make an appointment with an advisor•Quality - Overall Quality of Sessions were good• Information provided was needed to aid in successful completion

Recommendations and Future Planning

1. To provide additional time for team members involved to prepare for sessions and presentations

2. An online option to the workshop for students who cannot attend (The Eventbrite chart showed where we had 800 hits with students showing interest)

3. Designate a Project Manager/Committee Chair to oversee progress and changes