Transcript Document

Retention & Student Learning:
Everybody’s Business!
Rachelle Darabi
Associate Provost for Student Development & Public Affairs
Michael Frizell
Director of Student Learning Services
Mike Wood
Director of First-year Programs
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Student Success/Student Development & Public Affairs
Activity:
How do you define “Academic Success” in your department? Your
college? For the University?
July 17, 2012
A definition of student success:
• Upcraft, Barefoot, and Gardner (2005) suggest that
first-year students succeed when they make progress
toward developing academic and intellectual
competence, establishing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships, exploring identity
development, deciding on a career and lifestyle,
maintaining personal health and wellness, developing
civic responsibility, considering spiritual dimensions of
life, and dealing with diversity.
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Our students at a glance…
Fall 2011
 20,802 Total Students
o 17,632 undergraduate students
o 3,170 graduate and post baccalaureate students
 Gender/Age
o 8,657 (55.7%) are female
o 6,889 (44.3%) are male
o 62.8% are 18 – 21 years old (Degree Seeking)
o 12.4% of Undergraduate students are 25 or older
 By College
o Business Administration
4,045
o Health and Human Services
3,024
o Arts and Letters
2,320
 Other interesting facts
o Average ACT score of incoming freshman is 24.06
o 5,538 are first time transfer students
o 84.2% of new freshman live on campus
o 23.4% of all undergraduates live on campus
o 4,204 degrees were awarded in fiscal 2010
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Seven myths about student retention…
Attrition is a “student problem,”
not a campus or institutional
problem.
Retention would not be a
problem if we just admitted
“better students.”
And while we’re at it, richer
students would help too.
Most students drop out because
they flunk out.
Profiling “leavers” is the best
method of understanding
attrition.
It’s not the faculty’s job to
“retain” students, but promote
student learning.
Campuses are already doing all
they can do to improve student
retention.
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Taking student retention seriously:
Rethinking the first-year of the
university (Tinto, 2009).
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In a 2009 keynote address on the
topic, Dr. Vincent Tinto observed
that most universities do not take
student retention seriously. In other
words, it often remains “at the
margins”. Often considered “addon” activities-e.g., create a new
course/program to deal with the
problem.
Student Success/Student Development & Public Affairs
Persistence at MSU
1st Term GPA Fall to Fall
Undergraduate 1st Term Fall GPA
1.00-1.99
2.00-2.49
2.50-2.99
3.00-3.24
3.25-3.49
3-50-3.74
3.75 & Greater
Less than 1.00
Not Reported
TOTAL
% Returned the Next Fall
50.33
75.94
85.28
81.85
86.41
85.86
77.65
21.57
81.42
76.43
Compiled by Institutional Research – Argos ODSPROD - Retention
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Dr. Kane’s Study
Dr. Tom Kane earned his Ph.D. in
1996 from George Mason University.
His research interests include Goals,
Self-Confidence, Performance, and
Leadership. He was the Faculty
Senate Chair (2007-2008) at MSU.
Assisted NFL teams with drafting
players; worked with NWCA to train
coaches to develop leadership skills
in student-athletes. Teaches the online Developing Sport Team Leaders
a 1-credit course at MSU. His
personal interests include fishing,
golfing, biking, coaching youth sports,
and reading about history.
Dr. Tom Kane
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Tracking Freshmen in 1st Year
• 526 Frosh surveyed first 10 days @ MSU PSY 121
• 369 mid-semester follow-up survey (70%/57%)
• 23 w/ lower than 2.00 GPA dropped out by end of first
year (academic withdraw)
• 97 with higher than 2.00 GPA dropped out end of first
year (voluntary withdrawal)
• 120 total dropped out (22.8%)– compared to MSU rate
of (26%) (1/4th 8 to 9 students in your class)
Pretty Simple Bottom Line
• Paths toward wanting to leave MSU go through:
• Intentions to leave
• Academic performance
• Predicting students who want to leave MSU best (by far):
Affective Commitment to MSU
• Mostly Emotional: Feelings about MSU, liking student
life beyond classroom, homesickness
Measured
• Demographics
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Gender
Declared/undeclared
Married? Children?
Older/younger sibs in
college
State/local
Work hrs
Job on campus?
Parent/household income
Mother education
Father education
• Academic aptitude
• ACT/HS GPA
Measured
• Motivation
– Semester goal difficulty
– Academic self-efficacy (confidence)
– Others…
• Career Motivation
– Emotional/rational
– Career relevant to college
performance?
• *Commitment (mid semester)
– Emotional attachment to MSU
– Rational attachment to MSU
• *Satisfaction (mid 1st semester)
– Academic programs
– Student life
• *Homesickness (mid 1st semester)
Two Paths to Dropping Out:
Bottom line
Academic
Achievement
Drop out
from MSU
(20.5%)
All
Other
Factors
Intentions
To Leave
Affective Commitment @ MSU
•ONE good positive mentoring experience
•Early success– what can you do?!
•Positive early social experiences
•Students involved & participating
•Student feels valued & important
•Meaning in being @ MSU  to others
•Meaning in being @ MSU  to self
•Identification w MSU values
•Sell MSU…
Writing Activity:
“What are you currently doing in your college to promote
student learning and success?”
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Four Conditions for Student Success
1) ACHIEVEMENT:
Students are likely to persist in settings that hold high and clear
expectations for student achievement. (Often not the case, according to
NSSE data)
2) ENVIRONMENT:
Support an environment that promotes student retention. e.g., academic
and social support. Basic skills courses, tutoring, study groups, academic
support programs Also counseling, mentoring, multicultural student centers
are crucial.
3) REINFORCEMENT:
Feedback is a condition for student success. Feedback from faculty, staff,
and students, including entry assessment of learning skills, and “early warning
systems” to identify students having academic difficulties in time to make a
difference. (Currently previewing MAP WORKS Program).
4) ENGAGEMENT:
Student involvement, or engagement, is a condition for student
success. The more students are academically and socially involved, the more
likely they are to persist and graduate.
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Remember:
Education of our students is the ultimate goal, not merely retention. Retention and
graduation are merely byproducts of effective student learning. The educational tools of
engagement: cooperative and problem-based learning, service-learning, and learning
communities are a few examples of successful pedagogies.
What works in student retention? ACT (2010).
Respondents from all colleges in the study reported retention
practices responsible for the greatest contribution to retention fell into
three main categories.
1. First-year programs
2. Academic advising
3. Learning support
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Our Focus…
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Current partnerships with Student Success units:
• Curricular Learning Communities
• Living/Learning Communities
• GEP 101 Instructors (second largest
representation from COAL)
• Master Advisor Certification
• FCTL Course Transformation
• Public Affairs (Kurt Heinlein and Gloria
Galanes)
• Writing Center Partnership (English)
• Writing Fellow Partnership (English
GA’s assisting Criminology and
Student Affairs courses)
• SOAR
• Service Learning
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Dr. Rachelle L. Darabi
COAL’s Strength: Advising
Academic Advisement Center Personnel
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Best Practices for Advising in
Departments/Advisement Centers
• Structure academic advising processes to meet student needs
and best use faculty/staff talents.
• Divide faculty advising loads equitably.
• Designate individual(s) to receive specialized training and
coordinate advisement of special student populations.
• Promote, encourage, and track the ongoing training and
professional development of advisors.
• Develop effective methods to communicate with advisees.
• Designate one person to manage provision of advisement
services.
• Ensure that quality advising is appropriately available to all
students. Implement a consistent plan to assess advisement and
use results to facilitate improvements.
• Devise a method to follow up with graduates.
• Develop a concrete system to recognize and reward faculty/staff
dedicated to providing quality academic advising.
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COAL’s Strength:
Teaching GEP 101
• Number of GEP 101
Instructors
• Fall 2012: 9 (1st)
• Fall 2011: 9 (tied for 1st)
• Number of Sections
Taught:
• Fall 2012: 12 (1st)
• Fall 2011: 10 (2nd)
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When asked to identify the four campus retention practices that had the
greatest impact on student retention, all survey respondents identified
at least one of the following:
• First-year seminar/university 101 for credit
• Tutoring program
• Advising interventions with selected student
populations
• Mandated course placement testing program
• Comprehensive learning assistance center/lab
Source: ACT (2010)
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Write & Share:
“Where would you like to be? What barriers are you encountering? What
resources do you need?”
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs (c. 1943)
July 17, 2012
PSY 121’s Course Transformation Project
Associate Professor
Education
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PhD, 2002, Clinical Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
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MA, 2000, Clinical Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
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BA, 1997, Psychology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Teaching
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Abnormal Psychology
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Individual Intelligence Testing
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Psychological Assessment
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Psychopathology
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Psychology of Eating (Intersession)
Research and professional interests
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Sociocultural influences in the development of eating disorders
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Assessment of body image
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Eating disorders in athletes
Dr. Brooke Whisenhunt
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Current Research Projects:
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Perception of healthiness/attractiveness of women with anorexia nervosa
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Investigation of the current trend in ideal body size in the mass media
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Review of the literature on the mass media’s impact on body image
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Development and validation of a measure of body image in males
Student Success/Student Development & Public Affairs
PSY 121 Course Redesign
Psychology Team Members
Danae Hudson
Brooke Whisenhunt
Carol Shoptaugh
Rachel Happel
Ann Rost
The Traditional PSY 121
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General education course
Lecture only model
153 students
1 faculty instructor
• 65% full time faculty (tenure-track or instructor)
• 35% per course
• Instructor: Student Ratio = 1:153
• Assessments primarily multiple choice exams
PSY 121 Challenges
• DFW rate
• Similar to other 1st year, challenging, general education courses
• Course Drift
• Lack of standardization of materials
• Lack of standardization in grading
• Barriers to introducing creative pedagogies due to
limited course staff
Blended Course Design
Lecture
1x/wk
Individual Online
(MyPsychLab)
Online Group
Communication and
Experiential Learning
Redesigned PSY 121
Organization
Faculty
Instructors: Student Ratio
1:43
Senior
Learning
Assistant
Undergraduate
Learning
Assistant
Undergraduate
Learning
Assistant
Undergraduate
Learning
Assistant
Undergraduate
Learning
Assistant
Undergraduate
Learning
Assistant
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
Learning Lab
(20 students)
One Week of Activities
Read
Chapter
Take Pretest in MPL
Complete
Study Plan
Take Posttest in MPL
Complete
Media
Assignment
Attend
Lecture
Complete
Chapter
Exam
Pedagogical Enhancements
• Undergraduate Learning Assistants (ULAs)
• Facilitate online learning labs and group experiential
learning
• Tailored Lectures
• Based on student performance on online study plan
post-test
• Clickers and Peer Instruction
• Used to increase engagement,
test knowledge of concepts,
facilitate discussion among peers
Offered by the FCTL
SERVICES
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Classroom Technology
Digital Professor Academy
Instructional Design & Consultation
Academic Media Production
Showcase on Teaching and Learning
RESOURCES
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Best Practices for Teaching and
Learning
Course Design
Instructional & Technology Blogs
Other Resources
Student Success/Student Development & Public Affairs
Connections:
Best Practices & Student Success Research
Student success doesn’t
occur “by chance.” It’s
the result of an
intentional, structured,
and proactive set of
coherent strategies that
are systemic in nature
and aligned to the same
goal.
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Thus:
Many factors contribute to
retention and no one program
can claim those numbers as
their own.
Student Success/Student Development & Public Affairs
Access to Retention Data:
Our Ongoing Challenge
Office of Institutional Research
The University has a 30-year heritage of institutional research activities and the Office of Institutional Research plays
an influential role in many aspects of the University administration. Duties and responsibilities of the Office of
Institutional Research include designing, analyzing, and presenting data and institutional research for the purposes of
institutional planning, policy decisions, institutional marketing, and student and program assessment. The Office of
Institutional Research is also responsible for reporting institutional data to various state and federal agencies.
Education
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Dr. Erin Buchanan
PhD, 2008, Texas Tech University
MA, 2006, Texas Tech University
BS, 2004, Texas A&M University
Teaching
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Assistant Professor
Undergraduate:
Statistics
Multivariate Statistical Methods
Graduate
Statistics
Multivariate Statistical Methods
Office: Hill Hall 214D
Research and professional interests
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Teaching: Statistics; multivariate statistical methods
Language meaning and use
Memory storage
Statistics
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Some examples of best practices:

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Last year’s partnership with COAL:
33 Faculty participated in integrated and component
25 Students in component = 1040 hrs. of service
190 Students in integrated = 4186.25 hrs. of service
The Effects of Service-Learning on Retention
In a report of results of a study to the Northern New England Campus Compact, students
who participated in service-learning courses scored significantly higher on all measures. The
students reported higher community engagement, academic engagement, interpersonal
engagement, academic challenge, and likelihood to remain at the university (retention) than
students in courses that did not include service-learning. In addition, a mediation model showed
that academic challenge and academic engagement were the elements of service-learning courses
that most influenced students’ decision to stay at the university (retention).
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Source: Campus Compact
http://www.compact.org/resources/the-effectsof-service-learning-on-retention/8113/
Some examples of best practices:
Retention of First Time Students Declared as
COAL Majors:
There were 561 first time students with COAL
majors declared at the fall 2011 census date. Of
those, 366 attended SOAR in the summer of 2011.
The table below shows the retention rates of COAL
students who attended SOAR and those who didn’t
attend. These data are divided by student type
(new in college vs. transfer) and by COAL
departments.
Attended SOAR
# Enrolled
Fall 2011
CATEGORY
Student Type
New in College
Did Not Attend SOAR
% Retained
Spring 2012
# Enrolled
Fall 2011
% Retained
Spring 2012
358
92.74
12
50.00
8
75.00
183
84.70
Art & Design
96
91.67
62
79.03
Communication
22
95.45
18
88.89
English
40
90.00
32
87.50
Media, Journalism & Film
55
90.91
47
80.85
8
87.50
8
100.00
Music
84
95.24
20
75.00
Theatre & Dance
61
91.80
8
87.50
COAL Overall
366
92.35
195
82.56
MSU Overall
2,477
89.40
1,685
83.80
Transfer
COAL Departments
Modern & Classical Languages
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Some examples of best practices:
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After a year-long study, Dr. Erin Buchanan, Faculty
Fellow for the PASS Program, concluded the retention
% for students who participated in PASS:
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Summer 11 89%
Fall 11 88.3%
Spring 12 89.4%
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Significantly higher than the university average overall.
PASS/SI DFW Rates: Fall 2011 – Spring 2012
Fall 2011
Caucasian
Minority
Traditional
Non-Traditional
Spring 2012
Caucasian
Minority
Traditional
Non-Traditional
DFW:
Comparable Courses
20.1
29.6
20.5
38.1
DFW: Students Never
Attended PASS
31.3
42.8
31.5
47.1
DFW: Students Attended 1
Or More PASS Sessions
15.8
25.4
17.4
20.0
29.4
38.8
30.3
39.0
27.3
30.9
27.9
26.6
16.0
26.1
16.9
24.2
Comparable Courses = Sections of the same course (i.e. ECO 155, PSY 121, BMS 110,
307, and 308, CHM 160 and 170, etc.) that did not enjoy PASS support.
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Jump START
(Summer Transition and Readiness Program)
REQUIREMENTS
Attend Summer School SOAR June 8, 2012.
Attend the eight-week summer session June 11 to August 3.
Enroll in 8-9 credit hours of rigorous course work including math,
English, IDS 118 (Enhancing Learning Techniques for College Life), and
GEP 101 (First Year Foundations).
Take part in special activities provided.
Be officially “undeclared” but work with your academic advisor to
explore majors and plan fall classes.
Spend a minimum of five hours per week in the Bear CLAW (Center for
Learning and Writing).
Achieve a minimum 2.5 G.P.A. in 8-9 hours in order to continue
enrollment in fall 2012.
Who can participate in Jump START?
Students who are currently in high school and do not meet traditional freshman admission criteria
based on GPA, class rank, or test scores. This program requires that you meet the core curriculum
portion of the admission requirements.
What is Jump START?
An opportunity for individual review students to begin their college experience at MSU.
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Jump START Program
All Data: Summer 2011
40/51 students met the requirements of
the program. Average GPA: 2.82.
82.5% returned for fall 2011.
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http://www.learningpt.org/greatlakeseast/about/recordSpring08.php
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Activity:
Develop Your Plan
.
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References
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ACT. (2010).What works in student retention? Retrieved November 1, 2011, from
http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/droptables/FourYearPublic.pdf
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Campus Compact. (n.d.) Retrieved July 12, 2012, from http://www.compact.org/resources/the-effects-of-servicelearning-on-retention/8113/
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Cuseo, J., & Farnum, T. (2011). Seven myths about student retention. Teresa Farnum & Associates, Inc. (TFA),
Retrieved July 9, 2012, from: http://www.teresafarnum.com/documents/SevenMythsAboutStudentRetention.pdf
•
Tinto, V. (2009). Taking student retention seriously: Rethinking the first-year of the university. Keynote speech
presented at the ALTC FYE Curriculum Design Symposium, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane,
Australia, February 5, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2011, from: http://www.fyecd2009.qut.edu.au/
resources/SPE_VincentTinto_5Feb09.pdf
•
Upcraft, M.L., Gardner, J.N., Barefoot, B.O., (Eds.). 2005. Challenging and supporting the first-year student: A
handbook for improving the first year of college. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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Websites For More Information
Student Success:
http://www.missouristate.edu/studentsuccess/
Advising:
• http://www.missouristate.edu/advising/83861.htm
• http://www.missouristate.edu/advising/95723.htm
FCTL:
• http://www.missouristate.edu/fctl/89072.htm
Peer Assisted Study Session (PASS) Program:
• http://pass.missouristate.edu
Absent Professor Program:
• http://absentprof.missouristate.edu
• Bear CLAW (Center for Learning and Writing:
• http://bearclaw.missouristate.edu
First-Year Programs:
• http://www.missouristate.edu/FirstYearPrograms/default.htm
CASL:
• http://www.missouristate.edu/casl/
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Questions?
Need answers?
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