Transcript Retention Roundtable - Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana

Retention Roundtable
LEARNING COLLEGE CONFERENCE
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
Retention Roundtable Presenters
Region
Presenters
North Central - South
Bend (Region 2)
Dr. Keith Branham – Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs
Northeast - Ft. Wayne
(Region 3)
Amanda Mills – Director of Student Support and
Advising Services (Student Affairs)
Lafayette (Region 4)
David Berry – Dean, School of Liberal Arts & Sciences,
Associate Professor of History
Richmond (Region 9)
Delores Hazzard – Director of Student Success and
Retention (Student Affairs)
Columbus (Region 10)
John Roberts – Dean, School of Liberal Arts & Sciences,
Asst. Professor of English
Nicole Shankle – Director, Student Support &
Development, Student Success Center
Sellersburg (Region 13)
Ben Harris – Assistant Vice Chancellor of Enrollment
Institutional Research
Karen Stanley – Exec. Dir. Institutional Research
Indications of Student Persistence, Retention
 The most frequently used measures of retention are based upon cohorts
of first-time, degree-seeking students who first attend college in the fall
term (or the preceding summer term).


First fall to second fall persistence is officially reported by IPEDS, CSRDE
First fall to first spring term persistence provides a more timely indicator.
 Some entities cite persistence among all credit students, regardless of
when they first began to attend classes (NCCBP)
 Other relevant measures or indicators include:



Within term persistence
Course pass rates
Credit completion ratios (year 1 through year 2)
Note: Those students completing a degree or certificate during the specified timeframe
are counted as having persisted.
How is Retention Calculated?
 “First fall to second fall” persistence is officially reported by IPEDS, and is one of
the most frequently used measures of retention.

It is also one of the Strategic Plan 2010 metrics
 It is based upon cohorts of first-time, degree-seeking students:

Denominator: All first time, degree-seeking students who first attend college in the
fall term (or the preceding summer term beginning with the 2005 cohort).




Excludes high school students, transfers, and those starting in the spring term.
Includes apprentices, students taking only developmental courses, and UND students, as long as
they meet the basic criteria.)
Numerator: The number of students from the denominator who are present at the
census date (ten day count) of the following fall term, or who have completed a degree
or certificate in that timeframe.
Caution: It should be noted that students who transfer to another institution prior to
earning a degree/certificate, are reflected as non-persisters in these data. So regions
with high transfer rates within the first year, may reflect lower fall to fall retention
rates.
(Note: The IPEDS retention rate excludes part-time students who are taking remedial courses only.)
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Ivy Tech – First Fall to Second Fall Persistence Rates
Ivy Tech Statewide
2004
Cohort
2005
Cohort
2006
Cohort
2007
Cohort
All first-time, degree-seeking
students
49%
50%
47%
50%
Females
Males
50%
48%
50%
46%
49%
45%
52%
48%
Full-time
Part-time
49%
48%
49%
49%
48%
46%
53%
47%
Caucasian
African American
Hispanic
50%
40%
52%
50%
43%
42%
49%
35%
48%
52%
42%
52%
Age <20
Age 20-21
Age 22-24
Age 25+
47%
44%
46%
54%
48%
42%
44%
54%
48%
38%
42%
52%
51%
44%
48%
53%
No remedial courses taken
1+ remedial courses
51%
48%
49%
48%
49%
46%
51%
49%
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First Fall to Second Fall Persistence
2004
Cohort
2005
Cohort
2006
Cohort
2007
Cohort
2004
Cohort
2005
Cohort
2006
Cohort
2007
Cohort
Region 11Southeast
52%
53%
41%
56%
Ivy Tech
Statewide
49%
50%
47%
50%
Region 13 Sellersburg
55%
55%
60%
56%
Region 12 Southwest
57%
52%
60%
50%
Region 9 –
Richmond
48%
49%
46%
54%
Region 8 –
Central Ind.
47%
47%
45%
49%
Region 3 –
Northeast
50%
46%
50%
53%
Region 14 –
Bloomington
44%
51%
42%
48%
Region 10 Columbus
49%
50%
40%
51%
Region 6 – E.
Central
54%
47%
47%
49%
Region 4 Lafayette
44%
48%
47%
51%
Region 1 –
Northwest
40%
46%
41%
49%
Region 5 –
Kokomo
46%
47%
45%
51%
Region 2 – N.
Central
50%
48%
47%
47%
Region 7Terre Haute
52%
50%
50%
51%
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North Central Region
Retention Strategies
REGION 02 – North Central
Dr. Keith Branham
Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
North Central Retention Practices
 Standardize orientation presentations with emphasis
on student responsibilities
 Centralize student services as much as is physically
possible
 University of Central Florida
 Student Academic Resource Center (SARC): First year advising
office, Academic Exploration for undecided, tutoring in all
subjects, College Achievement Program (CAP) for at risk
students, Transfer Services, et. al.
North Central Retention Practices
 Valencia Community College
 Student Answer Center: Admissions, services locations,
financial aid generalists, academic programs, registration
information.
 Western Illinois University
 Mandatory Academic Advising
Fort Wayne Retention Practices
AMANDA MILLS
STUDENT SUPPORT AND ADVISING
SERVICES
Fort Wayne Region Retention Practices
SSAS Retention Strategies and Academic Advising
 SSAS Advisors are given a student load assignment




based on alphabet
SSAS Advisors are to follow their students through
the first semester
Individual follow-up sessions are sometimes
scheduled during the initial meeting
SSAS Advisors contact each student via email and
follow-up with mailings
SSAS Advisors track advising contacts
Fort Wayne Region Retention Practices
Academic Advising Sessions -1st session topics
 Academic load—full time vs. part time in relation
to work/life
 Providing curriculum for program if one is chosen
(print online COR)
 Course selection/help with registration
 Advising handbook—provide, instruct to look over
 Scheduling of follow-up appt for after semester
begins—provide student with contact info, reiterate
availability if they have questions/problems
Fort Wayne Region Retention Practices
Academic Advising - 2nd session topics
 Discuss academic progress: “How are your classes
going?”, etc.
 Referrals to CAE, Disability, retest, etc.
 Discussion of curriculum and possible 2nd semester
courses—review degree audit and educational plan
 Referral to appropriate faculty advisor
Fort Wayne Region Retention Practices
Academic Alerts
 Follow-up with students “flagged” by faculty for
absences, need for academic assistance, poor
attitude, other problems
 Two phone calls, an email, and a written letter are
made in attempt to contact student
 TRiO and ASA students are referred to respective
areas
Lafayette Region
Retention Strategies
REGION 04 – LAFAYETTE
DAVID BERRY
Lafayette Region
Retention Strategies
REGION 04 – LAFAYETTE
DAVID BERRY
Lafayette Region Retention Practices
 Call Center
 Peer Mentoring
 Previous Related Experience
 ITCC Evansville
 Rich Mountain Community College, Arkansas

Irregular Attendance Warning
Resources
• Horry-Georgetown Technical College
–
–
http://www.hgtc.edu/int_b.php?pageid=380
http://bluedasher.tynken.com//documents/hgtc//Academic_Alert_Form__Fall_2008.pdf
• “Best Practices,” NACADA http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/
• Northeast State Community College, Blountville, TN
–
http://www.northeaststate.edu/testSurvey/earlyalert
• Clinton Community College, Plattsburgh, NY
• Tidewater Community College, Chesapeake
–
–
http://www.tcc.edu/students/counseling/EarlyAlert-FAQ.htm
https://www.tcc.edu/secure/forms/earlyalert.php
Richmond
Retention Strategies
REGION 09
STUDENT SUCCESS AND RETENTION
DELORES HAZZARD
Richmond Region Retention Practices
Building a culture of improvement through outcomes
assessment
High impact strategies already implemented:
 Retention Plan
 Mandatory New Student Orientation
 Mandatory placement assessment
 Remedial/developmental course referrals
 Early-alert and total withdrawal reporting and intervention
system
Richmond Region Retention Practices
Mandatory New Student Orientation
• All first-time, degree-seeking students since Spring 2006
have attended a New Student Orientation.
• Evaluations by students remain overwhelmingly positive.
• The IPAS research stated that students attending
orientation are as likely to persist as continuing students
• Retention rates are on a positive trend line for the
2008/2009 academic year
Richmond Region Retention Practices
Early Alert Referrals
 ASA referrals have increased from a low of 36 students in Spring 2007
(063) to 359 students in Fall 2007 (072)
 Retention rates for these students increased from 22% in Spring 2007
(063) to 42% in fall 2007 (072)
Learning Resource Center Usage
 The number of visits to the center have increased dramatically in the
last few years. (2893 in 2005; 15,403 in 2007)
Total Withdrawal Intervention
 During the 2007/2008 academic year, students who left the college
before 60% of the semester incurred a total of $175,528 in Return of
Title VI funds.
 With intervention for only 31% of these students, the Spring 2008 debt
was down 11% from Spring of 2007.
Richmond Region Retention Practices
Although we have useful quantitative data from the Office of
Institutional Research and Planning and CCSSE, we must
collect more pertinent local and qualitative data if we are to
create the most effective retention strategies
In addition to our current high impact retention strategies we
must consider implementing others recommended by our
own data and by national longitudinal studies:
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Provide an Advising Center
Provide intensive math and writing labs
Provide programs that impact college preparedness
Columbus Region
Retention Strategies
REGION 10
SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
STUDENT SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT,
JOHN ROBERTS
NICOLE SHANKLE
Columbus Region Retention Practices
Developmental/Remedial – General Education Retention
 Best Practices
 Administrative/Academic/Faculty Support -- Academic Deans, Program Chairs
and Faculty support the holistic approach to remediation. Consistency in
faculty, textbooks, and scheduling are key to success transitioning from
Developmental/Remediated to General Education
 Collaboration and Cooperation between Ivy Tech (Regional campus) and local
ABE (Adult Basic Education) is key transitioning students who do not meet
minimum acceptance scores. This ‘Transition/Bridge’ concept eases these ‘atrisk’ students into the academic requirements of college.
 Diversity in Delivery Options is key to the multigenerational learners enrolling
at Ivy Tech (non-traditional, traditional, visual, tactile, employed/unemployed,
job recertification, etc.)
 Variety of Tutoring options (face-to-face – Tutoring centers, when and where
available, faculty-student, student-student, and online tutoring software.)
Columbus Region Retention Practices
Class Scheduling Format
 Several Scheduling formats are available –
 Standard 16 week format – Classes are scheduled one day
per week/3 hour time block(various days and times)
 Standard 16 week format – Classes are scheduled two days
per week during the lunch hour/1 hour, 30 minutes (M-W;
T-R; W-F; W-T; T-F)
 Accelerated 8 week face-to-face format – Classes are
scheduled Mondays & Thursdays or Tuesdays and Fridays
Columbus Region Retention Practices
Class Scheduling Format – 2
 Accelerated 8 week hybrid/format – Classes are scheduled either
Monday and Tuesday afternoon/evening with 3 hour face-to-face
component & a 3 hour online component either with written
assignments/discussion board posts and/or online tutoring
software.
 16 week totally Distance Education/Online format – This option,
though not taught in the Columbus Region, is available at
several regions. This option will become available Fall 2009 in
the Columbus Region only with advisor approval and student
enrollment in IVYT 109 – Online Learning Technologies to
facilitate student ease in navigating Blackboard – Ivy Tech’s
learning portal.
Columbus Region Retention Practices
Instructor & Texts Consistency
The success in retention depends on several factors:
 Consistent faculty – Faculty teach the students in the highest ASA
component, i.e., ENGL 025 and the lowest GenED component, i.e.,
ENGL 111. This allows the faculty member to continually reinforce
some deficiencies while the student has a confidence level with the
faculty member and their new found ability.
 Consistent textbook – In Developmental/Remediated learning, the
same text for dual course work is key to student success. Students
become familiar with terminology, index styles, etc. Columbus
Region ASA Mathematics and Mathematics 111 use the same
author…consistency from remediation into GenED.
 This consistency leads to higher retention, leading to higher
certificate and degree completion.
Sellersburg Region
Retention Strategies
REGION 13
STUDENT SUCCESS, ENROLLMENT SERVICES
BEN HARRIS
Asst. Vice Chancellor of Enrollment
Sellersburg Retention Practices
At Risk Students
 Upon completion of 25% of a course, instructors are asked to submit
names of students who are carrying a grade below a “C” and/or those
for whom attendance has become a problem. These students are
contacted by Region 13’s Office of Student Success via letter. Two
weeks after the letter, the students are contacted via phone. Instructors
are contacted after the phone calls to determine a student’s
improvement
 All letters are accompanied by a copy of the region’s tutoring schedule.
 The Registrar’s Office will, prior to completion of a complete
drop/withdrawal, refer a student to the Office of Student Success for
possible intervention.
 Students scoring below Ability To Benefit on the COMPASS exam are
“strongly encouraged” to complete a minimum of 8 hours of tutoring
concurrent with enrollment in ENGL 024, ENGL 032, or MATH 040
Sellersburg Retention Practices
“Purely” Undecided Students
 Region 13 intra-term tracking of students shows that 33% of those
students completely withdrawing during the semester are undecided.
 One individual charged with formal retention efforts serves as
academic advisor to these students and has developed an advising
format based upon “safe” courses that are likely to apply to any major
and/or are likely to transfer.
 Each semester, the Office of Student Success and the Office of Student
Life collaboratively host a career workshop in which undecided
students participate in online career testing and have a chance to meet
representatives from various academic programs.
Sellersburg Retention Practices
Recapturing Non-Returning Students
 Students who do not return for a subsequent semester are identified
and contacted. Their reasons for non-return (i.e. transfer) are noted,
and their plans to return allow us to include them in certain
correspondence, such as upcoming advising and registration dates,
financial aid deadlines, etc
 Students who have been out for a year are identified. They are sent a
general letter inviting them back. A subset is further identified, and
progress toward credentials are evaluated by appropriate faculty.
Those closest to completion (in good academic standing, financial aid
standing, etc.) are eligible to have one course paid for, should they
decide to return.
 A database of non-completers spanning five years is maintained. Any
new academic program being launched is marketed to this group via
mail.
What Are Your Questions?
Student Preparation
and Orientation
Remediation and
ASA Courses
Academic Advising,
Career Services,
Tutoring, other
Support Services
Student Characteristics and
Retention
On-line Learning
Intervention Strategies
Assessment, tracking
outcomes, using data
CCSSE’s Validation Research – Overall Results
 “There is strong support for the validity of the use of the CCSR (CCSSE
report) as a measure of institutional processes and student behaviors
that impact student outcomes.” (Strong consistency was found across
the three studies.)
 “The studies confirm a long tradition of research findings linking
engagement to positive academic outcome” in community colleges.
 Some outcomes have stronger relationships to engagement than
others:



“The Support for Learners benchmark was consistently
correlated with measures of persistence.”
“Four CCSSE benchmarks had statistically significant …
positive net effects when predicting cumulative credit
completion ratios after years: Active & Collaborative Learning,
Student Effort, Academic Challenge and Student-Faculty
Interaction
“Active and Collaborative learning had a … positive ‘net effect’
when predicting year to year persistence.” Item clusters for
Collaborative Learning, Information Technology and Student
Services were similarly linked.
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