2009 Performance Accountability Report Vol. 2 - Maryland Higher ...

Affordability indicators except the enrollment in its continuing education programs, areas
which have been profoundly impacted by the national and regional economic crisis.
B. Quality and Effectiveness: Student Satisfaction, Progress and Achievement
The College is pleased to note that the benchmarks for the Quality and Effectiveness (which
include Student Satisfaction, Progress and Achievement), have, with one exception, all been
met. To date,
Graduate satisfaction with educational goal achievement is high (95%),
Non-returning student satisfaction with goal achievement is high (82%),
Successful persister rates among college-ready (88%) and developmental completers
(83%) are high ,
Average student performance at transfer institutions is high (2.80), and
Cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher for transfer students to MD public four year
institutions is high (84%).
The one exception in this area is that the College has not met its goal for graduation-transfer
rates after four years for developmental completers. At this point, it is one percentage point shy
of its benchmark (57% versus 58%).
Two indicators of success in the accountability report assess the progress and achievement of
students: Successful-Persistor and Graduation-Transfer rates. FCC’s 2004 cohort showed that
successful and persistence rates are significantly higher among female students (85%) than
male students (73%). However, female students have slightly lower graduation-transfer rates
(62%) than male students (63%).
One of the College’s goals is to increase its graduation and transfer rates. Under-prepared
students, however, make achievement of this goal challenging. Since fall 2005, as high as 56%
of the in-coming students were placed in one or more developmental courses. Although, this
rate is similar to the state and national average, the College does have several initiatives to
motivate students to complete their developmental course requirements as early as possible.
There is reason to believe that these initiatives are having some success. Fifty-seven (57%)
percent of students who were placed in developmental courses completed their requirements
within the first four-years after matriculation. Data from the College for this year indicate that
the long-term achievement rates of students who do not complete their developmental
coursework are at risk. Most will either leave the College or fail to progress sufficiently with
their studies. Only 37% of them will persist after four years, and only 34% will eventually
graduate or transfer to another institution. Clearly, completion of developmental coursework at
the College is a benefit. All data show that developmental completers are as likely to persist as
college-ready students (83% v. 88%), and that they are more likely to graduate or transfer than
developmental non-completers (57% v. 34%).
The College has recently undertaken several additional initiatives to improve its effectiveness
in this area. A Student Success/Achievement Committee was formed to increase the College's
graduation and transfer rates. After reviewing gateway course data among sub-populations, it
111