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By Kym Reinstadler | MiBiz
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GRAND RAPIDS — Living the American dream is becoming harder for Michiganians without a college degree as the state’s manufacturing-based economy evolves into a knowledge-based economy. But Grand Rapids Community College is pursuing a new strategy to help more students be successful in college and, in the end, be better equipped to achieve that traditional cultural goal.

GRCC is in its second year of participation in a nationwide initiative called Achieving the Dream. A nonprofit organization of the same name provides coaching and a database fed by 100 institutions to help community college faculties pinpoint and eliminate achievement gaps.

Data will be available next summer to shed some light on the modifications GRCC made in the 2011-2012 academic year to its “developmental” courses, which students take to improve basic skills so that they can enroll in credit-bearing courses.

GRCC students in developmental classes probably have no idea their success is considered important to efforts to transform Michigan’s economy through post-secondary education.

The factory-based economy that made Michigan wealthy in the 20th century is declining as manufacturing becomes increasingly automated and companies move operations to find cheaper labor in other parts of the world. The state has fewer low-skill factory jobs, and the ones that remain pay less than they used to.

Places where the economy thrives have moved more workers from low-skilled factory jobs into knowledge-based jobs in health care, education, information, finance, technical and professional services, according to Lou Glazer of Michigan Future Inc. These careers pay a middle-class wage, but generally require a four-year college degree.

Try to explain why one socioeconomic group is declining while another is thriving and the strongest correlation is the percentage of members with four-year college degrees. That’s why former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, in announcing the Michigan College Access Network in 2009, set a goal of having 60 percent of Michigan adults having four-year degrees by 2025. It’s an amped-up ambition; only 26 percent of Michigan adults currently have four-year degrees.

Michigan ranked 36th among the 50 states in college attainment in 2009 and 37th in per-capita income, according to an annual report on the state’s transition to a global economy by Ann Arbor think tank Michigan Future Inc.

Furthermore, Michigan ranks 30th in the share of wages earned in knowledge-based jobs in health care, education, information, financial services and professional and technical services, according to that report. These are the best-paying jobs in today’s economy.

About 45 percent of GRCC students take developmental classes in math, English and reading before they test high enough to take classes that will count toward a college degree, said Cindy Martin, GRCC’s dean of adult and developmental education.

“Equity is essential to the mission of community colleges, so we’re dedicated to the principle that any adult should have access to college degrees,” Martin said. “Unfortunately, not everyone who’s earned a high school diploma is academically prepared for higher education, which is why developmental courses are so important.”

It surprises many that almost half of GRCC students do not test “college ready.” But the national average teeters around 60 percent for community colleges, which serve many older students needing more education to be retrained for current jobs, Martin said.

It’s also likely that fewer traditional students may need developmental classes in the future because of more rigorous high school graduation requirements imposed by the state beginning with the class of 2011.

GRCC and other community colleges are revered as important stepping stones to four-year degrees for many students. Even if students don’t pursue formal education after certification for a specific occupation or go beyond an associate’s degree, community colleges are an important part of the mix Glazer says will create a broader middle class and a thriving economy in Michigan.

Yet, state college retention and graduation rates are below the national average and are significantly lower for students of color from low-income families with no tradition of attending college.

And that’s why GRCC faculty focus groups are scrutinizing data and best practices at fellow community colleges to find ways it can improve the likelihood of success for its most vulnerable students: the ones in developmental classes.

Only 56 percent of GRCC students in developmental courses earn grades of C or better, compared to a success rate of 70 percent or better for classes overall.

“Achieving the Dream folds us into a very vibrant, research-driven learning community,” GRCC’s Martin said. “We identify what learning gaps to address and how, but with a nationwide network of data and coaching.”

Curricular changes made this fall as a result of the Achieving the Dream initiative include:

• Developmental math courses gained greater uniformity and better sequencing, which will allow faculty to easily identify what areas need to be taught differently. Only 52 to 61 percent of students in these classes earned grades of C or better in 2009. Success rates were even lower for African-American students, ranging from 30 to 36 percent.
• English 100, the lowest achieving composition class, was restructured to include two hours in a lecture setting and two hours in a computer lab setting, which improves students’ access to technology. The class also includes 90 minutes of tutoring support.
• Staff were trained in 15 “gateway” courses to model informational reading strategies through a program called Reading Apprenticeship.

Martin said the faculty is hopeful these changes will improve improve students’ successes over time.

Participation fees for GRCC’s first two years in Achieving the Dream were funded with a grant from the Kresge Foundation.

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• grand rapids
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• jennifer granholm