Education Commons^™

Using Artificial Intelligence To Enhance Educational Opportunities And Student Services In Higher Education, Mandy Barrett, Lisa Branson, Sheryl Carter, Frank Deleon, Justin Ellis, Cirrus Gundlach, Dale Lee

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is becoming the basis for business. Most businesses use it to improve the customer experience. The education community is just beginning to find ways to successfully implement AI for staff and students. Artificial Intelligence should be leveraged to create a better student experience. For example, Elon University uses AI to assist students with tracking previously taken courses and helps them apply the information to their course-planning (Gardner, 2018). Georgia State University uses Pounce, a chatbot built by AdmitHub, reducing summer melt by over 20% by reaching out to students via text when they have not completed …

Accelerating Student Success: The Case For Corequisite Instruction, Maggie Emblom-Callahan, Nekisha Burgess-Palm, Sandra Davis, Amanda Decker, Heather Diritto, Shana Dix, Camisha Parker, Eric Styles

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

The successes of corequisite remediation courses and supplemental instruction over traditional remediation courses such as the modular Math Essentials have been widely and recently documented (Logue, Watanabe-Rose, & Douglas, 2016). Corequisite reform is an important strategy to improve student completion of higher education goals. A robust corequisite model integrates gateway course content with lifelong tools such as time management and study skills that help students beyond the scope of one course. Corequisite remediation may not completely eliminate developmental courses; however, “a fundamental redesign of the support system for academically underprepared students” will include corequisite remediation (Vandal, 2014). This broader “support …

Increasing Success With Online Degree Courses And Programs In The Vccs, Thomas Chatman, Dave Dick, Paula Ford, Pamela Henry, Kim Hobert, Miles Keller, Kevin Riley, Christina Tidwell, Roberta Wright

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Over the last three years, 724,116 online courses were attempted within the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). From these attempts, 206,533 resulted in a grade of D or F or a withdrawal, accounting for 29% of all attempted online courses (Virginia Community College System, 2015). This does not account for the students who may have dropped the course early in the semester to avoid academic and/or financial consequences. Studies have shown that students who do not experience success in their courses drop out significantly more than their counterparts (Thayer, 1973). Additionally, these students experience delayed degree or certificate completions, higher …

Promoting The Value Of Career Education Programs, David Howell, Maryanne Serignese, Shawn Anderson, Rachel Dodson, Joshua Mcdowell, Jesse Miller, Dana Newcomer, Regina Sanders, Brooklyn Shehan

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

12.5 million secondary and postsecondary students are currently enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in the United States (“Career,” 2019). CTE programs provide students with the academic skills, technical skills, knowledge, and training necessary to succeed in future careers and to become lifelong learners (“Career,” 2019). Students are prepared for the workplace as a result of a competency-based learning approach and through partnerships with local employers who provide hands-on experience and work-based learning opportunities (“Career,” 2019). By 2020, 65 percent of American jobs will require some postsecondary education or training, with half of these positions requiring an associate …

Taking The Leap (Learner Engaged Advising Programs): Vccs Advising Practices And Recommendations, Valerie Burge-Hall, Latoya Garrison, Leigh Giles-Brown, Dan Lepore, Melanie Mcnall, Christine Pauly, Andrew Quinn, Lisa Vaughn Jordan

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) administration identified the need for adequate and proactive advising programs to foster student success. This paper presents a review of “best practices” in advising to determine commonalities, provides a comparison with current VCCS advising practices, and offers recommendations that support the goal of ensuring high quality advising programs.

Communication And Data Sharing Between K-12 And Community Colleges, Beth Page, Jacob Surratt, Debbie Bond, Mitzi Jones, Josh Meyer, Amy Webster, Brian Wright

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

This report investigates communication and data sharing between K-12 and community colleges to identify best practices. This wide-ranging topic encompassed many efforts that impact student recruitment, retention and success in their postsecondary education. To prioritize the most pressing issues, this report focuses on recent system-wide findings and recommendations. In 2016, the Virginia General Assembly directed the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to review the VCCS, a process that had not been done since 1991. The JLARC report in 2017 stated that a relatively low percentage of community college students obtain a degree or credential (39 percent). In addition …

Improving Completion Rates For Underrepresented Populations, Jen Daniels, Lynn Bowers, Megan Cook, Mark D'Antonio, Amber Foltz, Carlita Mccombs, John Sound, Jenni Vancuren

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Most experienced educators recognize that many students will not complete optional assignments, and often those students who need additional help do not seek assistance. Current research demonstrates that students in underrepresented populations (see definition below) are less likely to seek support than others because they see needing help as a confirmation that they don’t really “belong” in college in the first place. Research shows that those who do access currently optional supports such as tutoring are more likely to succeed, so this research group looked for ways to build structured connections between underrepresented students and resources.

We found that our …