HIGHLIGHTS 2009-2010
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Student Success

Excelsior entered into a contract with InsideTrack, the nation's premier provider of student coaching services. Their mission is to improve student engagement, persistence, and success. A pilot project began with a small sample of newly enrolled associate degree nursing students with positive results.

The College launched a new, non-credit, required student orientation course, CCS 100 EC Student Experience. The course was accessed by over 20,000 students in its first week of operation and is designed to help with college-wide persistence.

Outreach continued on the PERSIST initiative, an effort to encourage inactive students to reaffirm their commitment to degree completion. The Student Success Committee implemented the effort with phone calls from advisors, voicemails, postcards, and emails encouraging students to reengage. PERSIST activities have so far resulted in a significant increase in the percentage of students persevering in their studies.

Grants and Research

U.S. Department of Education, Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE)--$581,609 to create an online multimedia English as Second Language Workshop on Writing (ESL-WOW). The grant will provide $381,609 for years one and two, and $200,000 for year three. San Diego Mesa College is partnering with Excelsior in this venture.

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Student Loan Program--$165,851 to provide loans to nursing students.

HRSA Nurse Faculty Loan--$65,428 to provide loans to nursing education students.

William Randolph Hearst Foundations--$40,000 to provide scholarship funds for nursing students preparing for the CPNE.

New York State Education Department's Library Coordinated Collection Development Aid--$14,764 toward the cost of access to the Ovid online medical/ scientific database.

HSBC Bank--$10,000 to provide scholarships to students 25 years of age and younger.

Awards and Recognition

President John F. Ebersole was honored with the Secretary of the Army Public Service Award in recognition of exceptional pubic service that makes a substantial contribution to the accomplishment of the Army's mission. Among other achievements during his tenure, the College has become an onsite course provider at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy and introduced a Military Spouse Scholarship program.

Senior Academic Advisor in the School of Nursing Deborah Hodge received a Certificate of Merit in the Primary Advising category from the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), marking the 15th time an Excelsior advisor has been recognized by NACADA.

The first Distinguished Faculty Members of the Year awards were presented to (pictured above from left to right) David Sherman, School of Liberal Arts; Dr. Sharon Aronovitch, School of Nursing; Eric Harter, School of Business and Technology; and (not pictured) Craig Owens, School of Health Sciences.

The Center for Professional Development

The CPD introduced five new courses: English for Medical Professionals: Doctors, Nurses and Pharmacists; English for Medical Professionals for Home Health Care Aides and Assistive Personnel; Medical Ethics; Partnering for Healthy Skin Across the Continuum for Care, Part 1; and GED Preparation course.

The introduction of the GED Preparation course heralded the College's commitment to pre-college programming. The course not only prepares students to successfully sit for the GED exam, it also provides students with the skills to continue their education and be successful at the college level.

Photo Caption: Elizabeth Santiago, GED course developer and facilitator

Students taking advantage of tuition benefits available to military spouses resulted in the Center's largest enrollment by group. During the fiscal year, over 100 registrations came from military spouses. The most popular courses among this group were Medical Billing and Coding, Pharmacy Technician, Advanced Personal Fitness Trainer, and Interior Design.

Financial Aid

The use of Post 9/11 Veteran Benefits overall was up in dollars 42% in the first quarter of the year and 28% in the number of students utilizing those funds (as compared to the first quarter last year). Most of the increase is attributed to Post 9/11 benefits.

Alumni Advisory Board

The AAB launched a new Ambassador/Outreach Project. North Carolina and Washington, DC/Baltimore alumni chapters were developed, leveraging social media sites such as Facebook. More than 200 alumni have shown interest in joining these chapters.

Excelsior College Alumni Virtual Library

In September 2009, access to the alumni library was granted to all alumni of Excelsior, Regents, and The University of the State of New York.

14 | Live & Learn /Annual Report 2009-2010