A Recipe for Improved Retention: A College Success Course plus Advising

1. A Recipe for Improved Retention: A College Success Course plus Advising Marsha Fralick and Susan Rush February 14, 2010

2. Ice Breaker Think, Pair, Share Introduce yourself. Where are you from? If I were to visit your city, what is one place I should make sure to see?

3. Presentation Overview • Features of College Success Course • CollegeScope Demo • The Lone Star College System: Achieving the Dream • The Advising Component • Research on Program Effectiveness • Resources for Student Success

4. Features

5. Keys to Success • The program helps students to make a good choice of a major and career.

6. Careers: A Key Component • The focus is on personal development. • Personality • Learning Style • Interests • Values • Career Research

7. Statistically accurate • Valid and reliable • College scenarios are easy to read and understand.

9. Exercise: Job Jar Activity

10. Keys to Success The program helps students to understand their learning style and how to become a lifelong learner.

11. Productivity Environment Preference Survey (PEPS) • Comprehensive • 20 factors affecting learning style • Helps students understand how they learn best

12. 20 Learning Style Factors • Perceptual • Auditory, visual, kinesthetic, tactual • Environmental • Sound, light, heat, design • Physical • Time of day, food, mobility • Emotional • Motivation, responsibility, persistence, structure • Sociological • Self, peer or adult oriented

14. Note that a detailed list of learning strategies for your style follows this chart.

15. Personalized for each student Based on personality and learning style Refers to the student by their name

16. Learning Style Activity Paper Airplane

17. Applied Psychology • From theory to practice • Academically rigorous, yet practical • Easy to read • Structured writing assignments for new and developmental students

18. Broad Scope • College success • Career success • Lifelong success

19. College Success Motivation Time and Money Memory and Reading Test Taking Taking Notes, Writing and Speaking

20. Career Success Personality and Related Majors Learning Style and Intelligence Interests and Values Career and Educational Planning

21. Lifelong Success Communication and Relationships Critical and Creative Thinking Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle Appreciating Diversity Positive Thinking Life Stages

22. 5 Minute Video Demonstration

24. Research on Program Effectiveness

26. The most significant finding is increased persistence.

27. Persistence Students who return the next semester. Approximately half of community college students nationwide do not persist after the first semester.

28. College Persistence Semester to Semester 5 Year Average at Cuyamaca College All successful PDC students 89% All students 63% A 26% improvement!

29. Lone Star College System • Located in the North Houston metro area • Serve 1,400 square miles in Harris and Montgomery Counties • 5 Campuses/6 Satellite Centers • LSC-CyFair • LSC-Kingwood • LSC-Montgomery • LSC-North Harris • LSC-Tomball • 62,000+ students taking credit classes

30. Lone Star College System • Achieving the Dream Round 3 College • 2nd Year of Implementation • 2007/2008 – Planning year • 2008/2009 – Implementation • 2009/2010 - Implementation • 2 primary Achieving the Dream Initiatives: • Student Success Course • Case Management Advising

31. Success Course Implementation • Fall 2007/Spring 2008 – System-wide Taskforce was developed; made up of faculty/staff from all campuses • Primary Discussions: • Credit vs. Non-credit • Credit hours (1, 2 or 3) • Prefix (HUMD vs EDUC vs PSYC) • Course Objectives

32. Important Decisions made for pilot: • 3 hour course • College credit • Consistent text and syllabus • Should include the following:

33. Success Course Implementation • Reviewed 2 textbooks and brought both in for demo • CollegeScope was chosen to use for our pilot • Developed syllabus template • Provided training for faculty – Dr. Marsha Fralick provides the training each semester

34. Success Course Implementation • Fall 2008: • Each campus offered 4 courses (20 total courses) • Not mandatory • Promoted through advisors & counselors • Spring 2009: • Each campus doubled their number of courses • Not mandatory • Promoted through advisors & counselors • Fall 2009: • Numbers stayed the same as Spring 2009; Not mandatory • Assigned advisors to course • Required students meet with advisor twice during the semester

35. Case Management AdvisingImplementation • Fall 2007/Spring 2008 – System-wide Taskforce was developed; made up of faculty/staff from all campuses • Primary Discussions: • How to implement with 50,000+ students • Target group • FYE process

36. Case Management AdvisingImplementation • Fall 2008 Pilot: • 5 Case Management Advisors were hired • Advisors met consistently to develop similar processes • Randomly selected FTIC students who scored into Math 0308 (Introduction to Algebra) • Goal: To meet with the student twice during the semester

37. Advising Response Rate Fall 2008 Note: Response Rate ranges from a response to an e-mail, phone call or a face-to-face meeting

38. Advising Response Rate Fall 2009

39. Advising Implementation • Spring 2009: • “Attached” advisor to developmental Reading course to assist with response rate; advisor came into classroom to meet students; gave presentations to class • Fall 2009: • “Attached” advisor to Success Course • Required advisor sessions as part of course

40. Key Components Success Course • Motivation • Learning Styles • Personality, Interest & Values • Career Exploration • Creating an Educational Plan • Time Management • Study Skills • Test Taking & Test Anxiety • Taking Notes Advising Sessions • Financial Aid • Career Goals • Academic Goals • Development of an AcademicPlan • Campus Resources • Referral to Career Counseling, if needed • Preparation & Registration for next semester

41. Fall 2008 Data Retention

42. Qualitative Data • Faculty Evaluation Summary (handout) • Student Evaluation Summary (handout)

43. Next Steps … • Begin phasing in Mandatory Success Course/Case Management Advising: • Spring 2010: • Required for students scoring into 2 or more developmental courses • Fall 2011: • Required for student scoring into 1 or more developmental course • Fall 2012: • Required for all Full Time in College students

44. College Success 1 • Resources for faculty and students http://www.collegesuccess1.com/ Training Notes

45. What is Something you learned? Something you found useful?

46. Questions? • Discussion • Evaluation