RVCC 2019 NECHE Self-Study

Today, CCSNH leads its New England community college system peers in graduation rate, and in
composite graduation-transfer rate. For first-time-to-college students attending full-time who entered
CCSNH in 2008, over an eight-year timeframe more than a third received a certificate or degree, and
nearly another third transferred on to a four-year institution, leaving about 34 percent without an award
and without transfer activity (excluding the one percent still enrolled at CCSNH after eight years). This
first-in-the-region ranking extends to six-year and three-year graduation rate cohorts as well. Although
CCSNH will grow its graduation rates across all cohorts, in the context of 65 by 25 attainment and the
need to increase adult learner enrollment to meet that aim, it is important to note that, relative to other
community colleges in the region, New Hampshire community college students are most likely to receive
a credential.
Promoting Student Completions Through More Enrollment
As a highly tuition-driven institution, enrollment pipeline predicts both our number of student completers
of degrees and certificates as well as our institutional operating revenue. Students who can enroll are
either already enrolled with us, stop-outs (students who left college and the college has made an
attempt to get the student to re-enroll), or prospects. Each require separate tactical sets of action,
similar for active students and stop-outs in terms of segmentation, if not in accountability, metrics and
messages. New students require a diverse set of tactics depending on from where they would arrive at
our doors, whether traditional age or adult learner, and then whether in the recruitment stage of the
enrollment lifecycle or onto admissions. Whether a prospect, recruit, admit, registrant, present enrollee,
stop out, or even graduate – CCSNH has extraordinarily qualified and dedicated staff, armed with
enterprise-wide technical systems, to help at each part of student lifecycle.
Any given semester, more than half of enrolled students attended class the prior semester (summer
excluded). Improving recruitment from local high schools, particularly of students who would otherwise
not attend college, will become increasingly critical if New Hampshire is to meet the 65 by 25 goal.
Already, New Hampshire is seeing a downturn in high school graduating class size, and this will likely
persist until 2032.
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