Transforming scheduling for student success at Colby Community College

The Challenge:

Build schedules that drive student outcomes across programs and departments

Scheduling is a complex issue and a key factor in improving time to completion. Colby Community College, a rural institution located in Colby, Kansas, recognized its current process of rolling over the course schedule was not optimized for student success and long-term sustainability.

With a motto of Challenge. Create. Connect, Colby Community College sought to stabilize, organize, and strategize its student success and degree completion efforts. In 2023, the college was one of nine schools awarded a Rural Postsecondary & Economic Development (RPED) grant. The RPED program aims to improve rates of postsecondary enrollment, persistence, and completion among rural students through the development of high-quality career pathways aligned to high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand sectors and occupations in the region.

Using the grant, the institution partnered with Ad Astra to conduct a Course Scheduling Infrastructure Evaluation (CSIE). Ad Astra’s CSIE looks at student success, sustainability (cohort enrollment and financial health), classroom and faculty scheduling, the scheduling grid, and policy and procedure

The Evaluation:

Build schedules that drive student outcomes across programs and departments

Through the CSIE diagnostic survey, paired with findings from the Higher Education Scheduling Index (HESI™), Ad Astra found several areas ripe for infrastructure refinement. These included an underutilized course ratio, overloaded courses, and the need to decrease the number of unique meeting patterns. 

The Solution:

Integrate demand analytics and departmental collaboration into the scheduling process

Led by an experienced and dedicated academic leadership team that possessed a depth of knowledge and an awareness of the institution’s priorities, Colby Community College was ready to build upon its current efforts. This included acknowledging how changes in course offerings impact other departments and how individual and departmental efforts drive student success and sustainability.

Working with Ad Astra, the institution was able to align the course schedule and help combat declining enrollments through the creation of a schedule that better aligns with students’ needs. This includes solutions such as Academic Scheduling, Registration Monitoring, and Student Demand Forecasting software to offer greater ability to monitor in-progress registration and construct an annual base schedule.

By optimizing pathways for scheduling and student success, the institution will be able to continue to improve upon and refine the schedule over time. Inter-departmental collaboration also improved during subsequent schedule-building processes, allowing for easier and more-efficient monitoring of faculty load.

“By coordinating all aspects of the course scheduling and selection process, Ad Astra has given our college the confidence and clarity to make sound academic choices, which will in turn lead to greater academic success,” said Dr. Tiffany Evans, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Colby Community College.