This week, teams of higher education leaders representing five four-year and seven two-year public institutions will gather to move forward with ambitious targets for improving retention and graduation rates of students across Montana. The undergraduate colleges taking part in the Complete College Montana Momentum Academy will refine and finalize plans aimed at meeting the state’s overall goal of significantly increasing on-time completion of associate and bachelor degrees. The event will be facilitated by Complete College America, a national nonprofit committed to boosting graduation rates and closing achievement gaps for underrepresented populations through data-driven strategies.
“Montana was recently highlighted by Complete College America as one the top states in the nation that is poised to implement the most comprehensive, evidence-based reforms at scale to improve college completion. Montana is being mentioned in the same breath with states such as Tennessee and Georgia as national leaders in college completion,” said John Cech, Deputy Commissioner of Higher Education.
Over the course of the two-day event, institutional leaders will meet independently and with CCA national content experts to fine-tune implementation of academic mapping, proactive advising, credit accumulation and Momentum Year strategies – interventions that are proven to increase early student success. In the first year of enrollment, students who earn 30 credits, complete Math and English gateway courses, enter a program of study, and complete nine program credits are far more likely to graduate.
Complete College Montana is a member of Complete College America’s Alliance of states, systems and institutional consortia dedicated to taking bold action to significantly increase the number of students completing college. The Academy will build on groundbreaking work done by Montana institutions by more effectively mapping math requirements to program requirements and by increasing the number of students enrolled in gateway math and English through a corequisite model that provides in-depth academic support for students while enrolled in college courses. These reforms have already positioned Montana as a national college completion leader.
“We are excited to be supporting Montana in this important work,” said Complete College America Senior Vice President Bruce Vandal. “By committing the collective efforts of the Montana University System to embrace this culture of completion, institutions will make it possible for many more Montanans to be successful in their first year of college and ultimately achieve their dreams.”
The Complete College Montana Momentum Academy will take place on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana on March 26 and 27. The Montana University System will begin a review process of the plans in April. For more information, visit completecollege.org/event/mtacademy.
