College Profiles

Alamo Colleges

Success Snapshot:

• Alamo Colleges increased the District-wide first time in college developmental math success rate from 48% in 2004 to 57% in 2009.  The success rate for first time in college students in developmental math one level below college-level jumped from 49% in 2004 to 62% in 2009.
• Early in Alamo Colleges’ participation in Achieving the Dream, the colleges instituted mandatory enrollment in a student development course by first-time-in-college students and transfer students with 15 or fewer semester credit hours.  This requirement across the colleges has seen revision and improvement over the past few years, and the results have trended upward since the initiative started. The mandatory course’s enrollment has grown each year and served 14,700 students in 2009.

Background
Alamo Community College District is comprised of five colleges: San Antonio, St. Philip's, Palo Alto, Northeast Lakeview, and Northwest Vista and serves the Bexar County community (in and near San Antonio, TX). These schools offer associate degrees, certificates and licensures in occupational programs that prepare students for jobs, as well as arts and science courses that transfer to four-year colleges and universities. Alamo Colleges’ students are taught by faculty with Master's and Doctorate degrees. Half of the student body is Hispanic.

Achieving the Dream Interventions

Alamo Community College District’s work has focused on strengthening K-16 relationships and programs, student development, developmental education, reading, writing, and tutoring. The Alamo Colleges have implemented several interventions to improve Developmental Education; the following are those involving the most students:

Developmental Education

• All colleges now require a Student Development course for all first-time-in-college students, for transfer students with less than 15 credit hours, and for students at most colleges who need two or more remedial courses in English, reading, and/or mathematics.
• St. Philip’s College increased student access to tutoring by taking tutoring to student-centered areas of the college.
• A Math Advocacy Center was created at Northwest Vista to support students, especially remedial level students, as they move through the math curriculum.
• San Antonio College changed the pedagogy and the curriculum for gatekeeper math by creating a separate course specifically for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) majors.

Intervention Results

• The Alamo Community College District retention rate for developmental math courses indicate a 5-year increase of 7%, with colleges’ 2008 rates ranging from 72% to 88%. Worth noting is that although San Antonio had the lowest retention rate averages for developmental math courses across the district, they had the most significant increase in course retention rates during this reporting period, moving from 59% in 2004 to 72% in 2008.

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