Project Status for Year 1

October 1, 2005 - September 30, 2006
General Administration of Grant
These activities pertain to the general administration of the grant and apply to all components.

There was a Title III task force formed by Dr. Beverly Bowen and Previous Foundation Director Bonnie Glass. The task force that was comprised of diverse representation from the College reviewed and revised the grant because of changes in environment, timelines and personnel since the grant had originally been submitted in 2004. The revisions were submitted to the consultant on November 15, 2005. The revisions were then submitted to the U. S. Department of Education on December 2, 2005 and approved by them on February 2, 2006.

Curt Oldfield, Previous Dean of Instruction, Beverly Bowen, Vice President for Instruction and Student Services, and Susan Barnhart, Title III Project Coordinator attended a Title Grant Management Workshop in Bella Vista, Arkansas on October 20, 2005. The Title III Grant Management Workshop was an overview and review of all rules, regulations and policies associated with the grant. It was helpful to get the grant started off in a positive direction and helped link the entire project together. Handouts and materials received were informative and assisted in the organization of the grant recordkeeping.

The Title III Coordinator developed recordkeeping forms for monthly reports; Monthly Progress Reports; Title III Time and Effort Daily Log; Title III Time and Effort Report in October of 2005.

In December of 2005, the job descriptions for the Activity Director/Transition Specialist and for Title III Coordinator Assistant were posted both internally and externally. It was essential to the grant to hire the Activity Director/Transition Specialist as soon as the most qualified person could be found. It was the goal of the Title III Coordinator to have this person on staff by March 1 or sooner.

Title III Chats were held at Macomb campus February 7, 2006 and Canton Campus February 8, 2006.

Title III Update Bullets are sent to the President's Cabinet on a weekly basis (on Wednesday). This is an excellent way to disseminate the up-to-date information of what is happening in Title III campus-wide (all four locations) because these bullets are sent in a President's Communication e-mail to all college personnel.

On February 9, 2006 and February 14, 2006 interviews were held for the position of Title III Activity Director/Transition Specialist. A recommendation was sent to the Vice-President of Instruction and Student Services and the candidate met with Dr. Beverly Bowen on February 16, 2006 and final steps were taken to hire the candidate. The new Title III Activity Director/Transition Specialist is Jenny Briney. She will be joining SRC on April 3, 2006. This is an essential position of the grant and hiring the appropriate person with the expertise in developmental education will serve to ensure a successful grant implementation. This was a lengthy process to find the appropriate person for the position but will be worth it in the end in meeting objectives of the grant.

On February 24, 2006 the Title III Coordinator presented an overview and explanation of the Title III grant and progress including handouts and power point presentation. This was done for Professional Development Day, a professional education day for the entire college community.

The Title III Coordinator completed the writing and proofreading of the Policies and Procedures manual for Title III. This manual can be found in your IMT binder.

Susan Barnhart, Title III Coordinator and Lisa Dennis, SRC Instructional Design Specialist attended the National Association of Developmental Education Conference in Philadelphia on February 15 - 17, 2006. Summary reports of this conference can be found on the shared drive in the SRC Title III folder.

During the month of March the Internal Monitoring Team was selected.

The 6 Month Interim Report was written and sent to the U. S. Department of Education.

Jennifer Briney, Title III Activity Director/Transition Specialist started her position on April 3, 2006.

In April, we hired the Title III Learning Specialist 50% time. Lisa Dennis, the SRC Instructional Design Specialist, was hired for the job. She assumed her duties on May 1, 2006.

In April, we hired Title III Tracking Specialist 25% time. Michelle Frederick, the Director of Institutional Research, will serve as the Tracking Specialist. She assumed her duties on May 1, 2006.

A meeting was held in April with Dr. Beverly Bowen, Jenny Briney, and Susan Barnhart in regards to Title III interface with the Strategic Plan. The Measurement and Benchmarks for each Title III Tactic in the Strategic Plan were sent to Dr. Bowen and President Ritschel for approval.

In April, 309 Web Design was contacted about consulting for design of a flash production about Title III that could be used in community programs as well as design of the pages for the Title III Website that would link to the SRC home page.

A meeting was held with Jo Branson, Director of Financial Aid on April 26, 2006 to discuss financial aid options for developmental students and courses.

On May 8, 2006, the Internal Monitoring Team was assembled. Present were the Title III staff, Debbie Abernathy; Community & Business Services, Brett Stoller; V.P. for Administrative Services, Stacy Swanson; Chemistry Instructor, Dr. Jeanine Bloyd; Psychology Instructor, Chad Murphy; Director of Business & Industry Development. Absent were Dr. Beverly Bowen; V.P. for Instruction and Student Services and Dr. Robert Ritschel; College President. An introduction to the charge of the team was made including the handing out of binders containing the vision, policy manual and six month report requirements. Direction to the six month report available on the colleges shared drive was also given.

On June 5, 2006, the Foundation Coordinator, Emily Gillett, invited the Title III staff to present at a meeting of a group of community leaders in the Macomb area. Title III Activity Director/Transition Specialist, Jenny Briney, reviewed a power point presentation for the group of attendees. This power point slide show highlighted the components of the grant and explained the work that has been accomplished thus far in the grant including the construction and completion of the Academic Success Centers on both Macomb and Canton campuses.

On June 7, 2006, Michelle Frederick, Title III Tracking Specialist and Susan Barnhart, Title III Coordinator had a telephone consultation with Dr. Hunter Boylan, Director of the National Center for Developmental Education concerning data collection and research design.

On June 27, 2006, a meeting was held with Jenny Briney, Activity Director/Transition Specialist; Susan Barnhart, Title III Coordinator; and Michelle Frederick, Title III Tracking Specialist concerning data collection criteria and made revisions to the list. We also had a discussion of training on how to access student schedules from the college data base to use to track developmental student courses.

On June 28, 2006, application was made to Kellogg Institute by Jenny Briney and Susan Barnhart. This will be for July of 2007 and will be included in next year's Title III budget.

On July 12, 2006, the Title III coordinator had a meeting with Mike Walters, Title III Coordinator of Carl Sandburg College to investigate the possibility of sharing costs of bringing in at External Evaluator for the Title III grant. In the future, we will contact Mike Gaudette at lighthouseconsulting@msn.com

On July 20, 2006, the title III team met with the nursing department to see how Title III can collaborate with them with their new program STEAM. This is a program with components to aid in the success and retention of nursing students. It fits perfectly with the goals and objectives of the Title III grant. We (Title III) will be providing an orientation to the Academic Success Center for the nursing students in the Fall. We will also work with any nursing faculty who want to design a linked course.
    * S - Study Groups
    * T - Tutoring
    * E - Empowerment
    * A - Assessment
    * M - Mentoring

All nursing students took a tour of the Academic Success Centers during the first week of school and utilize the ASC extensively.

July 21, 2006 - Title III presented at the Professional Development Day for the Professional Support and Classified Staff of SRC. All were in attendance and a handout of updates of activities since February Professional Day were given to the participants.

Interviews were conducted for the part time position of Title III Coordinator Assistant with Natalie Orwig being appointed to the position. She started her position on September 5, 2006.

The website and flash production were completed and launched at the Open House of the Academic Success Centers on September 5, 2006

Several Title III persons visited Parkland College on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 to tour their new Center for Academic Success. We learned of some great marketing tools to communicate to students the services of the Academic Success Center as well as innovative ideas on providing extensive tutoring and workshops for all students to aid in their success. Michelle Frederick also met with the Director of Institutional Research and learned how Parkland collects data for the Title III grant.

The Title III Cohort has been selected using the criteria of 2 or more developmental classes one of which has to be Reading or Writing as well as a course load of 9 semester hours or more. There are 63 students in the cohort for Fall of 2006. The Student Success Coaches are meeting individually with each of the students. Student referrals have also been made from faculty.

Component 1: Redesigning the Matriculation Process
Redesigning the Matriculation Process is designed to aid students who have unclear goals, are inadequately assessed and not placed in appropriate classes for skill level, develop no clear identification with Spoon River College and are inadequately advised and tracked. The redesigned matriculation process will include strategies that will be proactive in nature and will monitor progress and outcomes for all students at Spoon River College.
Year 1

• Design Career/Education Planning process and conduct preliminary test
• Design Orientation/Advisement Web site - "SRC Online"
• Design and test new Academic Assessment and Placement process
• Design Student Information System (SIS)

The Component #1 Task force was formed and met in April. It consisted of faculty, Adult Education, Advising/Student Services and Title III key personnel. Research was conducted into career and education planning processes at other exemplary programs. A visit was planned for early April to Parkland College to discuss their Career/Education Planning process for at-risk students. A visit was scheduled in May to St. Petersburg College to view their process of advising, career programs, mentor programs, early alert system, and student accountability for at-risk students. This task force continued to meet on an ongoing basis to choose the best practices of what will be incorporated into a successful process at SRC and make recommendations to the College.

On May 2, 2006 a meeting to review COMPASS Test Score cut-offs was held at the Macomb Campus. Present were Advisors: Patrick Denecke, Kathy Eagen, Bonnie Swedell, English instructor Diane Taylor, and Title III staff; Susan Barnhart, Jenny Briney, and Lisa Dennis. It was established that no statistics are available that compare student success upon completion of developmental courses as they advance to gateway courses. A comparison of other college campus cut off scores (Parkland, ICC, and Carl Sandburg) are similar and should be kept the same. All agreed that there needed to be mandatory placement based on COMPASS scores but that also allowing students who fall within the 52-69 point range take a writing sample to attempt to place out of developmental courses. A test taking workshop for high school students was suggested to help counter any test taking anxiety of the part of the student.

On May 9, 2006, a meeting to discuss COMPASS Test score cut-offs was held on the Canton Campus. Present were Title III staff, Advisors: Missy Wilkinson, Brandi Ketchum, Adult Ed. Specialist; Jodie McCamey, English instructors; Jan Hardy, and Doug Okey. This group came to similar conclusions as the Macomb group concerning the cut-off scores for placement in to developmental courses. We are on target with other community colleges as well as with the recommendations of the COMPASS test publishers. The idea of a writing sample option for those scoring 52-69 would be available and a software program would be used to score them.

Activity Director, Jenny Briney, designed a Life Management Survey to be filled out by every student as they enter the college. It is designed to identify at-risk students to be flagged for Title III intervention.

May 19 met with Sharon Williams from St. Petersburg College about Title III initiatives. This was done by the Title III Coordinator while vacationing and was not paid for by Title III.

May 22 visited Daytona Beach Community College to review developmental programs. This was done by the Title III Coordinator while vacationing and was not paid for by Title III.

Title III Director, Susan Barnhart and Activity Director, Jenny Briney, met to develop a Student Success Contract and Semester Tracking forms to be used by the Title III staff and students. These forms will allow the Title III staff to monitor the participation and activities of the students both academically and socially as they progress through each semester.

On June 8, 2006, the Component #1 Task Force Meeting with all advisors in attendance as well as Dean of the Macomb Campus and Title III personnel met. COMPASS testing, mandatory assessment and placement, and sections of developmental courses were discussed. The Life Management Survey, Student Success Contract, and Student Semester Activity Tracking Reports were handed out and discussed. Discussion on how these forms can best be implemented and what criteria would be used to flag an at-risk student.

After the Component 1 Task Force met and discussed assessment/placement, the final recommendations were sent out to all members.

On July 6, 2006, the Title III team has been working with Adult Education to design a collaborative process to transition our Adult Education students to the developmental program. At the meeting we brainstormed on ideas how to complete the task. We want to emphasize that the Adult Education students should use the Academic Success Center as well as complete the process similar to the Title III Student Contract so that they feel a part of the college and therefore, will transition easily.

Faculty Referral forms and Faculty Intervention/Progress Reports were developed.

The Career Cruising Company demonstrated the career assessment and planning site. We purchased a license for the site and have access to career planning, portfolios, and resume building. This will be used with the at-risk students as well as all SRC students for career planning. We will personalize the site and all high school SRC district students will see SRC information when they sign into their Career Cruising home page at the area feeder high schools. This will serve as a great transition between high schools and SRC.

Career Assessment and Planning forms were developed for use by the Title III Student Success Coach as she/he works with students. A Career Exploration Center is being developed in an extra office in Student Services with computer access.

On July 27, 2006, the Title III staff moved into offices in the completed Academic Success Center. The office furnishing was an in-kind contribution of the college.

On August 11 and August 14, 2006, Activity Director, Jenny Briney met with the Director of the Havana Campus, Teri Shafer and Director of Rushville Campus, Brenda McGuire, respectively. All of the Title III student success forms (Life Management Survey, Student Success Contract, Semester1 and 2 tracking forms, Identified Title III student Progress/Intervention Report, Faculty Referral Form). The process by which students will become part of the Title III cohort was discussed as well as the process for completing forms and reporting information to the Title III Team and instructors involved.

A presentation summarizing the recommendations of a Title III Task Force (made up of all advisors, Reading/English faculty, Title III team) concerning COMPASS Scores, Developmental Courses, Grading, and Mandatory Assessment/Placement was presented to the Student and Academic Affairs Committee on September 12, 2006.

Letters were written to SRC District high school administration to set up appointments to discuss ways that we can work together to improve the preparedness of college-bound students and their transition into college.

Component 2: Strengthening Developmental Education and Gateway Curriculum
Strengthening Developmental Education and Gateway Curriculum is designed to aid faculty in integrating alternative teaching strategies into their curriculum that will address the diverse learning styles of the under-prepared students. Faculty members with the help of Title III staff will redesign curriculum for Developmental education courses and selected Gateway courses to include outcomes-based learning strategies. This collaborative effort of the faculty and Title III team will ensure competencies that are clearly outlined and progress in a smooth sequence from one level to the next. Over the five-year grant, faculty members will conduct in-depth course modifications and then serve as mentors for other faculty as new teaching strategies are adopted throughout the curricula. As part of this component an Innovative Teaching and Learning Center will be developed to provide faculty with a central location to network and develop skills in using alternative teaching strategies. This component will also include the development of an Academic Success Center for students to develop their skills as well as enhance their academic success.

Year 1

• Redesign alternative learning strategies, including CAI/MAI resources into
• Reading and English
• Develop and equip Innovative Teaching and Learning Centers (ITLC)
• Plan, construct and equip Academic Success Centers

A meeting was held in December with Diann Jabusch (Chief Information Officer), Dr. Beverly Bowen (Vice President for Instruction and Student Services), Lisa Dennis (Instructional Design Specialist), and Susan Barnhart (Title III Coordinator) in regard to the Innovative Teaching and Learning Center (ITLC). Discussion was held concerning ordering of computers, scanners, and printers for the ITLC's on the Macomb and Canton campus.

A meeting was held in December with Peg Shroyer (Dean, Macomb Campus/Outreach Education - Macomb), Lisa Dennis (Instructional Design Specialist) and Susan Barnhart (Title III Coordinator) in regard to the configuration of the Macomb campus Innovative Teaching and Learning Center/Learning Support Center and ordering of computers, scanners, and printers for that ITLC.

A meeting was held in December with Brett Stoller (Vice President for Administrative Services) and Dr. Beverly Bowen (Vice President for Instruction and Student Services) in regard to construction for Canton Learning Support Center (Tutoring Center).

In March, the computers for the Innovative Teaching and Learning Centers (ITLC) on our Canton and Macomb campuses were received and wiring/ installation of the computers was completed. In preparation for Year 2 (Design and Test faculty access to Innovative Teaching and Learning Center) a questionnaire will be completed by all faculty at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony surveying convenient times, faculty needs and uses, workshops, etc., for the ITLC. Refreshments will be served through a grant from POD Network.

During extensive meetings during the month of March, the design needs of the Learning Support Center on our Canton campus were finalized, budgets prepared, materials ordered and construction was to begin by April 2006 and be completed by June 1, 2006. After discussion of college personnel it was felt that this new area for student support should have a name that held not only the association of student assistance but that a positive success-oriented overtone should accompany the name. The "official" name of the Learning Support Centers will now be the Academic Success Centers, or the acronym of ASC - a place that you can always go to ask those questions. The preparation for these areas has kept the library staff, IT staff, and the maintenance staff extremely busy in the last 2 months. The three units of the college have cooperated with each other and moved books and bookcases as well as moved and re-wired computers. All of this work has been done with a willing, excited attitude on behalf of the employees towards Title III and has been paid with college monies as administrative commitment to Title III.

Title III personnel, Jenny Briney and Susan Barnhart, visited Parkland College on April 5, 2006 for the day. Met with Associate Professor Pamela Lau, Director of Reading to exam their Title III progress on their reading and writing task force team.

We discussed their methods of identifying students using the COMPASS Basic skills tests and placement of those students into remedial courses.

    * They have a "Transition" course that does not cost tuition but gives no credit for students scoring below 45 but have a GED.
    * They have two levels of developmental reading courses. Instructors use theme units and require summary writing and critical response writing.
    * The developmental classes are part of the academic departments.
    * The lowest level students are referred to an Advocate that advises them on academics as well as social situational issues.
    * They have faculty tutors as well as student tutors.
    * Students who are not succeeding in the remedial courses can do "Modules" to catch up (8 week or 16 week or 32 week-whatever it takes) and take the same mastery test at the end to get credit for the course.

A task force, Component #2, for re-design of the curriculum in Reading and English met on April 19th and articles and research on alternative learning strategies were given to the participants. Ideas were generated for learning community courses and after much discussion it was determined that a sub-committee needed to meet to research the mandatory assessment and placement as well as our COMPASS scores.

On June 1, 2006 we met with Janet Munson in regards to current tutoring practices such as training, recruiting, hiring practices, hours, forms, etc. Janet felt that current practices could be enhanced with additional training as well as hiring of Student Success Coach. Janet shared forms and practices that have been used in past years, but felt that the peer tutoring could definitely be enhanced through Title III.

On June 5, 2006 we met with Advisors in regard to software needs for Academic Success Center. Brandi Ketcham suggested that we review Career Cruising that would be used for the Career Assessment and Planning component of Title III. It was also suggested that the Read, Write Gold software package was be reviewed as a program that the writing and reading students could use to increase their skills and check their work. Title III Learning Specialist, Lisa Dennis, will review this software and accept any future suggestions for review and return to the group with recommendations. We will also have the Developmental Reading/Writing faculty review the software.

The job description for the Student Success Coach which will be 100% time in the Academic Success Center in Canton and 50% time in Macomb was written. This was sent to the U. S. Department of Education and approval was given on July 20, 2006.

On June 27, 2006, the Title III team met with Dr. Beverly Bowen, VP of Instruction and Student Services. We discussed the job description of the Student Success coach to be housed in the Academic Success Center. After review and minor changes the job will be posted as soon as it is approved by the U. S. Department of Education. Another part-time Student Success Coach will be hired in the Macomb ASC. Dr. Bowen will talk with Brett Stoller concerning future positions in the developmental program and a matrix was developed. It was discussed with Dr. Bowen that Title III Learning Specialist Lisa Dennis will be developing a tutor training on Blackboard. All peer and community volunteer tutors will go through the program and certification before tutoring. This is in line with best practices that tutors who are trained are much more successful in aiding students. A Smart cart for the ITLC and ASC in Canton will be purchased instead of a permanently mounted projector. With the mobility of a Smart Cart this will be more efficient by being able to be utilized in both the ASC and ITLC. We also discussed release time for faculty. This will be discussed after contract negotiations.

On June 22, 2006, Title III met with Brett Stoller, Vice President, concerning timeline for completion of the construction of the Academic Success Center. Selection and ordering of 8 workstations was completed. Signage for the main entrance doors as well as the unisex bathroom was decided upon. The chairs for the computer workstations will be purchased by the College. SRC will order furniture including desks, chairs, and file cabinets for all of the offices of the Title III personnel.

On July 18, 2006, a telephone consultation was held with Steve Bandara from the Pacific Institute on how this program will be designed in Year 2 and piloted in Year 3 for our at-risk students.

Interviews were conducted for the full time position of Title III Student Success Coach-Canton and part time position of Title III Student Success Coach-Macomb. Rebecca Bradley accepted the Canton position and Sarah Billeter accepted the Macomb appointment. The starting date for these positions was August.

August 25, 2006 - Title III Activity Director/Transition Specialist, Jenny Briney and Title III Student Success Coach, Becca Bradley, met with Tutor Coordinator, Janet Munson to coordinate the tutor staffing and tracking needs for the Academic Success Center. Tutors are gathered through application and referral by instructors. The process for receiving tutoring will now be through drop in or call ahead for appointments. Tutors are paid a minimum wage of $6.50 per hour. English honor students may be asked to volunteer to tutor to meet requirements for the program. Students in the identified teaching program are a possible tutoring group that will be approached. It was agreed that Janet Munson will track tutor time for payment purposes and the Title III program will track tutoring of the identified Title III cohort with tutoring of other students tracked by tutor's name.

On August 29, 2006, a demonstration of the Read, Write, Gold Software was held in the Innovative Teaching and Learning Center to explore the possibility of adding the software to our A.S.C. Attending were the Title III team, Special Needs Coordinator, Janet Munson, English instructor, Jan Hardy, and Reading instructor, Cindy Stephens. The representative from the company reviewed the software and answered questions concerning the uses of the program.

August 30, 2006 - An orientation was given to all Spoon River College Athletes (50) and their coaches to inform them of the services available to them within the Academic Success Center. Introductions of the Title III staff were given and the hours of the center detailed. Students were encouraged to begin visiting the center for help or if they just wanted to study on their own. All men's basketball players are required to spend 4 hours per week in the Academic Success Center.

The Open House and Ribbon Cuttings for the Academic Success Centers/Innovative Teaching and Learning Centers in Canton and Macomb were held on September 5th and September 7th, respectively. The Canton and Macomb Chambers of Commerce as well as Mayors of both communities were present. A good turn out of faculty and staff were present at both Open Houses. Refreshments were served and drawings were held.

15 classes took a tour of the Academic Success Centers and learned of the services.

A demonstration of Smarthinking was presented on September 19, 2006. This is a system that would provide live online tutoring in all subjects as a support system to courses and could be used from all campus sites, the Academic Success Centers as well as student use from their homes. It is available 24 hours a day/7 days a week. This could be an excellent tool for all students but could serve as an outstanding source of tutoring for our Rushville, Havana, and online students. This product will be further reviewed and tested. Anyone interested in looking at the product should contact the Title III office as we have several user names and passwords for a free trial.

Since the Academic Success Center has opened on September 5, 2006, the average attendance per day for services in the ASC is 12 students per day.

A linked course of Developmental Reading and Developmental Writing was developed and is currently being offered in the Academic Success Center. Jan Hardy is teaching the Writing course and Cindy Stephens is teaching the Reading course to the same cohort of students.

A Student Open House of the Academic Success Centers is planned for the 2nd week in October. This would coincide with Midterm Week. Staff will hand out flyers that have information about the Academic Success Center and the bottom will contain a coupon for a pizza lunch in the ASC. This will motivate students to actually visit the ASC under a comfortable circumstance and familiarize themselves with the services.

Component 3: Strengthening Faculty-Staff Development for Student Success
Strengthening Faculty-Staff Development for Student Success is a faculty/staff training program that will involve both part-time and full-time faculty. This component will focus on training to modify curriculum as well as develop alternative teaching and retention strategies. In collaboration with the Title III Learning Specialist faculty will attend workshops on campus; participate in developmental education and advisement conferences; participate in guest lectures when speakers with expertise in the areas of developmental education are brought to campus; visit other colleges with model programs; and participate in activities that will familiarize themselves with the latest technology to individualize instruction as well as cutting edge resources of course-authoring software and Internet resources.

Year 1

• Clarify values and provide in-depth training in "how students learn" and the varied learning styles of under prepared students
• Training in outcomes, competency-based (Mastery Learning) curriculum planning strategies
• Orientation to the Student Success Initiative
• Faculty development: alternative teaching strategies for under-prepared, competency-based curriculum development

In January of 2006 planning and research began to bring an expert speaker to the SRC campus. We worked in conjunction with Title III key personnel at Carl Sandburg College. We contacted and talked with Barbara Bonham who is the Senior Researcher at National Center for Developmental Education and a faculty member for the Kellogg Institute. A tentative date was set for June.

Title III staff met with Carl Sandburg College about collaborative efforts in training on March 9th, 2006. In collaboration, Carl Sandburg College Title III Program and the Spoon River College Title III program are sponsoring a teleconference, Developmental Education: Insuring Academic Success, at the Educational Technology Center (the ETC) at 335 East Main Street, Galesburg on April 18, 2006 from 1:30 - 2:30 CT with a 30 minute audio conference immediately following. This teleconference will deal with actionable ideas to improve developmental education programs. The teleconference will feature video examples from several exemplary college programs. Video interviews with additional national experts will also be included. The objectives of the program include: Discussion of the importance of data collection, use and longitudinal tracking; discussion of how and what information to collect; and explanation of the latest teaching/learning strategies in such areas as learning communities, courses, student support services, creating structure, assessment, etc. SRC Title III personnel attended this training session in April.

Many meetings were held during the month of April to plan Camp Title III: Navigating the Pathway to Success, the collaborative effort between Spoon River College Title III and Carl Sandburg College Title III to provide an intensive 2 day workshop in June.

On June 13 and June 14, 2006, an extremely successful professional development workshop - Camp Title III: Navigating the Pathway to Success - was held for 2 days at the SRC Conference Center. This collaborative effort of SRC and Carl Sandburg College hosted the nationally renowned speaker and researcher, Dr. Barbara Bonham, from the National Center for Developmental Education. 60 persons attended this very informative interactive workshop. Those attending the workshop included adult education, full and part-time faculty, Athletic Director, Director of Institutional Research, Title III staff, Instructional Design Specialist, advisors, high school instructors from the SRC District, etc. All handouts are attached.

On July 14, 2006, the Title III Learning Specialist, Lisa Dennis; Title III Coordinator, Susan Barnhart; and Douglas Okey, English Faculty at SRC; attended a Learning Communities Workshop at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg.

On August 14, 2006, the Title III Coordinator, Susan Barnhart, and Activity Director, Jenny Briney, presented on the Title III program to the part-time faculty at their fall orientation meeting held on the Macomb campus. An over view of the grant was given as well as specific information on their role in strengthening student retention. Student success forms were explained and the location of the Academic Success Centers was given.

The Title III Activity Director, Jenny Briney, Learning Specialist, Lisa Dennis, and Canton Student Success Coach, Rebecca Bradley attended the full-time faculty orientation held in Canton on August 18, 2006. Jenny and Lisa presented on learning communities and faculty member Doug Okey led the group in a learning community building activity. The purpose of the presentation was to encourage faculty to explore ways in which we can increase learning and retention through connecting courses. Jenny also brought the faculty up to date on the Title III activities as well as providing them with the forms being used to track student success.

Component 4: Strengthening College-Wide Access to Critical Student Information
Strengthening College-wide Access to Critical Student Information is designed to provide a system that will allow access for faculty, staff, and students to pertinent college information that will support student progress and academic success. This will include an early alert/referral system, a degree audit system as well as Web-based orientation and advisement system.

Year 1

• Incorporate COMPASS scores and Academic Assessment/Placement module on
• Student Information System (SIS)
• Design electronic support for Orientation/Advisement, on SRC Online
• Provide SIS training for faculty and staff (Years 1-5)

On May 3, 2006 a meeting was held to discuss portal needs for Title III for the new design of the Jenzabar system.

The COMPASS scores and Academic Assessment/Placement module has been placed on Student Information System. (Jenzabar)

SIS training has been provided for staff.