Leeward Community College has been chosen as a Rising Star in the 2013 Starfish 360 Awards Program. This distinction is given to institutions that have launched the Starfish system within the past year and have already demonstrated measurable outcomes with outstanding accomplishments utilizing the Starfish Retention Solutions community in areas of student success and retention.
Since Leeward CC integrated the Starfish system into its Makaʻala (“with eyes wide open”) initiative last year, the number of referrals made to campus services has doubled, and the number of faculty making referrals increased by 57 percent.
Other stats
- Total degrees and certificates up from 732 in 2009 to 1281 in 2012
- 50 percent increase in degrees earned from 2009 to 2012, 75 percent increase in degrees and certificates combined
- 12 percent increase in median GPA for first-time full-time students
- 8.2 percent increase in earned credits per term 2009–2012
- 18 percent drop in withdrawal rates for first-time full-time students 2009–2012
- 10 percent increase in successful course completion rates for first-time, full-time students 2009–2012
- Students, whose Starfish referral resulted in an intervention, achieved C or better grades in the courses in question at twice the rate of students referred but for whom an intervention was not made.
“Starfish has allowed us to implement a campus-wide early alert system and to move our counseling and retention support away from traditional academic advising toward a case-management model to help promote individual student success within the semester,” said Chancellor Manny Cabral.
“Other UHCC campuses are following suit through the use of C3T funds to purchase Starfish for all students at all community college campuses in the state,“ said Dean of Student Services Chris Manaseri. He credited the faculty and critical support staff, such as Kami Kato and Therese Nakadomari, for their implementation efforts. “We see this as a major step toward implementing more best practices among the UHCCs.”
“The Starfish 360 Awards Program recognizes the innovation that is possible when institutions combine people, process and technology to make a difference in the lives of students,” said Starfish Retention Solutions CEO David Yaskin. “We continue to be inspired by our clients’ success stories, and we’re proud that the Starfish system is helping them achieve amazing outcomes.”
Rising Star recipients each receive cash prizes to support the ongoing development of their student success programs.
