Galveston College
Since 2006, Galveston College has seen a steady improvement in gateway math course success rates, increasing from 21% to 59% after the college began to target Achieving the Dream strategies toward developmental studies curriculum.
Since identifying Math0303 as a gateway course required for entry into many certificate and associates programs, Galveston College has increased faculty contact hours with students in this developmental course.
- Galveston College also implemented MyMathLab®, an internet-based software system used to deliver assignments, provide contextual help, give real-time feedback, and facilitate communication between students and faculty.
- A Developmental Math Lab was set up on campus to ensure internet access for students as well as provide additional opportunities for student-faculty interaction resulting in an increase in successful completion rates for Math 0303.
Galveston College is designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and serves the economically-challenged barrier island community of Galveston, Texas. Galveston College enrolled 2,170 students in Fall 2009, and of these students 47% were white, 28% Hispanic, and 20% African American. The retention rate from Fall 2008 to Fall 2009 was 47% for full-time, first-time students and in that year, 31% of all undergraduate students received Pell grants.
In 1996, Galveston College began raising funds for the Universal Access program and endowment to provide Galveston high school graduates and GED recipients with two years of tuition-free higher education or training. The first scholarships were given in 2001.
While Galveston was hard-hit by Hurricane Ike in 2008, the college has continued to make strides forward to serve its students.
In addition to the developmental math intervention, Galveston College is pursuing interventions to ensure students’ readiness and successful transition into college such as:
- A New Student Orientation Program that was redesigned based on student feedback and now has smaller sessions and an agenda designed to increase student engagement and student-staff contact and includes mandatory assessment
- PSYC 1300 Learning Framework Course, a student success course that was developed and is now linked in a Learning Community with a developmental reading course and a developmental writing course with the goal of strengthening cohort ties and increasing success and retention
- Emotional Intelligence® assessments that are incorporated into the writing curriculum to assist students in identifying and reflecting on their strengths and weaknesses in order to improve student success
The Achieving the Dream Model
Achieving the Dream community colleges commit to our Student-Centered Model of Institutional Improvement. Based on four principles, the model frames the overall work of helping more students, particularly low- income students and students of color, stay in school and earn a college certificate or degree.
Each college approaches the work differently, but Achieving the Dream’s five-step process provides practical guidelines for keeping the focus where it belongs and building momentum over time. Throughout the process, Achieving the Dream coaches offer customized support and help each college’s core team implement data-informed programs and policies that build long-term, institution-wide commitment to student success.
Achieving the Dream Leader Colleges
Leader Colleges are demonstrating the power of the Achieving the Dream Student-Centered Model of Institutional Improvement. They show us it is possible to raise persistence and graduation rates, close achievement gaps, and change lives. Leader Colleges embody the ultimate goal of Achieving the Dream, and as such, serve as mentors within our community of learners.
To be eligible for Leader College distinction, colleges must show three or more years of improvement on one or more of these five measures:
- Course completion
- Advancement from developmental to credit-bearing courses
- Completion of college-level math and English courses
- Term-to-term and year-to-year retention
- Completion of certificates or degrees
