Advancing Student Success and Development

Presentation to the F&A Advisory Committee

June 27, 2012

Strategic Priorities 2010-2025

▸ Advance student success and development

▸ Enrich and expand academic programs and research

▸ Improve the learning, teaching, and working environment

▸ Establish a financial resources model consistent with the university’s vision statement.

▸ Develop an infrastructure supportive of the preceding goals

Retention and Graduation Rates as Indicators of Success

▸ Retention and graduation rates are important measures of effectiveness and quality in higher education.

▸ Retention and graduation rates are increasingly part of accountability systems. ▸ Graduation rates are now reported to students and their

parents through the Federal financial aid process. ▸ Colleges and universities receiving federal funds must make

student success data readily available to the public.

▸ Failure to improve retention and graduation rates undermines the university’s aspirations in all other areas by weakening our reputation and financial wellbeing.

How do we compare to our peers?

▸ Our freshman retention rate (75% of students who entered in fall 2008) is just below the average of 77% for our peer and aspirant peer institutions.

▸ Our six-year graduation rates have consistently been in the bottom quartile relative to our peer and aspirant peer institutions, averaging 36 percent over the past five years.

▸ We continue to lose students each year with a 43 point difference between our retention and graduation rate.

▸ In 2010 both the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Huffington Post listed UMass Boston among the colleges with the lowest rates.

▸ High attrition is not cost-effective. Recruiting and orienting new students is costly.

Understanding What’s Going On

▸ Graduation Rates Committee undertook an analysis of the factors that effect student retention and success.

▸ Examined data on students who persists and those who don’t.

▸ Using data from the National Student Clearinghouse, analyzed data on students who left UMass Boston and enrolled at another institution.

Key Finding: Many Students Who Leave Transfer to Other Institutions

▸ First-Time Freshmen: Of the 987 first-time full or part-time freshmen who entered UMass Boston in fall 2009, 253 (26%) did not return to UMass Boston for fall 2010. ▸ 49% of those who did not return, enrolled elsewhere; 38% first

enrolled at a two-year school and 62% first enrolled at another four-year school, including 19% at another UMass campuses.

▸ Transfer Students: Of the 1,756 new transfer students formally matriculated at UMass Boston in fall 2009, 25 graduated before fall 2010 and 385 (22%) did not return in fall 2010. ▸ 35% of those who did not return, enrolled elsewhere; 38% first

enrolled at a two-year school and 62% first enrolled at another four-year school, including 13% at another UMass campuses.

Data source: National Student Clearinghouse; OIRP

Key Finding: Starting On Track Matters▸ Success in the first year (defined by credit accumulation and

GPA) is highly correlated with graduation. UMB students who continued into the second year and were on-track (24-30+ credits/2.5-3.0+ GPA) were significantly more likely to graduate than students who started year two off track.

▸ Returning for the second year is an important milestone on the road to degree completion, but it is not, by itself sufficient. Students also need to accumulate credits, have a sufficient GPA, complete general education and major requirements, and the like.

▸ Only about 10% of UMB students (freshman and transfer students who enter with under 60 credits) start their second year on track to graduate in four years (30+ credits/3.0 GPA); only about a third start on track to graduate in six years (24 credits/2.5 GPA).

Key Finding: Institutional Culture Matters

▸ High performing institutions have strong networking values, foster integrated and continuous connections, humanize the educational experience and are guided by an ethos of institutional responsibility.

▸ UMass Boston welcomes students in, but fails to clarify expectations, provide pathways to degree completion or to send clear messages about the importance and value of hard work, intellectual development, and engagement. Our policies and practices, meant to give students multiple opportunities to succeed, often simply give them more semesters to struggle and pay. While there are a wide variety of opportunities for support and involvement, students have to seek these out. There are not sufficient formal systems to connect and engage students in student life and co-curricular programs.

Graduation Rates Improvement Plan

▸ Start on Track, Stay on Track▸ Early and Often: Connect, Engage, and Build

CommunityTargets for Graduation Rate Improvement

Entering Cohort Baseline Fall 04

Fall 11

Fall 12

Fall 13

Fall 14

Fall 15

Fall 15 w/Residence

Halls

First-Time Freshmen 41% 44% 46% 49% 53% 55% 60%

Freshman Transfers (enter w/1-29 credits) 45% 46% 46% 49% 53% 55% 60%

Sophomore Transfers (enter w/30-59 credits)

52% 54% 56% 58% 60% 62% 62%

Upper-Level Transfers (enter w/60+ credits) 63% 65% 67% 69% 71% 73% 73%

Recommendation 1: Build a culture and systems that enable students to start

on track and stay on track.▸ Develop and implement a system of on track indicators by college

for freshmen and transfer students.

▸ Use technology to identify students who are off-track.

▸ Prioritize the class schedule. Ensure a sufficient number of sections of the courses students need to stay on-track are offered when they are needed.

▸ Significantly increase the capacity of departments to provide advising for declared majors. Hire professional advisors to augment faculty advising.

Other Components of On Track System▸ Placement Testing. Develop a better placement testing system for

all incoming students--earlier and more targeted, convenient, and available for students and more accurately places them into the appropriate coursework.

 ▸ Academic Support Services. Provide college-based and

centralized resources to provide academic support needed by students identified as not on track.

 ▸ Targeted Services for Off Track Students. Develop and implement

a course for re-admission, financial aid, and transfers in jeopardy. ▸ Address informational and customer service issues.

Recommendation 2: Early and Often, Connect, Engage, and Build Community

▸ Develop an intentional first year experience including orientation and college-based learning communities.

CSM Freshman Success CommunitiesOur Foundation PieceFSC’s create a small “home base” in a large and complex institution, where students can experience close engagement with fellow students, peer mentors, faculty, and staff

▸ Program Structure and Scalability▸ Science Gateway Seminar▸ Creation of community involvement

opportunities▸ Co-curricular Enrichment

Outcomes

▸ Scalability▸ In 2012-2013 the number of Freshman

Success Communities (FSC) will increase to 11, serving up to 220 students, which is around 60% of total CSM students

Freshman Numbers Increasing

Outcomes

▸ More students on-track

Cohort ‘09 Cohort ‘10

Cohort ‘11

Credits completed 71 out of 75 41 out of 45

17 out of 15

Outcomes

Outcomes▸ Increased GPA

▸ GPA is approximately .15 better for FSC students▸ High student satisfaction

▸ 86% of students said the FSC helped them better manage their challenging science course load

▸ Over 90% of participants felt very connected to their FSC peers and their Science Gateway Instructors.

▸ 87% of students felt encouraged get to know all of their professors

▸ Three-quarters agreed that because of the FSC, “UMass Boston feels like the right place for me”

▸ Strong faculty participation ▸ 16 tenure-track faculty actively involved in

teaching FSCs

Other Components of Connect, Engage, and Build Community▸ Develop programming that connects transfer students to

the university community.

▸ Identify and support teaching and learning that promotes the retention of freshmen and of transfer students.

▸ Increase need-based financial aid, on campus employment opportunities, and college-sensitive off-campus employment opportunities.

▸ Build residence halls

Implement High Impact Practices▸ These practices lead to higher levels of student

performance, learning, and development than traditional classroom experiences

▸ first-year seminars ▸ common intellectual experiences▸ learning communities▸ writing-intensive courses▸ collaborative projects▸ undergraduate research▸ diversity/global learning▸ service learning ▸ internships▸ capstone courses