Carthage College issued the following announcement on Sept. 7
That was the message guest speaker Tim Renick imparted to Carthage faculty and staff members, as the College embarks on a mission to close racial and income disparities in student retention and graduation by the end of the decade.
Once “the national poster child for equity gaps,” in his words, Georgia State University made a remarkable turnaround under Mr. Renick’s leadership. He’s become a national expert in data-driven interventions that clear students’ road to a college degree.
Mr. Renick visited Kenosha on Sept. 1 as a mentor with Moon Shot for Equity, an ambitious national initiative that Carthage joined last fall. Partnering with education firm EAB and three other schools in the region, the College has committed to eliminate those gaps by 2030.
“In less than a decade, Tim Renick and his team effectively eliminated race and income as predictors of college completion — which, like the Apollo landings that inspired the Moon Shot name, was once viewed as an impossible mission,” said President John Swallow. “Drawing encouragement and practical lessons from such a great partner, I’m confident that Carthage can set a strong example for equity in Wisconsin.”
The newest data for seven counties in southeastern Wisconsin shows that only 51 percent of Hispanic students and 33 percent of Black students in earned a bachelor’s degree within six years of starting college. Compare that to 64 percent of white students who graduated in the same time frame.
Mr. Renick pointed out that the outlook was even bleaker across the board at Georgia State in 2012, when he and his colleagues shifted to a more proactive approach. Undaunted by legislative budget cuts and donor skepticism, the Atlanta university began with an honest look in the mirror.
“Don’t take the view that you need all of the stars aligned to make these changes,” he told the Carthage audience. “Rather than give up, ask this question: Are we the problem?”
Based on a thorough self-evaluation, Georgia State answered that question with a definitive yes.
“We were the big bureaucratic roadblock between them and their dream of going to college,” he said.
To better serve its students, the school introduced a series of inexpensive but extremely effective changes:
- A web portal that guides incoming students step-by-step through what can be a complicated enrollment process
- A chatbot, powered by artificial intelligence, that provides immediate text responses to common questions
- Learning communities that group 25 or so new students together for all core freshman courses, enabling them to build friendships and support networks
- “Meta-majors” like STEM, Business, or Arts and Humanities that help students to get a feel for broad career paths before declaring a specific major
- Seed grants that allow interested faculty members to create assignments that translate class learning to the “real world”
- New retention grants that students automatically receive when an unpaid tuition balance — often just a few hundred dollars — threatens to derail their education
- Extra advising for those who struggle in introductory courses, traditionally a key point in the road to graduation
- A reduction in the number of credits needed to graduate, without dropping any core requirements
Based on that success, Mr. Renick testified before the U.S. Senate and spoke at the White House on two occasions. He now directs the National Institute for Student Success, which Georgia State founded to help other schools follow its blueprint.
The new Navigate platform (developed by EAB) will serve as a starting point for Carthage in the Moon Shot for Equity. Replacing the College’s old Student Outreach System, it enables faculty and staff to share information, spot potential impediments, and quickly connect students with the help they need.
Four campus-wide teams are forming to discuss other potential Moon Shot solutions.
Original source can be found here.
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