Sophie Boyer Tammy Jez Leanna Patricio Tracy Phutikanit

Campus Snapshot
Established: 1970, 1 of 34 Technical Colleges Mission Statement North Seattle Community College is committed to changing lives through education. We achieve our mission by:

offering comprehensive educational opportunities. creating a highly supportive learning environment. engaging in effective and enduring partnerships.

Values Caring, Collaboration, Diversity, Innovation, Integrity, Innovation, and Quality

(North Seattle Community College, Mission and Accreditation, 2010)

Campus Snapshot
Demographics (Fall 2011)
Academic Transfer 2,270 Professional/Technical 2,041 High School/GED 59 Developmental 707 Home & Family 1,061 Other 165 Total 6,303
Continuing Education 1,346 International 749 Running Start 247

Median Age
All 30.8 Female 32.3 Male 29.1

Enrollment Status
Full Time 31% Part Time 69%

(North Seattle Community College, College Statistics, 2010)

Campus Snapshot
Ethnic Breakdown
African American/ Black American Indian / Alaska Native Asian American / Pacific Islander Hispanic or Latino(any race) Not Reported Other White
# of students % of students

454 32 719 370 1,273 404 3,051

7.2% 0.5% 11.4% 5.8% 20.1% 6.4% 48.4%

6303
(North Seattle Community College, College Statistics, 2010)

Onsite Observations
Locations Library College Center Self Guided Campus Tour Career Services

Interviews
Stakeholders North Seattle Community College President

Senior Administration Academic Advisor Faculty Counselor Student

Student Success Specialist

Faculty member

Current student with intent to transfer

Recommendations
Implementation of an early alert system. Expanded sections of developmental math with

mandatory Human Development course. Accessibility to information, resources, services and signage.

Early Alert System

Component of intrusive advising
Recommendation stemmed from stakeholder interview

at NSCC Collaboration with and learning from peers at other institutions

Connection to research and best practice

Importance of frequent and intentional check-ins with

students throughout the quarter or semester (Garing, 1993) Importance of student engagement on a college campus (Astin, 1984)

Developmental math: Expanded sections with mandatory student success course

Hard-linked student success course paired with MATH

081 Initiative funded by Gates Foundation grant, Pathways to Completion. Taught by faculty counselor. Geared towards teaching study and life skills, career pathway development, and boosting academic selfassurance.

Developmental math: Expanded sections with mandatory student success course (Cont.)
Intrusive advising orientations, recruiting new

students, and class drop-ins. Fastest filling section. Multilevel support from campus stakeholders.
Research McArthur (2005) Kozeracki & Brooks (2006) McGrath & Burd (2012)

Campus Access
Resources

Offices open in evening or transfer fairs in evenings Advisor loads Transfer center

Physical

Bulletin boards too high Lack of signage in some areas Elevators

Campus Access (Cont.)

Information / Language

What does 31% diversity mean? Racial and ethnic breakdown of transfer students Ex: Career Services

Lessons Learned
Tammy: Understanding the complexities of the

community college system and the reasons why people choose a community college.
Leanna: The importance of campus-wide support and

creating partnerships using available resources.

Lessons Learned (Cont.)

Sophie: As the only student in our class who had never

visited a community college campus, this group project at North Seattle Community College provided me with the opportunity to gain first hand knowledge about a specific community college and interact with community college professionals. It was an enlightening experience, and I hope to continue to grow in this area of higher education. Tracy: Discovering how complex and diverse the needs of community college students are. Also, the reasons that students choose to attend community colleges and specifically which since there are so many.

References
Astin, A. W. (1984). Student involvement: A

developmental theory for higher education. Journal of College Student Development, 40(5), 518-529. Garing, M. T. (1993). Intrusive academic advising. New Directions for Community Colleges, 82, 97-104. Kozeracki, C.A., & Brooks, J.B. (2006). Emerging institutional support for developmental education. New Directions for Community Colleges, 136, 63-74. McArthur, R.C. (2005). Faculty-based advising: An important factor in community college retention. Community College Review, 32(4), 1-19.

References (Cont.)
McGrath, S. M. & Burd, G. D. (2012). A success course

for freshen on academic probation: Persistence and graduation outcomes. NACADA Journal, 32(1), 43-52. North Seattle Community College. (2010). College Statistics. Retrieved from https://northseattle.edu/about-north/collegestatistics. North Seattle Community College. (2010). Mission and Accreditation. Retrieved from https://northseattle.edu/about-north/missionaccreditation.