Texas Pioneer Foundation donates funds for Civitas data system

Completing a collegiate degree or certificate is perhaps the most pivotal accomplishment a student can achieve. In an effort to help students reach their higher education goals, Texarkana College Foundation accepted a grant amounting to $179,600 on Friday, January 16, 2015, to purchase Civitas Learning, a software system that helps colleges improve student success and completion. Fred Markham, executive director of Texas Pioneer Foundation, presented the check on behalf of the Texas Pioneer Foundation.

The grant will allow Texarkana College, Northeast Texas Community College and Kilgore College to form a consortium to purchase and implement Civitas Learning, an add-on software to enhance Texarkana College’s recently adopted student information system, Jenzabar. Civitas extracts important student data from the student information system and other programs in order to compile and translate the data into useful insights and information.

“The predictive analytics provided by Civitas will identify those students at risk for dropping out or failing,” said Katie Andrus, Executive Director of the Texarkana College Foundation. “This early warning will allow faculty, administration and the students themselves to make changes in order to correct the students’ paths.”

The implementation of Civitas Learning analytics is expected to increase the number of students who succeed and graduate with a degree or certificate. The results will be measured by the percentage of students who persist and graduate each year. Texarkana College expects these interventions to become a foundational part of how it keeps students on course to graduation.

For additional information or to make a donation, please contact Katie Andrus at (903) 823-3125 katie.andrus@texarkanacollege.edu or Kayla Fleming at (903) 823-3059 kayla.fleming@texarkanacollege.edu.