Student Success at Rural Institutions
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
12:00 to 1:30 PM (EDT) – bring your lunch!
In the CTL (K210), Berkshire Community College
Presenter: Heather Bouchey
Director, Leahy Center for Rural Students
Lyndon State College, Lyndonville, VT
Session Description:
Lyndon State College (LSC), a public comprehensive college nestled in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom —the most remote and underserved region of the state, serves a considerable population of first-generation and Pell eligible students. LSC is making strides toward developing a regional enrollment management system that focuses on improving access and success for vulnerable students. One successful element of this system is the Leahy Center for Rural Students, which focuses on tracking and fostering postsecondary aspirations and achievement in rural students. By building a regional PK-16 system with area educators and community partners; adopting a data-driven, research-based approach; and establishing an Early Promise Program for high school students, LSC is beginning to see both improved retention rates and a more seamless regional education pipeline.
About the Presenter:
Heather Bouchey is Acting Associate Academic Dean for Enrollment Management at Lyndon State College. She holds a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University, an M.S. in Developmental Psychology from Illinois State University, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Denver. She also completed postdoctoral work in Developmental Psychology with a focus on advanced statistical methods and longitudinal analysis at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Bouchey also currently oversees the Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Rural Students at Lyndon State. At the Leahy Center, she and her team are conducting longitudinal panel research on the factors that predict rural students’ aspirations for, entry into, and success in postsecondary endeavors. The Leahy Center works closely with a group of schools in seven supervisory unions within the Northeast Kingdom, a high-poverty region of VT, to establish a seamless PK-16 educational network for students in the region.
