Why Do We Need A Caseload Cap?

“It’s simple: if OMD leadership wants to continue creating opportunities for students then they must foster a healthy work environment for its employees by implementing effective and inclusive policies such as a capped caseload size. This will have a positive effect on morale and will also allow Program Coordinators to better utilize their talents and skill sets.” Laila Sadat, Former Program Coordinator One of the worst mistakes that a leader can make is creating policies without regard for how they will impact their team; or even worse, undermining and doubting the concerns of their team when they voice the implications of these harmful policies. Such failures lead to animosity and overall dysfunction of an organization. Program Coordinators at OMD have been and will always be the ones actively carrying out the mission of the organization. Their perspective and proximity to students not only allows them to fully understand the potential OMD has to influence many lives, but th

"We would not be able to run an effective coaching program without the support and work of PCs. This is an essential truth that extends beyond our team... every aspect of OMD’s support program depends on their expertise and support. There are PCs who have done all of this work, in person, every day, for years... And they are telling you they need a caseload cap. I believe them and I hope you do too." Kate Scheuch, Volunteer and Alumni Program Coordinator OMD was founded with the mission to provide community college students the support they need to persist and succeed in school. The org saw that students faced academic, financial, professional, and personal barriers that were beyond the capacity of existing on-campus resources, so staff developed a new, holistic support program with the goal of addressing each of these challenges. To set our services apart, OMD has always prided itself on the fact that its direct service staff members (Program Coordinators, or PCs) had

“Although I am happy to serve all of my scholars, I must acknowledge that my current  caseload leaves me unable to support my scholars in the ways that they deserve. My full caseload means that my meetings with scholars usually feel scripted and rushed.” Marylyn Rogel, Program Coordinator My name is Marylyn Rogel and I have been at One Million Degrees for six and a half months. This year, I have a full caseload of 65 students. Although I am happy to serve all of my scholars, I must acknowledge that my current  caseload leaves me unable to support my scholars in the ways that they deserve. My full caseload means that my meetings with scholars usually feel scripted and rushed. This is not to mention that there are times when students have emergencies that are not anticipated. A caseload cap would mean that the OMD program coordinators will have more opportunities for relationship building with scholars. We will also be able to identify scholar needs and provide more individual

“When I worked directly with students, I always struggled in supporting my full caseload (55+). There were always students that were left on the backburner because there were always other students that were being prioritized due to immediate needs.” Xochitl Cruz, Former Sr. Manager of College Partnerships and Program Coordinator I’m writing in support of United Workers of One Million Degrees in their ask for a maximum of 45 scholars per program coordinator. When I worked directly with students, I always struggled in supporting my full caseload (55+). There were always students that were left on the backburner because there were always other students that were being prioritized due to immediate needs. This is not to say that those students didn’t need that immediate support, but with a caseload of a maximum of 45 students, it would be possible to balance the immediate supports while still reaching out to the remainder of the students. And this means not only being responsive t

“Currently, one of the challenges that presents itself is that almost a quarter of scholars were not able to be matched with tutors. Although my goal is to increase the number of subjects offered, increasing the caseload cap further hinders my ability to improve the tutoring program.” Precious McNeil, Program Operations Coordinator and OMD Alumna When choosing between quantity and quality, I will always choose the latter. Every staff member wants to grow OMD, but if that means sacrificing the quality that we give to each of them, then it should never be worth it. This is why lowering the caseload and setting the cap to 45 is vital. Time is what PCs need in order to serve their scholars and if they are limited in this way, then what does that say about our mission? To increase the caseload has a trickle-down effect. I'm in charge of the tutoring program and as I began to think about new innovative ways to improve it, I know that one of the challenges will be to recruit new

"Coordinators need the protection of a 45-scholar caseload maximum not only because we value our time, but because we value the time we want to devote to the scholars." Haleigh Guerin, Career Advancement Coordinator In a 40-hour workweek, OMD employees should maintain the right to a lunch, allowing for the remaining amount of hours for work-related tasks. Assuming the caseload is made up of high-touch scholars and maintaining the basis of 20-minute meetings, with five minutes bordering each meeting to prepare and document, that would allow 65 scholar meetings each week. However, this does not include the amount of research and thought that Career Advancement Coordinators (CACs) and Program Coordinators (PCs) put into each meeting. There is a plethora of scholar resources to help them succeed in their work, school, and personal lives. Finding these resources, ensuring scholar eligibility, and assisting scholars with any application processes takes time. These administ

“Student-facing staff actually have to work harder during this time to make sure students know that we are here for them. I need sufficient time in order to provide the genuine human connection each student deserves. Showing up as my best self in my work would be more feasible with the case-load cap of 45.” Justice Murray, Program Coordinator When first deciding to take this position, I was told I would have a caseload of 65 students. I remember thinking wow that's a lot of students! I checked in with a few of my former colleagues to ensure that 65 was a reasonable number. They told me it would be a lot, but I could handle it. 9 months into the position I can attest that 65 students is a lot. In my work, I value creating genuine human connection. Having this level of connection requires significant time to build the relationship through creating trust, conducting careful research, and following up with each student's needs while respecting the time constraints o

“The lack of a clearly defined and standardized caseload cap forced us as Coordinators into determinations of who was and wasn't deserving of weekly support and compelled us to dole out our support unequally. We were stressed and rushed, which scholars picked up on and which affected our ability to truly be a support for scholars. By having a caseload cap, PC's could have supported every single scholar more effectively -- thus more effectively carrying out the very mission of OMD.” Liz Jones, Former Program Coordinator and Career Advancement Coordinator In my experience at OMD, high and unclearly defined caseload numbers made it impossible for PC's to effectively carry out OMD's mission of supporting community college students academically, professionally, financially, and personally. Every year, we saw that caseload maximums would change and shift arbitrarily. Sometimes there were maximums of 60-65, sometimes it would drift as high as 70. PC's never knew wha

“Having been a scholar that OMD served, it is extraordinarily disappointing to see that OMD is willing to compromise the quality of service provided to students by actively choosing to prioritize the quantity of students served. The opposition to a caseload cap on the claim that it will limit flexibility in the number of students OMD serves is a direct choice to prioritize the growth of the organization over the needs of the students who chose to invest their time in the program.” Daniela Zuniga Benitez, Program Coordinator and OMD Alumna In the Fall of 2016, I became an OMD scholar during my last year at community college. Although I was in the program for just one academic year, I was able to create a strong relationship with my Program Coordinator - most notably in the Spring semester. This year was especially challenging for me as I was looking to transfer and had to face many institutional barriers. I was very fortunate to have a PC that I could rely on. However, there were

“In the two years that I worked at One Million Degrees, nothing caused as much of a barrier to my work as caseload sizes that were too large and inconsistently sized....OMD leadership needs to change their pattern of behavior and listen to its current and former staff by agreeing to a caseload cap of 45 Scholars. This is the only way to ensure that every Scholar that is accepted into OMD gets the quality of program they were promised and deserve.” Amanda Abraham, Former Scholar Recruitment Coordinator In the two years that I worked at One Million Degrees (OMD) as both a Program Coordinator (PC) and a Recruitment Coordinator, nothing caused as much of a barrier to my work as caseload sizes that were too large and inconsistently sized. These negative effects trickle down into every department at OMD and decrease the quality of support that OMD is able to provide for its students. On the program side, caseloads that are too large negatively impact the quality of service that prog

“Implementing a caseload cap of 45 students would ensure that scholars receive the OMD experience that they were promised. Refusal to do so is an intentional decision to let our scholars down.” Haleigh Wilson, Program Coordinator I have been a Program Coordinator at One Million Degrees for a year and a half. Throughout my time in this role, I have learned the importance of being able to build incredibly strong relationships with my scholars. My scholars view me as their “go-to person” on campus. I have been fortunate enough to be in the position where my scholars trust me enough to confide in me, reach out to me for advice, and see me as a positive influence in their life. I have been the first call that my students have made to share extremely exciting news as well as absolutely tragic news. I strongly believe that the reason that I am able to build such strong relationships with my scholars is that I have never worked with more than  60 scholars. It is imperative that OMD impl