join the corps - Community College Completion Corps

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While 79 percent of entering college students plan to earn an associate degree, just 45 percent meet that goal within si
Guide

Each One Help One

JOIN THE CORPS

cccompletioncorps.org Ryan “Riley B.” Bell, Jeannine Shaffer, both from St. Louis Community College, and Phi Theta Kappa Executive Director and CEO Dr. Rod A. Risley pictured at the college’s Commit to Complete Champions Rally.

JOIN US IN SUPPORTING

COLLEGE COMPLETION ON YOUR CAMPUS

Dear Students, Faculty, Staff and College Presidents, While 79 percent of entering college students plan to earn an associate degree, just 45 percent meet that goal within six years. The U.S. has fallen from having the highest percentage of citizens with a postsecondary degree to 16th among the 34 industrialized economies. If this trend continues, then we will not be able to compete in a global economy. We cannot let this happen. Supporting college completion is a moral imperative and an issue that threatens our national security and the future of our democracy. In 2011, Phi Theta Kappa launched the Community College Completion Corps (C4), a student led, campus-based effort to increase student success by informing all students about the benefits of completing a credential/degree and the consequences of not. As a result, hundreds of thousands of community college students have pledged to Commit to Complete – accepting responsibility for completing their credential/degree and promising to help at least one other student complete. Our next goal is to have more than 500 colleges engaged in the C4 initiative. Already, college presidents and state directors from 20 states have committed to coordinating statewide C4 activities. We are taking C4 beyond just a signing event to an initiative helping colleges develop a culture that supports college completion. We know the key to the success of the completion initiative rests in the hands of those who see or work with the students each day. For this reason, students will ask faculty and staff to become Completion Champions by signing a pledge and identifying two specific ways they will aid in the student’s completion. C4 is not just a Phi Theta Kappa effort – we serve only as the catalyst to engage all student organizations in the completion effort. Our goal is to have C4 institutionalized. To be successful, we must engage all student organizations, faculty/staff and the administration in this effort – an ongoing effort for years to come.

C4 Toolkit Your C4 Toolkit contains the materials you need to make your college completion project a success:

• Promotional posters • Student Commit to Complete cards

• Faculty/Staff Completion Champions cards

• C4 guides • Student Commit to

Complete signing banner

• Faculty/Staff Completion

Champions signing banner Kaitlyn, Rachel, Toni, Daniel and Jesus 2013-2104 Phi Theta Kappa International Officers Rod A. Risley, Ph.D. Executive Director and CEO Phi Theta Kappa

Additional Resources Available for purchase from the Phi Theta Kappa Store:

• C4 bracelets • C4 buttons • C4 signing banners To order, visit store.ptk.org or call 800.946.9996.

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WHY COMPLETION MATTERS

College completion is not only a moral imperative but also an issue threatening our national security and democracy.

The Facts

• The U.S. has fallen from first to 16th among the 34 industrialized economies in the world when measuring the percentage of citizens having earned a college credential or degree.

• When comparing student math scores, the U.S. has fallen from first to 25th among the 34 industrialized world economies. • Today more than three million livable wage jobs are unfilled in the United States because students are not entering the fields or obtaining the skills, instruction and credentials required for 21st century jobs.

• America’s pool of qualified workers is shrinking rapidly as an increasing percentage of the population retires – meaning fewer tax payers to pay for public education, infrastructure, social programs and national defense.

• High school dropout rates in some states exceed 40-50 percent. Dropouts will no longer qualify for minimum wage jobs. Those with jobs will be required to support an increasing number of Americans who will not qualify for or obtain a job.

• American universities awarded more doctorates than ever before in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The majority of these degrees were awarded to foreign students who return to their native countries and compete economically against the United States.

• A child born into poverty in the United States today likely will never emerge from poverty. The Cost

• More than 70 percent of community college students who transfer to a senior college with an associate degree successfully

complete a baccalaureate degree. Those who transfer without the associate degree increase their likelihood of never earning a baccalaureate degree.

• Students with associate degrees lose fewer credits, if any, when transferring to senior colleges. In many states, it’s the law! • Students who transfer to public senior colleges without an associate degree are often forced to take additional classes or repeat classes at the senior college at three times the cost of community college tuition.

A Job Requirement

• In less than five years, 65 percent of all new jobs will require a postsecondary credential. • Students with community college credentials or degrees in hot job fields have significantly higher starting salaries than students with baccalaureate degrees.

• When unexpected life events happen requiring a student to abruptly enter the job market, more employers hire those with a college credential over those who do not possess a credential. Employers hire those who demonstrate the discipline and determination to finish what they start. Sources • Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, June 2010 • Rosenberg McKay, D. “How Often Do People Change Careers?” Guide to Career Planning since 1997 (2006) • Internationally, College Graduates Fared Better During Recession, Chronicle of Higher Education, September 2010 • The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, American Association of Community Colleges, The National Articulation and Transfer Network • With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them, A Public Agenda Report for The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Commission to Build a Healthier America • American Association of Community Colleges, “Reclaiming the American Dream: Community Colleges and the Nation’s Future” • Center for Community College Student Engagement • U.S. Department of Labor cccompletioncorps.org

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C4 PROGRAM PLAN

Phase 1 – Plan

• Set meeting including college president, administrators, faculty leaders, Phi Theta Kappa advisors,

Phi Theta Kappa officers and/or student leaders to discuss the C4 initiative. • Gain commitment from all parties for college-wide support of the initiative. • College president, administrator, chapter advisor and chapter officer sign C4 commitment letter and send to Phi Theta Kappa Headquarters. Toolkits will be provided to chapters, while supplies last, after Headquarters receives the commitment letter. • Form a C4 planning committee. • Set a week during the term when C4 activities will be held. • Plan C4 activities (see page 6-7 for examples).

Phase 2 – Share the Message

• Display student posters in high traffic areas on campus. • Display faculty/staff posters in lounges or office areas. • Hang C4 Student and Completion Champions banners in a high traffic area. • Student organization leaders discuss with their members why college completion matters and encourage each to sign the Commit to Complete pledge during the C4 event week. • Student leaders present why college completion matters and the C4 initiative to faculty/staff members during convocation or other meetings.

Phase 3 – Host the Event

• Students sign Commit to Complete pledge cards and C4 student banner. • Students encourage faculty/staff to become Completion Champions. • The college holds a press conference at the conclusion of C4 event week. • Invite trustees, administrators, faculty, staff and community leaders. • Announce the college’s commitment to help students complete college. • Reveal the number of students who have committed to complete and the support that will be provided them. • Reveal the number of faculty/staff who have pledged to serve as Completion Champions.

Phase 4 – Follow up and Future Planning

• College monitors the progress of students in their completion efforts throughout the year. • College intentionally and intrusively provides the support to students and identifies the resources

needed to help students complete their credentials and degrees. • C4 week of activities repeated in the winter/spring terms. • At end of year, college measures success of C4 effort following graduation determining the percentage of students who completed their credential or degree at their anticipated graduation date. • College reports an overview of C4 activities conducted and the number of students who committed to complete to Phi Theta Kappa via the C4 website cccompletioncorps.org. • C4 activities are reviewed and enhanced for launching in the following fall term.

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MAKING THE PLEDGE

Student Pledge

Completion Champions Pledge

I commit to planning for college completion.

As an administrator, faculty or staff member, I recognize my role in promoting and ensuring an educated citizenry and a globally competitive workforce. I affirm the need for a dramatic increase in the number of individuals earning degrees and certifications to fulfill critical local, state, national and international goals. With the “completion agenda” as a global imperative, I have an obligation to meet the challenge while holding firmly to traditional values of access, opportunity and quality.

I commit to discussing career planning with college instructors and staff. I commit to seeking advisement on course selection to ensure timely college completion. I commit to learning about and using college support networks and resources aiding college completion. I commit to serving as a role model by attending classes, being prepared, participating in and engaging in discussions with instructors and students inside and outside of class.

I Commit... To a change in the community college culture, from an emphasis on access only to an emphasis on student success and college completion.

I commit to reaching out to students in need by encouraging, nurturing and guiding them toward college completion.

To engaging in development opportunities focused on evidence-based educational practice to improve student learning and completion.

I commit to helping at least one other student succeed.

To creating a positive learning environment, outlining clear objectives, holding high standards and implementing practices that encourage learning.

Student Pledge Instructions 1. C4 Planning Committee distributes Commit to Complete cards to student organization leaders, who share cards with members of their organizations.

To helping students by mentoring, encouraging and guiding them toward college completion.

2. Student organization leaders collect contact information section of the completed cards.

I Ask… Everyone on my campus to examine current college practices, to identify ways to help students understand the value of degrees and certifications, and to help them make progress toward their goals.

3.

College flags records of students who sign the cards and regularly communicates with students to ensure that they are on track to complete, identifying in sequence tasks they should complete and support resources available.

Other administrators, faculty and staff members to join me by signing this call to action; and to enlist the help of one other administrator, faculty, or staff member to help each student complete what they start.

4. Students who sign the cards are invited to sign the student banner and are encouraged to ask a faculty/staff member to sign the Completion Champion pledge and banner.

My students to commit, by attending class; being prepared; asking for help; and engaging in discussions and assignments.

5. Students present Completion Champion cards to faculty/staff members. Students collect card and returns it to Phi Theta Kappa or the group coordinating C4 efforts on campus. 6. College reports the number of students signing the Commit to Complete cards to Phi Theta Kappa.

Every student to help one other student to succeed.

Completion Champions Pledge Instructions 1. Faculty/staff are given a Completion Champions card by a student who has signed the Commit to Complete card. 2. Faculty/staff sign the cards and write on the back of the contact section two ways they will help the student complete. Signed Completion Champions cards are returned to C4 organizers. (Additional Completion Champions cards are available at cccompletioncorps.org.) 3. Faculty/staff are invited to sign the Completion Champions banner. 4.

College recognizes campus-wide the faculty/staff who have signed the Completion Champions pledge. The college compiles and circulates collectively the specific ways they have committed to helping students complete. cccompletioncorps.org cccompletioncorps.org

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PROMISING PRACTICES, PROVEN RESULTS

Jones County Junior College, Mississippi – The Rho Sigma Chapter instituted a comprehensive C4 campaign entitled “The Tassel’s Worth the Hassel,” which included improving student advising, holding a convocation ceremony for all new students and hosting a campus-wide “Commit to Complete” campaign. The chapter recommended changes to policies that would require incoming freshman to attend an orientation that included information on campus services available to students. Students were given a detailed degree plan and assigned to meet throughout the year with a faculty advisor, who had attended a professional development seminar to prepare for their role as an advisor. A convocation ceremony was held each fall in efforts to increase student engagement by encouraging students to become involved in the college community. Students who signed the pledge during the “Commit to Complete” campaign were entered into a drawing for a $2,500 transfer scholarship.

Umpqua Community College, Oregon – The Alpha Sigma Upsilon Chapter hosted signing events around Phi Theta Kappa’s Founders Day, November 19, and handed out completion information to students. The chapter gathered contact information for attending students and reached out to them midway through the semester to check their progress toward completion. It enlisted the college’s president to write a letter of congratulations to students upon their graduation.

Northeast Alabama Community College – Psi Epsilon members hosted two completion signing events and created a video as part of their project “Cultivating a Culture of Completion.” The chapter engaged the college administrators, faculty/staff and the Student Government Association in their planning. To promote the events, members created a video featuring faculty, staff and students highlighting the benefits of completing a college degree/credential and posted it on the college’s and chapter’s Facebook pages. The first event included a cookout and entertainment from the college’s show choir and jazz combo. The second was held in conjunction with the Student Government Association’s Fall Fling Week. In total, more than 300 students committed to complete.

St. Louis Community College, Missouri – The college’s four Phi Theta Kappa chapters teamed up to host the Commit to Complete Champions Rally. Two weeks before the rally each campus held signing events gathering signatures of students, faculty and staff. The events garnered more than 4,000 signatures on the commitment pledge and raised more than $3,000 to establish a completion scholarship with the college’s Foundation. The rally kicked off a year-long initiative targeting student engagement on campus.

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150,000 COMMITMENTS AND GROWING

Northeast Community College, Nebraska – The Tau Chi Chapter paired its completion event with the annual meeting of the Nebraska Community College Association and the Governance Institute for Student Success. The chapter invited Phi Theta Kappa members from surrounding states, hosted student success breakout sessions for student attendees and spread the message of completion to college administrators and board members in attendance.

Ivy Tech Community College, Indiana – The 23-campus statewide college mandated several initiatives to promote credential completion, including the development of a common general education core for transfer degrees; the simplification of degree structures; and the compression of the developmental writing, reading and mathematics programs.

Northwest Shoals Community College, Alabama – The Alpha Zeta Iota Chapter, partnering with the Alabama Poverty Project’s Blueprints College Access Initiative, spearheaded efforts to help establish a culture of completion on their campus by hosting Commit to Complete signing events and by promoting college access and career development for local high school students. NWSCC administrators and Phi Theta Kappa advisors and members agreed that not only current community college students needed to be encouraged to complete, but also high school students must be educated on the necessary steps for transitioning to college in order to increase student success. The chapter collaborated with the Blueprints College Access Initiative, which was designed to prepare high school students for transfer to college. Through this program, Alpha Zeta Iota members mentored students at Phil Campbell High School and hosted five Blueprint sessions for the students on college success, career exploration, academic success, money management and resume and interview skills.

Raritan Valley Community College, New Jersey – To increase the college’s retention rate, Alpha Epsilon Pi Chapter members, advisors and college administrators established a mentoring program for first-year students. Mentors met with first-year students once a month to discuss important deadlines, assisted in scheduling classes and locating and utilizing services on campus, and encouraged student engagement by becoming involved in campus events and activities.

Tell us about your signing event! Submit information about community college completion events on your campus at cccompletioncorps.org. cccompletioncorps.org

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Each One Help One

JOIN THE CORPS

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