Big Bend uses multi-year grant for student success

$400K going to data-driven strategies for staying in school

MOSES LAKE - Big Bend Community College is utilizing a grant of up to $400,000 to help students stay in school.

The money, part of the college's participation in Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, is used to support student success.

Last year, staff at the college analyzed data with a primary goal of determining challenges to keeping students in school, said math and English instructor Gail Erickson, who is part of the project's core committee.

This year, the strategies that were identified are going to be implemented, Erickson said.

Everything is data-driven, she noted.

"If you're going to make changes, those changes have to be backed up by concrete data," she said.

Math was found to be a priority in impacting retention rates, Erickson said.

This summer, Big Bend Community College plans to offer a "summer jam session" for math review, said math instructor Barbara Whitney, a member of Achieving the Dream's data committee and core committee.

The session would be an intensive, two-week review of math facts, she said.

"We're just trying to highlight the important topics they should know," Erickson said.

"Achieving the Dream supplements Big Bend's efforts to use student achievement information to craft an even more effective learning environment," stated college President Bill Bonaudi. "When we can replicate the conditions for all students that proved helpful for the students in our study, we will see a major increase in student success."