Fact Book and Outcomes Fall 2013 - Fall 2014 Office of Planning, Research, and Assessment i Fall 2013 – Fall 2014 FACT BOOK OBSERVATIONS and HIGHLIGHTS The Fall 2013 - Fall 2014 Fact Book & Outcomes presents important statistics regarding enrollment, retention, and graduation. All tables are available electronically and are also on the website to be copied for use for grant applications, program evaluations, internal reports, etc. The data in this report reflect only the credit granting programs. The Fact Book includes data frequently used by the college community. More specific and customized data can also be provided when a separate request is made through the Office of Institutional Research. Institutional Background During 2013-14 there were many significant changes in the executive offices of the college. Most notably, Dr. Gale E. Gibson was appointed the college’s seventh President by the Board of Trustees in October 2013. During 2013-14, three Vice Presidents were appointed by the Board of Trustees: Dr. Joyce Harley as VP of Administration and Finance, Dr. Douglas Walcerz as VP of Planning, Research, and Assessment, and Dr. Rashidah Hasan as VP of Human Resources, Regulatory & Legal Affairs/General Counsel. And Dr. Stephanie A. Steplight Johnson was appointed Acting Vice President of Academic Affairs in October 2014 (p. 5). Essex County College continues to serve the approximately 790,000 residents of Essex County. Basic data pertaining to the county from the US Census Bureau can be found on pages 7 and 8. To help meet the residents’ educational needs, in Fall 2013, the college employed 532 full-time employees and an additional 780 adjunct faculty (p. 9). Enrollment and Demographic Information In Fall 2014, the total enrollment at Essex County College was 11,468 down from 12,175 in Fall 2013, a 5.8% decrease. This decrease reflects the statewide enrollment trend noticed in Fall 2014. That is, 16 of the 19 community colleges experienced decreases in the total number of students served and the sector’s overall decrease was 3.0% (pp. 10-11). Credit hours decreased from 132,890 in Fall 2013, to 123,746 in Fall 2014 (6.9%). During the Fall semester of 2014, a total of 3,192 students were first-time, down from 3,365 in Fall 2013, a decrease of 5.1%. The number of continuing students decreased from 8,245 to 7,649, a decrease of 7.2%. With regard to enrollment status, 50.6% were enrolled full-time. (p. 12). Enrollment at the West Essex Campus also decreased from 1,784 in Fall 2013 to 1,525 in Fall 2014 (14.5%). Enrollment at FOCUS extension center also decreased slightly from 106 in Fall 2013 to 102 in Fall 2014 while enrollment at Ironbound decreased significantly from 171 in Fall 2013 to 152 in Fall 2014. The percentage of students attending day or evening varies according to campus. On the main campus, 76% are day students and at WEC 61% attend days. At FOCUS and Ironbound, all students attend evenings (p. 23). While Summer I 2014 enrollment decreased slightly compared to 2013 (3,567 compared to 3,649 or 2.2% down), Summer II 2014 enrollment decreased significantly (2,062 compared to 2,770 or 25.6% down). At the West Essex Campus, Summer I 2014 enrollment decreased 34.8% to 204 from 313 in 2013, and Summer II decreased 44.9% to 124 from 225 in 2013 (p. 41). i Ethnicity and age data by campus also can be found on pages 23 through 25. In Fall 2014, the ethnicity of ECC students was 55.2% Black/African American, 30.0% Hispanic, 9.7% White, and 3.9% Asian. Students in the 18 – 22 age category comprised 44.9% of the student body (p. 25). Of the entering freshman, 52.7% were in the 18 – 22 age category (p. 30). The ethnic distribution over the last five years has been consistent (p. 24). The college also served 164 F-1 visa students from 48 countries. The countries with the highest number of student were Burkina Faso (17), Jamaica (15), Nigeria (11), Bahamas (10), Brazil (9), and Ivory Coast (9) (p. 31). The programs with the highest enrollment continue to be General Science (2,481), Liberal Arts (1,396), Business Administration (717), Criminal Justice (663), Social Sciences (609), Education (511), and Biology, Pre-Medicine (502). In Fall 2014, there were 1,217 students classified as non-matriculated students (p. 14). Five-year enrollment trends by program by attendance status (FT, PT) can be found on pages 19 – 22. The majority of our students come from Newark (40.9%), East Orange (11.0%), Irvington (8.9%), Bloomfield (5.5%), West Orange (5.1%), and Orange (4.9%). In-county enrollment has consistently been above 90% (pp. 26-27). Spring 2014 enrollment slightly increased from 11,263 to 11,302 (0.3%). The increase was due to the number of part-time students (from 5,539 to 5,693). The number of full-time students actually decreased from 5,724 to 5,609. The number of credit hours increased from 121,173.5 to 121,682.5, an increase of 0.4% (p.33). Five-year enrollment trends by program by attendance status (FT, PT) for the Spring semester can be found on pages 37 - 40. The majors with the highest enrollment in the Spring were: General Science (2,441), Liberal Arts (1,471), Business Administration (743), Criminal Justice (703), Social Sciences (670), Education (516), and Biology, Pre-Medicine (457) (p. 35). Outcomes: Graduation Statistics The basic outcomes information presented in this Fact Book are graduation, transfer, and retention statistics. With regard to graduation, the number of degrees/certificates conferred continues to increase each year. In FY 14 there were 1,433 degrees conferred, up from 1,354 in FY 13, an increase of 5.8% (p.42). The number of graduates by program for the past five years by gender can be found on pages 43 to 45. The programs with the largest number of graduates are: Business Administration AS (166), Social Sciences AS (163), Education AA (137), General Science AS (133), Liberal Arts AA (117), Criminal Justice AS (111), and Accounting AS (83). Until last year, IR office used send a graduate survey to all graduates one year after their graduation. Since the Office of Student Development, however, collects a similar data, this Fact Book extracts some data from their survey. Among the 1,340 FY 2012-13 graduates, 728 responded to the survey. 230 or 32% are employed full-time and 211 or 29% part-time, while 271 or 37% are not employed. 34% of employed graduates are paid at the hourly rate between $10 and $14.99, while 14% are paid $20 or higher. 24% responded their present job is related to the program of study at ECC (pp.46-47). Three-quarters (75%) of graduates responded to the question on overall quality of ECC experience “Excellent” or “Good.” This percentage is higher than that (70.2%) of current students measured by CCSSE survey in Spring 2014. A sample of employers and organizations where our graduates found positions is listed on page 50. ii Outcomes: Cohort Tracking We continue to track retention rate and graduation rate using IPEDS surveys and SURE enrollment files. IPEDS surveys include Fall-to-Fall retention rates for both First-Time, Full-Time, Degree-Seeking (FTFTDS) and First-Time, Part-Time, Degree-Seeking (FTPTDS) cohorts, and graduation rates for FTFTDS cohorts within 2, 3, and 4 years. The IPEDS survey does not include the Fall-to-Spring retention rate for any cohort, the graduation rate for any part-time cohort, or the 6- year graduation rate of any cohort. These data were extracted from the SURE enrollment files and were included in this Fact Book (pp. 56-61). There was a significant increase in the Fall-to-Fall retention rate from 50.1% for the Fall 2011 FTFTDS cohort to 58.0% for the Fall 2012 FTFTDS cohort. This rate was sustained at 58.4% for the Fall 2013 FTFTDS cohort. The Fall-to-Spring retention rate has increased steadily for the last 5 years. It was 67.7% for the FTFTDS cohort who started in Fall 2009 and returned in Spring 2010. This rate increased to 81.4% for the FTFTDS cohort who started in Fall 2013 and returned in Spring 2014, an increase of 13.7% over four years (pp. 55-56). The graduation rates for each cohort can be found on pages 53 to 56. Each year, the names and birthdates of graduates are sent to the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) to track continued enrollment in higher education after graduation. The rate of enrolling in a four-year college within one year after graduation from Essex have been consistently about 50% (p. 57). The top transfer-out institutions are Rutgers University-Newark, Montclair State University, NJIT, Kean University, and New Jersey City University. The licensure pass rate of the college’s Nursing and Allied Health Programs can be found in page 62. The latest pass rate is 100% for Physical Therapy Assistants, 86% for Radiological Technologists, 79% for Registered Nurses, and 90% for Licensed Practical Nurses. Strategic Plan Outcomes Essex County College created a 5-year Strategic Plan for 2013-2018 in 2013. This Fact Book allocates one chapter to the Strategic Plan Outcomes in order to disseminate the status of the Strategic Initiative Goals, which are grouped under seven broad Strategic Directions. Two major measures of student success are Fall-to-Fall Retention Rate and Three-Year Graduation Rate of First-Time Full-Time Degree-Seeking (FTFTDS) students.