Amarillo College's Advocacy & Resource Center (ARC) was established to provide students with a centralized location to access resources that can assist in meeting students' basic needs. Social Workers are available to work with Amarillo College staff, faculty and community members to assist in removing barriers that prevent students from obtaining success. Through the ARC, students can access the Social Services Program which provides access to internal and external resources to ensure that student's needs are addressed appropriately. Emergency Aid is also available to students who meet the qualification requirements of the college's No Excuses Fund. Students are also able to inquire about scholarships that can help them meet their academic, childcare, and transportation needs. Last but not least, Amarillo College students are able to visit one of five campus food pantries that not only provides access to food but hygiene and baby resources as well.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.

PROGRAM SCALE: Large-scale (reaches more than 25 percent of its intended target population)

PROGRAM OUTCOMES: The Advocacy & Resource Center received over 8,000 visits during the 2022/2023 academic year.

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Vice President of Strategic Initiatives

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Jordan Herrera at jaherrera@actx.edu or 806-371-5439

The corequisite model at Amarillo College, for math and English, is a paired model with a 3-hour transfer course and a 3-hour support course. The corequisite model decreases time to completion by enrolling academically underprepared students in transfer-level classes, thereby eliminating the elongated timeline of the traditional prerequisite developmental education pathway. Academically underprepared students are treated as a cohort, enrolling in both sections for a total of 6 hours, and are not commingled in the transfer-level course. The support course functions like a lab or workshop and does not have a separate Developmental Education curriculum. Amarillo College uses embedded tutors in the support course to assist the instructor with one-on-one and group tutoring sessions. The transfer-level courses are: English Composition I, College Algebra, Mathematics for Business & Social Sciences, Contemporary Mathematics, and College Algebra for STEM Majors.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program is in-person only.

PROGRAM SCALE: Large-scale (reaches more than 25 percent of its intended target population)

APPROXIMATE PARTICIPANTS SERVED IN 2021-22: 1724

HOW TO ENROLL: Participants are automatically enrolled in this program if they meet eligibility requirements

EVALUATION STATUS: Data related to program outcomes have been internally collected in the past

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: English and Math Departments

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Frank E Sobey at fesobey@actx.edu or 8062826811

EDUC 1100 is a required course for all students entering AC seeking an AAS, AS, or AA degree.

Course Description
A study of the: research and theory in the psychology of learning, cognition and motivation; factors that impact learning; and application of learning strategies. Theoretical models of strategic learning, cognition and motivation serve as the conceptual basis for the introduction of college-level student academic strategies. Students use assessment instruments (e.g., learning inventories) to help them identify their own strengths and weaknesses as strategic learners. Students are ultimately expected to integrate and apply the learning skills discussed across their own academic programs and become effective and efficient learners. Students developing these skills should be able to continually draw from the theoretical models they have learned.

Learning Outcomes

1 - Students will evaluate strengths, abilities, values, and motivations and apply this self-knowledge to personal, educational and career goal-setting.

2 - Students will determine appropriate campus wrap around resources for assistance and engage in strategies to successfully navigate college and overcome personal and academic challenges.

3 - Students will evaluate and determine, by engaging in their Community and career pathway activities, the extent to which education and career expectations align with personal interests and goals.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format.

PROGRAM SCALE: Large-scale (reaches more than 25 percent of its intended target population)

APPROXIMATE PARTICIPANTS SERVED IN 2021-22: 2800

HOW TO ENROLL: Students are enrolled in their first semester by their advisor unless they are enrolled in a co-req class.

EVALUATION STATUS: Data related to program outcomes are currently being internally collected

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: First Year Experience

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Amy Pifer at adpifer@actx.edu or 806-345-5620

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Even after decades of improvement efforts, completion rates at community colleges remain low, particularly among students who need developmental education. Food and housing insecurity – referred to as basic needs insecurity – contribute to low completion rates. Community college students face higher rates of basic needs insecurity than other students. Yet basic needs insecurity often goes unaddressed, particularly at these colleges, due to resource constraints.

Community colleges have started to support students’ basic needs in multiple ways. Campus-based hubs offering services like public benefits access, emergency aid, food pantries and case management have become increasingly popular. However, limited evidence exists on whether connecting with these hubs improves academic success.

The Advocacy and Resource Center (ARC) at Amarillo College (AC) in Texas is a well-established example of how a college can care for its students. In 2018, The Hope Center published a detailed case study of the college’s approach to AC’s “culture of caring” embodied by the ARC. At the time, the ARC served 13% of Amarillo College students, well short of the estimated two-thirds who endured basic needs insecurity. This report details our partnership with the college to conduct an evaluation advancing two institutional goals:

• Increase utilization of the ARC, particularly among students most at risk of leaving college, with a low-cost technology-enabled approach
• Estimate the academic impacts of connecting students to the ARC

We identified students who might benefit from the ARC: those from low-income households and those enrolled in developmental education coursework. Placement in developmental education signals insufficient K-12 preparation and/or gaps in enrollment, both of which are associated with poverty. We targeted personalized emails to a randomly selected group of these students informing them of and inviting them to the ARC for support. These emails had positive impacts on students at AC:

• Rates of visiting the ARC more than doubled from 22% to 56%
• Developmental education students were 20% more likely to pass developmental education courses, a crucial milestone

However, we did not find clear evidence that nudged students completed more credits, received higher grades, or passed other courses at higher rates. While we saw promising trends regarding retention and graduation, they may be due to chance.

As community colleges across the nation work to improve student success and help students recover from the pandemic, this evaluation offers two lessons:

• Insufficient information about existing basic needs supports keeps students from getting the help they need. The information barrier may be effectively overcome with personalized nudging, a low-cost solution
• Connecting students to basic needs supports helps students make academic progress, particularly those in need of developmental education