may 31, 2011 butler community college listening to entering students: ears – early alert and...
TRANSCRIPT
May 31, 2011
Butler Community CollegeListening to Entering Students:
EARS – Early Alert and Referral System
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
Butler by the NumbersResidential 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% minority62% traditional age (18 to 22)
Headcount: 10,116Total credit hours: 95,895
Entering Student Success Institute
Fall 2010
Entering Student Success Institute
Butler by the Numbers
Butler by the NumbersAverage 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)
Entering Student Success Institute
Fall 2010
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
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
Early Results
0.08
Early Process
Entering Student Success Institute
The FYE Director, Academic Advisor, or Counselor receives forms, email, and/or call about student in need.
Respond to the referring instructor to follow-up, ask if it is okay to share that instructor referred student.
FYE/Advisor/ Counselor accesses student record in Banner.
FYE/Advisor/ Counselor contacts student (phone, email).
Contact student’s other instructors to ask for progress report and attendance; explain and promote the program.
STRENGTHS• High touch with students• Personal contact with instructors
WEAKNESSES• Manual processes• Info restricted• No dedicated staff member• Faculty permission problematic
FYE/Advisor/ Counselor enters info into Excel spreadsheet on shared drive
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
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
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
CARE TeamVice President of Student ServicesDean for Enrollment Management
(or Director of Advising)Dean of StudentsRetention SpecialistStudent Involvement CoordinatorAdvising Office RepresentativeCounseling Office RepresentativeDisability Services DirectorSecurity Office RepresentativeAcademic DeanFaculty Member
Entering Student Success Institute
• Meets weekly on two major campuses
• Anyone may bring names forward• Discusses both people and
processes
Current Process
Entering Student Success Institute
Retention Specialist receives forms, email, and/or call about student in need.
Retention Specialist closes the loop with referring faculty.
Retention Specialist accesses student record in Banner, and refers to appropriate person.
Student is contacted (phone, email, Facebook, text).
Contacts tracked in Banner (SPCMNT – “Space Mountain”)
STRENGTHS• High touch with students• Personal contact with instructors• Streamlined process• Alert attached to student record
WEAKNESSES• Manual processes• Staff dependency
Entering Student Success Institute
Continuing Challenge: Dependency on Specific Staff
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
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
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)
Entering Student Success Institute
• 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)
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
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
Entering Student Success Institute
www.butlercc.edu