College Profile

Guilford Technical Community College

Background 

Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC), which serves the Triad region of central North Carolina around Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point, has five campuses and over 8,000 students.  In 1994, the college identified the skills most valued by local employers—adaptability, communication, information processing, problem-solving, responsibility, and teamwork—and added cooperative, performance-based learning in every course. In 1998, GTCC adopted a “graduate guarantee” that permits students to repeat courses for free if their employers find their preparation lacking or if courses in which they earned a C or better fail to transfer to another institution.

Many GTCC students are first-generation college students who lack college preparation and familiarity with college procedures. Success rates are particularly low for black and Hispanic students.

Achieving the Dream Interventions

GTCC developed First Year Experience programs in order to improve student persistence.

Student Success Course

ACA 111 is a one-credit freshman study skills course, paired with the gateway course for the specific program track, and taught “front-loaded” for the first three weeks of the semester. Experienced faculty teach the course and are able to target the content to the program’s requirements and expectations along with the college’s norms and traditional study skills.

Orientation

SOAR (Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration) is a revised and strengthened orientation for all new students. SOAR includes general information, academic success strategies, academic planning and advising, and now registration. In summer 2008 SOAR enrolled about 2/3 of all new students. SOAR is a joint venture utilizing both Educational Support Services employees and faculty members.

Results

Students enrolled in SOAR or ACA 111 had higher levels of persistence than students who did not participate. GTCC has also seen an increase in its three-year graduation rate, which is due in part to ATD interventions like SOAR and ACA 111.