Improving Student Outcomes Based on Organizational Change, Adaptation, Practice and Theory

1. Improving Student Outcomes Based on Organizational Change, Adaptation, Practice and Theory Presented by Dr. Vincent Banrey Jr., Director of Enrollment Management & Ms. Janice Zummo, Chairperson, Special Programs/Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge Medgar Evers College of The City University of New York Prepared for Seventh Annual Foundations of Excellence Winter Meeting 31st Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience February 17, 2012 San Antonio, Texas

2. Organizational Change Resulting from FoE Participation • Self Study 2003 – 2004:Evaluate first-year program to improve the • delivery of student services and student outcomes • The Freshman Year Program: Standalone Unit • Freshman Seminar Courses • Academic Advisement • Following FoE Study: Setting Goals • Focus on Dimension # 2: Organization • Goal 1: Create organizational structures and policies that provide a comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated approach to the first-year. • Goal 2: Develop comprehensive and holistic structures that address the first-year and Freshman Experience (0 – 30 credits) throughout the College beyond the Freshman Year Program.

3. Organizational Change Components Establishment of a unifying structure to integrate programs that impact first-year students including: • Develop mission and philosophy statements • Create an organizational structure • Select a name that reflects the academic purpose of the new structure • Complete all University requirements • Implement • Evaluate first-year program to improve the delivery of student services and student outcomes

4. Creating an Effective Organizational Structure: College of Freshman Studies Components • Freshman Year Program - Academic Advisement, First-year Seminars • Percy E. Sutton Search for Elevation, Education and Knowledge (SEEK) Program - Access to College, Counseling, Academic Support & Financial Aid • Academic Foundations Division (Developmental Skills): Reading, Writing, and Mathematics • Academic Support Services/Learning Center: Tutoring & Workshops • Testing Office: CUNY Skills Assessment Tests, CUNY Proficiency Exam, CLEP, NLN Exam, TOEFL • Student Advocacy and Support Services (SASS) Center: Academic Advisement, Counseling & Probation Services

5. Adaptation: Focus on Student Transition • Unifying Services for First-Year Students and Beyond the First-Year Experience • Testing Office - Assess basic skill levels at entrance, within the first-year and beyond • FYP - First-year advisement services & seminars (FS 101/102) • SEEK Program - Counseling, academic advisement, academic support, and financial aid in the first-year through graduation • Academic Foundations - Basic skills instruction for pre-freshmen, freshmen, and continuing students • Academic Support – Tutoring in basic skills, core and major courses • SASS Center - Second year (and beyond) advisement services; transfer seminars, readmit seminars

6. Five Key Student Retention & Persistence Strategies • Integration • Involvement • Validation • Student Engagement • Academic Performance

7. Testing Center SEEK Program Freshmen Year Program College of Freshmen Studies: Student Support Services Intentional Interventions Model Retention Strategies: Student Support Services Intentional Interventions Model Integration Retention Involvement Validation STUDENT Academic Performance Student Engagement Persistence Academic Foundations Division Academic Support/ Learning Center Student Advocacy & Support Services Center

8. Theoretical Studies Related to Student Retention and Persistence • Tinto (1975) – Student Integration • Bean (1983) – Influence of External Variables on Student Persistence • Bean & Metzner (1985) – Model of Non-Traditional • Student Attrition • Astin (1985) – Student Involvement • Porter (1990) – Freshmen Year Experience • Bonifacio & Sinatra (1991) – First-Generation Students • Kuh (2008) – Student Engagement

9. The Institutional Dimension of Student Retention • Pascarella & Terenzini (1977) – Faculty/Student Contact • Richardson & Skinner (1991) – Institutional • Adaptation to Diversity • Terenzini (1994) – Institutional Intervention • Rendon (1994) – Student Validation • Roueche & Roueche (1994) – Institutional Program • Design • Guenter (1994) – Student Retention Programs • Noel & Levitz (2001) – Faculty/Student Interaction

10. Holistic Integration of Support Services Student Access and Institutional Adaptation Increase Access Increase Achievement Stage 1. Reactive ▪ Testing & Screening ▪ Compensatory & Developmental Courses ▪ New Student Orientation ▪ Financial Aid Stage 2. Strategic ▪ Financial Aid ▪ New Student Seminar ▪ Counseling ▪ Academic Advising Stage 3. Adaptive ▪ Academic Advising ▪ Tutoring & Learning Assistance ▪ Counseling ▪ Mentoring The figure above displays the adaptation of the Richardson and Skinner Model (1991), which incorporates the SEEK/CD Program components as they relate to increasing access, improving persistence and retention, and increasing the achievement of students who are academically and economically disadvantaged (Banrey, 2008) .

11. Practice: SEEK Program Mission Possible • Integration of Services - Counseling - Academic Support - Financial Aid • Learning Communities • Peer Mentor Program • Supplemental Instruction

12. Mission Possible Peer Mentor Program Enhancing the Student Learning Experience Impact of Challenges The undergraduate experience of historically underserved students can differ markedly from that of the majority (Kuh et al., 2008, p. 542). Degree completion rates are considerably lower for historically underserved students (p. 541). Rationale Student engagement in educationally purposeful activities during the first year of college had a positive, statistically significant effect on persistence … (Kuh et al., 2008, p. 555). African American students benefited more than White students from increasing their engagement in educationally effective activities (Kuh, et al., p. 551).

13. Mission Possible: Intentional Intervention

14. Theoretical Foundation for Mission Possible • Bandura’s Academic Self-efficacy: • Peoples’ beliefs in their capabilities to produce desired effects by their own actions • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: • Understanding the underlying factors that motivate behavior and meeting basic needs precedes meeting higher order needs • Payne, DeVol & Smith: • Mentoring to bridge generational poverty, benefit of mentoring, tutoring and counseling

15. Project Outcomes: Survey Responses • 16% increase in student’s ability to identify their strengths • 10.2% increase in students’ ability to identify areas that need improvement • Decreases in the ability to define academic goals, motivation for attending college, and ability to adapt were small at 5.8%, 3.4% and 5.1% respectively.

16. Mission Possible Project Outcomes: Blocked Courses & Tutoring Fall 2009 - SEEK Collaborative Learning Community Block 1 30 students registered in ENGL112, PSYC 101, and SP/C 003 Average GPA – 2.58 for students who attended tutoring Average GPA – 1.08 for students who did not attend tutoring Fall 2009 – Spring 2010 Retention – 83% Fall 2009 – Fall 2010 Retention – 63%

17. Project Outcomes: Blocked Courses & Tutoring Fall 2009 - SEEK Collaborative Learning Community Block 2 19 students registered in ENGW006, SPCH 102, and SP/C 003 Average GPA – 3.32 for students who attended tutoring Average GPA - .81 for students who did not attend tutoring Fall 2009 – Spring 2010 Retention – 89% Fall 2009 – Fall 2010 Retention – 74%

18. Significance of CLC Data Retention Data for the 2009 Cohort at CUNY, Medgar Evers College (MEC), SEEK (MEC), SEEK CLC Full-time Freshman in Associates Programs: CUNYMECSEEK(MEC)SEEK(CLC) 61.4% 50.3% 57.7% 74% Full-time Freshman in Baccalaureate Programs: CUNY MEC SEEK(MEC) SEEK(CLC) 61.4% 59.9% 65.2% 63%

19. Thank you. Questions and Answers Dr. Vincent Banrey – vbanrey@mec.cuny.edu Ms. Janice Zummo – jzummo@mec.cuny.edu