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Pathways to Persistence

Pathways to Persistence Compass Project Learning Community Meeting April 23, 2010 Thomas Brown tom@tbrownassociates.com www.tbrownassociates.com. Pathways to Persistence.

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Pathways to Persistence

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  1. Pathways to PersistenceCompass Project Learning Community MeetingApril 23, 2010Thomas Browntom@tbrownassociates.comwww.tbrownassociates.com

  2. Pathways to Persistence Reflect on the missions of your campuses and their goals for student engagement, learning and success. Why does student success matter? Review the status of student persistence—trends, theories, myths, realities. Test some theories through a simulation exercise: Pathways to Persistence

  3. If you don’t know where you are going, you might end up somewhere else…. Lewis Carroll

  4. Universities are doing far more these days than educating students. In fact, theeducation function is becoming less dominant at many institutions, almost like an auxiliary enterprise….Louis Paradise Chronicle of Higher Education January 6, 2004

  5. Colleges and universities are businesses…students are a cost item, while research is a profit center.Marty Nemko, Chronicle of Higher Education, 2008

  6. Colleges are in the dream business…. Bridgewater provides students with the finest possible educational experience and boundless opportunities to achieve…

  7. Eastern Connecticut State University affords students the opportunity to acquire knowledge, values and skills necessary to pursue meaningful careers and advanced study, become productive members of their communities, and embrace lifelong learning.

  8. Most of today’s LSC students come to Lyndon for the opportunity to improve their social mobility….

  9. The students who are least likely to attend college gain the strongest economic benefits from holding a college degree… “Disadvantaged Students May Benefit Most from Attending College” Chronicle of Higher Education April 1, 2010

  10. You gotta be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there. Yogi Berra

  11. Flagship public universities have become less accessible to low-income and students of color. Education Trust, 2007

  12. MissionAnswers the question:Why does this college exist?

  13. Statement of CommitmentAs a member of the University,I pledge to help members of the community to realize their potential…. UMPI

  14. BSC is strongly committed to serving the region’s needs and is most committed to students who lack the educational and cultural opportunities available to their wealthier counterparts.The Mission of BSC About the College

  15. Lyndon State College prepares every student for personal and professional success Lyndon State College prepares every student for personal and professional success…. Lyndon State College Mission Statement

  16. Colleges are in the future business…. Teachers touch eternity. They never know where their influence stops. Henry Adams

  17. Although faculty are formally designated as teachers, there are circumstances where others in the campus community are also teachers…. Professor Burns Crookston, University of Connecticut

  18. It takes a campus community to support student achievement and success….

  19. Increasing student persistence is a source of increasing concern in higher education…

  20. Higher retention rates matter to policy makers, including federal and state legislators, who have a concern about low college graduation rates. USA Today, 10/12/05 (page 6D)

  21. The University of Maine-Presque Isle has been committed to retention issues for many years through a wide variety of strategies….

  22. Eastern Connecticut State University has recently implemented its new Strategic Plan, which has a primary objective of strengthening retention and graduation for all Eastern students….About The College

  23. Less than 60% of students earn a degree from their first institution of enrollment.One Step From the Finish LineThe Education Trust, January 2005

  24. 77% of high income students 54% of low income students graduate in six years.The Education Trust, January 2005

  25. National Collegiate Dropoutand Graduation RatesACT Institutional Data Questionnaire, since 19831700 two-year and four-yearinstitutions.2008 Institutional Data File

  26. National Graduation Rates*Overall 46.2%MA Public 38.8Traditional (960-1070 SAT) 37.8Liberal (870-990) 35.0* Graduation in 5 years for BA/BS Source: ACT Institutional Data File. 2008

  27. Graduation Rates*MA Public 38.8Traditional (960-1070 SAT) 37.8Liberal (870-990) 35.0ECSU (mean SAT 1005) 45.7BSC (mean SAT 1015) 42.2LSC (mean SAT 915) 37.8UMPI (n/a) 28.2* 5 year graduation rateSource: Education Trust College Results On-line

  28. The New American University measures its academic quality by the education its graduates received rather than by the academic credentials of the incoming freshman class….ASU: A New American University

  29. Three types of attrition Expected and justified Stopping out Unnecessary and preventable by institutional interventions

  30. Three types of attrition Expected and justified Stopping out Unnecessary and preventable by institutional interventions

  31. Three terms used interchangeably RETENTION ATTRITION PERSISTENCE

  32. RETENTION The process of holding or keeping in one’s possession.

  33. ATTRITION The process or state of being gradually worn down. Migrant Mother, Dorothea Lange Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [ reproduction number LC-USF34-9058-C]

  34. PERSISTENCE To continue to exist or prevail, especially where others have not

  35. Why students leave college Psychological factors Environmental factors Societal factors Institutional experiences What about us? What about me?

  36. Public colleges and universities are far more likely to attribute attrition to student characteristics than to institutional characteristics.What Works in Student Retention, 2004

  37. We build beautiful campuses, • We hire distinguished faculty,  We develop a challenging curriculum… …then the “wrong” students show up! Dr. Betty Siegel, Past President Kennesaw State University (GA)

  38. Why do students leave college? Incongruence What they encounter is not what they expected….

  39. Often there is a Grand Canyon of difference between reality and what higher education institutions, especially research ones, tout in their viewbooks and on their websites…. Nemko, 2008

  40. Bridgewater State CollegeExpect More Achieve More EXPECT students to access exceptional growth opportunities defined by intensive engagement with a devoted faculty. EXPECT a rigorous and innovative academic environment that enriches the learning experience.

  41. What do students expect?UMPI affirms, as central to its mission:Close student, faculty and staff interaction in support of intellectual growth and personal development

  42. Why do students leave college? Isolation Inability to connect with significant members of the campus community….

  43. A sense of belongingness can really make a difference. BSC student

  44. Myths about Attrition Drop outs are flunk outs

  45. Less than 25% of students leave college because they are academically ineligible to continue.Tinto, 1987, 1993

  46. Myths about Attrition Drop outs are flunk outs Pre-college attributes are primary determinants of persistence or withdrawal

  47. What happens to students after they enroll frequently has a more powerful impact on whether they stay and achieve their goals or leave.Astin; Tinto; Pascarelli & Terenzini

  48. Talking About Leaving40% leave engineering 50% leave biological sciences 60% leave mathematicsWhy undergraduates leave the sciencesE. Seymour & N. Hewitt, 1997

  49. Talking About LeavingStudents with 650+ Math SATs 40% leave engineering 50% leave biological sciences 60% leave mathematicsWhy undergraduates leave the sciencesE. Seymour & N. Hewitt, 1997

  50. Transforming Students Through Validation Success appears to be contingent on whether [faculty and staff] can validate students in an academic or interpersonal way. Dr. Laura Rendon, 1994

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