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Crossing the "Last Mile" Strategies for helping students overcome graduation obstacles

Crossing the "Last Mile" Strategies for helping students overcome graduation obstacles. Facts about PSU. Fall 2011: 23,222 Undergraduates Challenges: Most recent 2 year retention rate: 5 6.8 % Most recent 6 year graduation rate: 34. 8 %

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Crossing the "Last Mile" Strategies for helping students overcome graduation obstacles

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  1. Crossing the "Last Mile" • Strategies for helping students overcome graduation obstacles

  2. Facts about PSU • Fall 2011: 23,222 Undergraduates • Challenges: • Most recent 2 year retention rate: 56.8% • Most recent 6 year graduation rate: 34.8% • (Data from PSU Office of Institutional Research & Planning, First-time, Full-time Frosh)

  3. Context of Last Mile @ PSU • Several student success initiatives • Pathways to Degree Completion • Address Needs of Unprepared Students • Early Identification of Students at Risk • High Risk Course Redesign

  4. Context of Last Mile @ PSU • Recently implemented Advising Initiative • Mandatory orientation (Fall 2010) • Mandatory frosh advising (Fall 2010) • Recent hiring of additionaladvising staff inDecember 2010

  5. Last Mile Committee is born • June 2010 • Goal: 50 graduations • Departments involved • Degree Requirements • Academic Units • Undergrad advising • Student Financial Aid • Bursar’s Office • Faculty Senate representative

  6. Resources • Seed funding • $51,084 in remissions (~$5,000 used) • 100 students to take one 4-credit course • $5,000 student worker (offered not used) • $500 materials (offered not used)

  7. Flexibility (with process not outcome) • Limited financial leeway • Reducing interest charges • Flexibility with some Academic Requirements* • Expired catalogs • 1 credit flexibility on some Gen Ed requirements • *That would have been approved with our ARC.

  8. Initial cohort • 768 students • Canceled degree applicants back to Fall 2005 • Needed an in-depth look

  9. Representation by Major • Social Science • Business Administration • Psychology • Arts & Letters • Communication Studies • Art • Liberal Studies • English • Science • Political Science

  10. Weighted by program size • Business Administration • Economics • Architecture • Communication Studies • Child & Family Studies • Philosophy • Social Science • Art • Sociology • Arts & Letters

  11. Race/Ethnicity Breakdown

  12. Weighted Race/Ethnicity Breakdown • Black/African American • American Indian or Native Alaskan • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander • Unknown • Latino • Asian • White

  13. Student deficiencies

  14. Academic Standing • 735 Good Standing • 16 Academic Warning • 7 Academic Dismissal • 4 Academic Support Program • 3 Academic Probation • 3 None/unknown

  15. Last term attended

  16. Current Financial Hold Students with Holds No Holds

  17. Cross Campus Communication • Developed a system to facilitate communication by many entities regarding a student’s advising. Built in Access, based on initial Excel spreadsheets of data

  18. Data to Action • Prioritized students • 76 students who had already "completed degree" • Students with <15 credits • Degree Audits distributed to departments to review • Departments communicated with students as needed/appropriate

  19. Communication approach • Delicate conversations • Multi-method contacts to initial group • Personal phone calls to students that were closest to graduating

  20. Communication (cont) • Training sessions with the campus • Media coverage (video on PSU homepage, Oregonian published an article near spring graduation, student newspaper Vanguard did an article) • Shared email account for incoming contacts

  21. Future best practices • Pre/post batch degree audits • Assign responsibilities/ownership • Early proactive communication with students

  22. Next Steps • Standardize practices across campus • Expand the program to students with excess credits who have not applied to graduate • Add additional capacity

  23. Initial Successes • From 768 • 130 graduated by June 2011

  24. Expanding the pool • Spring 2011 added our second group • 221 students • Also, group of students who found us • 48"manually added"

  25. Final Outcomes • 1037students currently tracked • Over 650 staff contact attempts • 216students graduated • Graduates are disproportionately African Americanor Native American • $4750 spent (11students)

  26. Questions & Discussion • Doug Siegler dougs@sba.pdx.edu • School of Business Administration • James Ofsink jofsink@pdx.edu • Student Financial Aid & Scholarships

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