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The Center for Achievement, Retention, and Student Success (CARSS) is a
comprehensive program that addresses retention of freshmen and transfer
students in STEM fields at the University at Albany-State University of New
York (UAlbany).
We utilize a holistic model reliant on the creation of learning communities
through group study and support. We have met the original program goals
of: sustainability, institutionalization, provision of peer tutoring and
peer/staff mentoring, ongoing project evaluation, and dissemination.
The program continues to grow as evidenced by stakeholder driven
increases in the number of tutoring sessions from 109 in year one to 645
by the end of year three. To accommodate UAlbany STEM student
population needs, the CARSS program has made >110 appointments of
STEM tutors who offer tutoring assistance to STEM tutees. As a result, pass
rates in key gateway courses have steadily improved. For example, the pass
rate in Organic Chemistry I increased by 9% in year one and by 18% in year
two, while the year one pass rate in General Chemistry I increased by 7%.
Features of CARSS project sustainability include the following:
I. It has a dedicated permanent fully furnished space from which to
operate
II. UAlbany has committed to continuing the CARSS program coordinator
staff line
III. UAlbany has committed $150,000.00 annually in support of the CARSS
program at the termination of the grant funding period
Goals
Increasing the 4-year graduation rates of a cohort of freshman with
declared STEM majors
Increasing the 2-3 year graduation rates of transfer students entering
into UAlbany in their junior year
Institutionalizing the Center for Achievement, Retention and Student
Success (CARSS)
Increasing retention of historically underrepresented students in STEM
majors
Creating and supporting learning communities
Strategies
Provision of free tutoring in STEM gateway courses
Provision of review/recitation sessions
Creation of an on-campus home
Establishment of a STEM Tutors training course
Aggressive dissemination: website (www.albany.edu/carss); brochure;
faculty in-class support; participation in new student orientations
Establishment of a bona fide, furnished, dedicated center space
Securing financial commitment from the University Administration to
permanently support tutor and coordinator salaries
In the course of implementing the Center’s various programmatic elements, the necessity of early identification of STEM students who were “at-risk” of not being retained in their major became very apparent. To investigate this, we sought to:
1. Evaluate various early indicators that could be used to identify “at-risk” STEM majors at UAlbany
2. Determine the correlation between student course grades and their use of CARSS services (i.e. frequency of visit, duration of each visit and time in the semester of first visit)
3. Determine the extent to which CARSS has served “at-risk” students.
NOTE: The data used in this study were derived from students enrolled in General Chemistry I and II, and Organic Chemistry I and II, over the course of two academic years. These are critical gateway courses in the majors under study.
Lack of instructor buy-in can be a significant roadblock to early intervention
Although the data indicates that student participation in CARSS could be
increased through incentivization, poor instructor buy-in stymied the
effectiveness of this approach
Lack of incentivization of instructor involvement limits the ability to exploit
the findings towards the goal of enhancing “at-risk” student performance.
DUE-0756985
Principal Investigator
Rabi A. Musah
Co-Investigators
Denise M. McKeon
Hua Shi
Project Evaluator
Patrice Lancey—Market
Research Analysis LLC
Project Program Coordinator
Dianne E. Jester
CARSS
Center for Achievement,
Retention, and Student
Success
CARSS Investigators, Program Coordinator
and Tutor Staff—Spring 2011
CARSS website
Before the semester begins
• Identify STEM majors enrolled in General Chemistry I (CHM120) and Organic
Chemistry I (CHM220) with a cumulative GPA of <2.5.
• Work with faculty to incentivize CARSS tutoring participation at the start of
the semester for students with a GPA of <2.5. For optimal impact, this
should occur during the first half of the semester.
• Require at-risk students to attend 5 or more tutoring sessions at CARSS per
semester.
• Closely monitor the academic progress of “at-risk” students enrolled in
General Chemistry I (CHM120) and Organic Chemistry I (CHM220).
After the first exam
Use a first exam cut-off of B- or below to identify “at-risk” students. This will
flag those who may not have met the <2.5 GPA “at-risk” criterion, but who
would benefit from CARSS tutoring early in the semester.
Influence of CARSS participation on performance in General Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry II
Performance in first semester of a two semester course as an “at-risk” indicator
Cumulative GPA as an “at-risk” indicator of student performance in General Chemistry I & II
Cumulative GPA as an “at risk” indicator of student performance in Organic Chemistry I & II
SAT math scores are not a good identifier of “at-risk “status in General Chemistry & Organic Chemistry
Early participation in CARSS positively impacts final grades in General Chemistry & Organic Chemistry
98%
71%
30% 27% 13%
2%
29%
70% 73% 87%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
(n=51) (n=144) (n=66) (n=37) (n=38)
General Chemistry II grade distribution
Distribution of At-risk Students by Performance in General Chemistry II
Indicator: Introductory Course Performance
At-risk** (n=149) Not At-risk (n=187)
**At-risk students are identified as those who get a B- or worse grade in General Chemistry I.
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
NOTE: We found that the final course grade in General Chemistry I was a good predictor of final course grade
in General Chemistry II. As there is no prior course for General Chemistry I that can be used as a predictor,
our working hypothesis is that the grade in the first exam will be a good indicator of the final grade in General
Chemistry I.
88%
49% 36%
26%
9%
12%
51% 64%
74%
91%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
(n=92) (n=91) (n=97) (n=38) (n=32)
Organic Chemistry II grade distribution
Distribution of At-risk Students by Performance in Organic Chemistry II
Indicator: Introductory Course Performance
At-risk** (n=176) Not At-risk (n=174)
** At-risk students are identified as those who get a B- or worse grade in Organic Chemistry I.
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
NOTE: We found that the final course grade in Organic Chemistry I was a good predictor of final course grade in
Organic Chemistry II. As there is no prior course for Organic Chemistry I that can be used as a predictor, our working
hypothesis is that the grade in the first exam will be a good indicator of the final grade in Organic Chemistry I.
99%
84%
54%
28%
2%
1%
16%
46%
73%
98%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
(n=87) (n=202) (n=170) (n=40) (n=49)
Chemistry I grade distribution
Distribution of At-risk Students by Performance in General Chemistry I
Indicator: Cumulative GPA
At-risk** (n=190) Not At-risk (n=358)
** At-risk students are identified as those who have a cumulative UAlbany GPA less than 2.5.
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
99% 94%
57% 44%
15%
1%
6%
43% 56%
85%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
(n=115) (n=250) (n=117) (n=45) (n=48)
Chemistry II grade distribution
Distribution of At-risk Students by Performance in General Chemistry II
Indicator: Cumulative GPA
At-risk** (n=131) Not At-risk (n=444)
** At-risk students are identified as those who have a cumulative UAlbany GPA less than 2.5.
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
100% 98%
76%
57%
35%
2%
24%
43%
65%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
(n=26) (n=93) (n=55) (n=21) (n=40)
Organic Chemistry I grade distribution
Distribution of At-risk Students by Performance in Organic Chemistry I
Indicator: Cumulative GPA
At-risk** (n=50) Not At-risk (n=185)
** At-risk students are identified as those who have a cumulative UAlbany GPA less than 2.5.
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
87%
73% 67%
54%
40%
13%
27% 33%
46%
60%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
(n=76) (n=174) (n=147) (n=35) (n=40)
Chemistry I grade distribution
Distribution of At-risk Students by Performance in General Chemistry I
Indicator: SAT Math Score
At-risk** (n=146) Not At-risk (n=326)
** At-risk students are identified as those who have a SAT math score less than 550.
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
87%
73% 67%
54%
40%
13%
27% 33%
46%
60%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
(n=76) (n=174) (n=147) (n=35) (n=40)
Chemistry I grade distribution
Distribution of At-risk Students by Performance in General Chemistry I
Indicator: SAT Math Score
At-risk** (n=146) Not At-risk (n=326)
** At-risk students are identified as those who have a SAT math score less than 550.
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
80% 74% 70%
50%
70%
20% 26% 30%
50%
30%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
(n=25) (n=78) (n=43) (n=18) (n=37)
Organic Chemistry I grade distribution
Distribution of At-risk Students by Performance in Organic Chemistry I
Indicator: SAT Math Score
At-risk** (n=58) Not At-risk (n=143)
** At-risk students are identified as those who have a SAT math score less than 550.
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
78% 76% 62%
70%
48%
22% 24% 38%
30%
52%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
(n=85) (n=74) (n=79) (n=27) (n=23)
Organic Chemistry II grade distribution
Distribution of At-risk Students by Performance in Organic Chemistry II
Indicator: SAT Math Score
At-risk** (n=87) Not At-risk (n=201)
** At-risk students are identified as those who have a SAT math score less than 550.
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
27% 16%
32%
40%
34% 31%
5%
2%
2%
11%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
(n = 41) (n = 45)
First half of the semester Second half of the semester
General Chemistry I Course Performance by Time of First Visit to CARSS
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
18% 10%
49% 58%
14% 24%
10%
6% 8%
3%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
(n = 71) (n = 71)
First half of the semester Second half of the semester
General Chemistry II Course Performance by Time of First Visit to CARSS
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
18% 9%
38% 46%
25% 26%
13% 7%
8% 13%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
(n = 40) (n = 46)
First half of the semester Second half of the semester
Organic Chemistry I Course Performance by Time of First Visit to CARSS
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
32%
19%
32%
31%
27%
34%
5%
6%
4% 9%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
(n = 97) (n = 32)
First half of the semester Second half of the semester
Organic Chemistry II Course Performance by Time of First Visit to CARSS
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
Overall Project Implementation:
Identification of At-Risk Students
Recommendations
Challenges
100% 94% 91%
68%
48%
6% 9%
32%
52%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
A, A- B+, B, B- C+, C, C- D+, D, D- E
(n=96) (n=90) (n=93) (n=34) (n=31)
Organic Chemistry II grade distribution
Distribution of At-risk students by Peformance in Organic Chemistry II
Indicator: Cumulative GPA
At-risk** (n=40) Not At-risk (n=304)
** At-risk students are identified as those who have a cumulative UAlbany GPA less than 2.5.
Aggregate data from Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.