Since the North Carolina Teaching and Learning Hubs launched in 2021, their strategy for student success has been clear: to invest in faculty professional learning and reach students where they spend most of their time at the college – in the classroom. By complementing the efforts of individual community colleges’ teaching and learning centers, the Hubs offer a scaled approach for faculty around the state to share evidence-based and easily adoptable classroom management techniques and teaching practices.
In a new study evaluating the first two years of the Hubs, the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research and evaluation and learning partner DVP-PRAXIS LTD, found a strong connection between faculty professional learning and student success. In fact, in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years, more than 74,000 students enrolled in courses taught by faculty who participated in Hub professional learning.
This new report, titled “Statewide Professional Learning for Faculty and Student Success,”
focuses on the academic outcome of student persistence, which includes fall-to-spring retention, transfer in the subsequent term, and credential attainment in the current term during the Teaching and Learning Hubs’ first two-years. The findings suggest that there is a significant and positive benefit to persistence for students when they increase their participation in courses taught by Hub-trained faculty.
Key Takeaways from this report include:
- We predict a 6.6% increased likelihood of fall-to-spring persistence for each student when they take an additional course with Hub-trained faculty.
- If all North Carolina Community College System students enrolled in one additional course taught by Hub-trained faculty, we predict an additional 4,154 students would be retained, transfer, or receive a credential each term.
- Given the scale of the Hubs’ reach to faculty, which is increasing as the Hubs continue to attract more faculty, this investment in professional learning for faculty could have significant institutional and statewide impacts on postsecondary success.
“The findings of this report further highlight the connection between the Teaching and Learning Hubs and student success – meaning that when more faculty are trained by a Hub, more students are benefitting,” says Monique Colclough, Ph.D., Belk Center director of programs and initiatives. “The Hubs are improving student outcomes across North Carolina and we’re proud to support the faculty leaders advancing this change.”
Click here to view the full report
About the Belk Center
Creating tools, convening leaders, and catalyzing change: the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research works with educators, researchers, and policymakers to further more equitable community college outcomes in North Carolina and across the nation. We equip community college leaders with actionable insights and create opportunities for collaboration as we tackle the most pressing issues facing students and campuses to build stronger, more resilient communities. The Belk Center is housed in the College of Education at North Carolina State University, a land-grant university that shares our commitment to community colleges and the critical role these institutions play in creating and expanding opportunities for all North Carolinians.
