Values, Opportunities, and Challenges of Rural Community Colleges

Serving 3.4 million students on 600 colleges and 800 campuses across America, rural community colleges play a vital role in the economic, cultural, and student development within the communities they serve. While these rural serving colleges provide many opportunities, there are many academic and non-academic challenges unique to rural areas that present barriers for students to navigate. This session will explore the value of rural community colleges and the opportunities they present. Additionally, we will identify challenges facing rural community college students and strategies for success.

Aaron Westerfield | Director, Accreditation & Effectiveness | Eastern Arizona College

University of Arizona Transforms the Transfer Process for Arizona Community College Students

Under the leadership of Vice Provost Greg Heileman, the University of Arizona has implemented a variety of improvements to make the transfer process into the University "friendlier" and more transparent. The University of Arizona has partnered with all regionally accredited colleges across Arizona to develop transfer articulation agreements, guaranteeing that credits earned toward a student's chosen degree will transfer.

The presentation will also highlight innovations at the College of Applied Science & Technology (CAST), the University of Arizona's only transfer college. CAST offers career-ready and future-focused Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) programs fully online and designed to accessible, including the #1 rated online Cybersecurity and the #1 designated Intelligence & Information Operations degree programs. Students who earn an AAS degree at an Arizona Community College can transfer 75 units as a block into any CAST BAS program, earning one of CAST's prestigious degrees in as little as three semesters.

Linda Denno | Associate Dean | University of Arizona

We're Back! Building a partnership between faculty and recruiters

Last year, we shared how students moving on to higher education benefit from a collaboration between faculty and university recruiters. This year our session will identify the five steps it takes to develop and maintain these partnerships. After attending the session you'll walk away with the tools needed to create these purposeful relationships, whether you are faculty or a recruiter.

Lisa Falkner | Director, Graduate and Transfer Recruitment | Arizona State University
Maria Wills | Program Director | Arizona State University

Embedding College Advisors into Local High Schools

Learn how MCC is reversing the trend of decreased enrollment among Mesa Public High School graduates through the MCC College Advisor Program. This session will highlight how the team provides one-stop enrollment experiences at each high school to recruit students, provide seamless transition to MCC, increase dual enrollment, create a college going culture at the schools, and build relationships. At a time when timelines are getting earlier, competition has never been fiercer, and costs continue to rise, the MCC College Advisor program proves that it is possible to increase enrollment and change college going culture of a school from within.

Arturo De La Cruz | College Advisor | Mesa Community College
Celina Salinas | Director of Strategic Enrollment Development | Mesa Community College

Preparing Yuma High School Students for Matriculation to Arizona Western College and for Transfer to State Universities

The Communication Division at Arizona Western College promotes Early College Experience and transfer to our university partners with Articulation Agreements with these high schools, as well as support for placing additional college faculty in the high school setting. Our Division also advocates for our local communities by supporting students who desire to become educators through transfer partnerships for state universities. In particular, we are preparing these future educators by supporting ASU@AWC’s degree program in Secondary Education, which completes our pipeline. By capturing the attention and imagination of high school students today, we are preparing Yuma’s future educators.

Clayton Nichols | Professor of English / Writing Center Coordinator | Arizona Western College
Eric Lee | Division Chair / Professor of English | Arizona Western College

Beyond Articulation Agreements: How Collaborative Relationships with Community Colleges Benefit Students

At the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC), we are passionate about transforming the higher education landscape, making it accessible for everyone, no matter their background or circumstance. One powerful way we do this is by nurturing meaningful partnerships with community colleges. Knowing how important a community college is to one’s community and culture, and recognizing that students are commonly underserved, we decided to take a more in-depth and personalized approach to our partnerships with community colleges, going beyond empty articulation agreements. Our partnerships with a distinguished selection of community colleges is a prime example.

Our relationships are built in the spirit of cooperation and mutual recognition of each other as quality institutions of higher learning. Together, we are reducing barriers to higher education for transfer students and enabling students who transfer to UAGC to carry with them the credits they have already earned.

Bob Paxton | Vice President | University of Arizona Global Campus
Amy Rogers | Director | University of Arizona Global Campus
Alexa Dunne | Associate Director | University of Arizona Global Campus

Building a College for the San Carlos Apache People

San Carlos Apache College is a new tribal college in Arizona, which first opened doors in 2017. Our session will provide an overview of the College's progress, including its close connection with Tohono O'odham Community College. The College's progress and its mission, vision, goals, and plans for independent accreditation will be shared, with an emphasis on how strong partnerships have been instrumental to its journey. Anyone interested in learning about what it takes to open a college from scratch should attend as should those with questions about our emerging institution.

Lisa Eutsey | Provost | San Carlos Apache College
Martin Ahumada | President | San Carlos Apache College
Rebecca Swift | Director of Student Services and Librarian | San Carlos Apache College

Partnering for Student Success: Arizona State University, Center for the Future of Arizona and Cambridge International

Arizona is a best practice by ensuring that credit by exam articulation is intentionally aligned to AZTransfer initiatives. Cambridge International launched its first partnership with Arizona schools in 2010. In the last decade, nearly 19,000 Arizona high school students have participated in assessments for Cambridge Advanced (AS Level and A Level) and Pre-Advanced (IGCSE). The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) figures prominently in the Center for the Future of Arizona’s “Move on When Ready” initiative and Grand Canyon Diploma, which confers the same privileges as an Arizona high school diploma and is recognized in Arizona State University (ASU) admissions decisions as evidence of adequate preparation for college-level coursework. AZTransfer’s addition of Cambridge International exam equivalencies aligned to Arizona’s transfer initiatives offers another form of college credit which boosts college enrollment, reduces tuition cost and improves graduation rates. Learn about ASU research findings on student success for Cambridge students!

Melissa Pizzo | Associate Vice President | Arizona State University
Matthew Lopez | Associate Vice President | Arizona State University Academic Enterprise Enrollment
Amanda Burke | Executive Vice President | Center for the Future of Arizona

Making Dual Enrollment credits count: How to transfer to a University with an A.A. from high school

Student success is the number one priority in dual enrollment. Learn how to maximize dual enrollment courses focusing on transfer and completion. Discussion will be centered on a success coaching model that aligns high school course offering with transferability and completion as the end goal. Under the success coach model completion numbers have grown from one to more than 150 over the past seven years dramatically increasing student success.

EJ Anderson | Director of Dual Enrollment | Rio Salado College
Lucero Curiel | Site Coordinator | Rio Salado College
Claudia Bermedez | Site Coordinator | Rio Salado College

Culturally Relevant Advisement (CRA) for STEAM Students

BIPOC & women workers remain underrepresented in the STEAM workforce. BIPOC & women, are not introduced to STEAM careers in K-12, they are not shown role models who look like them in the curriculum, they are discouraged from pursuing those careers based on the teachers perceptions of the student, and schools typically do not have the relationships with community colleges that could potentially bridge the gap. CRA is a form of advisement that is intrusive in nature because it begins when students are in K-12. This advisement methodology includes career options, connecting students with mentors, explaining to parents/students what classes are required to graduate with a degree in a STEAM field (e.g. AAS, AS, BAS, or BS), and they are introduced to culturally relevant STEAM education. CRA is not just about giving students the right courses but rather helping them choose a career path early, graduate debt-free, and job placement.

Lewis Andrea Brownlee | Education Faculty | Mesa Community College

Lessons Learned and Solutions Implemented Around “Transfer Hesitancy” in a Community College and ASU Partnership: Transfer to Interdisciplinary Natural Sciences (TraIN)

The NSF-supported TraIN S-STEM Program supports meritorious students at GCC, PC, SMCC and ASU through completion of a bachelor’s degree. A specific aim of TraIN is to create/implement evidence-based support structures that increase transfer and graduation rates. Our data reveal that TraIN structures have yielded increases in these rates, as well as supporting outcomes such as increases in research/experiences, conference attendance, and direct student mentoring (by faculty). However, there are also lessons learned, particularly around ‘transfer hesitancy.’ Transfer hesitancy arises from myriad issues that manifest as hidden barriers, including: 1) stressors on students (i.e, social, family, geographic, and academic); 2) competing demands on student time (i.e, financial, family); 3) the need for added flexibility during transfer (particularly for part-time students changing to full-time); and, 4) institutional processes. We will describe some of the solutions implemented to lesson transfer hesitancy, which we expect is not unique to TraIN scholars.

Susannah Sandrin | Clinical Associate Professor | Arizona State University
Wendy Barnard | Director of CREST (College Research and Evaluation Services Team) | ASU Knowledge Enterprise
Amanda Chapman | Biosciences Faculty & S-STEM TraIN PI | Phoenix College
Joel Nishimura | Associate Professor | ASU School of Mathematical & Natural Sciences

Misti Sexton | Graduate Student | Arizona State University

Is the Price Right?

Is tuition price the primary barrier and deciding factor for those considering a college education? Well, Come On Down and learn about the TransferBOOST (Bachelor’s Opportunity Options that are Straightforward and Transparent) project which aims to answer this question. This initiative involves researching transfer affordability guarantees that will directly contribute to equitable transfer outcomes and degree attainment. Northern Arizona University and Maricopa Community Colleges are working with The Institute for Higher Education Policy and HCM Strategists to facilitate policy research, the exploration of new tuition funding models and strategy development.

Kathy Yeager | Associate Vice Provost | Northern Arizona University
Rose Rojas | Director, Center for Curriculum and Transfer | Maricopa Community College District

Reimagining the AGEC for the 21st Century

Several years ago, the Arizona Board of Regents approved a new general education policy and directed the three state universities to redesign their general education programs to align with the new policy. All three universities have now finished their redesigns and received approval from ABOR for their newly configured general education programs. In light of these changes, the AZTransfer Steering Committee believes that the time has arrived for us to reexamine the Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC), which hasn’t been significantly revised since 1991. A subcommittee was appointed to propose design principles and a revised framework for the AGEC that is compatible with the new ABOR policy and incorporates 21st century skills. In this session, the subcommittee will present their initial work and lead a discussion about next steps for finalizing category criteria and moving toward final approval and implementation of the reimagined AGEC.

Nate Southerland | Provost | Coconino Community College

Making Transfer Count – A Student Portal for the Satisfaction of Degree Requirements

The transfer student experience is perhaps the most frustrating and inequitable situation in the entire system of U.S. higher education. Transfer students encounter inefficient, opaque credit recognition and application processes that put them at a distinct disadvantage with respect to other student demographics. This session discusses the development of transfer articulation capabilities that will dramatically improve the transfer experience at UArizona by allowing Arizona community college students to interactively explore possible completion pathways in real time. Most transfer articulation efforts focus on course-level transferability, but one of the largest contributors to lost credits are courses accepted for transfer that do not satisfy any degree requirements. The key differentiator of this effort is that it will focus instead on the collection of program degree requirements information from community colleges. By leveraging previously developed degree requirement reasoning capabilities, the portal will provide more reliable information to transfer students in a timely manner.

Kian Alavy | Program Manager, Undergraduate Education | University of Arizona

Cultivating a Culture of College and Career; Developing shared responsibility of student success across secondary-postsecondary systems

Who is responsible for student success in college and career experiences during high school? The Center for the Future of Arizona in partnership with 15 high schools and 4 community college systems are piloting a distributive advising approach, titled Career Connected Pathways, in order to explore frameworks that share responsibility for the same students, increase student dual enrollment participation and increase the percentage of students prepared for career success. During the initial phase of the 5-year project, partners designed a Co-Advising Framework in collaboration with Jobs for the Future. The framework is a resource for facilitating collaboration between secondary and postsecondary educators, advisors, and staff as they create college and career pathways with the goal of supporting seamless transitions from high school to college and career. In this presentation participants will experience a co-advising work session structure centered around data analysis and application of the five Co-Advising Framework components.

Melanie Baca | Project Manager | Center for the Future of Arizona
Michael Sharp | Director of Strategic Projects | Yuma Union High School District
Brenda Doak | Interim Director of Continuing Education | Arizona Western College

Guided Pathways and Guiding Advisors into Program Expertise for Student Success

Rio Salado College and the Maricopa Community Colleges have moved into a Guided Pathways model. Advisors that have been advising for all programs are now specializing in a smaller grouping of programs by “Field of Interest.” This specialization allows an advisor to develop a deeper knowledge of curricular and co-curricular requirements as well as career and transfer opportunities. Rio has organized faculty and advisors around the Fields of Interest and are developing further resources for Rio programs and transfer opportunities. This new model provides a greater opportunity for community college advisors to collaborate more fully with university colleagues.

David Hall | Director, Advisement | Rio Salado College

Earn to Learn Scholarship - Innovation in Financial Aid

ETL is a needs-based scholarship program that teaches financial literacy. ETL rewards students and families who are committed to saving $500 to attend ASU, NAU, UA, Pima Community College and Maricopa County Community College District with $4,000 in matching scholarship funding to pay for unmet need - tuition, books, student housing, transportation, childcare, and other living expenses.

We are more than just a scholarship. ETL also offers coaching for scholars including personal finance training, resources, and ongoing support - from the very first day of attending college all the way to graduation. We help connect students with other students in our program, navigate their post-secondary experience, connect to internships, and graduate workforce ready with little to no college debt. Come learn more about how you can share this amazing scholarship program with your students or partner with Earn to Learn on your college campus.

Roxanne Murphy | Director of Community Engagement | Earn to Learn
David Rodriguez | Program Manager | Earn to Learn

Setting Transfer Students Up for Success: Engineering Advisor Perspectives and Strategies

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall in a transfer student advising appointment? This session will allow you to do just that! Academic advisors from ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering will discuss how their department welcomes transfer students, the modality and options for transfer advising appointments, what learning outcomes are achieved through each appointment, and how different advising strategies contribute to transfer student success. Participants will gain knowledge of best practices that could be adapted to the needs of their students at both two-year and four-year institutions.

Jessica Meeker | Assistant Director, Academic Services | Arizona State University
Allison Walls | Undergraduate Academic Advising Coordinator - Online | Arizona State University

The PLA Revolution To Support Transfer Students

The pandemic has made it more difficult for students to continue their educational pursuits. Institutions need to create flexible, customizable solutions that provide options to complete work - enter Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). PLA can help onboard students, fulfill missing credits, and accelerate completion and transfer. While PLA is not a new concept, it is essential that every institution make PLA happen to meet transfers where they are at in their educational journey. This session will highlight key points from Chapter 7 of the The Transfer Experience: A Handbook for Creating a More Equitable and Successful Postsecondary System.

Rose Rojas | Director, Center for Curriculum and Transfer | Maricopa Community College District

“Home, cultural teachings and extended family support,” are the backbone of a new initiative at Coconino Community College called Strengthening Indigenous Student Success

Learn how CCC plans to support Native American students on their campus by constructing a Native American Success Center, offering a Summer Bridge Program, implementing culturally responsive training and building a support system of staff and community members – all with the goal of making the educational dreams of Native American students a reality. The project is made possible with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Brian Francis | SISS Program Coordinator | Coconino Community College