Creating Cultures Focused on Retention and Student Success Monday, March 14 12:15 – 1:30

1. Creating Cultures Focused on Retention and Student Success Monday, March 14 12:15 – 1:30 Al Foderaro and Denise Schmidt

2. Welcome Thank You for Joining Us Today • Al Foderaro Former Director Career Services & Cooperative Education County College of Morris, Randolph, NJ • Denise Schmidt Director Career Services & Cooperative Education County College of Morris, Randolph, NJ

3. Workshop Objectives • Address new higher education persistence and completion expectations • Introduce a practical, commonsense student success initiative

4. Recent Reports “Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century”, Harvard School of Education, 2011 “With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them: Myths and Realities Why So Many Students Fail to Finish College”, Public Agenda, 2011

5. New Agenda: Persistence and completion New Focus: Student access and student success New Urgency: Move students through faster

6. External Measures of an Institution’s Success Student Performance Persistence Graduation Rates Job Placements

7. According to the experts, we need a minimum of 800,000 additional graduates every year for the next 15 years if we are to reclaim our nation’s global competitive edge and ensure our economic security.

8. 2.8 million students enroll in our institutions each fall.

9. Who Are They? • 25% attend residential colleges • 23% have dependent children • 60% pay for their own education • 45% of baccalaureate students and 60% of community college students work more than 20 hours per week • 25% of community college students work more than 35 hours per week

10. The Reality Less than 20% of community college students graduate in 3 years. Less than 40% of baccalaureate students graduate in 6 years.

11. Why do they take so long to finish? Why do so many leave before they do?

12. The Non-Completers

13. How did they make their college choices? • Based on cost (limited financial resources) and proximity (work/family responsibilities) rather than academics • Completers, on the other hand, chose based on personal and career goals

14. What is their attitude toward education? • No specific goal for college beyond better job/future • Unwillingness to make sacrifices/put in effort • Drop out ‘tipping point’ - least bit of uncertainty • Fail to consider/realize impact of dropping out

15. “Young adults simply can’t chart a course if they don’t have a goal.” Pathways to Prosperity

16. Counseling focuses on personal, psychological, social counseling - not career counseling. Inadequate counseling has been identified as a precursor to students dropping out.

17. “America’s current system of career counseling is wholly inadequate and many adolescents receive virtually no useful guidance.” Pathways to Prosperity

18. Students Need to Learn How to Make Choices Both graduates (71%) and non-graduates (68%) wish they had been given more assistance and support in making college and career choices.

19. Colleges face increasing responsibility to support students as they make educational and career choices.

20. How do we do that?

21. People’s lives are directly influenced by the choices they make throughout their lives, and their satisfaction with their lives is determined by the outcomes of the decisions made along the way. WE NEED TO BE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS KNOW HOW TO MAKE CHOICES AND DECISIONS.

22. Positive outcomes result when students utilize good decision-making skills. Good decisions are based on the decision-makers needs and wants. Making good choices directly impacts the quality of a person’s life.

24. Making a decision is a process. Learning how to make good decisions is a skill that takes practice, time and effort to perfect.If we want our students to be more successful we have to teach them to develop decision-making skills.

25. Decision-Making Process State the Decision Identify Needs and Wants Identify Alternatives Research Alternatives Select Best Alternative Implement Plan

26. Decision Making: College Curriculum Location/Environment Quality of Academics Cost ($5,000 to $15,000) Financial Aid (Scholarships) Size (7,500 – 12,000) Class Size Co-op/Internships Facilities Recreation/Clubs X X . X X . X X X X X . X . X . . X X X X X X X X . X . X .. X X X . X X . X . 90% 50% 70% 60%

27. What Can We Do? • Help students acquire the effective decision-making skills necessary to become better decision-makers. • Create success-oriented environments where students make well-informed academic, career, and personal choices that will result in positive outcomes.

28. What Can We Do? Develop a comprehensive range of programs and services that will support students and enable them to: • stay in school • complete their degrees • pursue satisfying careers

29. Key Ingredients for Cultures of Student Success • #1 criteria: Everyone needs to care - the students, administration, faculty, counselors, and peers • Students need to have respect for themselves, their college, their professors, their friends, and the community and vice versa • Students need to develop the discipline necessary to work hard and they must accept responsibility for their education in order to achieve positive results

30. Foundation for Cultures of Student Success • decision-making skills to empower students • success planning to establish goals • self-reflection and mentoring to guide choices • success teams to provide support

31. Cultures of Student Success Embrace “personalization” as the core strategy for successful educational reform Address individual interests, needs, and abilities in order to set realistic goals Focus on the achievement of academic and career success for all students

32. Cultures of Student Success Stress that students attend class, seek help when needed, get involved, and finish what they start. Provide students with access to the resources and support systems they need to achieve success.

33. Cultures of Student Success Re-engage students who have fallen behind in credits, in skills, and in their attitudes toward learning. Increase the likelihood that students will choose to stay in college which in turn, will lower dropout rates and improve graduation rates

34. “Project Success” • County College of Morris pilot project • 100 students invited to participate (voluntary) • Goal: retain students on academic probation • Incentive: Permitted to re-enroll regardless of overall GPA • Strategy: students identify internal and external factors that prevent academic success

35. “Project Success” Intended Student Learning Outcomes Through their participation, students will: • Identify their own personal learning styles • Establish a support network on and off campus • Improve their decision-making skills • Develop realistic and attainable academic, career, and personal goals

36. Counselor Responsibilities • Send letters to faculty at start of semester • Review progress reports (sent out 5th week of semester) • Check mid-semester warnings • Contact students at risk of failing • Send encouraging emails to students • Meet with students 3/4 times during semester

37. “Project Success”Pre-Launch Activities • Students sent 2 mailings to explain project and encourage participation • Each student meets individually with counselor to review application and sign “Project Success” contract • Students complete Learning and Study Skills Inventory (LASSI)

38. “Project Success” Launch Program Note: 95% of the students who signed a contract attended “Project Success” half-day Launch Program. Goals of Launch Program • Identify learning styles • Identify behaviors that prevent them from achieving academic success • Begin to establish on-campus support networks

39. “Project Success” Launch Program Materials • Project Success Contract • Book: It’s Your Decision: A Commonsense Guide to Making Better Choices • Results of Learning and Study Skills Inventory (LASSI) • College Success Planning handout • Workshop Info: Learning Styles and Study Skills, Time Management, Decision-Making workshops

40. It’s Your Decision, A Commonsense Guideto Making Better Choices • Emphasizes the importance of students making good decisions regarding academic, career, and personal choices • Establishes a common language among all involved participants

41. “It’s Your Decision” Workshop Presentation • Reinforces importance of decision-making • Presented by counselors, student services staff, or faculty • Presenter’s Guide script provided

42. College Success Planner • Organizes information related to personal, educational, and career decisions • Students gain assistance from counselors, faculty advisors, and success team members • Serves as resource for on-going discussions throughout a student’s college experience

43. Student Reflection Guide • Resource for mentors • Group discussion tool on decision-making topics. • Opportunity for structured self-reflection and analysis.

44. Personal Success Teams • Help students identify potential obstacles that could prevent continuation to graduation. • Connect to supporters and resources necessary to overcome obstacles.

45. “Project Success” Anticipated Outcomes Participants would establish stronger connections to the college 60% would be retained 50% would achieve a semester GPA of 2.0 or higher

46. “Project Success” Actual Outcomes 72% of participants met all requirements and were retained; 54% were still enrolled the following semester. 54% achieved a GPA of 2.0 or higher.

47. “Project Success” Students Compared to Entire Cohort of 1st Time Probation Students Project Success Students 1st Time Probation Students 54% had GPA 2.0 or better 16% had GPA of 2.0 or better

48. Potential Institutional Outcomes • Creates a whole-college culture of improvement • Accelerates progress toward increasing persistence and completion rates • Increase in student bonding activity and behavior • Students connected to caring adults • Increased student effort resulting in improved academic performance

49. Potential Institutional Outcomes • Student satisfaction with the institution will increase • Campus environment and public image will be enhanced • Community and stakeholder support for the college will increase • College enrollment and finances will be positively impacted

50. Assessment Measures • Improved student performance, persistence, and completion rates • Student satisfaction with outcomes of decisions (key indicator of a college culture focused on student success) • ‘Holding power’ enhanced as college continues utilization and implementation of successful strategies