Retention Begins at Entry: Enhancing the First-Year College Experience at Middlesex Community College

Brittany Resmann

Tiffany Tolson

Dierre Upshaw

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Spring 2025

Organization Summary

• Established in 1970
• Campuses in Bedford and Lowell, Massachusetts
• 11,771 students (2023-2024)
• 80% part-time
• Average student age: 25
• 80 degree and certificate programs
• MassEducate and MassReconnect

Institutional Effectiveness:

RISE (register, integrate, succeed, employed)

First-Year Momentum Metrics:

• Full-Time Students Earning 24 Credits in First Year: 50% (Baseline: 49%; Goal: 54%)
• Part-Time Students Earning 12 Credits in First Year: 39% (Baseline: 36%; Goal: 41%)

Persistence:

• Fall-to-Spring: 70% (Baseline: 70%; Goal: 75%)
• Fall-to-Fall: 59% (Baseline: 57%; Goal: 62%)

Graduation Rates:

• Four-Year Graduation Rate: 25% (Baseline: 22%; Goal: 27%)
• Four-Year Graduation or Vertical Transfer Rate: 43% (Baseline: 38%; Goal: 48%)

Statement of Need

• MCC has developed a First Year Experience Program to support first year momentum and student success.
• FYE curriculum is IDS 101, plus 2 of these courses →
• mix of online, in-person, single/no meeting classes
• Cafeteria style menu of 30 courses
• Not all programs have the FYE sequence in the first year on program curriculum sequence maps.
• The administrative support for the program is only part of the workload of a department chair.

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Statement of Need

• MCC has invested significant work on the first year experience program with approximately only 30% of students completing the first of three courses (IDS 101) in the first year.

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Statement of Need

Students who take IDS 101 are more successful:

• 59% vs. 80% fall to spring retention rates for IDS 101 students
• 66% vs. 42% fall to fall retention rate for IDS 101 students
• Earn more credit hours than students who do not take IDS 101

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Project Description

Phase 1 - Expanding Capacity and Review of Current FYE Practices

• Infrastructure
• Support staff
• Comprehensive review
• Courses, modalities, and outcomes
• Interviews and data collection

Phase 2 - Redesigning the FYE

• Data-informed redesign
• Implement high-impact educational practices

Phase 3 - Implementation, Assessment, and Sustainability

• FYE Launch
• Implementation and data collection
• Sustainability and additional funding

Project Timeline - Phase 1

(August 2025 - July 2026)

Project Timeline - Phase 2

(August 2026 - July 2027)

Project Timeline - Phase 3

(August 2027 - July 2028)

Mitigation of Risks

Staff Turnover

• A FYE Advisory Committee will be established to ensure the project work is collaborative across the college.
• The project will use project management software to track progress and to document the work.

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New Strategic Plan

• Current strategic plan ends in 2027
• As an Achieving the Dream member institution, MCC has access to expertise and resources from Achieving the Dream (ATD) and other member institutions.
• Process grounded in data and as part of the continuous improvement process.

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Sustainability

• The goal of this project is to build capacity to ensure all first year students at MCC participate in the First Year Experience.

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• In 2023/24, only 23% of first year students completed the first course in the sequence.

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• Increasing the percentage of students completing the sequence will generate tuition and fees that will be used to sustain the program when the funding ends.

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Measures of Success: Outputs/Milestones

• Identification of recommendations to guide the program redesign.
• Revision of FYE course sequence.
• Development of curriculum for new FYE sequence.
• Development of training for FYE faculty and student affairs staff.
• All academic program maps will include FYE in the first year.

Measures of Success: Outcomes

• 75% fall to spring retention rate for first time, new students.
• Aligned with collegewide goals.

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• 75% of first year students will participate in IDS 101 (or new equivalent) by the end of the project.

Budget

• Personnel/Consultants: $500,453.50
• Travel: $10,500
• Supplies/Equipment/Technology: $48,000
• Trainings/Conferences/Meetings: $67,000
• Subgrants: $0
• Other Direct Costs: $67,565.02
• Indirect Expenses (8%): $55,481

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Total: $749,000

Acknowledgment

THANK YOU

Brittany Resmann, Tiffany Tolson, Dierre Upshaw

Spring 2025