Jeff Watt, Associate Dean School of Science Gayle Williams, Assistant Dean University College

1. Tackling the Attendance Problem in Learning Communities and Other First-year Courses: The Administrative Withdrawal Policy at IUPUI Jeff Watt, Associate Dean School of Science Gayle Williams, Assistant Dean University College 2007 FYE - Addison, TX

2. Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis • Urban campus • Public comprehensive four-year institution • Enrollment – 28,342 • First-time, full-time – 2,269

3. Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis • Large number of commuter students • High first generation rates – 59% of entering students • Large number of working students • High DFW rates • Poor retention rates

4. Brief History of the Administrative Withdrawal Policy • Concern about poor attendance expressed in Gateway meetings and in other campus arenas • Assumed association between poor attendance and high DFW rates • Research indicating some association between attendance and course grades

5. Brief History of the Administrative Withdrawal Policy, Cont. • Agreement reached by a small group of faculty members in mathematics, English, psychology, and learning communities to pilot an Administrative Withdrawal attendance policy in fall 2001 • The policy was designed to help freshmen establish good class attendance habits during their first college semester

6. Brief History of the Administrative Withdrawal Policy, Cont. • The faculty determined that Administrative Withdrawal would take place after the full refund period • The policy was stated in the syllabus for all participating courses

7. Assessment of the Pilot • Assessment of the policy was conducted at the end of the pilot semester • In fall 2001, 137 students were administratively withdrawn • Just over three-fourths (77%) of the students who were administratively withdrawn from at least one course during fall 2001 failed or withdrew from all courses attempted for the semester

8. Assessment of the Pilot, Cont. • In addition, faculty reported that attendance, even in classes where the policy had not been implemented, appeared to improve that semester. The faculty speculated that the “word was out” among students: IUPUI would no longer tolerate poor attendance habits

9. Assessment of the Pilot, Cont. • The pilot policy was continued the following semesters with similar results • In spring of 2003, the IUPUI Faculty Council approved the implementation of the Administrative Withdrawal policy in all undergraduate courses

10. Administrative Withdrawal Fall 2001

11. How does the policy work? • Faculty in participating courses receive an Early Warning roster with an option check box for Administrative Withdrawal • Students identified for Administrative Withdrawal are sent a letter by registered mail • Students have approximately 10 days to appeal

12. How does the policy work? – Cont. • After the deadline, students who are identified for Administrative Withdrawal are removed from the course. A “W” appears on their transcript • Students who are administratively withdrawn are not eligible for a fee refund

13. IUPUI Faculty Council Regulations concerning the application of the Administrative Withdrawal Policy: • Policy may be applied in any undergraduate course • A statement of the policy must appear in the syllabus for each participating course • All sections of participating courses must adopt the policy • Policy is stated on the Registrar’s website http://registrar.iupui.edu/withdrawal-policy.html

14. Additional Policy Administration Information • Although the policy must appear in every section of participating courses, applying the Administrative Withdrawal option is the decision of the faculty member in the course • An official list of participating courses is maintained in University College • Departments may remove a course from the list, but thus far, no courses have been removed

15. Additional Policy Administration Information, Cont. • The number of courses on the Administrative Withdrawal list has increased steadily over the last five years • The faculty in 108 courses, representing approximately 713 sections, had implemented the policy for fall 2006 • The campus has begun to look more closely at the students on financial aid who reenroll after having been administratively withdrawn

16. Schools/Departments Participating • Kelley School of Business • Herron School of Art • Department of English • Department of Communication Studies • Department of Psychology • Department of Mathematics • Department of Computer and Information Technology

17. Schools/Departments Participating, Cont. • University College • Department of Sociology • Department of World Languages and Cultures • Department of Biology • School of Science • Department of Political Science

18. Schools/Departments Participating, Cont. • Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology • Department of Technical Communication • Department of Interior Design Technology

19. Administrative Withdrawals fall 2005

20. Math 001 – Introduction to Algebra

21. Math 001 – Introduction to Algebra, Cont.

22. Math 001 – Introduction to Algebra, Cont. • The time of day that the class met did have a significant effect on the DFW rate • Start times between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm had, on average, a 2% higher DFW rate • Despite the fact that the campus enrolls more female students, more males enroll in remedial mathematics

23. Math 001 – Introduction to Algebra, Cont. • Those students missing less than 5 of the 45 class meetings of the course accounted for 78.6% of the grades of A on the departmental final examination • Establishing clear expectations regarding class attendance from the start of the course has a significant effect on student success – despite the fact that the Adm-W Policy is applied during the first four weeks of the semester

24. Questions? • Jeff Watt, Associate Dean • School of Science • jwatt@iupui.edu 317-274-4070 • Gayle Williams, Assistant Dean • University College • gawillia@iupui.edu 317-274-8923