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How Pueblo Community College Leveraged Faculty Partnerships and Technology to Address the Community College Enrollment Crisis
Pueblo Community College’s Two-Pronged Approach to Combatting Summer Melt
About
Pueblo Community College (Pueblo) is a Hispanic-Serving Institution with over 5,000 students across three campuses. Approximately 70% of Pueblo’s students are part-time, and 34% are first-generation.
Quick Facts
- Hispanic-Serving Institution
- Over 5,000 students across 3 campuses
- 70% of students are part-time
- 34% are first-generation
Two years into the pandemic, Pueblo faced serious enrollment challenges. Higher-than-expected summer melt in Fall 2021 led them to investigate causes that could threaten future semesters. Cross-campus communication issues, limited access to faculty during summer, and a lack of buy-in to student success initiatives were among the most pressing contributors.
Pueblo leadership identified a two-pronged approach to address their enrollment problem. First, they created clearer advising processes powered by Navigate. They also leveraged Navigate’s student app to engage students throughout the advising process.
Pueblo’s initiative empowered faculty and staff to clarify their roles in the advising process, limit time spent on wrong-fit tasks, and develop mutually agreed-upon strategies for more effective student care. The faculty progress report response rate-a measure of active use and collaboration with staff advisors-increased by 11.2%, and faculty advising appointments increased by 191% in the 2021-22 academic year. The new process increased student engagement as well, yielding a 42% increase in Navigate app usage across the same timeframe.
Impact Highlights
11.2% increase in faculty response rate to progress reports
191% increase in faculty advising appointments scheduled
42% increase in Navigate app usage
Navigate Equips Advising Partners to Engage (and Re-engage) Students
Pueblo has set the stage to increase the number of applicants who successfully matriculate each term—and to re-engage the students they previously lost to melt—by strategically focusing efforts on Navigate utilization and more equitable advising partnerships between faculty and staff. Pueblo is also deploying an “applied-to-enrolled” automated campaign through Navigate to stay connected to students and decrease enrollment barriers.
"Navigate is our mothership. It’s where we note every decision made, why we did something when we met with someone. The transparency and accountability [it provides] is a game-changer.
"Heather Speed, Vice President of Student Success
