pathways to persistence compass project learning community meeting april 23, 2010 thomas brown...

Pathways to Persistence

Compass Project Learning Community Meeting

April 23, 2010

Thomas Browntom@tbrownassociates.comwww.tbrownassociates.com

Pathways to Persistence

•Reflect on the missions of your campuses and their goals for student engagement, learning and success. Why does student success matter?•Review the status of student persistence—trends, theories, myths, realities.•Test some theories through a simulation exercise: Pathways to Persistence

If you don’t know where you are going, you might end up somewhere else….

Lewis Carroll

Universities are doing far more these days than educating students. In fact, the education function is becoming less dominant at many institutions, almost like an auxiliary enterprise….

Louis ParadiseChronicle of Higher EducationJanuary 6, 2004

Colleges and universities are businesses…

students are a cost item, while research is a profit center.

Marty Nemko, Chronicle of Higher Education, 2008

Colleges are in the dream business….

Bridgewater provides students with the finest possible educational experience and boundless opportunities to achieve…

Eastern Connecticut State University affords students the opportunity to acquire knowledge, values and skills necessary to pursue meaningful careers and advanced study, become productive members of their communities, and embrace lifelong learning.

Most of today’s LSC students come to Lyndon for the opportunity to improve their social mobility….

The students who are least likely to attend college gain the strongest economic benefits from holding a college degree…

“Disadvantaged Students May Benefit Most from Attending College”

Chronicle of Higher Education April 1, 2010

You gotta be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.

Yogi Berra

Flagship public universities have become less accessible to low-income and students of color.

Education Trust, 2007

Mission

Answers the question:

Why does this college exist?

Statement of Commitment

As a member of the University,I pledge to help members of the community to realize their potential….

UMPI

BSC is strongly committed to serving the region’s needs and is most committed to students who lack the educational and cultural opportunities available to their wealthier counterparts.

The Mission of BSC About the College

Lyndon State College prepares every student for personal and professional success….

Lyndon State College Mission Statement

Lyndon State College prepares every student for personal and professional success

Colleges are in the future business….

Teachers touch eternity. They never know where their influence stops.

Henry Adams

Although faculty are formally designated as teachers, there are circumstances where others in the campus community are also teachers….

Professor Burns Crookston,

University of Connecticut

It takes a campus community to support student achievement and success….

Increasing student persistence is a source of increasing concern in higher education…

Higher retention rates matter to policy makers, including federal and state legislators, who have a concern about low college graduation rates.

USA Today, 10/12/05 (page 6D)

The University of Maine-Presque Isle has been committed to retention issues for many years through a wide variety of strategies….

Eastern Connecticut State University has recently implemented its new Strategic Plan, which has a primary objective of strengthening retention and graduation for all Eastern students….

About The College

Less than 60% of students earn a degree from their first institution of enrollment.

One Step From the Finish LineThe Education Trust, January 2005

77% of high income students

54% of low income students

graduate in six years.

The Education Trust, January 2005

National Collegiate Dropout and Graduation Rates

ACT Institutional Data Questionnaire, since 1983

1700 two-year and four-yearinstitutions.

2008 Institutional Data File

National Graduation Rates*

Overall 46.2% MA Public 38.8Traditional (960-1070 SAT) 37.8Liberal (870-990) 35.0

* Graduation in 5 years for BA/BS

Source: ACT Institutional Data File. 2008

Graduation Rates*MA Public 38.8Traditional (960-1070 SAT) 37.8Liberal (870-990) 35.0ECSU (mean SAT 1005) 45.7BSC (mean SAT 1015) 42.2LSC (mean SAT 915) 37.8UMPI (n/a) 28.2

* 5 year graduation rate

Source: Education Trust College Results On-line

The New American University measures its academic quality by the education its graduates received rather than by the academic credentials of the incoming freshman class….

ASU: A New American University

Three types of attrition

•Expected and justified

•Stopping out

•Unnecessary and preventable by institutional interventions

Three types of attrition

•Expected and justified

•Stopping out

•Unnecessary and preventable by institutional interventions

Three terms used interchangeably

•RETENTION•ATTRITION

•PERSISTENCE

RETENTION

The process of holding or keeping in one’s possession.

The process or state of

being gradually

worn down.

ATTRITION

Migrant Mother, Dorothea Lange

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

[ reproduction number LC-USF34-9058-C]

PERSISTENCE

To continue to exist or prevail, especially where others have not

Why students leave college

•Psychological factors•Environmental factors•Societal factors

•Institutional experiencesWhat about us?

What about me?

Public colleges and universities are far more likely to attribute attrition to student characteristics than to institutional characteristics.

What Works in Student Retention, 2004

We build beautiful campuses,

We hire distinguished faculty,

We develop a challenging curriculum…

…then the “wrong” students show up!Dr. Betty Siegel, Past President Kennesaw State University (GA)

Why do students leave college?

Incongruence

What they encounter is not what they expected….

Often there is a Grand Canyon of difference between reality and what higher education institutions, especially research ones, tout in their viewbooks and on their websites….

Nemko, 2008

Bridgewater State CollegeExpect More Achieve More

EXPECT students to access exceptional growth opportunities defined by intensive engagement with a devoted faculty.

EXPECT a rigorous and innovative academic environment that enriches the learning experience.

What do students expect?

UMPI affirms, as central to its mission:

Close student, faculty and staff interaction in support of intellectual growth and personal development

Why do students leave college?

Isolation

Inability to connect with significant members of the campus community….

A sense of belongingness can really make a difference.

BSC student

Myths about Attrition

•Drop outs are flunk outs

Less than 25% of students leave college because they are academically ineligible to continue.

Tinto, 1987, 1993

Myths about Attrition

•Drop outs are flunk outs

•Pre-college attributes are primary determinants of persistence or withdrawal

What happens to students after they enroll frequently has a more powerful impact on whether they stay and achieve their goals or leave.

Astin; Tinto; Pascarelli & Terenzini

Talking About Leaving

40% leave engineering50% leave biological sciences60% leave mathematics

Why undergraduates leave the sciences E. Seymour & N. Hewitt, 1997

Talking About Leaving

Students with 650+ Math SATs

40% leave engineering50% leave biological sciences60% leave mathematics

Why undergraduates leave the sciences E. Seymour & N. Hewitt, 1997

Transforming Students Through Validation

Success appears to be contingent on whether [faculty and staff] can validate students in an academic or interpersonal way.

Dr. Laura Rendon, 1994

Myths about Attrition

•Drop outs are flunk outs

•Pre-college attributes are primary determinants of persistence or withdrawal

•Financial issues are the major cause of departure

When students cite financial reasons for leaving, it is another way of stating their view that the benefits of attendance do not outweigh the costs.

Conversely, when students are satisfied with their educational experiences, they often are willing to accept considerable hardship in order to attend.

Myths about Attrition

•Drop outs are flunk outs

•Pre-college attributes are primary determinants of persistence or withdrawal

•Financial issues are the major cause of departure

•Retention is a student affairs responsibility.

ALL aspects of campus life can have an impact on persistence or attrition decisions and behaviors.

Promoting student persistence requires an institution-wide commitment.

TRIAD FOR STUDENT SUCCESS

High Quality Teaching

Comprehensive Support Programs

Developmental Advising Program

I assumed the that the most important and memorable academic learning goes on inside the classroom. The evidence shows the opposite is true.

When we asked students to think of a specific critical incident or moment that had changed them profoundly, four-fifths of them chose a situation or event outside the classroom.

Making the Most of College Richard Light, Harvard University, 2001

2009 National Student Satisfaction Report

Conducted by Noel-Levitz, Inc.

• 84,638 public university students responded

What do students expect from their colleges?

7= Very Important 1= not important

National Student Satisfaction ReportFour-year Public Institutions

Academic advising (6.35) Instructional effectiveness (6.33) Safety and security (6.32) Registration effectiveness (6.21) Recruitment and financial aid (6.16) Concern for the individual (6.13) Campus climate (6.12) Student centeredness (6.11) Campus support services (6.07)

Experience is the hallmark of a Lyndon education, linking theory and practice, both inside and outside the classroom.

Effective enrollment management is necessary to manage enrollment pressures and employ effective retention strategies.

Universities will need to augment tuition with other [revenue] sources….

Leading The Way: Pennsylvania State System Strategic Plan, 2004-2009 (pg.3)

Financial Costs of Attrition at Compass U Assumptions · FTE First-year class 745· Annual Tuition & Fees $8900·State Appropriation per FTE $5200· First to second year attrition rate 30%· Second to third year attrition rate 20%  

Attrition Rate Lost Years Lost Students Remaining Revenue

 First to Second 30% 224 4 $12,633,600Year Second to Third 20% 104 3 $4,399,200Year 

Total Lost Revenue $17,032,800

A conservative estimate of loss--Does not include lost revenue from:•Room, board, books, and other expenditures•Recruitment and re-recruitment costs ($500 +/- per student)•Adverse impact of students’ leaving on future enrollments of family, friends, and others

THREE PERCENT (3%) INCREASE IN RETENTION Assumptions · FTE First-year class 745· Annual Tuition & Fees $8900· State Appropriation per FTE $5200· First to second year attrition rate 27%· Second to third year attrition rate 17%  

Attrition Rate Lost Years Lost Additional Students Remaining Revenue Revenue

 First to Second 27% 201 (+23) 4 $11,336,400 1,297,200Year Second to Third 17% 93 (+11) 3 $3,933,900 565,300Year 

Additional Revenue $1,762,500

FIVE PERCENT (5%) INCREASE IN RETENTION Assumptions · FTE First-year class 745· Annual Tuition & Fees $8900· State Appropriation per FTE $5200· First to second year attrition rate 25%· Second to third year attrition rate 15%  

Attrition Rate Lost Years Lost Additional Students Remaining Revenue Revenue

 First to Second 25% 186 (+38) 4 $10,490,400 2,143,200Year Second to Third 15% 85 (+19) 3 $3,595,500 803,700Year 

Additional Revenue $2,956,900

The loss of potential graduates adds up to a problem of central importance to our education system, economy, and society-at-large. We cannot afford to waste the aspirations of countless young Americans.

One Step From the Finish LineThe Education Trust, January 2005

Pathways to Persistence:A Simulation Exercise

ASSESSMENTS

You get the results of your English and Math assessments and you discover...

COURSE SELECTION

As you begin to think about selecting your first-term courses, you find out...

COURSE AVAILABILITY

When you go to register for classes, you find…

CHOICE OF MAJOR

Midway through the first term, your thinking about your chosen major is...

ACADEMIC PROGRESS

During the middle of your

first term...

FACULTY ATTITUDES

Following a class, you approach the professor to ask a question about an assignment, and the professor...

QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION

At the end of the first term, before you get your grades, you feel the quality of instruction...

DIFFICULTY OF COURSES

At the end of the first term, your feelings about the difficulty of your courses is...

PERSONAL FINANCES

The following describes the status of your personal finances...

ROOMMATE RELATIONSHIP

You live in a residence hall and

your roommate…

RESIDENCE HALL ACTIVITIES

You live in a residence hall and have found that activities for residents...

RESIDENCE HALL RULES & REGULATIONS

Your residence hall has a policy on room visitation by the opposite sex and...

STUDENT EMPLOYMENT

You decide to look for a job to supplement your finances and...

SUPPORT STAFF ATTITUDES

Your perception of the attitudes of support staff at this university is…

SUPPORT STAFF RESPONSIVENESS

The last time you went to an office to ask a simple question...

CONTACTS WITH HOME

Last night you called home and...

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

You were looking forward to joining a particular on-campus club and...

SOCIAL LIFE

Looking back on your social life during the first term...

Sum the Scores

+5 + -5 = 0

+5 + -3 = +2

-5 + +2 = -3

ORIGINAL COMMITMENT SCORES for Entering Student Profiles

Student ID # Original Commitment Score

001 +14

002 +21

003 -6

004 -17

005 +35

006 +1

007 -30

008 -2

009 +9

010 0

Group Discussion•On the basis of your entering profile and incident outcomes, would you be likely to return to Compass University?If so, why? If not, why not?

•What incident had the strongest negative impact? Why was it so negative for you?

•What could a faculty member, an advisor, or a staff person have done to reduce this negative impact?

SIMULATION OBJECTIVES

Illustrates that the decision to withdraw

is usually a complex process involving

a series of events which occur over

time, rather than a decision resulting

from a single event at one point in time.

SIMULATION OBJECTIVES

Illustrates that student characteristics

(profiles) combine with

institutional experiences (incidents) to

shape a student’s decision to persist or

withdraw.

SIMULATION OBJECTIVES

Illustrates that similar experiences and

events affect students differently and

that we can respond to students and

their needs if we come to know them

from our interactions with them--in

class, in advising meetings--by paying

attention to small encounters.

We demonstrate concern for students through what we do and how we are as we interact with them.

Demonstrate concern for students through our actions.

Manage “moments of truth.” Act “as if” small encounters matter because they often do.

James BlackUniversity of North Carolina Greensboro

SIMULATION OBJECTIVES

Illustrates that ALL aspects of campus

life can have an impact on persistence

or attrition decisions and behaviors.

Sustained institution-level change supporting increased student success and retention requires on-going collaboration from across the college—including executive leadership and students….

Assumptions Project Compass

Our work has demonstrated that each person has an important role to play in the success of each of our students.

LSC Project Compass Proposal

Tinto’s Theory of Student Departure

SIMULATION OBJECTIVES

Illustrates that careful interventions by

individuals and/or specifically designed

programs can have a positive influence

on students’ social and academic

integration and, subsequently, on their

persistence behaviors.

SIMULATION OBJECTIVES

To encourage and promote an

institutional dialogue about

collaborations that can enhance

programs, services, attitudes and

behaviors that can enhance student

satisfaction, achievement, and

persistence.

At Lyndon, everyone is dedicated to a single, shared goal—the success of each and every individual student. You will find that the minute you enroll at Lyndon, everyone here will be committed to YOU.

A Welcome from President Carol Moore

Poor outcomes will continue unless the University changes to become an institution which is culturally responsive to Native American students.

UMPI Project Compass Proposal

Institutions can’t change.

Institutional/organizational change happens only when individuals take the initiative to create change in their areas of responsibility.

Peter Senge, MIT Center for Organizational Learning

We need to be the change

we want to see happen.

M. Gandhi

Vision

Provides a bridge between where we are today and where we want to be.

Most missions and visions never become reality because people usually underestimate the amount of time, energy and commitment that are required to make a vision real.

Peter Senge, MIT Center for Organizational LearningThe Fifth Discipline

The biggest and longest lasting reform in undergraduate education will come when individuals and small groups adopt the view of themselves as reformers in their immediate spheres of influence.

K. Patricia Cross 2004

Pathways to Persistence

Compass Project Learning Community Meeting

April 13, 2010

Thomas Browntom@tbrownassociates.comwww.tbrownassociates.com