Project Increase BMCC Graduation Rate PDF

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Portfolio Unit 8
Portfolio Activities are tools for self-reflection and evaluation within the context of the course. These activities are designed as a means to document and reflect upon your learning process and critical thinking skills. Ideally, you will draw from your experiences inside and...

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The author of this study, a recent MBA graduate from UoPeople, holds the position of management consultant for a firm that is specialized in engagement and productivity. This project is related to the education sector, specifically a large university, the City University Of New York (CUNY), facing a low graduation rate. The author chose a specific college at the university to research why students drop out and propose strategies to improve students’ success. CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is one of the 25 community colleges in New York City. Founded in 1963 as a business-oriented school, BMCC is the first community college in Manhattan. Today it is the largest college in the City University of New York system, with more than 22,000 students (BMCC, 2021). Like most colleges in CUNY, the BMCC graduation rate is very low, 17.1% (College Simply, 2021). A study in 2017 found that New York State community college students are struggling to graduate. The study found that only one in four New York State residents who enroll in the state’s community colleges end up earning a degree (Center for Urban Future, 2017). While countrywide, the college graduation rate, including all levels, is 49% (Hanson, 2021), New York State and BMCC are underperforming. As the BMCC graduation rate is alarming, the project’s overall goal is to identify and enhance the motivational factors of students of BMCC. The purpose is to help improve student motivation and learning engagement to help them reach their goal of degree completion. The subject of motivation is a well-researched one for many decades. We may remember Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs introduced in 1943 used now as a motivational theory. Psychologists are working hard to understand what motivates people to have certain behaviors and sometimes persistent ones. Thus many motivational theories came to life and are used in education to help students advance in their studies. Among those theories are the drive theory, the conditioning theory, the cognitive consistency theory, the humanistic theory, the attribution theory, the social cognitive theory, the goal theory, etc. (Schunk, 2012). Each of them proposes a way to motivate students. College stats lists the five primary reasons college students drop out (College Stats, n.d.). The first one is monetary. College tuitions are expensive, so many students drop out because they cannot afford the price. Even though community colleges are cheaper than private ones, finance is still a relevant reason why community college students drop out. Regarding BMCC, we are not sure how much this is a problem since the college claims that a report found that BMCC is third nationwide in helping students move up the socioeconomic ladder (BMCC, 2020). The second reason is academic preparation. Many students enter college but lack the academic preparation for college demands thus struggle to pass courses. Students who cannot keep up with their classes may be inclined to drop out (College Stats, n.d.). The third is lack of discipline, the fourth is college experience, and the fifth is personal problems unrelated to the studies. The reasons why students drop out of college given above are not without solutions. However, not all of them can be solved by motivating students. Motivation cannot solve the financial problems or the ones unrelated to studies. So the college should be focused on the other three in its efforts to motivate its students without ignoring the possible solutions for the other two.

Motivational factors can be intrinsic and extrinsic as we differentiate these two types of motivations. Silva (2020) distinguishes eight (extrinsic) factors that affect student’s motivation in education. Those factors are 1) Class and Curriculum Structure, 2) Teacher Behavior and Personality, 3) Teaching Methods, 4) Parental Habits and Involvement, 5) Family Issues and instability, 6) Peer Relationships, 7) Learning environment, and 8) Assessment. Thus BMCC can capitalize on these factors to motivate its students to persist and reach the final line. Allen (1999) studied, among college students, the link between motivation and persistence and found that motivated students will persist (graduate) as well as those who perform well academically. Therefore, we believe that BMCC can definitely increase its graduation rate by considering Silva’s eight factors and any other factors that improve students’ academic performance. Based on Silva’s factors and using a lean operations model, here are our ten recommendations to BMCC: ● Revise class and curriculum structure to make them more attractive and appealing to all kinds of learners. Knowing that there are at least four types of learners; the visual, the auditory, the read/write, and the kinesthetics, every class at BMCC must integrate these learning styles. Any technology that facilitates their use should be implemented. ● The college must reduce its student:teacher ratio of 31:1 to at least the state community college average of 25:1 (Community College Review, n.d.). ● The curriculum must make provision for students to be active participants in their learning. Learning objectives must be clear, high, but realistic. ● Instructors must be kind and respectful, and they must encourage students. The professor/student relationship should not be overlooked. The college should train teachers to be great motivators. ● Professors must give students feedback as quickly as possible and be specific when giving negative feedback (The University of Wisconsin, n.d.). ● Instructors must emphasize mastery and learning rather than grades (The University of Wisconsin, n.d.). ● Professors must allow students to work together (TeachThought, n,d,). ● The college must be a threat-free environment. ● Instructors need to learn to know their students as possible it can be. Students’ socioeconomic situation can hinder their efforts to succeed, so professors who know their students can offer helpful advice. ● Teachers must design tests that encourage the kind of learning they want students to achieve (The University of Wisconsin, n.d.). Based on my personal experience as a perpetual student, I know that quick feedback, positive academic performance, group work, and deadlines are some of the factors that help me stay focused, motivated, and persistent. Besides my above recommendations to BMCC, creating a department that keeps in touch with students who drop out to regain them like all businesses do with their customers or like universities do with their alumni could be a good step toward increasing the graduation rate. My wife, who is attending UoPeople today, was once a Queensborough Community College (CUNY) student. Because of problems independent of her will, she dropped out after her third semester. No one ever calls her or emails her to offer any support to help her come back. And I believe that her experience is not singular. For a summer semester, I remember, she

had to take our daughter with her to some classes; even though she was quiet, one of the professors did not like it without knowing that helping this mother could give her a chance to keep up with school. The same college used to call me and often mail me letters asking for payment because I dropped my classes one day after the deadline. If you drop your courses after the deadline, you are charged a certain amount per the college policy. The same way the college knew my address and phone number to harass me for that payment while I never attend even one hour class there, they could also make some attempts to regain the students that are in the process of dopping out. So BMCC could increase its graduation rate by creating this new department. Conclusion This study listed the well-known motivational theories used in education, reviewed some facts related to BMCC and its low graduation rate, considered five factors that de-motivate students and eight others that motivate them to arrive at ten propositions that could help BMCC increase its graduation rate. By implementing these propositions and probably other ones in the same vein, BMCC has a chance to motivate its students, raise their academic performance, improve students’ college experience and create a better learning environment. We strongly encourage BMCC to take these recommendations at heart to benefit them, the students, and society.

References Allen, D. (1999, August). Desire to Finish College: An Empirical Link between Motivation and Persistence. Research in Higher Education, 40(4), 461-485. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40196357 BMCC. (2020, June 17). BMCC Ranks Third Nationwide in Helping Students Move Up the Socioeconomic Ladder. https://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/news/bmcc-ranks-third-nationwide-in-helping-students-move -up-the-socioeconomic-ladder/ BMCC. (2021). History of BMCC. https://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/about-bmcc/history-of-bmcc/ Center for Urban Future. (2017, December). STRUGGLING TO THE FINISH LINE: COMMUNITY COLLEGE COMPLETION IN NEW YORK STATE. https://nycfuture.org/research/community-college-completion-in-new-york College Simply. (2021). New York Colleges Ranked by Lowest Graduation Rate. https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges/rank/colleges/lowest-graduation-rate/state/new-y ork/ College Stats. (n.d.). Top 5 Reasons for Dropping Out of College. https://collegestats.org/articles/beware-the-top-5-reasons-for-dropping-out-of-college/ Community College Review. (n.d.). CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College. https://www.communitycollegereview.com/cuny-borough-of-manhattan-community-colleg e-profile Hanson, M. (2021, August 9). College Graduation Statistics. https://educationdata.org/number-of-college-graduates

Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective (6th ed.). Pearson. https://www.researchgate.net/file.PostFileLoader.html?id=53ad2847cf57d75c068b45c5& assetKey=AS%3A273549456019456%401442230680395 Silva, V. (2020, November 21). 8 Factors that Affect Students’ Motivation in Education. https://www.builtbyme.com/students-motivation-in-education/ Teach Thought. (n.d.). 21 Simple Ideas To Improve Student Motivation. https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/21-simple-ideas-to-improve-student-motivatio/ The University of Wisconsin. (n.d.). Motivating Students. https://www.uww.edu/learn/restiptool/motivating-students...