The Office of Institutional Research & Analytics (OIRA) hosted a Data Deep Dive for the Enroll Full-Time Theory of Change Pillar on Friday, April 11. OIRA shared the latest data and research on full-time enrollment at ACC with a spotlight on the first Free Tuition Cohort, as well as insights from our community partners at Trellis Strategies about what our Free Tuition students are saying about their experiences.
The session featured a presentation by Dr. Jenna Cullinane Hege, Vice Chancellor for OIRA, focusing on strategies to increase enrollment intensity and newer data on ACC students overall, Free Tuition students, and more.
Attendees heard from May Plumb of Trellis Strategies, who provided insights into the student experience of our first Free Tuition Cohort. There was also a panel Q&A with Samantha Croft, Jenna, and May.
What’s our goal?
We know, both now and in the future, a part-time pathway is the best option for many students balancing complex lives. The “Enroll Full-Time Pillar” does not aim to increase all students to full-time enrollment. Instead, we think of enrollment levels as a continuum—even moving from one class to two, or two classes to three, can significantly improve a student’s likelihood of completion. For example, one external study found that students completing 12 to 17 credits per year were 19 percentage points more likely to graduate than those completing 1 to 11 credits per year.
We can make “just one more class” possible for many students by:
- Improving processes like strategic scheduling so students can take more classes conveniently at the same campus,
- Ensuring costs do not prohibit students from taking an additional class,
- Offering coherent sequences of 8-week sections, and by
- Supporting student success through tutoring and coaching.
Did you miss the session? Would you like to revisit these exciting new data insights?
Visit the Data Deep Dive site to watch the recording, access the presentation slides and related resources, and check out additional TOC data resources.