Over the past several years, College of the Redwoods has committed considerable time and effort to improving the CR student experience. We focused our internal dialogue and institutional attention on ways to enhance student learning opportunities and increase our achievements in a number of student success metrics. Our discussions led us to establish minimal institutional standards, as well as aspirational “stretch” targets for key student success indicators including student retention, course success, degree and certificate completion, transfer rates, and average unit accumulation.

I am excited to report that, thanks to the hard work of faculty and staff, we have met or exceeded those standards, and I believe that the following information tells a story of a successful college.

We awarded more degrees and certificates in 2020-21 than we had in any one of the previous five years. Last year, we conferred a total of 526 degrees — which is 205 more than our institutional set standard and 134 more than our aspirational target. We also exceeded both targets for the number of certificates we awarded in 2020-22, with 163.

Here are some additional highlights:

• The percentage of students who have persisted between semesters (stayed enrolled from fall to spring semesters) in 2020-21 was 63%. This is 5 percentage points above our institutional minimum standard of 58%.
• We retained (stayed enrolled through the end of the semester) 87% of students in our courses last year. This is 8 points above our minimum institutional standard.
• Course Success is measured as the percentage of students who completed their course with a grade of C or better. Both overall and online courses maintained and even improved their success rates at 72%, well above the minimum standard of 61%.
• 41% of fall and spring sections were taught online this last year. In comparison, only 11% were fully online in 2019-2020. It is noteworthy that our success rates remained stable after such a significant transition in instruction modality.
• Reducing the average number of units students take before attaining a degree will help more students reach their educational goals sooner, and at less cost to them. It means that students are spending less time in classes they don’t need. The number of units accumulated by students earning associate degrees decreased from 82 units in 2018-19 to 78 units in 2019-20.

The success we have enjoyed in meeting these metrics is a result of the extraordinary efforts our faculty have put into improving student learning and engagement, especially given the challenges of the pandemic. They also point to the strength and tenacity of our students and to their dedication to complete their studies.

While the numbers indicate that we have a lot to be proud of, we are committed to improving these numbers even more. Moreover, we are facing an uphill battle to regain enrollment numbers lost during the pandemic. It is plain to us that we must clearly articulate, to students and their parents, why they should stay in Humboldt County to pursue their higher educational goals. We are engaged in a process to revise our Education Master Plan, which will help us meet these challenges and exceed our goals.

Dr. Keith Flamer is the president of the College of the Redwoods.