College to pilot Gateways to Completion program
Release | Media Contact: Mandi Enger
HENDERSON, Nev. Nevada State College (NSC) has been selected by the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education to be one of 12 Founding Institutions for the pilot of the Gardner Institute’s Gateways to Completion (G2C) process. Gateways to Completion is a structured course transformation process that will allow faculty and staff at NSC to analyze student and institutional performance in lower division gateway courses. The Gardner Institute developed the G2C process with extensive input from the thirty-two member G2C National Advisory Committee.
By accepting the invitation to be involved in the G2C pilot, NSC has agreed to focus its analysis on up to five critical gateway courses. The courses will be identified using evidence collected during the first year of the three-year G2C process. The analysis will inform the creation of evidenced-based course transformation plans that NSC will subsequently implement.
Gateway courses enroll large numbers of undergraduate students, stated Drew Koch, the Gardner Institute’s Executive Vice President. Research studies, such as Clifford Adelman’s Answers in the Toolbox and The Toolbox Revisited, show that students who do not succeed in gateway courses are significantly less likely to complete their stated programs of study and they are also are less likely to complete college degrees anywhere.
Continuing to enhance student success and retention are key objectives at Nevada State College, said NSC Provost and Executive Vice President Erika Beck. Gateway courses are stepping stones in a student’s path to completing their degree program and are therefore an important foundation for their success. We’re honored to have the opportunity to work so closely with John Gardner, a world-renowned expert in the field, as our institution strengthens the first-year retention of our students and ultimately produces a larger number of career-ready graduates.
NSC joins 11 other G2C Founding Institutions from across the United States. The 12 institutions include: American Public University System; Arkansas Tech University; Ashford University; Florida International University; Kennesaw State University; Lansing Community College; Lone Star College North Harris; Metropolitan State University Denver; Nevada State College; North Dakota State University; University of Houston Downtown; and the University of Rhode Island.
The cohort’s composition shows that this is an issue that spans all of academe, shared John Gardner, President of the Gardner Institute. We applaud Nevada State College for its willingness to take action on this issue. The institution is a true leader and innovator in the student success movement.
Faculty at NSC will play a significant role in the G2C work. The plans the faculty generate working with their academic and student affairs colleagues will be supported with G2C predictive analytics and dashboard tools. In addition, NSC will join the other 11 G2C participating institutions at the annual G2C Community of Practice meeting and the annual Gateway Course Experience Conference.
The G2C project is uniquely special and exciting because it unites different elements of the campus in the pursuit of student success, said Associate Dean of Liberal Arts & Sciences Tony Scinta. Faculty, advisors, and administrators are all combining their efforts to make this work, and we’re doing it under the guidance of someone who is widely-recognized as one of the foremost leaders in the field. We are extremely excited to move forward with this project.
Nevada State College partners with the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education
