Changing Course: A Guide to Increasing Student Completion in Community Colleges

Most community colleges, as currently designed, are not fully set up to maximize student completion rates. Instead, many students are overwhelmed with the array of academic sequences, workforce programs (career training programs), transfer options, and continuing education opportunities available to them—thus hindering their success in college.This guide helps community college faculty, staff, and administrators rethink and redesign their systems, programs, and instruction to increase student completion, and:Identifies the goals of Completion by Design, an initiative that works with community colleges to increase completion and graduation rates for students, particularly those from low-income familiesSummarizes key design principles for improving completion rate

The Orion-Taurus ridge: a synchrotron radio loop at the edge of the Orion-Eridanus superbubble

Large-scale synchrotron loops are recognized as the main source of diffuse radio-continuum emission in the Galaxy at intermediate and high Galactic latitudes. Their origin, however, remains rather unexplained. Using a combination of multi-frequency data in the radio band of total and polarized intensities, for the first time in this letter, we associate one arc -- hereafter, the Orion-Taurus ridge -- with the wall of the most prominent stellar-feedback blown shell in the Solar neighborhood, namely the Orion-Eridanus superbubble. We traced the Orion-Taurus ridge using 3D maps of interstellar dust extinction and column-density maps of molecular gas, $N_{\rm H_2}$. We found the Orion-Taurus ridge at a distance of 400\,pc, with a plane-of-the-sky extent of $180$\,pc. Its median $N_{\rm H_2}$ value is $(1.4^{+2.6}_{-0.6})\times 10^{21}$ cm$^{-2}$. Thanks to the broadband observations below 100 MHz of the Long Wavelength Array, we also computed the low-frequency spectral-index map of synchrotron emissivity, $\beta$, in the Orion-Taurus ridge. We found a flat distribution of $\beta$ with a median value of $-2.24^{+0.03}_{-0.02}$ that we interpreted in terms of depletion of low-energy ($<$ GeV) cosmic-ray electrons in recent supernova remnants ($10^5$ - $10^6$ yrs). Our results are consistent with plane-of-the-sky magnetic-field strengths in the Orion-Taurus ridge larger than a few tens of $\mu$G ($> 30 - 40 \,\mu$G). We report the first detection of diffuse synchrotron emission from cold-neutral, partly molecular, gas in the surroundings of the Orion-Eridanus superbubble. This observation opens a new perspective to study the multiphase and magnetized interstellar medium with the advent of future high-sensitivity radio facilities, such as the C-Band All-Sky Survey and the Square Kilometre Array.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

One-Shot Deal? Students' Perceptions of Assessment and Course Placement in California's Community Colleges

This report examines the assessment and course placement practices across California's community colleges for incoming students and recommends strategies for overall improvement.Community colleges have processes in place for new student orientation, counseling, assessment, and course placement. Nonetheless, students, by and large, view their matriculation process as a one-shot deal—an isolated event that happens one day with minimal to no advance information.Yet the assessment and placement process involves very high stakes for students and can negatively impact their future success. Course placement affects not only how quickly students can earn a certificate or degree—a factor affecting the cost of their program of study—but also their likelihood of completing a credential at all.Drawing from quantitative analyses and interviews with counselors and students, the authors uncover substantial variance in assessment and placement policies statewide, as well as confusion among both students and counselors about the policies. The authors provide recommendations directed toward making assessment and placement part of overall diagnostic and learning processes that span high school and college

Planning & Open-Air Demonstrating Smart City Sustainable Districts

The article is focused on the \u201cdemonstration\u201d activities carried out by the University of Genoa at Savona Campus facilities in order to implement the \u201cLiving Lab Smart City\u201d. The idea is to transform the Savona Campus in a Living Lab of the City of the Future: smart technologies in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and energy sectors were installed in order to show a real application of the Smart City concept to population and external stakeholders. Moreover, special attention was given to the environment, personal wellbeing, and social equalities. The sustainable energy Research Infrastructures (RIs) of Savona Campus allowed enhancement of the applied research in degree programs and the collaboration with several companies. In particular, an important partnership with the Italian electric Distribution System Operator (DSO), ENEL S.p.A., started in 2017 to test the capability of these RIs to operate disconnected from the National Grid, relying only on the supply of renewables and storage systems. The \u201cLiving Lab Smart City\u201d is an important action to reduce the carbon footprint of the Savona Campus and to increase the awareness of students, teachers and researchers towards Sustainable Development in Higher Education Institutes

Comparison of distance measurements to dust clouds using GRB X-ray halos and 3D dust extinction

X-ray photons from energetic sources such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can be scattered on dust clouds in the Milky Way, creating a time-evolving halo around the GRB position. X-ray observations of such halos allow the measurement of dust clouds distances in the Galaxy on which the scattering occurs. We present the first systematic comparison of the distances to scattering regions derived from GRB halos with the 3D dust distribution derived from recently published optical-to-near infrared extinction maps. GRB halos were observed around 7 sources by the Swift XRT and the XMM-Newton EPIC instruments, namely GRB 031203, GRB 050713A, GRB 050724, GRB 061019, GRB 070129, GRB 160623A and GRB 221009A. We used four 3D extinction maps that exploit photometric data from different surveys and apply diverse algorithms for the 3D mapping of extinction, and compared the X-ray halo-derived distances with the local maxima in the 3D extinction density distribution. We found that in all GRBs we can find at least one local maximum in the 3D dust extinction map that is in agreement with the dust distance measured from X-ray rings. For GRBs with multiple X-ray rings, the dust distance measurements coincide with at least 3 maxima in the extinction map for GRB 160623A, and 5 maxima for GRB 221009A. The agreement of these independent distance measurements shows that the methods used to create dust extinction maps may potentially be optimized by the X-ray halo observations from GRBs.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Integrating Student Supports and Academics: Game Changer Series

Many community colleges are working to integrate student support services (such as academic advising, education and career planning, and academic tutoring) more closely with instruction, with an eye toward expanding student use of support systems and creating a more seamless and engaging learning experience for all students.These efforts seek to ensure that support services become a more integral part of students' ongoing experiences in courses and in other aspects of college life, rather than an option that students have to seek out actively.By providing support to all students, this reform strategy is being viewed as a way to increase student success in courses and contribute to improved students' college completion overall (achieving certificates, degrees, and transfer).This report, produced by Completion by Design at WestEd, explores how the integration of student supports and academics fit within an overall strategy to raise completion rates, and covers:Embedding supportOffering Integrated Student Success CentersCoordinating first-year experiencesUsing technology to connect student supports and academicsEngaging instruction and support services staffData useCostPolicy issuesNote: This is the third report in the Game Changers series, designed for use by colleges to generate discussion about innovative models for increasing completion rates substantially. Each topic is addressed through five sections—an overview, examples in practice, implementation challenges, sample engagement questions, and references. The sections are intended to be used separately or as a whole, depending on the audience and needs.Other reports in the Game Changers series include:Acceleration in Developmental EducationProviding Structured Pathways to Guide Students Toward Completio

Providing Structured Pathways to Guide Students Toward Completion: Game Changers Series

Many students arrive at community college without clear goals for college and their careers. They receive little guidance prior to matriculation, do not meet with advisors, and/or accumulate many course credits that do not count toward their eventual program of study. Some even drop out of college before selecting a program.To address these kinds of issues and to help students reach their college completion goals, some community colleges are creating structured pathways that allow students to explore their education and career options while also making progress toward a credential.This report, produced by the Completion by Design initiative at WestEd, outlines some of the major issues that colleges are discussing or experimenting with that are related to the creation of more structured student pathways, including:Mandating intake processes that provide education and career counseling, inform students about programs that are related to their interests, and help students explore and develop education goals, career goals, and a degree planBalancing flexibility and prescription in student selection of courses and majorsDefining clear instructional programs enabling students to complete a program as quickly as possibleProviding proactive and ongoing education and career advising, supports, and planning across each stage of student progressIncreasing program alignment with employment and transfer opportunitiesProviding more structured pathways has the potential to affect all support services and instructional programs by requiring better communication and integration of services.This report explains terms, provides examples of current efforts, and offers suggestions to help colleges with implementation.Note: This is the second report in the Game Changers series, designed for use by colleges to generate discussion about innovative models for increasing completion rates substantially. Each topic is addressed through five sections—an overview, examples in practice, implementation challenges, sample engagement questions, and references. The sections are intended to be used separately or as a whole, depending on the audience and needs.Other reports in the Game Changers series include:Acceleration in Developmental EducationIntegrating Student Supports and Academic

Constraints on the symmetry energy and on neutron skins from the pygmy resonances in 68Ni and 132Sn

Correlations between the behavior of the nuclear symmetry energy, the neutron skins, and the percentage of energy-weighted sum rule (EWSR) exhausted by the Pygmy Dipole Resonance (PDR) in 68Ni and 132Sn have been investigated by using different Random Phase Approximation (RPA) models for the dipole response, based on a representative set of Skyrme effective forces plus meson-exchange effective Lagrangians. A comparison with the experimental data has allowed us to constrain the value of the derivative of the symmetry energy at saturation. The neutron skin radius is deduced under this constraint.Comment: Accepted for publication in PRC Rapid Comminicatio

Performance of the EQ-5D in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

ABSTRACTObjectiveThe EQ-5D is a standardized, nondisease-specific instrument for evaluating patients' preference-based valuations of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study's purpose was to determine the psychometric properties of EQ-5D in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).MethodsData from four European IBS studies were assessed: UK (n = 161 and n = 297), Spain (n = 503), and Germany (n = 100). The EQ-5D is a five-item health state descriptive system used to develop health states (EQ-5DINDEX) and a visual analog scale (VAS) (0–100 from worst to best imaginable health state, EQ-5DVAS). Measures used with the EQ-5D included the SF-36, Irritable Bowel Syndrome—Quality of Life (IBS-QOL), and both subjective and clinical global assessments of IBS. Convergent validity was assessed using SF-36 and IBS-QOL data, discriminant validity using global ratings of IBS severity, and responsiveness by subjective and physician assessment of condition.ResultsModerate-to-high associations (r ≥ 0.33) were seen between the EQ-5DVAS and the SF-36 and IBS-QOL subscales. Mean response scores to EQ-5DINDEX dimensions and the EQ-5DVAS score were significantly better for control patients than for patients with IBS (all P < 0.01). The EQ-5DVAS was able to discriminate between levels of pain severity (quartiles, P < 0.001; mild/moderate/severe, P < 0.05) and general health severity (mild/moderate/severe, P < 0.001). The EQ-5DVAS and the EQ-5DINDEX were responsive in patients using both a self-perceived (Subject's Global Assessment) and physician-rated (Clinic Global Assessment) improvement.ConclusionsThe EQ-5D performs well in comparison to general and disease-specific outcomes. It is a valid and responsive measure that can be used to generate preference-based valuations of HRQoL in patients with IBS and useful for comparisons in clinical and cost-effectiveness studies