Five Texas community colleges will begin work with the Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC) to incorporate “Caring Campus” into their student success efforts in the Fall 2022 semester.
The five colleges are:
• Grayson College, Denison, Texas
• Paris Junior College, Paris, Texas
• Temple College, Temple, Texas
• Victoria College, Victoria, Texas
• Tyler Junior College, Tyler Texas
Supported by IEBC coaching and guidance, college teams will engage in work developing specific behavioral commitments, helping faculty and staff to better connect with, and support, students to help them reach their educational goals.
The Texas program is funded by the Greater Texas Foundation (GTF), a private foundation which envisions a state where all students have equal opportunity to access and succeed in postsecondary education. GTF awarded a $597,754 grant to IEBC to implement its Caring Campus program in two rounds of implementation starting in fall 2022 and extending through 2023.
All participating colleges may choose to implement the Caring Campus program for faculty or staff. There is little to no resource commitment required of the colleges.
“The goal is to increase students’ connectedness, sense of belonging, and overall success by implementing specific behaviors leading to cultural shifts on campus,” said IEBC President/CEO Brad Phillips
Almost 90 colleges are currently implementing Caring Campus across the country. They have seen improvements in course retention and success, increased term to term persistence, and improved completion and transfer. Achievement gaps are being closed rapidly among demographic groups. Job satisfaction and relationships between staff, faculty and leadership also improve.
“We hear a lot of words about meeting students where they are,” said Phillips. “This is especially true for first-time-in-college students and non-majority students who need a staff or faculty member to exhibit care. After all, educators are working hard to reduce inequality and increase student success for all students. Caring Campus really puts this into action.”
Caring Campus recognizes and leverages the value of connectedness to increase the likelihood that students will continue towards, and succeed in attaining, their educational goals. Faculty and staff interactions with students can set the stage for successful enrollment, persistence, and completion. It is particularly important for students from historically underserved populations and students less familiar with college to feel welcome and that they belong in college.
About the Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC)
The Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping education stakeholders — community colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, employers, and others — use coaching, collaboration, and data to make informed decisions and craft solutions that improve practice and dramatically increase student success. Learn more about IEBC at www.iebcnow.org.
About Greater Texas Foundation
Greater Texas Foundation is a private foundation based in Bryan, Texas that supports efforts to ensure all Texas students are prepared for, have access to, persist in, and complete a postsecondary education. Since its 2001 inception, the foundation has approved more than $115 million in grants to support Texas students. For more information, visit www.greatertexasfoundation.org.