Over the past three years, it has been a privilege to lead Complete College America’s national 15 To Finish strategy. Since CCA began sharing Hawai’i’s success with an on-time college completion campaign targeting many of their most underserved student populations, we have continued to learn and evolve in how best to communicate 15 To Finish or 30 credit hours per academic year. Colleagues from NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising have been influential in sharing best practices with the academic advising community to ensure that the key individuals responsible for providing students with guidance in their curricular pathways are sharing the same message across the country. Earlier in 2018, CCA partnered with the Center for Community College Student Engagement to produce the article, “One Question: Can You Attend Full-Time, One Time?” to highlight the national 15 To Finish trends and importance of helping students and their families understand the value of finishing on time, including decreased time to degree for part-time students and adult learners.

The mission of CCA has always been to increase completion while closing attainment gaps among some of our most vulnerable and minoritized student populations. As 15 To Finish continues to gain traction at hundreds of campuses across the United States, we still continue to hear the arguments, “but this will never work for my students.” We agree that not every student is able to enroll in 15 hours; however, we believe it is our responsibility to inform students and their families about the financial implications of not finishing on time. Consistent with sentiments of practitioners, scholars, and policy makers, we echo the concerns for students with unfilled basic needs and the large numbers that are managing the complexity of college attendance with a variety of life demands. Nonetheless, many campuses agree that the vast majority of students want to graduate on time, or as quickly as possible, with the least amount of excess debt.

Minority serving institutions (MSIs), whether designated by enrollment or an historical mission, continue to be at the forefront of culturally responsive and equity centered practices in the Guided Pathways movement. Last year, in partnership with CCA Alliance member the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), and with support from the Kresge and Lumina Foundations, CCA accelerated our work by launching an MSI Initiative with 19 select Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Leaders from these institutions have shown that early student momentum can be gained through 15 To Finish campaigns that can set the tone with early credit accumulation success that is a precursor to other CCA Game Changer strategies (Corequisite Support, Math Pathways, Academic Maps with Proactive Advising, A Better Deal for Returning Adults).

Early results are strong from the initial 15 To Finish adopters in the CCA MSI Initiative. The data and words from these transformational institutions and leaders speak volumes.

Harris-Stowe State University (MO)

First-time, full-time Freshmen enrolled in 15 or more credit hours increased from 25% in 2016 to 47% in 2017, a 22% point increase

Students registered for 15 or more credit hours have a cumulative GPA that is 10% higher than the overall population and nearly 17% higher than students taking less than 15 credit hours.

“We know there are many obstacles faced by our students in their effort to pursue a higher education. Inadequate financial resources and affordability often limit the future success of these bright young people. A key component of how HSSU addresses these challenges is keeping tuition cost down. Our tuition structure, in conjunction with the 15 to Finish Program, allows HSSU students to not only receive a quality education at an affordable price, but to also graduate on time with less debt. We are thrilled to be able to offer HSSU students a way to save money and experience everything the university has to offer. 15 to Finish is an integral part of Harris-Stowe State University’s effort to get its scholars to the finish line.”  – Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack, President

Clark Atlanta University (GA) 

First-time, full-time Freshmen enrolled in 15 or more credit hours increased from 66% in fall 2016 to 90% in fall 2017, a 24% point increase

“The success of any university must be reflected on the number of students who enter and graduate on schedule and with minimal debt. In spring 2017, the university held a campus town-hall (opening institute) on student success, inviting Complete College America (CCA) to join in the conversations. A university-wide retention goal around a bold new initiative titled 77 in 27 was established, with the goal of attaining a 77% retention rate in 10 years (2027). The 90% figure in credit hours enrollment is the highest at the university since 2014. Undergirding all of these efforts is the professional development of CAU faculty and staff as a key driver for successful implementation. These initiatives have paid off.” – Dr. Peter Nwosu, Provost

Langston University (OK) 

First-time, full-time Freshmen enrolled in 15 or more credit hours increased from 30.4% in fall 2016 to 44% in fall 2017, a 14% point increase

“Building on a long tradition of innovation by HBCUs in service to Black students, we immediately recognized the value of the 15 to Finish strategy when our student success team participated in a Complete College America event in Oklahoma last spring. Since launching a 15 to Finish campaign on the Langston campus, there has been a dramatic shift in the conversation between students, faculty and staff around on-time degree completion. More students are aware of the benefits to them and the cost savings to their families and are now setting themselves on a path to on-time graduation.” – Dr. Kent Smith, President

The results from participating institutions are early and still require additional exploration of academic success within the numbers of hours earned and retention beyond the first year, but the excitement remains. Many more students at MSIs are on track for continued learning and on-time graduation, and this is just the beginning. With Fall 2018 student cohorts, we will begin to see new and additional results from all of the participating institutions committed to scaling 15 To Finish across their entire student population: Benedict College, Clark Atlanta University, Delaware State University, Dillard University, GateWay Community College, Grambling State University, Harris-Stowe State University, Jackson State University, Langston University, Lawson State Community College, Merced College, Mercy College, Mississippi Valley State University, Norfolk State University, Phoenix College, Pima Community College, San Joaquin College, Texas Southern University, and West Virginia State University.

Every campus, system, or state implementing 15 To Finish with fidelity have seen improvements; the evidence can be seen simply by tracking the number of institutions implementing the strategy (or their own adaptation) on social media with #15toFinish. There is clearly more work to do, especially for part-time students and those students who want a schedule that leads to on-time graduation, but are managing complex life circumstances; however, these impatient leaders at MSIs have shown us that the challenges ahead do not absolve us from doing what we can, as quickly as possible. Our students demand it, and Complete College America is committed to working with MSIs to implement Game Changer strategies and highlight their stories of student success and completion.