The Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) initiative has allowed the College to form teams to review current processes through data collection and analysis, and to then offer recommendations for improvement based on that data.
National Park Community College
Active in Achieving the Dream:
2007 - present
Leader College:
2012 - 2015
Leader College
Participating Institution
What We Are Doing:
National Park Community College (NPCC) has adopted a culture of evidence with a thorough and unflinching examination of retention, grades, course completion and graduation rates. NPCC analyzes data, conducts student and community focus groups, and makes change recommendations to improve student success rates.
The college examines quantitative and qualitative student data to discover those areas that would be best served through more extensive and deeper study. The use of evidence uncovered a 20% gap in achievement between the college’s full-time and part-time students.
The major achievement gap the college has identified through its research-driven inquiries has been addressed by the college’s pursuance of the following initiatives:
- The college is scaling Tutoring for students in a variety of academic areas.
- Connections to Success: Mentoring initiatives designed support student success.
- Great College Workshop and Adjunct Institute: Designed to enhance the teaching abilities of full and part-time instructors.
- Math Cascade: Dividing developmental and intermediate math courses into ‘modules’ designed to permit more efficient movement through the sequence.
Who We Are:
National Park Community College was formed in 2003 when Garland County Community College and Quapaw Technical Institute joined to become a truly comprehensive community college. The campus is located in Mid-America Park, just outside the city limits of Hot Springs, America’s oldest national park site.
Fifty-eight percent of students received Pell grant funding in Fall 2009, and this percentage will continue to grow as the college implements programs targeted at helping low-income students enroll, attend and succeed in higher education.
The college’s motto is “Learning is our focus; student success is our goal.” NPCC is devoted to helping all students achieve their individual educational goals by creating a learning community that is accessible, convenient, caring, affordable, and secure. NPCC offers courses and programs in the liberal arts and occupational education in order to help students transfer to a four-year college or enter the workforce.
Student Success Strategies
National Park Community College is using the following strategies to impact student success:
There are two aspects of the FYE: *New Student Orientation *College Seminar Course Policy/procedure revisions requires all new students to participate in orientation. These students also have to take a one hour student success course.
Three types of tutoring have been phased in over the last two years: Tutoring for all developmental math classes as well as College Algebra; tutoring for developmental writing and Composition classes; online tutoring for Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, Composition, Intermediate and College Alg
