Increasing Retention through First Year Experience

1. Increasing Retention through First Year Experience Dr. Paul Brown pbrown@zanestate.edu Santanu Bandyopadhyay sbandyopadhyay@zanestate.edu Zane State College

2. Zane State College - Stats • Located in Zanesville, Ohio • 2003 Headcount Enrollment: 1787 • 55% FT; 45% PT • Pell Recipients: 69% • Graduation Rate: 46% • Developmental Ed recognized by NADE • MetLife Award for Best Practice: 2004

3. Cohort Identification • Students joining in Fall • Degree/ Certificate seeking • Those not withdrawing within first two weeks remains in the cohort • Accuplacer test scores • Progress in Math/English college level course • Overall course registration/GPA/FA

4. Quantitative Analysis: Purpose • To understand WHO joined us in 2002 and 2003 as degree/certificate seeking students • To analyze WHATare the possible causes of their inability to persist • To hypothesize HOW we can help them succeed

5. Cohort Composition • Fall 2002 • 434 enrolled • 322 in Winter • 263 in Spring • 221 in next Fall • Fall 2003 • 326 enrolled • 259 in Winter • 225 in Spring • Quarter to quarter dropout rate is similar in both years • The student characteristics are stable across the cohorts. • The observations may be extended to other cohorts also

6. Cohort Distribution by Gender

7. Cohort Distribution by Age

8. Self-reported GPA Summary • Over 60% of students below 20 years of age reported GPA of 2 or above • GPA distribution of females is better than that of males • Students with GPA above 3 are unlikely to drop out because of academic issues • Financial, structural or personal issues may cause these students to drop out

9. Math Placement by Gender

10. English Placement by Gender

11. Math & English Placement Summary • Self-reported GPA of females is higher than that of males • More females place at the lower levels in Math placement exam • Math placements are either college level or two levels below college • English placement results are similar across gender • Are there emotional issues – “Math Fear” – among women?

12. Math Remediation – Cohort 2002 Tested and took Math 2 level below College: 186:Cohort 2002

13. Math Performance • 40% of the Cohort 02 tested 2 level below college level mathematics skill • 28% of the above never registered for remedial courses • Almost all of them dropped out • Testing 2 levels below in math and not taking remediation is highly correlated with dropout

14. English Remediation – Cohort 2002 *Non-duplicated

15. English Performance • 19% were placed in remediation but never took those courses • Some directly attempted college level course and completed in repeated attempts • Emotional issues contribute to repeating English course despite failure? • Critical issue is to reduce number of attempts taken to complete college-level English course

16. Remedial Course Summary • Most of remedial courses need to be successfully completed in first two quarters • English repeaters outnumber Math repeaters • Are there structural issues – course availability? • Personal problems in attending certain classes?

17. Cohort 2002: Dropouts by Quarter

18. Age profile of entering and dropout cohorts Except for age group 25-30, dropout rates are proportionate to entering cohort age Beginners Dropouts

19. Who drops out? • Drop-out profile is very similar for Fall to Fall and Fall to Winter • 64% female and 36% male – close to enrollment percentages • 85% are white, compared to 91% white enrollees • 4.2% African Americans, compared to 3% enrollees

20. Who drops out? • Out of 214 dropouts, 90 tested 1 or more levels below college level in Math • Only 46 of the 214 took developmental course in Fall & 8 in Winter • 102 were below 20 years old • 66 had HS GPA between 2 & 3 while 14 had GPA between 1 & 2

21. Multiple issues at play • Math performance is a big identifier of at risk students • Several students score poorly in Math placement but still persist • Problem is beyond developmental education or academic preparation • Emotional, Structural and Personal issues play a role in persistence

22. Courses with high failure rate • Top ten courses with high failure rates included • 3 Business • 1 Accounting • 2 Math • 2 IT • 1 Biology • 1 Psychology • Math plays a large role in success of many of these courses

23. Questions/Issues • Why do students with GPA above 3 drop out? • What prevents students from taking developmental courses in Math? • What will prompt the students to take all remediation courses in correct sequence? • Why students persist in English despite repeated failures? • How to build a gradual success path for the students in Business, Accounting and Math?

24. Stratifying the issues • Emotional – motivation oriented: “developmental” student • Personal – facility oriented: transportation, child care • Academic – knowledge oriented: applying skills, cross-subject application • Structural – organization oriented: Scheduling, pre-requisites, transfers • Financial – Fiscal ability

25. Phase I Summary • Mathematics is a problem area • Persistence is higher in English than in Math • Gatekeeper courses stem from Math • Dropouts caused by reasons beyond Academic Preparation A comprehensive approach rather than solving individual problem is necessary

26. Qualitative Analysis • Seven Focus Groups were organized • Students selected at random • Five FGs conducted by external consultant • Two by internal experts • Findings were uniform across the groups

27. Personal touch Study groups – informally arranged by students Advising – both by faculty and staff advisors Job placement Program range Findings: What Keeps them Going

28. Findings: Room for Improvement • Difficulty in getting info about services (Financial Aid/Tutoring) • Class availability/scheduling issues • No support for learning communities • Low use of technology • IDS Class perceived to be of no value

29. The apparent contradictions • “Personal touch” yet “difficult to get info” – somewhat contradictory • Low value for IDS course yet unaware of available infrastructure • Do not know about learning communities • Information reaches some, but misses others

30. Qualitative IDS class FT vs. PT instructor availability for advising Use of technology by instructors Quantitative Not taking classes sequentially Scheduling issues Good students leaving Mapping the information

31. Qualitative Difficulty in getting info about services Scheduling Learning Communities Quantitative Developmental Math help Developmental English - # of repeaters Gatekeeper courses Mapping the information

32. Bringing it all together • Largest attrition takes place in first two quarters • Non-academic issues play a big role in attrition • Though many services exist, often students do not know how to get help • Making the services systemic is the key

33. Identifying the “At Risk” population Persisted: 53% Dropped Out: 47%

34. Measuring success • # students placed two levels below in Math and joining remedial courses in first two quarters • # of the above who persist from Fall to Fall • Overall improvement in retention rate

35. Foundations of Excellence • Focuses on institutional behavior rather than student behavior • Links academic and student affairs • Considers retention in larger context of first year excellence • Extends beyond unit-level to comprehensive assessment • Revitalizing a campus’s approach to the first year

36. The Foundational Dimensions • Philosophy – Cultivating learning environment for new students • Organization – Comprehensive, coordinated and flexible approach to new student experience • Learning – Develop knowledge, skill, attitude & behavior • Campus culture – Makes new students high priority • Transition – Outreach, recruitment & enrollment

37. The Foundational Dimensions • All students – Serves varied needs • Diversity – Explores ideas, views, cultures to enhance participation • Roles & Purpose – Promote student understanding of roles & purposes • Improvement – Assessment and collaboration to effect improvement

38. Summary of intervention The integrated first year experience is expected to address the emotional, personal, structural, financial and academic barriers faced by the students through a process that is systemic, inclusive and focused on institutional behavior

39. Thank you!