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November 29, 2004

College competes for prize of $10,000

HCC, others hoping to retain students

By LINDA CONNER LAMBECK lclambeck@ctpost.com

BRIDGEPORT — Housatonic Community College is in the running to win $10,000 toward its efforts to retain students.

Two- to four-year community colleges across the country are competing for the award from the MetLife Foundation Initiative on Student Success. Winners will be announced in January.

Housatonic was among 14 semifinalists selected from 152 applicants that participated in a survey last spring measuring how engaged their students are in the academic process.

The survey, conducted by the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin, asked 315 Housatonic students about their interactions with faculty, the two-year college's support services and about academic challenges.

" The idea was to see how engaged students are in the college, because there is a high correlation of success and program completion if there is student engagement," said Anita Gliniecki, academic dean at Housatonic.

" Community colleges that are the most effective in retention are models for the rest of the nation," said Arlene Arnsparger, project manager for MetLife Foundation in Denver.

Some 33 percent of first-year students who enter Housatonic return for a second year. But retention of students is a problematic way of measuring how engaged students at community colleges are, said Gliniecki. That's because many students enroll intending to transfer to four-year colleges, or to take courses necessary to get a job or a promotion.

Arnsparger said community colleges that do the best job of ensuring students reach their goals tend to offer strong academic support and advice, as well as strong academic programs.

Based on students' responses to the survey, each participating college received a score. The top 14 scorers became semi-finalists. Housatonic's score was 162.73.

Arnsparger said anything above 150 stood out.

Gliniecki is working on the follow-up application, which is due Tuesday. The application will detail what Housatonic does and could do to help students and keep them focused on their goals.

The applications will be reviewed over winter break and winners will be announced in mid-January, said Arnsparger.

Although Housatonic officials have not decided how the money would be used, Gliniecki said it could help fund more tutoring or advising.