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May 31, 2011

Butler Community College Listening to Entering Students: EARS – Early Alert and Referral System. May 31, 2011. Early Alert. DEFINITION: Timely intervention for students experiencing academic difficulty.

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May 31, 2011

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  1. Butler Community College Listening to Entering Students: EARS – Early Alert and Referral System May 31, 2011

  2. Early Alert • DEFINITION: • Timely intervention for students experiencing academic difficulty. • Timely intervention for students experiencing academic difficulty or exhibiting behaviors counter-productive to student success. • …plus a predictive modeling system that allows preemptive intervention for likely students in need. Entering Student Success Institute

  3. Butler by the Numbers • Residential campus – El Dorado (23% students, 30% credit hours) • Commuter campus – Andover (41% students, 44% credit hours) • Five additional teaching/service sites in five county service area • 45% full-time • 58% female • 29% minority • 62% traditional age (18 to 22) • Headcount: 10,116 • Total credit hours: 95,895 Fall 2010 Entering Student Success Institute

  4. Butler by the Numbers Entering Student Success Institute

  5. Butler by the Numbers • Average Class Size: 17 • Remediation • 60% require developmental math • 29% require developmental English • Retention • 58% fall-to-fall retention rate (first-time, full-time) • 39% fall-to-fall retention rate (first-time, part-time) Fall 2010 Entering Student Success Institute

  6. Birth of EARS • Outreach to students in need existed prior to 2008 but without college-wide coordination or promotion • Discussions started in the spring of 2008 on implementing a more coordinated approach to identifying and reaching out to students in need based on best practices • ESSI Institute, March 2008Early Alert Program identified as way to address needs identified in SENSE data, specifically targeting students missing classes early on • Explored Early Alert programs at other colleges • Piloted Early Alert and Referral System (EARS) with Lead Faculty

  7. Early Stages of EARS (Fall 2008) • Email from VPA to 55 Lead Faculty with EARS referral form • Director of FYE spoke with Lead Faculty at luncheon during faculty in-service (the week before fall classes) • Director of FYE spoke with all faculty at Professional Development Days • Began handling referrals, 49 students first semester Survey of Entering Student Engagement

  8. Early Results 0.08

  9. Early Process The FYE Director, Academic Advisor, or Counselor receives forms, email, and/or callabout student in need. Respond to the referring instructor to follow-up, ask if it is okay to share that instructor referred student. STRENGTHS FYE/Advisor/ Counselor accesses student record in Banner. • High touch with students • Personal contact with instructors FYE/Advisor/ Counselor contacts student (phone, email). WEAKNESSES FYE/Advisor/ Counselor enters info into Excel spreadsheet on shared drive • Manual processes • Info restricted • No dedicated staff member • Faculty permission problematic Contact student’s other instructors to ask for progress report and attendance; explain and promote the program. Entering Student Success Institute

  10. EARS Challenges • Large adjunct faculty and part-time student populations • Multi-site college with commuter students • Time-consuming manual process for faculty and staff • Typically, only worst-case students referred Entering Student Success Institute

  11. EARS Evolution • Learning College Principles • RESPOND WITH AGILITY • We effectively respond to opportunities, changes and threats in our environment, continually seeking new or adapted ways to respond to the learning needs of our students and other stakeholders. Entering Student Success Institute

  12. EARS Evolution (2009-2010) • Hired Retention Specialist (Title III grant) • Refined referral process: • Behavioral issues – Dean of Students • Disability issues – Disability Services Director • Academic/Attendance – Retention Specialist • Committed to intrusive intervention • Established CARE Team Entering Student Success Institute

  13. CARE Team • Vice President of Student Services • Dean for Enrollment Management (or Director of Advising) • Dean of Students • Retention Specialist • Student Involvement Coordinator • Advising Office Representative • Counseling Office Representative • Disability Services Director • Security Office Representative • Academic Dean • Faculty Member • Meets weekly on two major campuses • Anyone may bring names forward • Discusses both people and processes Entering Student Success Institute

  14. Current Process Retention Specialist receives forms, email, and/or call about student in need. STRENGTHS Retention Specialist accesses student record in Banner, and refers to appropriate person. Retention Specialist closes the loop with referring faculty. • High touch with students • Personal contact with instructors • Streamlined process • Alert attached to student record Student is contacted (phone, email, Facebook, text). WEAKNESSES Contacts tracked in Banner (SPCMNT – “Space Mountain”) • Manual processes • Staff dependency Entering Student Success Institute

  15. Continuing Challenge: Dependency on Specific Staff Entering Student Success Institute

  16. EARS Today • Campus-wide announcements promoting EARS and CARE Team • Incorporated into Faculty Handbook • Presentation at faculty in-service • Multiple emails to faculty from Retention Specialist with referral form attached • Accidental Alert email to students resulted in self-reports Survey of Entering Student Engagement

  17. EARS Today • 396 alerts submitted in Spring 2011 • Full-Time: 67% • Half-Time: 28% • Less than HT: 4% • Part-timer effect • Virtual students? Entering Student Success Institute

  18. EARS Today – Greatest Need • Associate of Applied Science (19% of referrals, 26% of population) • Associate of Arts (27% of referrals, 16% of population) • Associate of Science (29% of referrals, 13% of population) • African American (23% of referrals, 10% of population) • Hispanic (10% of referrals, 5% of population) • White (56% of referrals, 71% of population) • Male (51% of referrals, 42% of population) • Female (49% of referrals, 58% of population) Entering Student Success Institute

  19. EARS Tomorrow • Investing in student relationship management software package (Hobsons' Retain™ CRM – tentatively “Bear Tracks”) • Banner-compatible student communication and early alert system. • Automated at-risk identification tool and streamlined communication. • Predictive modeling to statistically understand the strengths and weaknesses of current retention efforts and predict outcomes for students based on historical information. • Piloting new processes in Summer 2011 • Full roll-out Fall 2011 • Banner compatibility will allow student outcome tracking Entering Student Success Institute

  20. Lessons Learned • Communication is key • Dedicated staff person is imperative • Spread the load (Specialists, CARE Team) • Build stable, scalable processes (Hobson’s) • Measure and improve Entering Student Success Institute

  21. www.butlercc.edu Entering Student Success Institute

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