Achieving The Dream
February 2008
Expanded Early Alert/SEA Center

This spring, North Harris has implemented an expanded version of the early alert program in targeted MATH 0308 classes. Citing issues beyond poor attendance, this early intervention also addresses low test scores, incomplete assignments and non-academic distractions, such as transportation issues, job schedule, and personal or family health problems.

This early alert/intervention program is primarily faculty-triggered. When instructors know students need additional support and access to resources on campus to stay in school or be successful, they initiate the early alert referral. The referral is sent to the North Harris intervention coordinator, Dorothy Dixon, who will then contact the student and refer him or her to the SEA Center—the Success Encourages Achievement Center.

Located in ACAD 204A in the Learning Center, the SEA Center provides support in an early, systematic, and comprehensive manner through a combination of interventions, including focused one-on-one tutoring, drop advising, and referrals to other student support resources and the Early Alert Program. Staffed by developmental math adjunct faculty, the SEA Center is open forty hours a week, including hours at both the Lone Star College-Greenspoint Center and Lone Star College-Carver Center. The SEA Center Director, Michael McFarland, supervises the SEA Center staff members and organizes and conducts training sessions for the SEA Center staff.

Beginning next fall, this early alert/intervention system will expand to include all developmental math, reading, and writing classes. In 2009, the process will broaden to include college-level gateway courses (e.g. ENGL 1301 and MATH 1314). A tracking system will be in place for students in the targeted sections in order to determine their success and completion rates.
 
MENS Faculty/Advising Initiative

The Math/Engineering/Natural Sciences Advising Initiative, FACTS—Faculty Advising Connecting and Training Students—is an advising initiative that embodies Achieving the Dream goals. In this program, full-time MENS faculty advise their students, many of whom are first generation students who have had limited access to career advising before attending college. In the Fall 2007 pilot, full-time faculty agreed to implement the advising program in one of their classes. Rhonda Cannon, Director of Counseling Services, conducted training sessions for the faculty and provided advising packets to each full-time instructor.

Judy Taylor, Dean of Math, Engineering, and Natural Sciences, collected data at the end of the fall semester. Twenty-five (25) faculty members participated and 287 students were served (121 from math and 166 from science). Some students were seen multiple times. The number of students advised per faculty member ranged from 2 to 40. Student success and retention data are being analyzed and will be shared within the next few weeks.

This spring, each full-time faculty member has been invited to participate in two of their classes. At the end of the semester, we will share the results of this powerful Achieving the Dream initiative.
 
Community Outreach/Students of Color

Lone Star College studentsCo-chaired by Bennie Lambert, along with North Harris representatives Leslie La Pres and Cece Sutphen, this task force/strategy area has many Achieving the Dream initiatives scheduled for North Harris this spring.

  • Calls to survey the Black males who were enrolled in the Lone Star College System in Fall 07, but who did not enroll in Spring 08 to gather valuable data to help us with firsthand information toward student success
  • Surveys of all prospective students during our outreach and recruitment activities in the Lone Star College System during an intense two-and-a-half week period in February at service-area high schools and campus visits.
  • Invitation letters to all Black males (333) currently enrolled in Spring 08 to join the Vice President for Student Services and others for a lunch meeting on campus Tuesday and Wednesday, February 26 and 27, respectively.

  • Introduction of SAAB (Student African American Brotherhood) to Lone Star College-North Harris (and possibly Cy-Fair) as a pilot for the System. This highly structured and organized program targets the conditions facing African American and Latino male college students as well as several retention initiatives and models with emphasis on enhancing the experience for African American males.  More than 160 college and universities in 27 states have established SAAB chapters.  SAAB is recognized by the American College Personnel Association as a “Voices of Inclusion” recipient and by the Ashoka Organization as a leading social innovation.
  • Exploration of a Lone Star College System faith-based and charitable organizations approach to visiting and partnering with significant entities in each of our service areas, such as key churches and organizations that reach out to all and/or the community in general.  
 
Student Services Task Force

A Student Services Taskforce has been established to review current practices at LSC-North Harris with the charge to recommend a model of services that ensures the success of all students and meets the goals of Achieve the Dream and other student success initiatives.  A cross section of faculty, staff, and administration are working together to achieve this goal.  Severo Balason, Dean for Student Development, and Vicki Stanfield, Dean for College Connections, are co-chairing the effort.

 
North Harris Contacts for our Achieving the Dream Initiatives

The North Harris contacts for our Achieving the Dream initiatives are listed below. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please do contact us. We are all committed to making Achieving the Dream a reality at Lone Star College-North Harris.

Strategy Area #1

  1. Intervention System: Pat Szmania, Laurie Boyd,
    Martha Whitley (co-chair), Debra Harper (at-large), and Dorothy Reade (liaison)
  2. Repeater Intervention: Sue Little and Darryl Egley

Strategy Area #2

Student Success Course: Debbie Farrell, Wei Li, and Lane Johnson (at-large)

Strategy Area #3.1

Professional Development – Culture of Evidence: Rami Shafiee and Pradeep Lele


Strategy Area #3.2

Professional Development – Student Engagement: Carla Porter, Michael Harman, and Dorothy Reade (liaison)

Strategy Area #4.1

Policy and Procedure - Prerequisite Report: Rhonda Cannon, Ellen Turnell and Jim Polito (co-chair)

Strategy Area #4.2

Policy and Procedure – Advising: Marilyn Dement and Severo Balason

Strategy Area #4.3

Policy and Procedure – English Placement: Bob Miller and Lisa Schulze

Strategy Area #4.4

Policy and Procedure – Math Placement: Rhonda Cannon, Ellen Turnell and Jim Polito (co-chair)

Strategy Area #5

Promotion of Community Engagement: Leslie LaPres, Cece Sutphen, and Bennie Lambert (co-chair)