The Solution:

Build schedules conductive to helping stopouts earn a credential or degree

Armed with the school motto of “possibility that doesn’t think outside the box but aims to build a better one,” Central Piedmont Community College decided to attack the issue head-on using data analytics to inform how the institution provides real-world, hands-on education to its students.

To better re-engage stopouts, the institution is working within the guidelines of the 2021 NC Reconnect initiative, which looks to engage adult learners and improve student retention around adult learners in the state. With assistance from Central Piedmont, students can better navigate the hurdles of re-enrollment and re-entry into higher education with a plan to complete a degree or credential.

In order to meet these challenges and better serve learners of all ages, the institution looked to present the data in a manner as straightforward as possible, operating with transparency to demonstrate the impact on students and to determine where and how improvements could be made.

This included the creation of KPIs for time to completion and credits completed with a goal to increase enrollment. From there, the institution is exploring advising, guided pathways, DFW rates, and toxic/unhealthy course combinations.

“In this effort, we’ve expanded classes online and offered evening and weekend classes to help bring students back,” Patera said. “This is a game-changing operation, and we want to offer classes in a way that will work for all of our students.”

Ad Astra data proved instrumental in looking at pathways and completion paths for the new evening, weekend, and online offerings to ensure there were enough seats to provide a range of options to help students complete. 

With a centralized process and an annual schedule in place, the college is able to look at scheduling from a student-centric lens to gauge potential impacts and look for ways to engage returning students and re-engage stopouts and students who haven’t yet completed.