Rose State College
Student success initiatives and a data-driven culture of evidence now define Rose State College. The college leans heavily on research and data to inform and guide decisions.
Rose State College’s data, which reflects similar findings from national reports, demonstrates that students who participate in leadership cohorts and who engage in mentoring programs are more likely to persist and to graduate. At Rose State College the disparity in graduation rate is 76.8% versus 10.5% for students who participate in leadership cohorts compared to those who do not.
The college has instituted multiple student success strategies to address achievement gaps, which include:
- Requiring all students enrolled in STSR (Student Success Courses) to sign an Academic Success Contract.
- Establishing an Early Alert Academic Warning System to provide college faculty and staff with a tool for identifying students in need of supplemental support, and a network of peers and professionals capable of providing the appropriate support to those students.
- Creating a Student Success Center, which will be a one-stop center for any and all forms of academic support and assistance for navigating the college landscape, and houses the college’s bi-weekly Study Skill Seminars.
- Student-to-student Mentoring Programs designed to enhance the sense of interconnectedness among and between students.
Rose State College is located in Midwest City, Oklahoma. In the 2010 Fall semester, 40% of the college’s student population was from ethnic and racial minorities. Many of the college’s students are from low-income families and are first-generation college students. Over 74% of first-time students require at least one developmental course.
Rose State College also offers its Workforce Development Division, comprised of the Community Learning Center and the Professional Training Center. The Community Learning Center is known for its wide range of lifelong learning programs, including its popular Kids College. The Professional Training Center offers business training, small business advising, and is home to the career advisement center, which is available to both students and the surrounding community.
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.
