Use of Multiple Interventions to Increase Retention in the First

Year

20th International Conference on the First-Year ExperienceJuly 12th, 2007Kona, Hawaii

Peggy D. Kennedy, Vice President of Academic & Student DevelopmentMargie L. Tomsic, Associate Dean of Assessment and Research

Thomas Matos, Dean of Student Development & Services

Saint Paul College-A Community & Technical College

History of the CollegeHistory of the College

Re-Engineering Student AffairsRe-Engineering Student Affairs

Interventions, Strategies & FindingsInterventions, Strategies & Findings

History of Saint Paul CollegeHistory of Saint Paul College

• 1910: Established as a Vocational School for Boys (TVI)

• 1983: Initial Accreditation

• 2002: Became a comprehensive community & technical college (Saint Paul College)

• 2003: Accredited by Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Accreditation of Colleges and Universities through 2013

• 2005: Accepted into Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP)

• Holds program-specific accreditation in healthcare areas, NATEF

Saint Paul College ProfileSaint Paul College Profile

• Enrollment: 9,459 students; 7,645 credits; 3,616 full-time students

• Faculty: 115 fulltime; 10 part-time; 220 adjunct • Student/Faculty Ratio: 17 to 1• Annual Tuition: $4,318 (FY08)• Graduate placement rate: 90—100%• Students of color: 45% (FY07)• 41 Associate Degrees, 69 diploma & certificate

programs

Popular ProgramsPopular Programs

• Nursing

• Construction Electricity

• Geomatics (Land Surveying)

• Liberal Arts & Sciences

• Sign Language Interpreter/Transliterator

• Business & Computers

• Massage Therapy

• Culinary Arts

New ProgramsNew Programs

• Polysomnography

• Personal Trainer

• Biomedical Engineering Technician

• Web 2.0 (Second Life)

• Pipe Welding

Quest for ExcellenceQuest for Excellence

• Re-engineering of Student Services

• Integration of Academic & Student Affairs (partners in college learning process)

• Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Award 2007

Re-Engineering ProcessRe-Engineering Process

• Complete reorganization of job functions to meet student needs

• Increased use of technology to improve student access

• Focused resource allocation to enhance student learning

Re-Engineering ProcessRe-Engineering Process

• More accurate data to manage enrollment and tuition payments

• Reduced wait time to register

• Evaluation component adaptable to other institutions

Evaluation/Comparisons at Saint Paul Evaluation/Comparisons at Saint Paul College, 2000 vs. 2007College, 2000 vs. 2007

Outcome 2000 2007

Full Year Equivalent (FYE)

2,555 3,276

Reallocation Dollars/Dollar Savings

$0 $500,000

Student Wait Time 1—2 Hours 1—2 Minutes

FYE Web Registrations

0 2,635

Additional Interventions and Additional Interventions and StrategiesStrategies

• Promotion of online registration process

• WriteNow -- Electronic Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) system

• ImageNow -- Document Imaging System—better sharing of records

• EARS -- Early Alert Referral System, followed by Intrusive Advising

• Additional Strategies Through Grants

What is the Early AlertReferral System (EARS)?

• EARS is an online database system designed to assist Saint Paul College faculty and retention coordinators in identifying and assisting students facing academic difficulty.

• The EARS database maintains written documentation of the steps taken by both the faculty and retention staff to retain at- risk Saint Paul College students.

Why Use the Early AlertReferral System (EARS) ?

• EARS is used to report students who exhibit a variety of academic risk factors. Faculty report students to EARS after attempting to rectify with the student discrepancies between perceived and actual performance.

Why Use the Early Alert Referral System (EARS) ?

Faculty report students who have demonstrated a problem in one or more of the following:

• Have stopped attending or have sporadic attendance without notifying the instructor prior to absences

• Have failed to complete coursework or are not satisfactorily completing coursework

• Have completed tests or quizzes at an unsatisfactory level

• Have behavioral issues that disrupt the class• Have indicated to their instructor that they have health

issues or concerns that effects their learning

Why Use the Early AlertReferral System (EARS) ?

• Once a problem has been identified, faculty may further elaborate by selecting an area of weakness to assist the retention coordinators in determining an appropriate course of action for the individual student.

• If the pull down menu options do not satisfactorily encompass the issues with the student, a faculty member may select the Other option, and provide case specific documentation in the comments field provided.

How Do I Complete an Early Alert Referral System (EARS) Report ?

Faculty training at a Faculty In-Service.

The EARS reporting page is located on the Saint Paul College Intranet. To complete an EARS report you must:

• Log on to the intranet at www.saintpaul.edu. • Click on the Early Alert Referral System (EARS) Form link

located under the Documents Section of the Quick Links Box• Complete the EARS form in its entirety and click submit.

When completing the form please note--

In the Recommendations Section: Please indicate the action you would like the student to take.For example, “Turn in all missing work by 2.26.07 and contact the instructor.”In the Comments Sections: Please document specific actions* to be taken by the retention specialists:For example, “Please contact student and ask them to contact instructor about missing work.”

What Happens After Submitting an Early Alert Referral System (EARS) Report?

Once the eForm has been completed and

submitted the information is transmitted into

the EARS database.

Every Monday, Wednesday and

Friday the Retention Specilaists download

the data and do the following:

• Send a confirmation email to the submitting faculty.

• Attempt to contact the student and relay the information concerning their performance and the steps that need to be taken.

What Happens After Submitting an Early Alert Referral System (EARS) Report?

The following is the order of action taken in attempting to contact the student.

• A Retention Specialist will attempt to contact the student by phone if the number in the College’s student database is accurate:– We will discuss with the student actions needed to be

taken and make note of the conversation in the Early Alert Referral System (EARS) database.

– If the student is not available, but the number is valid we will leave a message requesting that they contact the retention office as soon as possible. Due to FERPA we will not disclose the purpose of the call, just request a return call.

• If the phone information in ISRS is not valid– An email will be sent to the student summarizing the information

submitted by the instructor and requesting that the student contact the instructor directly.

– An email will also be sent which provides the student directions for changing their personal contact information online.

– If none of the contact information is valid in ISRS, the instructor will be notified that no contact could be made.

Once student contact has been made and or attempted the retention staff will:Email the submitting faculty an abbreviated copy of their submitted report along with comments from the Retention Specialist on the student interaction.

If the student does not follow through on the faculty recommendation the faculty can contact the Retention Specialist directly to request follow up.

EARS Usage Data

To Increase Access for the Underserved

• Power of YOU Program

• Hired a retention specialist for Power of YOU

• Hired Power of YOU recruiter

• Increased collaboration with Saint Paul Public Schools

Applied for and received four grants

• Enable Math Retention Grant - $20,000 over 2 years and up to $100,000 in test materials, training and services

• IPESL Enable Math Implementation Award - $99,539 over 1 year to compensate faculty and staff selected to lead this effort

• Transitions into the Power of YOU - $75,000 over one year to include the purchase of Enable Learning materials for Power of YOU students

• Saint Paul College, Saint Paul Schools Math Readiness Initiative - $10,000 over one year to include the purchase of Enable Learning materials

for High School students

• Received grant in Spring 2006

• Attended Noel-Levitz Conference in July

• Trained faculty and staff in July-Sept.

• Incorporated the Enable Math program into mathematics courses

• Administered the College Student Inventory to 150 students with feedback reports

• Worked with retention specialists and instructors to monitor student performance

Enablearning

• Provided training and materials to faculty from the Saint Paul Schools and Minneapolis Community and Technical College

• Worked with Noel-Levitz to launch a Retention Opportunity Analysis

• Continued work on the project through Spring 2007

• Worked with retention specialists and instructors to monitor student performance

• Summarized achievement and retention data

The Enable Math Retention Initiative Is Based on Five Principles

1) The key to student success is effective practice.

• Homework is the critical

factor in student success– Correlations from .5 to .7

between the amount of homework students do on EnableMath and their course grade

• You can’t learn to play golf by just watching Tiger Woods– You have to practice hitting

golf balls

2) Mastery learning can promote student success• “The more at-risk students come to develop mastery

over previously difficult material, the more positive they become in their view of what is possible in the future. This, in turn, leads to heightened likelihood of future success”– Tinto (1993)

3) The key to successful teaching is relevant and timely student information

4) Technology is helpful in instruction• Interactive• Immediate feedback• Support mastery-based approach• Available anytime/anywhere• Students like it• Instructors can track student process and pinpoint problems

5) Results of student motivational assessments can assist students in reaching their goals

Begins with a motivational assessment of each incoming student (College

Student Inventory)• Academic Motivation

– Study habits

– Intellectual interests

– Verbal confidence

– Math and Science confidence

– Desire to finish college– Attitude toward educators

• General Coping– Sociability

– Family emotional support

– Opinion tolerance

– Career closure

– Sense of financial security

Form B

• Receptivity to Support Services– Academic assistance

– Personal counseling– Social enrichment

– Career counseling

– Financial guidance

• Background Information on each student, including:

– Senior year GPA

– Time of their decision to enroll

– Parent’s education– The degree they are seeking

– Hours they intend to work while in college

Information Provided Includes

• A Summary of Academic Motivation: Measures the student’s willingness to make the sacrifices

needed to achieve academic success.

• Coordinator Report, and includes a stanine score for each student regarding: – Dropout proneness– Predicted academic difficulty– Educational stress– Receptivity to institutional help

• Specific Recommendations for Action are provided for each student who completes the College Success Inventory.

• These action statements are rated on a scale of one to ten.

• They are used to encourage steps that the student can take to accomplish their goals.

The Student Guide: A comprehensive book that provides students support for the online content – with two-page spreads for each assignment.

Examples: One-step-at-a-time examples provide students with “just-in-time” help on every assignment.

Visualized and Interactive Concepts: Visualized because math is a visual language. Interactive so students see the patterns.

Immediate feedback: Students receive feedback on every problem – while tracking their progress.

Adaptive Assignments: Every problem is assigned by matching difficulty (red bar) with student progress (green bar).

Mastery: Assignments are complete when a student reaches mastery. Mastery levels can be set by the faculty.

Progress: Students can track their own progress for student-centered learning. The green bar charts progress and the blue bar charts efficiency (% of correct answers) for every assignment.

Progress: A comprehensive, continuously updated progress report of class and individual work - providing a full range of data all the way down to every student’s work on each problem.

Integrated Gradebook: An online “traditional-style” Gradebook provides visual up-to-the-minute data.

Tracking students by e-mail: Weekly and on-demand e-mails make it easy to follow the progress of individual students and the class as a whole.

Results for Fall 2006Course #

Students% A-C

% D, F, W Fall to Spring %

Develop. Math Enable 82 76% 23% 80%

Non Enable Developmental 182 68% 32% 78%

Introductory Algebra Enable 40 77% 22% 88%

Introductory Algebra Non Enable

47 53% 47% 74%

Power of YOU Students 123 Mean GPA 2.4 85.3%

All Students 5296 63%

Results for 2006—2007

Course # Students

% A-C % D, F, W Fall to Spring %

Develop. Math Enable

140 76% 23% 80%

Non Enable Developmental

304 65% 35% 78%

Introductory Algebra Enable

99 70% 30% 88%

Introductory Algebra Non Enable

77 55% 45% 74%

Next Steps

1) Enhance Early Alert Referral System (EARS) online system to facilitate usage

2) Continue use of Enablearning and College Student Inventory with increased collaboration in high schools

3) Monitor student retention efforts

Saint Paul College-A Community & Technical College

Thank you!Thank you!

www.saintpaul.eduwww.saintpaul.edu