2015

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1 1:"~1-c"a.'~"re u vu~ year period are extremely uncommon, in our state or ow· nation.~ said Stewart, wbo initiated the strategic planning process when be was named the college's eighth president in 2012. "The success of our students is our top priority at East Central Community College. The initiatives we've imple– mented in fulfillment of the Student Success as well as Teactii!ig and Learning insti– tutional commitments of our 2020 Vision plan are helping to ensure that our students achleYe their full potential, complete their degrees. and !Pave our college better pre– pared to achieve their career and life goals." East Central Community College researched best practices of two-year and four-year colleges and uni– versities nationwide to de– velop several initiatives aimed at improving student success. particularly in the area of program completion. Among those initiatives·were: • The $40 graduation fee was waived beginning \\itb the 2014-15 academic year as an incentive for more stu– dents to apply for graduation and officially complete pro– grams of study. "Among graduation fees nationally, $40 is probablyon the low end." Stewart said. "But to some of our s~dents, it is a lot of money and a fa~ tor we felt '\\'SS keeping them from graduating '"itb their degree or certificate." • The number of hours needed for a two-year associ– ate degree was reduced from 62 to 60. '"It takes 120 hours to get a baccalaureate degree. ~ it just made sense for us to lower our two-year associate of arts and associate of sci– ence degree requirement t"

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