Friday, October 11, 2024
The RP Group

Outstanding Project Award

Each year, The RP Group’s Outstanding Project Award recognizes colleagues and organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to student and institutional success through community college research, planning, and institutional effectiveness efforts.

The Outstanding Project Award seeks to achieve the following:

  • Promote exceptional work

  • Emphasize project impact on institutions/students

  • Recognize projects that have made a significant impact on student and organizational outcomes

This page outlines the criteria and nomination and review processes for this award.

 Award Submission Overview

The call for submissions is open. Submissions received by 11:59 pm PST on Monday, January 13, 2025, will be considered for a 2025 award. Award winners will be announced in late February 2025. The award will be presented at the RP Conference in April 2025.

  • Demonstrated positive impact on student equity and/or the student experience through an equity lens at the organizational, regional, or statewide level. Examples of impact may include (but are not limited to) uncovering and collating evidence-based practices that:

    • Amplify the student voice;

    • Increase student engagement;

    • Increase student access;

    • Reduce or eliminating equity gaps; and

    • Improve student outcomes, particularly for systemically underserved or disproportionately impacted student populations.

  • Contributions to the body of knowledge in community colleges that have practical implications for the IRPE field

  • Use of equity-conscious practices in the design, implementation, analysis, and dissemination of research results

  • Impact on equity in student access, outcomes, experience, and engagement

  • Inclusion of evidence-based practices, models, approaches, or examples that can be adapted, replicated, or scaled in other contexts or colleges/districts to improve student success and equity

  • This award is for an individual or team project.

  • The project must have been completed after January 1, 2024.

  • Individuals or teams enter submissions for their own projects.

  • Individuals or teams who have won a previous Outstanding Project Award are not eligible to win an award the following year.

To submit your or your team’s project for the Outstanding Project Award, enter your project information in our submission form.

The IRPE Professional Development Steering Committee, composed of RP Group Board members and volunteers from the IRPE field, oversees the process for this award. The committee reviews submissions in February and selects up to two finalists to invite to give a brief overview of their project in a mid-to-late-February Zoom meeting with IRPE PD Steering Committee members. The committee will then select a winner and send notifications in late February to all those who entered a project submission.

The awards process is constructed to align with presenting the awards at the annual RP Conference. Please note: every award category may not be recognized annually and will be determined by the review committee based on nominations received. We hope that by providing the opportunity for a variety of contributions to be recognized, we will maximize the chances of individuals earning awards.

All 2025 award winners will be:

  • Posted on The RP Group’s website;

  • Celebrated in our RP Group communications and in a nationwide press release; and

  • Recognized publicly during the awards ceremony at the RP Conference in April.

In addition, the Outstanding Project Award will be invited to present their work at:

  • A breakout session at the RP Conference in April; and

  • A follow-up statewide webinar in May.

Please contact Adore Davidson, Marcell Gilmore, and Brad Trimble, IRPE PD Steering Committee Tri-Chairs.

 Past Years' Awards

Norco College - 2024 Outstanding Project Award

Led by Project Team Members:
Dr. Greg Aycock, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness
Caitlin Busso, Institutional Research Specialist

Project Title: Faculty Impact on Black Student Success
Watch the Norco College team discuss their project.

Project Description: The Faculty Impact on Black Student Success project had an overarching goal to use a data-guided approach in exploring what factors have a significant impact on Black students’ success in college courses. Initially, the study explored the impact of faculty ethnicity on these students’ success rates and how it varied by each faculty group. Preliminary findings seemed to show a significant difference in students’ success rates in courses taught by Black faculty compared with courses taught by faculty of all other ethnicities. However, upon further scrutiny through a predictive model, faculty ethnicity was not a significant predictor of success. Based on these findings, a faculty inquiry group was convened, composed of those with the highest Black student success rates, to explore what they thought might be the reasons for their success with this student population. The areas explored were as follows:

  1. The Human Side:

  • Personal experiences with discrimination or prior teaching with high-risk, low-socioeconomic status students.

  • Professional training that may have influenced their ability to work with Black students.

  • Bringing in the faculty’s personality and personal life/background for students to observe.

  1. Pedagogy:

  • Flexibility for students (e.g., deadlines, grading practices, expressing care/concern for students individually)

  • Approaches/attitudes that value and show kindness to those who are struggling

  • Valuing error as opportunity to learn

  1. Course Materials/Documents/Assessment:

  • Access to textbooks, resources, individualized help.

  • Looking at disaggregated course results, student centered approaches, tests not heavily weighted.

  • Integrating music or other cultural sources.

  • Providing feedback through all modalities including voice and video.

  • Students creating original work.

  • Sharing grading rubrics in advance.

Results of the faculty inquiry group were recorded and converted to the Faculty Impact Survey (FIS) comprised of thirty items addressing what was shared in the group session. The FIS was distributed to all faculty participating in the group, and they provided feedback on the completeness and accuracy of the survey compared to what was shared in the group. Once a finalized version of the FIS was agreed upon, it was distributed to faculty in fall 2022 and fall 2023. Responses of faculty on the survey were then integrated into a predictive model for Black students in their classes during those terms. The results of the FIS, along with faculty ethnicity and the other factors in the previous predictive model, were regressed against Black student success. At this time, only two variables (both FIS items) were found to significantly predict Black student success:

  • “I set high expectations for all students in my class.” (-)

  • “It is important that students show accountability in my classroom.” (+)

In discussions with faculty and other constituencies regarding these results, possible explanations center around faculty roles and agency given to students. In the first statement, the focus is on the faculty’s expectations, whereas in the second statement, the focus is on the student to demonstrate agency in some way. This project is ongoing.

Riverside City College

Led by Project Team Members:
Wendy McEwen, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness
Mia Armenta, Student
Emily Escoto, Student
Joudi Sawas, Student

Project Title: Amplifying Student Voices—Riverside College’s Student Street Team

Project Description: In an effort to become more student centered, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness at Riverside City College (RCC) includes a three-student Street Team. These student workers provide valuable, direct feedback to inform planning, communication, student equity, and how to better connect students with RCC’s supports. Having students embedded in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (IE) has encouraged more student-centered research and several “aha” moments. The students have helped staff collect and share student feedback, amplifying student voices. They have also created solutions to some of the gaps they have identified.

The Street Team project began in fall 2022 as a partnership between IE and marketing. The Street Team shared direct feedback on how the college can better communicate with students in a wide variety of areas including catalog design, website and social media, and helping students connect classes to careers.

As the Street Team’s role evolved, it began collecting student feedback via weekly surveys. These surveys have helped inform the college about student perspectives on a wide variety of topics including student–professor communication, study habits, preferred messaging methods, and enrollment in transfer-level math and English.

When the Street Team’s efforts identify gaps, the team works with college employees to create student-centered solutions. For example, the Street Team identified that students need to be more aware of available supports. Working with marketing and graphics, they created a “Student Wealth Map” with support locations and QR codes. Another example is when the Street Team worked with marketing to create short videos about campus academic supports.

Irvine Valley College - 2023 Outstanding Project of the Year Award

Led by Project Team Members:

Vinh Nguyen, Senior Research and Planning Analyst;Loris Fagioli, Director, Research, Planning, and Accreditation
Kevin Hsu, Research and Planning Analyst; Amanda Romero, Career Center & Adult Re-Entry Program Coordinator/Counselor

Project Title: Crossing the Finish Line: On the Power of Information and Monetary Incentives to Motivate Action

Project Description: According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, California is home to 6.4 million adults with some college and no credentials. Within Orange County, the labor market is tight, with a historically low unemployment rate of 2.7%. Locally at our college, enrollment is down 17% since 2017, with the pandemic accelerating much of the decline. Although enrollment is a critical marker of a college's viability, our mission is to help students attain their educational goal and gain meaningful employment with a living wage. With that in mind, we strategically focused our efforts this past summer on students close to completion: those that are two courses away from a certificate or four courses away from a degree. Our approach centers around removing

  1. The information barrier (communicating to each student the specific courses needed for each certificate/degree they are close to completing);

  2. The cost of enrollment (covering tuition; plus $200 per course to cover books, materials, food, and gas); and

  3. The cost of attendance (trading off potentially meaningful wages today for deferred cash awards at completion).

The overarching goal is twofold: to boost enrollment and to boost completion. With that in mind, we focused on two distinct student groups: currently enrolled students and those that have stopped out since the pandemic.

The first key hurdle in implementing this initiative was to develop the capability of identifying courses needed for completion. Absent of a degree audit system with batch-processing capability, this involved transcribing award requirements onto a spreadsheet and leveraging internal transcript data to perform a "degree audit" on all students and all programs, taking into account major course requirements and general education (GE) course requirements (Intersegmental GE Transfer Curriculum, California State University GE, or local GE patterns). To gain trust around the developed logic and to improve the accuracy of the prototyped capability, expert counselors were asked to audit the missing courses on a sample of students and provide feedback in multiple iterations.

In our implementation, randomized-controlled experiments were set up to evaluate the effectiveness of different incentive offerings and the effectiveness of various modes of communication. That is, in addition to driving enrollment and completion, our office sought to understand the effectiveness of various aspects of the campaign in order to more efficiently allocate resources for future campaigns.

Results show that personalized, action-specific messaging combined with monetary incentives helps in re-engaging stopped out students and guides them to enroll in courses that lead to degree completion.

San Diego Mesa College Bachelor's Degree Program - 2023 Honorable Project Mention

Led by Project Team Members:

Hai Hoang, Lead Researcher, CCC Bachelor’s Degree Program/Acting Dean, Institutional Effectiveness, San Diego Mesa College; Davis Vo, PhD Student, School of Education & Information Studies, UCLA; Cecilia Rios-Aguilar, Professor, School of Education & Information Studies/Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, UCLA

Project Title: Benefits and Opportunities: California’s Community College Baccalaureate Programs

Project Description: Behind this publication is a lesser-known story about the research supporting SB 850, SB 77, and AB 927. In 2014, SB 850 was enacted to allow 15 community colleges in California to launch a pilot Bachelor's Degree Program (BDP), with an evaluation by the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) due by July 2022. This evaluation was critical in determining the future of the statewide program. However, in July 2019, SB 77 moved the final evaluation date up by 17 months. As there was no established research infrastructure or organizational structure, the 15 colleges immediately held an in-person meeting. At this point, Hai Hoang, Research and Planning Analyst at San Diego Mesa College, volunteered to lead the statewide data collection process to produce the results that could be used by the LAO. Given the tight timeline, Hai opted to create a survey centered on the absent data elements mandated by SB 850, such as employment metrics and loan information, in addition to data regarding program efficacy and underrepresented populations. During the next four months, Hai coordinated the data request from the LAO, developed the Employment Outcomes Survey in collaboration with various stakeholders statewide, managed the survey collection process , analyzed the data, and submitted the results to the LAO in November 2019. Unfortunately, not all the rich data collected from this effort were included in the LAO report, which featured other dimensions of the BDP.

Due to COVID-19, the California legislature postponed the BDP discussion until 2021, which provided more time to collect data. Two years were spent developing a more comprehensive plan, including an entry survey, an exit survey, and an employment outcomes survey, and the collection and analysis of additional data, such as cohort and demographic information. These findings were shared with key leaders to advocate for the program in the state legislature.

In 2021, a research partnership with UCLA was established to further advocate for and improve the BDP. This began with a research brief on the program focusing on employment and graduation information. In October 2021, AB 927 was signed into law, making the BDP permanent and allowing for the establishment of more programs annually. This was truly a historical milestone for California’s higher education system. In 2022, the research brief was published by UC Davis Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research, providing a reputable source of public documentation on the BDP's outcomes. Based on institutional records, Management Information System (MIS), a comparable dashboard from the California State University system, and three years of survey data (above 82% response rate), the research brief demonstrated many favorable outcomes of the program. For instance, half of the survey participants stated that they would not have pursued a bachelor’s degree without the program, over 70% identified as belonging to at least one special population group, 67% of students who began upper-division courses earned a bachelor’s degree within two years (and 78% within three years), and graduates reported a 37% increase in salary (equivalent to $18,400 more) upon program completion. This initial data showed that the Bachelor's Degree Program has significant potential to advance equity and opportunity in a new higher education pathway.

This new pathway requires education researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to evolve their understanding of the ways in which students interact with the community college system. The partnership with UCLA represents an important step toward conducting a new wave of research that will closely examine the program implementation, with the ultimate goal of strengthening racial equity in all aspects of the program. It is imperative that the state and other entities allocate additional resources to support the ongoing efforts and establish a sustainable research infrastructure to advance our understanding of and to enhance BDP.

Moorpark College, 2022 Outstanding Project Award

Moorpark College
Led by Project Team Members:
Oleg Bespalov, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, Moorpark College;
James Schuelke, Director of Outreach and Marketing, Oxnard College;
Gabby Chacon, Sr. Administrative Assistant, Moorpark College;
Karla Montenegro Gonzalez, PACE Program Coordinator, Moorpark College; and
Jennifer Lawler, PACE Counselor, Moorpark College

Project Title: “Institutional Effectiveness and Marketing Collaboration: Using Data-Driven Decision-Making to Measure and Improve College Marketing Strategies”
Projection Description: In light of declining enrollments, colleges are increasing their marketing efforts. How can Institutional Effectiveness support these marketing initiatives to help improve their chances of increasing enrollment?

Moorpark College (MC) shared how they used data-driven marketing to grow a program designed for adult students from 0 to 500 students, or about 4% of the college’s full-time equivalent students, in just two years. The project provided key evidence that utilizing data can improve marketing and lead to higher enrollments among historically marginalized student groups.

The college initially focused on students participating in the college’s Program for Accelerated College Education (PACE), whose average age was older than the general student population at MC, and whose ethnic background was more diverse. Given the structure of the program, where students take two courses every eight weeks, PACE students were shown to have better outcomes than non-PACE adult students. In a recent survey, 90% of PACE students agreed with the statement, "I am able to stay enrolled at Moorpark College because of the PACE program. If PACE did not exist, I would drop out or enroll at another college/university." 

The types of marketing data analyses (surveys, A/B tests, control and treatment groups) that were conducted at MC are considered the norm for large and for-profit universities, but remain novel and innovative at community colleges, which typically have much smaller marketing budgets.

Given the success of the PACE program at MC, the other two colleges in its district have decided to start or reincarnate their own PACE program, and the MC project team will be helping their colleagues implement their programs, including establishing their own marketing research protocols.

The project team showed that these kinds of tools were easily adaptable and could be used to market other college programs immediately. These insights are helping to level the playing field to ensure more programs and departments can effectively recruit students with fewer resources.

 

2020 RP Group Project of the Year Award 2020:

Strengthening your Data Literacy Infrastructure

Project Title: Strengthening your Data Literacy Infrastructure
Recipient: Coastline College: Aeron Zentner, Dean, Institutional Research, Planning, Effectiveness, and Grant Development
Description: Coastline Community College in Fountain Valley, California developed an open-access, 4-week instructor-led data coach training course shell in Canvas Commons. California community college professionals can also access a self-paced 3-week version of the course on the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office Vision Resource Center. The course provides colleges the opportunity to train their own data coaches by teaching the fundamentals of data analytics, data collection, data analysis, data presentation, and facilitating conversations using data. Tools and activities included in the course can be adopted and adapted to help institutional researchers expand their efforts to strengthen data awareness, access, application, and confidence to utilize information to build and support planning, innovation, and change.

 

2020 RP Group Research and Evaluation Project

of the Year Award: Be Mindful of the Gap: Are Success Rate Gaps a Result of Student or Faculty Success?

Project Title: Be Mindful of the Gap: Are Success Rate Gaps a Result of Student or Faculty Success?
Recipients: De Anza College: Mallory Newell, Supervisor, Institutional Research and Planning; Jerry Rosenberg, Division Dean of Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering; and Ola Sabawi, Research Analyst
Description: California Assembly Bill AB705 provided De Anza College in Cupertino, California with an opportunity to mindfully scrutinize course success rates in order to maximize the probability that students entering university transfer-level coursework in English and math complete their coursework within one year. The College began to look at variability at the section level of the same course to begin to unpack how student, course, and instructor variables affect success rates. This new lens enabled the college to look deeper into student success rates and initiate conversations about faculty success as a factor in student success. Facilitating conversations about instructor-level success rates requires the college to collaborate with faculty to build an environment where faculty feel safe and supported and to help the college best understand the myriad of factors affecting course success rates.

This video describes some of the important elements and structure required to establish a shared vision for advancing student success and meeting state mandates associated with AB 705.

 

What’s the Big Idea?

2019 Project of the Year Award:
Confirming Socio-ecological
Outcomes to Predict Student Success of Men of Color

Project Title: Confirming the Socio-ecological Outcomes (SEO) Model to Predict Student Success of Men of Color at Community Colleges
Recipients: Lijuan Zhai, Director of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning; Dee Cetin-Berber, Senior Research and Planning Analyst; Raymond Ramirez, Equity Coordinator; Carol Rains-Heisdorf, Senior Research and Planning Analyst; Lili Gao, Senior Research and Planning Analyst; and Chuck Kralowec, Research and Planning Analyst, Fresno City College

CCC Noncredit Offerings Project Summary
The CCC Noncredit Offerings Survey was conducted in partnership with California Community College Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) Educational Services.

IEPI Noncredit Summit 2017 Program
The CCC Noncredit Offerings Survey was conducted in partnership with California Community College Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) Educational Services.

A Cost Effectiveness Study of the First Year of PCC Pathways, February 2017
Recipient: Patricia Quinones, Office of Institutional Research, Pasadena City College
Description: Summary of the results from Pasadena City College’s PCC Pathways program.


Progress on the Strategic Plan Goal, December 2015
Recipient: Carolyn Arnold, Coordinator, Institutional Research, Chabot College
Description: Which student educational goal groups are making progress – and why? Progress since 2012-13 for Fall 2013 and Fall 2014 new students. Presentation delivered to PRBC.

Characteristics of Students in Special Programs, August 2016
Data on Chabot college students in special programs.

Progress Summary, December 2015
Chabot College summary of progress after two years of initiatives.

San Diego Miramar College 2015-16 Strategic Plan Assessment Scorecard (SPAS), June 2016
Recipient: San Diego Miramar College
Description: Strategic Plan Assessment Scorecard answers the following questions: How is San Diego Miramar College meeting its mission? How does San Diego Miramar College measure our success? How does San Diego Miramar College build on their success?

San Diego Miramar College Student Success Framework for Long-Term Integrated Planning, June 2016
Infographic for the Student Success Framework for Long-Term Integrated Planning from Fall 2016 to Spring 2020.

San Diego Miramar College Fall 2013-Spring 2020 Strategic Plan Update, September 2016
Strategic Plan Update presents the direction San Diego Miramar College will pursue in response to the changing educational and economic environment in the San Diego region and in the State of California.

The CTE Outcomes Survey: What Have we Learned After 5 Years?, November 2016
Recipient: KC Greaney, Ph.D., Director of Institutional Research, Santa Rosa Junior College Director of the California Community College’s Statewide Career and Technical Education Employment Outcomes Survey (CTEOS)
Description: Resource associated with the winning 2017 RP Group Award project.

The Evolution of Crisis Dissertation, August 2016
Recipient: Megan Diane Corry, San Francisco, California
Description: Qualitative study examining the factors that may have contributed to the development of an institutional blindspot that prevented CCSF leaders at all levels from recognizing and responding to the impending crisis.

How to Increase Data Democracy and Develop a Culture of Inquiry within Faculty and Staff
Recipients: Chialin Hsieh, Dean of Planning, Research, and Institutional Effectiveness; Janet Stringer, Dean of Science and Technology; Tracy Huang, Planning and Research Analyst; Michael Hoffman, Math Faculty and Student Equity Coordinator; and Anniqua Rana, Dean of Athletic, Learning Resources, and Library, Cañada College

Decision Making and Planning Handbook - Making Integrated Planning User-friendly, 2015
Recipients: Pierce College Council; Academic Senate; Kathleen F. Burke, President; Oleg Bespalov, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness; and Amari Williams, Assistant Research Analyst, Pierce College
Description: Handbook explaining how to get college funding and approval for ideas centered on improving student services and programs.

Integrated Planning Calendar
Integrated Planning Calendar for Los Angeles Pierce College 2013-2026.

Strategic Master Plan Dashboard
Pierce College's strategic master plan for 2013 to 2017.

Annual Program Plan Template
Annual Academic Program Plan for 2016-2017.

Annual Program Plan Data Packets

Annual Program Plan Data Packets_PLO supplement

Combined Resource Priority Listing, June 2015
Includes equipment, labor, and supplies in a prioritized list as of June 2, 2015.

Secret Shopper Program Description
Spring 2015 Financial Aid Office interaction report.

Secret Shopper Results - Financial Aid, 2015
Spring 2015 Financial Aid Office interaction report.

Multiple Measures Assessment Project Technical ReportSpring 2015
Recipients: Peter Riley Bahr, Associate Professor of Education, University of Michigan; Danielle Durán, Special Assistant to the President, Stuart Foundation; Craig Hayward, Director of Research, Planning and Accreditation, Irvine Valley College; John Hetts, Senior Director of Data Science, Daniel Lamoree, Senior Research and Systems Analyst, and Ken Sorey, Executive Vice President, Educational Results Partnership; Mallory Newell, Supervisor for Institutional Research and Planning, De Anza College; Alyssa Nguyen, Associate Director of Research and Evaluation, RP Group; and Terrence Willett, Director of Research, Planning, and Knowledge Systems, Cabrillo College
Description: A summary and documentation of Phase 1 of the MMAP research project presented to the Common Assessment Initiative Steering Committee


Who Gets to Count? Constructing a Skills-Builder Success Metric, 2015
Recipients: Ryan Fuller, Alice van Ommeren, and the Doing What Matters for Jobs & the Economy team, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office; KC Greaney, Santa Rosa Junior College; Peter Riley Bahr, University of Michigan; VERATAC; and Kathy Booth, WestEd
Description: Guide addresses the following questions: How was the proposed skills-builder metric created? What types of students are skills-builders? How many skills-builders are there? Are skills-builders securing higher earnings? Are skills-builders earning a living wage? What would it mean to have a skills-builder metric on the Student Success Scorecard?

A Multi-Perspective Examination of Developmental Education: Student Progression, Institutional Assessment and Placement Policies, and Statewide Regulations, December 2015
Recipient: Kristen Erin Fong, Research Analyst, Cerritos College; Ph.D. in Philosophy (Education), University of Southern California
Description: Dissertation presented to the faculty of the USC Graduate School.

A Multi-Perspective Examination of Developmental Education, December 2015
Dissertation and project summary by Kristen Fong.

Let Them In: Increasing Access, Completion, and Equity in College English
Recipients: Leslie Henson, Instructor and Co-Chair, English and Journalism; Eric Hoiland, Director of Assessment; and Wim McSpadden, Senior Designer/Developer, Butte College


Hope and Mindset: Changing Institutional Culture to Improve Student Success, October 2014
Recipient: Jim Fillpot, Dean, Institutional Research and Resource Development, Chaffey College
Description: Presentation and/or materials delivered at 2014 Strengthening Student Success Conference.

Chaffey Hope Data: Three-Year Cohort Tracking, June 2014
Resource associated with the winning RP Group Award project.

Chaffey Integrated Planning Model-2012
Resource associated with the winning RP Group Award project.

Decision Support System Conference Presentation, February 2014
Recipient: Daniel Lamoree, Senior Systems Analyst/Programmer, Mt. San Antonio College
Description: Resource associated with the winning 2014 RP Group Award project.

Curricular Redesign and Gatekeeper Completion: A Multi-College Evaluation of the California Acceleration Project, April 2014
Recipients: Craig Hayward, Director of Research, Planning and Accreditation, Irvine College; Terrence Willett, Director of Planning, Research and Knowledge Systems, Cabrillo College; and Vinod Verma, System Software Specialist III, CCCCO
Description: California Acceleration Project evaluation summary.

Curricular Redesign and Gatekeeper Completion: A Multi-College Evaluation of the California Acceleration Project, April 2014
California Acceleration Project evaluation report.

Efficacy of the California Basic Skills Initiative, 2015
Recipient: Erik Cooper, Dean of Planning, Research and Resource Development, Sierra College, Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, California State University, Sacramento
Description: Presentation about basic skills taught in California Community Colleges.

Relationship of the Fall 2012 Left Land Cohort to Enrollments, Student Success and Fall to Spring Retention, July 2013
Recipient: Keith Wurtz, Dean, Institutional Effectiveness, Research & Planning, Crafton Hills College
Description: Crafton Hills College’s summary of findings of the Left Lane Project.

Crafton Hills College – Left Lane Project

Relationship of the Fall 2012 and Fall 2013 Left Lane Cohorts to Student Success, October 2014
Report examines the relationship of the Fall 2012 and Fall 2013 Left Lane cohorts to enrollments, student success, and fall to spring retention.

Integrated Program Review and Budget Planning, June 2012
Recipients: Barry Gribbons, Asst. Superintendent/V.P., Institutional Development, Technology and Online Services; and Daylene Meuschke, Director, Institutional Research, College of the Canyons

College of the Canyon’s Program Review Year 2 Update Technical Guide, May 2013
Technical Guide for College of the Canyon’s program review year 2 update.

Instructions for Budget Development in Online Program Review, November 2013
Instructional how-to showing budget development in an online program review with screenshots.

Special Commendation for Excellence in Planning

Institutional Effectiveness Committee – Purpose and Function, August 2011
Recipients: Hannah Lawler, Dean of Institutional Research; and Christine Schultz, Professor, Political Science, Santa Monica College

SMC – Master Plan for Education – 2011-12, October 2011

Accreditation Team – Evaluation Report, February 2014

Student and Institutional Learning Outcomes: The Cliff Note Version, November 2013
Short description of the Student and Institutional Learning Outcomes process.

Master Plan for Education – 2009 -10, January 2010

Tracking Wages of California Community College Completers, June 2013
Recipient: Alice van Ommeren, Dean, Research, Analysis and Accountability, and members of the Technology, Research and Information Systems (TRIS) Division, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office
Description: Framework for tracking the earnings or wages of students after completing an award at a California Community College.

Salary Surfer

CCCCO Research, Analysis & Accountability

Salary Surfer – Online Query Tool

A Conceptual Model on the Impact of Mattering, Sense of Belonging, Engagement/Involvement, and Socio-Academic Integrative Experiences on Community College Students’ Intent to Persist, March 2013
Recipient: Esau Tovar, Counselor/Faculty Lead, Assessment Center, Santa Monica College
Description: Full dissertation examining how factors such as institutional commitment to students, mattering, sense of belonging, interactions with diverse peers, perceptions of the campus climate, engagement/involvement, socio-academic integrative experiences, and goal commitment collectively affected community college students’ intent to persist to degree completion.

Author's Homepage (SMC)

SOFIA: Student Outcomes for Faculty Inquiry and Analysis, May 2012
Recipients: Terra Morris, Institutional Research Specialist, Cabrillo College; Craig Hayward, Director of Research, Planning & Accreditation, Irvine Valley College; and Vinod Verma, System Software Specialist, Chancellor’s Office

Chaffey - Integrated Planning Model, January 2013
Recipients: Sherrie Guerrero, Associate Superintendent of Instruction and Student Services; Laura Hope, Dean of Instructional Support; and Jim Fillpot, Interim Dean of Institutional Research and Resource Development, Chaffey College

Special Mention for Outstanding Research Resource

Illuminous - Formerly Universal Cohort Progression Tool, January 2013
Recipient: Daniel Lamoree, Educational Research Assessment Analyst, Mt. San Antonio College
Description: Summary of the Universal Cohort Progression Tool (UCPT).

Illuminous - Feedback from Other Researchers, January 2013
Sample of collaboration emails for Universal Cohort Progression Tool (UCPT) and STEPS 2.0.

Example of Using Illuminous in Planning, January 2013
Example of using Universal Cohort Progression Tool (UCPT) in planning.

Mathematics from High School to Community College: Preparation, Articulation, and College Un-readiness - Full, January 2013
Recipient: Louise Jaffe, Trustee, Santa Monica College
Description: Full dissertation of Mathematics from High School to Community College: Preparation, Articulation, and College Un-readiness.

Mathematics from High School to Community College: Preparation, Articulation, and College Un-readiness, January 2013
Executive summary of research findings.

Mathematics from High School to Community College - PowerPoint Presentation

Crafton Hills College Integrated Planning and Program Review
Recipients: Denise Hoyt, Jessica McCambly, Dr. Cheryl Marshall, Michael Strong, Ralph Rabago, Michelle Riggs, Rebeccah Warren-Marlatt, Sherri Wilson, Gary Williams, Keith Wurtz, Marcus Dashoff, Lucas Manning, Margaret Yau, and Jason Brady, Crafton Hills College

Tips for Using the Basic Skills Progress Tracker (Online Tracking Tool), March 2012
Recipients: Craig Hayward, Cabrillo College; and Myrna Huffman, Vinod Verma & Tom Nobert, California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, with support from Katie Hern, Lynn Wright & Myra Snell, 3CSN

Access the Basic Skills Progress Tracker