A Workshop to Improve Retention and Graduation Larry Abele Provost Emeritus

1. A Workshop to Improve Retention and Graduation Larry Abele Provost Emeritus Director, Institute for Academic Leadership Florida State University

2. In the midst of a recession education remains a huge advantage

3. The advantages of parents’ education are transferred to their children % Children Attaining Bachelor’s Degree or Better Source: Chronicle of Higher Education, August 27, 1999 Educational Level of Parents

4. Institutions Have a Large Effect on Retention and Graduation

5. Why are Attrition Rates High and Graduation Rates Low? Lack of Policy Focus or Attention: • Almost all states fund enrollment or student credit hours. • Rankings either do not include graduation rates or give them little weight. • Focusing on Retention/Graduation has not been part of our culture.

6. Why Students SAY They’re Withdrawing “I’m going surfing in California.” “My sister is going to have a baby and I want to get to know my nephew.” “I should have waited to come to FSU for my Master’s, the Bachelors was just too much.” “I want to follow my boyfriend; he is going to a Christian college in Texas and we want to live together.” “I need to go back to my high school; I had a lot more friends there.” “I am in debt and am going to Alaska to prospect for gold.” “You aren’t Green enough.”

7. Three Critical Elements of a Retention/Graduation Program(Creating a Culture of Success) • An individual, by status or personality, must drive the process and have access to human and financial resources. • A process based on detailed data must be established and maintained for at least five years. • There must be a team of individuals from across campus committed to student success who meet weekly to assess progress.

8. Do we have the right people involved? People Data Are we using data? Strategies Are we doing the right things?

9. Effective student success efforts are dependent on having the right people Elements to Increase Student Success Do we have the right people in place?

11. The team operate differently from typical committees by focusing on analysis, action, and accountability Typical Committee Cross-Campus Team Formal Charge • Provide analysis and/or identify recommendations for an institutional priority or issue • Remove institutional barriers hindering student success Composition • Senior-level administrators, usually several levels removed from students • Rich mix of people who work day-to-day serving students, includes front-line practitioners Function • Advisory in nature; outlines the work others on campus are to undertake • Operates as a true workgroup, defining tasks to be done and completing them Accountability • Vaguely defined, if at all • Defined by measurable and specific changes in student outcomes and performance Routines • Convene on an intermittent basis, usually for a finite period of time • Weekly, on-going meetings where progress is assessed continuously • Data-driven OverallPerspective • Not well-defined • Driven by the mindset that all students can succeed; student-centered in their thinking

12. Every member of the team has specific responsibilities to move the student success work forward • Convene the team on a regular and frequent basis • Ensure institutional research capacity and facilitate access to data • Provide continuous push for improvement in practices, policies, and programs • Model the mindset that every student is worth saving Leader • Ensure that the cross-campus team has the data it needs in the appropriate formats • Provide guidance on how to interpret data when needed • Help team members assess the efficacy of their interventions and strategies Institutional Research • Work continuously to identify institutional barriers that impede student success • Devise and implement specific strategies and interventions to remove barriers • Provide regular updates on progress of their efforts and tasks completed Team Member

13. The team met weekly to address key questions, make decisions, and sustain momentum Diagnose Problems • Which students are progressing as planned? Which students are not? Why? • What seems to be impeding student progress or performance? Followed by an ACTION-oriented line of questioning WHOwill take responsibility for intervening? WHENwill that happen? HOW will our progress be assessed? WHERE we will see results? Problem- Solve • Where should we intervene? • What can we do that might make a difference? • What additional supports can we put in place? • What changes to our policies, programs or practices might we make that would be helpful? Plan • Are our efforts having the impact we intended? • Do we have the right strategies and supports in place? Evaluate • What have we accomplished since our last meeting? • What achievements or accomplishments can we celebrate? Report

14. Data analyses to understand progress and underscore decision-making were integral to the team’s work Moving Florida State Students with 110+ credits to Graduation Institutional researcher conducts analyses and discovers that in year 2000 the campus had 7,000 students with more than 110 credit hours who have not filed their intent to graduate. Diagnose Problem Team discusses how to move these students to graduate. What can we do to change this situation? Problem-Solve Team develops policy that: (1) Places a hold on students’ registration; (2) Mandates students meet with an advisor to have hold removed; and (3) Has students attend workshop on choosing a major. Plan Regular progress check shows the policy change to be effective. By 2006, the number of students with more than 110 credit hours is reduced to 3,011. By 2009, the number of students drops to 1,540. Evaluate

15. Weekly meetings are a powerful routine that can drive progress on student success goals forward Benefits of Florida State’s Weekly Team Meeting Intensive Focus: Everyone comes together to focus on student outcomes and the larger goal of student success Drives Performance: Work is clearly defined so team members know what they have to do on a day-to-day basis Provides Discipline: Weekly updates on progress made or tasks completed helps to hold the team accountable for their efforts Ensures Consistent Engagement: Team does not go for long periods of time without checking in on progress Builds Momentum: Achievements or gains reported in the meeting help the team stay committed Excerpts from Weekly Agenda Advising First: Jane reported that advisors are busy finishing registration. Exploratory students have a mandatory advising hold. The Coaching Center is occupied with last meetings. Meeting rates are high. Office of National Fellowships: Bill reported that 2 more sophomore Hollings Scholars have been chosen in addition to 3 juniors already receiving the scholarship. Bill also noted that 3 graduating students have been awarded $100,000 from the National Science Foundation for graduate study. All of these students were URCAA winners.

16. Our team developed a series of 93+ action steps aligned with every month of the academic calendar

17. It is important to know when, where and how much contact advisors had with students Extent of advising outreach activity per month Advising activity and where it took place on campus Number of student contacts made by advisors

18. Effective student success efforts are also dependent on having the right information Elements to Increase Student Success Are we collecting the right information?

19. It is helpful to identify the drivers of performance to better understand the root causes of attrition “What do I think the root cause of the problem is?” Hypotheses “What information do I need?” “What do I think the solution is?” “Where can I get it?” “Based on what I learned, can I confirm or reject the hypothesis?” “What would I have to believe in order to take action?” Data

20. TYPICAL ATTRITION TABLE LOSS OF STUDENTS OVER NINE YEARS

21. In looking at attrition rates, there is a range of rates at different points in time related to student background characteristics. Yearly Attrition Rates by Cohort: White, Female, First-Time In-State Students 1995-2005 Traditional students experience the largest attrition rates in the first year. MIN MAX 6.7% 9.8% 2.1% 3.9% 0.9% 3.3% 0.5% 1.6% 10.2% 17.1%

22. Hispanic female Pell recipients exhibited very different attrition rate patterns, suggesting the need for close interaction with the students and their families. Yearly Attrition Rates by Cohort: Hispanic, Female, Pell Recipient, First-Time In-State Students MIN MAX 6.9% 17.7% -1.2% 10.5% 0% 4.1% -1.4% 3.9% 6.3% 17.6%

23. Black male Pell recipients also exhibited very different attrition rate patterns, suggesting the need for continued support over time to avoid dropouts. Yearly Attrition Rates by Cohort: Black, Male, Pell Recipient, First-Time In-State Students 1995-2005 MIN MAX 3.3% 15.3% -0.9% 13.6% 0% 11.0% 0% 11.1% 6.0% 14.0%

24. Status of students six years after withdrawing* *2004, 2005 Entering Cohorts, Student Data Clearinghouse, n=3115

25. Benefits of first year residence on campus persist to graduation Avg of 2004,05,06,07 cohorts; Housing Study

26. The data identified chokepoints and bottlenecks on student progress and illuminated steps for active intervention Student Patterns Change Implemented 110+ credits POLICY CHANGE Hold Registration Students amassing more credits than needed; not declaring their intent to graduate in a timely manner High Enrollment courses/Low Pass Rates PROGRAM CHANGE Add more help sessions Low pass rates prevented students from being able to move into a major or take on higher level coursework Undeclared Majors CHANGE IN PRACTICE Academic Mapping Students not declaring a major in a timely matter; losing out on the benefits of having an academic home and connections to faculty

27. Top Ten Enrolled Courses Courses with High D/F Grades Focus on high enrollment low success courses

28. Effective student success efforts are also dependent on the right institutional strategies Elements to Increase Student Success Are we doing the right things?

29. There is no silver bullet.You increase retention literally one student at a time.

30. The team used data to identify strategies ensuring they covered students from the time they entered until they graduated Overview of Student Success Strategies

31. Every strategy was regularly monitored and evaluated for its overall impact on student success. Living Learning Communities & Freshman Interest Groups Improve Student Retention & Graduation

32. Every strategy was measured against important progress metrics such as term-to-term attrition, grade point average, and major selection rate Impact of a Success Coaching Program Program Description Overall Impact • Program that provides support for students around these 7 “soft” factors that influence retention and graduation: • Commitment to graduation • Managing commitments • Finances • School community • Academics • Effectiveness • Health & Support Source: Florida State University

33. Distribution of Excess Hours by Student Type* *None of these students have applied for graduation. ** Transferred from another university without a degree.

34. Every Major is Given a Term by Term Course Schedule Source: http://www.academic-guide.fsu.edu/

35. Academic Maps consist of three essential components – the narrative, sample schedule, and milestones The narrative explains the use of academic maps and any specific information about degree requirements, including admissions requirements The sample schedule outlines which courses should be taken in which specific term in order to satisfy all requirements The Milestones identify critical courses for timely progress and the last semester in which they can be completed for on-time graduation Source: http://www.academic-guide.fsu.edu/Maps/Mapaccounting.html

36. Students Must Complete Milestone Courses or a Hold is Place on their Registration Source: http://www.academic-guide.fsu.edu/Maps/Mapaccounting.html

37. The Academic Map template included in your binder can be used as a guide for further developing Maps for your institution

38. Academic Maps are more than academic schedules; they must be accompanied by key policy changes • Require early declaration of interest area or major • Take account of general education requirements • Establish Milestones (key courses, factors, or events that must be completed by a specific time in order to stay on track) • Have Milestones for each semester • Hold registration and require advising if students miss Milestone • Require change of major if students miss Milestones for two semesters

39. Academic Maps provide significant benefits for students as well as institutions • Students save time and money by avoiding unnecessary courses and reducing time to degree • Departments know the number of majors and progress toward degree • Institutions can predict student demand for major level and prerequisite courses • Institutions can effectively allocate advisors • Classrooms can be scheduled optimally • Faculty can plan two-year teaching schedules

40. Academic Maps and associated policies effectively reduced the number of students with excess hours

41. The team did retrospective analysis to better understand how different groups of students progressed to graduation Example of Retrospective Analyses Matched the two analyses and designed interventions to address the observed patterns Discovered summer students who have a GPA of 2.0 or below have an attrition rate greater than 50% during the next two terms Randomly assigning half of the students to a mandatory “success” course improved term to term retention by 12.3% and year to year by 9.1% Retrospective analysis of all non-retained students, term by term Retrospective analysis of all possible subgroups of students

42. What happens to students who perform poorlytheir first term? LOSS OF STUDENTS AFTER A POOR TERM

43. Overview of the Course • Course Topics: • Choosing Success (HS vs. college & resources) • Memory & Learning • Time Management & Procrastination • Note Making • Learning Styles & Test Prep • Grades & Other Feedback • Active Reading • Critical Thinking

44. Impact of A Student Success Course • Among course completers, the first-year retention rate is increasing over time.

45. The Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement Program • Recruits First Generation students primarily of low socioeconomic status • Operates Summer Bridge Program • Early arrival a week before classes • Mandatory activities • On-campus housing with CARE counselors as well as traditional RAs • Tracks, assists and mentors students

46. Key Strategies for CARE • Early and continuous contact with students during Middle School • Large (>200) and diverse cohorts, including academic diversity • Financial aid to cover 100% of costs at least initially • Start College during Summer with • A pre-classes week of introductory programs • Mandatory participation in • Academic advising • Study Hall • Tutoring • Social Activities

47. Key Strategies for CARE(continued) • Campus-wide Knowledge and Support • Constant contact throughout college using paid mentors and tutors • Immediate and Aggressive Follow-up for any Student having difficulties • Honor societies focused on underrepresented students, e.g., W.E.B. DuBois Honor Society and Oscar Arias Sanchez Honor Society

48. Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement (CARE) • CARE Retention Rate94.2% • All FTIC Retention Rate90.7% • CARE Graduation Rate74.0% • All FTIC Graduation Rate 69.7%

49. Low Cost Effective Strategies - I • Academic Mapping for each Degree: term by term course schedule with must take courses required: +3.1% • Action steps with student contact aligned with the academic calendar • Moving Advisors to where the students are at the time when they are there; recording all interactions/questions by time-of-day by day-of-week.

50. Low Cost Effective Strategies - II • Place High Risk Students in Residence Halls • W.E.B. Du Bois Honor Society • Oscar Arias Honor Society • Freshmen Interest Groups (FIGS): + 3.9% • Learning Communities in Residence Halls: +3.8% • Encourage strong attendance policies in courses with high percentages of D and F grades; quarter term and mid-term reports to advisors