9th Annual National Symposium on Student Retention

November 4-6, 2013

Take home ideas:

  1. Supplemental Instruction (SI), FYE and other interventions should yield a 5-10% performance differential
  2. Increasing success in STEM required systematic attention to advising, SI, and scheduling (see UMASS Boston)
  3. Supplemental Instruction – took varying forms (voluntary and involuntary; scheduling) characterized by uniform training, delivery, assessment of common outcomes; led to increased use of tutoring and increased course success in high risk courses (see Kent State and Delaware Valley)
  4. Strategies for moving students into majors where they succeed (very structured and checklisted; see Kent State – Got Major?)
  5. Checklists: valuable for structuring predictably problematic interactions (advising)

Peter Ewell – NCHEMS

Tension between maximizing grad rates while maintaining quality

Shift in accreditation from “doing assessment” to “standards of learning”

Change from an exoskeleton of doing assessment with a focus on sampled or averaged program graduate performance to the ongoing embedded assessment of each student’s achievement-mastery of specific program learning outcomes, identified in a curriculum map

New interest in aligned SLO that go beyond GE and incorporate discipline specific outcomes -

Check out these initiatives –

  • The Lumina Degree Qualification Profile (DQP)
  • “Tuning USA”
  • Bologna Project (EU)/Dublin descriptors
  • AAC&U LEAP outcomes

No longer ok to just do assessment, must prove the quality of what students are learning

DQP (Degree Qualification Profile)

Matrix/curriculum map – demonstrate specific abilities at each degree level – each cell has a statement of proficiencies students must meet and institutions identify specific courses, embedded assessment tasks, and rubrics

-AA, BA/BS, MA/MS are the three levels of degrees tracked (Dr. not considered under assumption the level is fine and if there is a problem Dr. level, it should be rectified at a lower level)

Degree Levels (Assoc. - Master’s)

Abilities

-5 learning areas

  • Specialized knowledge
  • Broad/integrative knowledge
  • Intellectual skills
  • Applied learning
  • Civic learning

-Successively inclusive hierarchy of action verbs

  • Assoc – “presents”
  • Bacc – “constructs”
  • Masters – “creates”

DQP – “Every student” should graduate with the designated proficiencies

-Average performance is not enough

-Assessment as an add-on is inadequate

-Assessment must be embedded in regular assignments, exam questions and certified at multiple levels on the way to degree completion no longer set outcomes as “aspirations” but as individual expectations.

NILOA –Kuh(look for Kuh’s future guidelines as task development and bank of model assessment tasks)

How does this affect graduation rates?

-More coherent curricula;

-Students know what they are supposed to learn and accomplish (improved advising)

Need: Train faculty on writing good assignments (that align well with rubric) and create a model assessment bank –

Curriculum map:

Outcomes
Analytical inquiry / Use of Information / Diverse Perspectives
Course 1
Addressed?
Tested/assessed?
Course 2
Addressed?
Tested/assessed?

AAC&U Leap outcomes and rubrics – UT, WI, VA, CSU

  1. Coherent curriculum with clear embedded outcomes and curricular mapping
  2. Continuous and thorough process mentoring (checklists should be used)
  3. good advising
  4. student inquiry
  5. internships
  6. service learning courses
  7. academic skills centers
  8. residence halls/student groups/advisors

Brainstorm possible checklist applications at CCSU by faculty, staff and/or students

  1. Clear expectation of enrollment – students sign an enrollment contract
  2. Four year degree program –
  3. student certifies
  4. what they will learn (learning outcomes),
  5. understands the required effort (attend class, study outside of class, goes to class prepared and having done the required readings)
  6. Institutioncertifies that it expects the student to succeed and will provide support (tutoring, library resources, health, etc.)
  7. contract is reviewed annually as part of advising
  1. Systematic diagnosis of dropout – systematically evaluate each factor (How do you eat an elephant?) – What factors will these be?

“Student success in college” website compares inst. – link is on NILOA website

  1. Retention: “Isolated with things done every day by individual staff and faculty with a common vision of helping and support that continuously informs their actions”

Conclusion

  • It is not about the amount of money but rather where you put the money
  • Leadership
  • Little things (with common theme by individual members with a common vision)

Supplemental Instruction:

Kent State – A Model Ensuring Student Success and Retention - Supplemental Instruction (SI) Program and DFW rates

SI Instructor:

-3.0 GPA;

-course selected to tutor: A- or higher grade

-recommended by faculty member

Set up is not individual tutoring but do group tutoring

-Kent State limits/coordinates SI to 4-5 subjects

-Typically intro courses

-One tutor/faculty teaching (if two faculty are teaching two different sections of same class, then two SI instructors will attend lectures for each section – one for each faculty member)

-SI instructors are expected to attend every lecture

-SI instructors are expected to teach 4 – 1 hour SI sections per week

-Track student participation by sign-in/out sheet

-SI meeting location meet the students at a convenient location, not necessarily at TLC

-Students not mandated to attend, but were strongly encouraged to attend, with high performing students most likely to attend

Graph: amount of time spent in SI (0, 0-6 and >6 hours) graphed by FRR, CumGPA

Freshmen Retention Rate (FRR) CumGPA

HSGPA 0< 6hr 6 hours 0< 6hr 6 hours

<2.7

.

>3.7

Three main trainings- Goal is for the SI team to actually function as a team

  • Mentoring program for new tutors – paired up with experienced SI Instructors
  • Pre-semester training – three days the week before classes start
  • Continuous training:
  • weekly mentor meetings,
  • subject group meetings,
  • bi-weekly meeting (entire SI staff with training topics and ideas on communicating to students)
  • Faculty and students evaluate the SI instructor, SI instructor evaluates the faculty member on the relationship and level of support to SI
  • Have to develop relationship between faculty and program instruction to cover the most challenging topics covered that week – 4 one-hour session are provided each week

Delaware Valley College

  • SI instructors were not required to attend every lecture, but were required to meet with faculty member one hour per week, do all problem sets, meet at the learning center one hour/week to generate lesson plan for the week
  • Each SI instructor conducted at least one mandatory SI session per week, and was paid $40 for the first session, and if ran more than one session that week earned an additional but smaller amount of money
  • SI is mandatory in calculus because freshmen were least likely to show up for SI
  • 20% higher pass rate

STEM – UMASS Boston (commuter campus)

CSM – College of Science and Math – 56% URM, 50% female, high % low SES and 1st gen

Original profile: CSM students advised centrally and told not to take too many science/math courses, and to limit their load to about 12 hours per semester – the goal is for students to complete 30 hours for their first year, with a 3.0 or higher and for 80% to graduate

Concerns:

  1. Students not staying on track and graduating in four years
  2. Students were not advised to take calculus and other crucial science courses in a timely manner
  3. Students advised to take 12 hours and not to take too many science and math courses simultaneously

Results…..students not able to stay on track and graduate in 4 years

Adjustments: (very driven from Dean)

  1. Full course load is needed to stay on track
  2. Take math/science needed to stay on track – confirms desire and ability to stay in major
  3. STEM students – need pathway to take/complete calculus – math placement must be correct
  4. 20% of students placed incorrectly into lower level math course
  5. Sense of engagement between faculty, support staff and students – student success center was created (see Packard handout from Nancy at fall R&G Council meeting)
  6. Proactive outreach model for advising and academic support
  7. Create impact at scale needed

Multifaceted Approach

  1. CSM specific intake advising stressing 4-yr plan
  2. Develop SI for gateway courses
  3. Made student success highest priority of college
  4. Create student centered and evidence – based culture
  5. Strong faculty participation
  6. Freshmen success communities (FSC)

-Less than 24 student/community

-Need to declare major ASAP

-FSC students placement based on goals, academic needs

-Turned 4-hr FYS into something CSM students could take – 2 hours/semester, integrated into required courses

-Use a lot of “off-the-shelf parts… why recreate the wheel?, i.e., CHEM – keep CSM students in a single section or lab (learning communities)

FSC goals

Give students a 2nd chance to take the math placement exam – reduce inappropriate placement by 20% (students may not have thought about math for months, hard to take a math test cold)

Opportunity to integrate HIP practices into STEM

Dean Andrew Grosovsky – end results/Created this program – results are impressive

-Increase number of STEM majors who remained in STEM

-Increasenumber of graduates

-Very positive responses to surveys

What’s next?

Expand use of communities

Vertical integration of communities (“TREES”)

Community based UG research

Use “Engaging Students in Engineering” handout from Nancy

UNCG Guarantee Initiative: Support Top-Quality Education for Low SES Students

What structures do we have in place to support low SES?

UNCG – 75% of students receive Fin Aid

Chronicle – “Fading Glory Days” July 6, 2012 by Richard Wolin

150-250 applications for 35 scholarships

Help students recognize barriers to success

-Capitalize on positive peer pressure

-Academic success contract must be signed - Leveraging financial aid and campus housing

Logistic regression and EXCEL

- To download file click 3rd tab

SPSS output truncates the coefficient – for this you need as many integers as possible

Be careful about interactions

Kent State – Got Major?

282 Bacc programs and an exploratory major(not called undecided or undeclared)

6 components in the exploratory major –

In 2010 they changed policies, students must declare a major before they complete 45 hours, if student has reached 60 hours without a major, not sure what happens(??? Check their website??)

  1. 13 broad areas of concentration (282 programs fit into 13 broad areas)
  2. Must choose a “concentration” within 45 hours
  3. In selection process they have the 4-year roadmap so they can see what is required
  4. Exploratory FYE required if less than 21 years old or less than 25 hours earned
  5. Greater discussion of career options than other FYE course – all assignments are reflective papers designed to move a student toward a major/career path
  6. Linked courses – pair the FYE course to a course in oneof the top 5 courses taken (top 5 courses determined the previous year)
  7. Required advising – 2 session in 1st semester; 30 minute meet and greet (during weeks 3-5); 45 minutes required advising – student misses this, they can’t register – holds not lifted

Each advisor has 200-250 students

  1. Career maturity inventory (CMI, an aptitude/interest test) –given 3rd week of 1st semester and 15th week of 1st semester
  2. Pre and post test scores
  3. Gauges career readiness: concern, curiosity, confidence, consulted (who are they talking to about your career –advisor, parent, Joe Blow)
  4. Career exploration course – 2 hours (career navigation) – take 2nd/2rd semester

UALR – Pre-enrollment summer session for URM students

  • 3 week boot-camp
  • Structured, mandatory programing 8:00-8:30 p.m., 7 days/week
  • 9-12 math (very specific structured program design)
  • 1-4 reading and comp
  • 1 hour student success programming
  • 2 hours mandatory team practice and completion of weekly packet in evening
  • Saturday and Sunday afternoons, group FUN
  • $2,000/student, limited number of student mentors
  • Notable decrease in remediation needs
  • Majority of students continue studying after programming ends for the day
  • Theme: 168 hours per week. How will you manage them?

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