Dutch Master Carl Purcell!

I wandered into one of our painting studios this morning to say hello to Carl Purcell, a Snow College emeritus professor of art, who is teaching his annual summer watercolor workshop. And I discovered that his watercolor instruction book has just been translated into Dutch. Carl is a spectacular artist and teacher. I guess if the Dutch artists want to learn from Carl that makes him a sort of Dutch Master? Well, we can think so! So here is a picture of Snow College’s own Dutch master, in his studio, teaching students who have come to Ephraim, Utah, from all over the country to learn watercolor technic. He is holding his book, translated into Dutch.

Snow College has a long reputation for its quality visual art program. We are bringing forward this year a proposal to launch an associate of fine arts degree. The Last time I looked visual arts was one of our five fastest growing programs at the College. 

Noyes Building

I took this picture a little while ago. It is our landmark building--the Noyes Building. It is a delight to work in every day. The first floor is devoted to classrooms and faculty offices. The other floors have administrative offices and gathering spaces, along with a collection of permanent College artifact displays.  My office is room 332. Stop by and say hello if you are ever in town!

Snow College Jazz

Carl Allen, the Artistic Director of Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School in New York City and one of the finest drummers in America, was the Snow College commencement speaker this year. He is part of the wonderful collaboration between The Juilliard School and Snow College. Few people outside of Snow College have done more to help the College and our students than Carl Allen. We asked several music students to play some jazz for the commencement breakfast honoring Carl. He couldn’t sit still long enough to finish his breakfast. He was up encouraging the students and eventually jumped in to play with them. 

Playing with Carl is kind of like showing up showing up for a Boy Scout merit badge camp and discovering President Obama is your Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge Counselor.

Keep swinging!

Top 10% Again!

For the second year running Snow College has been named in the top 10% of all two-year colleges in America. This recognition by the Aspen Institute is part of the national Community College Excellence program. Snow College is the only honoree in Utah and in its neighboring states of Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and Nevada. The recognition is given to those colleges whose students demonstrate high levels of success.

Why is Snow College in the top 10% of its peers in leading students to success? It is really quite easy to explain. It is a result of the longstanding culture of the school. Snow College has an exceptional learning and student support environment. The best research indicates that each of the factors listed below leads to higher rates of student success. The factors include:

1. Academic and Career Advising. The College has the highest advisor-to-student ratio of any institution in the State with one full-time advisor for every 400 students. Additionally, the College has trained its student recruiters/high school relations officers as entry-level advisors who are able to begin academic and career advising with the first contact. The College also has faculty-advisors who focus on specific disciplines.

2. Full-Time Faculty. The College has the highest percentage of classes being taught by full-time faculty in the state—66% of all classes at Snow College are taught by full-time faculty members. The average in the state is 54%. Further contributing to the successful learning environment is the fortunate circumstance that 67% of the Ephraim campus faculty members live within walking distance of the campus.

3. Small Class Size. The average class size is 19 students. A new classroom building was constructed two years ago; all classrooms are intentionally small to help maintain the small class size as part of our culture. Since I mentioned classrooms—we think we have the largest percentage of high-tech classrooms in the state as well.

4. Residential Campus. The College is the most residential college or university in Utah. 90% of the students at the main campus in Ephraim live within walking distance of campus. This year the College is doubling it on-campus housing to provide more close housing opportunities constructed in the manner suggested by the best research. (You probably didn’t know that the type of housing is a factor in student persistent and completion rates.)

5. Extra and Co-Curricular Activities. More than 75% of all college students actively participate in at least one extra-curricular club or organization while at Snow College. Most disciplines offer co-curricular activities.

6. College Preparation Orientation Course. The College offers a fall semester college orientation course for entering freshman. The program connects groups of 25 to 30 students with a faculty or staff mentor, builds networks with fellow students, and involves them in opportunities to learn and experience vital keys to success in academic and student life. Each year at least 70% of the entering freshman class voluntarily enroll in this highly recommended, but not required, one credit course. Two high energy days before the first day of class are followed by weekly meetings in small groups to share tips and insights and create opportunities to link new students to college resources and skills that strengthen their chances of persisting and completing. Internal research indicates that course participants persist, graduate and maintain higher GPAs than their peers who do not participate in the course.

Each of the factors listed above is expensive. The College could increase the percent of adjunct faculty instruction, build larger classroom and increase class size, decrease the number of advisors, or build cheaper housing. But the College understands the importance of this unique environment and maintains it as well as possible.

And we are not satisfied. Faculty and staff members just participated in a multiday workshop with Complete College America in order to get a broader view of how to do even better. We are developing exciting new programs for students with developmental needs in math and English on the one hand and improving opportunities for the highest achieving students on the other. For example, we have revitalized our Honors Program and expanded high-level co-curricular experiences, for example every geology student goes on a field trip.

Life is good here. And getting better.

Snow College is Growing

The third-week enrollment numbers for all colleges and universities were released today. There are no surprises in the two schools with the most growth. They are Utah Valley University (3.65%) and Dixie State College (4.52%)—soon also to become a University. These two schools are situated in growing counties and have seen significant change in their missions. UVU was a two-year college until 1993; Dixie was a two-year college until 2000. UVU recently became a university and both have been adding bachelor’s degrees at a fairly good pace.

Snow College is listed third behind UVU and Dixie for growth in full-time equivalent students (2.62%) followed by Utah State University (2.48%), the University of Utah (2.23%), and Weber State University (0.88%). Southern Utah University (-3.74%) and Salt Lake Community College (-4.29%) saw enrollment dips.

There are many factors that contribute to the enrollment changes for the various institutions. But it is worth pausing to note that Snow College, situated in the most remote and rural setting, offering no more than two-year degrees, is still a strong draw for students right out of high school. We see continual growth in students coming from across rural Utah, and also from the urban Wasatch Front.

It is typical during downturns in the economy for students to stay home, keep their jobs, and attend a college or university within driving distance of home. Snow College continues to buck this trend. It is primarily a residential college. 90% of our students make a decision to temporarily relocate to attend. The only other non-metropolitan institution in Utah is Southern Utah University, which dropped in enrollments this year.

Why do students continue to choose Snow College over more convenient colleges and universities? It is because of the wonderful opportunities at Snow College. It is because students are successful in reaching their academic goals here. I have mentioned data that support this claim in prior posts and I will continue to publish facts that tell the Snow College story.

Snow College is a Top 10 College

The Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence was announced at the first White House Community College Summit last October. Following October a national committee analyzed publicly available data on student outcomes at all two-year colleges in America (there are 1,200 of us). The committee considered three criteria: (1) student performance in retention, graduation and transfers; (2) improvement of completion performance over time; and (3) equity for disadvantaged students.

The committee recently announced that Snow College is among the top ten percent of all two-year colleges in America. We are the only College in Utah and one of only a few in the Intermountain West found in the top ranks. This honor is a recognition for which we did not apply. I just woke up one morning and found an email in my inbox with congratulations! Very fun.

This recognition for being in the top 10 percent is acknowledgment that our faculty and staff are really doing a great job. I have been telling people Snow College is one of the best two-year colleges in the West. Now I have proof.

Snow College is First In Graduation Rates

Snow College is first in graduation rates among its comparable colleges in the nation. Not exactly a new revelation, of course. It has been long understood that our excellent faculty and staff help Snow College students succeed. But what is impressive is how much more successful Snow College is over its peers nationwide. Snow College’s four-year graduation rate is 58% compared to its next closest peer, Centralia College (Washington State), with a graduation rate of 36%. The average rate among all its peers is 23.75%. Snow College’s rate is two and a half times higher than average and 22 points above the next closest. Seriously—wow!

The gap is larger for the two-year graduation rate where Snow College students succeed at a rate of 39%, which is more than three times the average rate among all its peers. The average is 12.25%.

Two-year associate and community colleges, as a general rule, have a lower graduation rate than universities. There are many reasons for this including two obvious ones. First, Two-year colleges admit students for vocational programs who have no interest in working toward graduation. These students are looking for a job and want to acquire the skills necessary to get into the workplace as quickly as possible. Secondly, students who are not admitted to a university, because they didn’t apply on time or are not yet academically qualified, go to two-years colleges. Snow College has no admission requirements. We take all comers, regardless of how well prepared they are—and then our faculty and staff lead them to success at exceptional rates. Having said all this—most students who attend Snow College are very prepared for college study. They have many choices in universities to attend. But they choose Snow College for various reasons, including the quality education and opportunities they find here.

Why do I point out the fact that two-year colleges have a lower graduation rate than universities? Is it to explain why our graduation rate is lower than most universities in Utah? Well, not exactly. It is to set up the next set of data and further drive home my point of how successful Snow College is in leading students to graduation.

Drum roll please . . .

Snow College is not only the leader in graduation rates among its two-year peers—it is the leader among all regional universities in Utah. Snow College’s graduation rate is four points higher than Southern Utah University, six points higher than Weber State University, 15 points higher than Dixie State College, and 26 points higher than Utah Valley University. Only the research universities in Utah have a higher rate than Snow College. University of Utah and Utah State University’s rates are only nine points higher than Snow College’s rate.

But before I finish, I need to add one additional point of comparision with the universities. It is within the mission of Snow College to help students working toward a bachelor’s degree to transfer to a four-year school. Universities do not generally have transfer within their mission. Students who want a bachelor’s degree either go directly to a university, which offers the degree, or to a two-year college with the intention of transferring to a university after their time at the college. Many students come to Snow College having earned a semester or more of college credit while in high school. They have a great experience at Snow College and then after a year are prepared to transfer to a university. These students don’t graduate from the College. But they are successes. If we add the graduation rate and the transfer rate prior to graduation Snow College’s completion rate is 78.6%. And then if I add the vocational students, who come only for a certificate or a few classes, well more than 80% of all students who come to Snow College complete their academic goals.

Snow College is the most successful institution in Utah, and nationally among its peers, in leading students to graduation.

Of course, graduation rate is only one measure of success. There are many others, and I will address them all in future posts.

(The source for this post is 2010 data from the IPEDS Data Center and the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.)