Spotlight on Innovation: How Central Georgia Technical College Success Coaches Will Provide Collaborative Support to At-Risk Students

Here's how Central Georgia Technical College is expanding a student success coach program, focusing especially on GED students and students placed in developmental education.

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES

The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar "First in the World" grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts.

by Lisa Cook, Academic Impressions

A little more than half of the students at Central Georgia Technical College are first-generation students who may not have the family support they need to successfully navigate college. Officials at the two-year college have spent more than a decade incubating strategies to effectively support first-gen and other underrepresented and academically underprepared students through graduation. This includes an effective model for using success coaches and a college success course to help guide students through their academic career.

Now with the help of a $3.2 million First in the World grant, CGTC will expand the success coach model to all three CGTC campuses. They are also expanding the program's focus so that two particular groups of at-risk students -- students placed in developmental education courses and GED students -- will both benefit from the increased support. We talked to Amy Holloway, vice president of academic affairs, and Sam Lester, professional development director and director of the FITW project, to learn more about the two key components of their model:

1. A College Success Course
2. Success Coaches

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