Background
Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap, Va., serves the residents of four rural counties—Lee, Scott, Wise, and Dickenson—that stretch across the Appalachian Mountains in southwest Virginia.
Nearly all of the college’s 2,900 students are white, and many are poor. Three out of four entering students require at least one developmental course, but only 57% of students successfully complete a developmental course during their first semester. Half of MECC’s students are under 25, but 84% of those in developmental courses are under 25. In 2002, the three-year graduation rate was 16%.
Achieving the Dream Interventions
First-Year Experience
Orientation is now required within the first 15 hours of study, and an early warning system is now in place. New students who miss class or do not complete assignments are contacted by the student advocate program, which uses electronic case management tracking.
Developmental Education
MECC implemented a fast-track course for students who need a refresher rather than an entire semester of a subject. The college also created an Academic Resource Center especially for students who test close to the cut-off score for the next course level and want to improve their skills individually.
Learning Communities
MECC piloted a Cooperative Learning program that involved professional development for faculty who were establishing learning communities and course improvement planning that used best practices sharing.
Results
- drop in the number of students testing into the lowest level developmental mathematics
- 19.4% drop in developmental education enrollment between the 2003 and 2008 cohorts
Three-year Degree and Certificate Completion Rates
Cohort
|
Completion Rate
|
2002
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15.9%
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2003
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20.8%
|
2004
|
21.4%
|
2005
|
26.0%
|
MECC credits the rise in completion rates to the implementation of the initiatives begun under Achieving the Dream. They are continuing to build on these programs and hope to see a sustained rise in student success.
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