Recruitment & Retention:A Powerful Collaborative

Combination

David Lesesne, Ed.D.Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid

Randolph-Macon CollegeJoretta Nelson, Ph.D.

Vice President/OwnerPerforma Higher Education

April 23, 2012© Performa Higher Education, LLC 2011  All Rights Reserved.  Confidential Material: These materials may not be distributed without the consent of Performa Higher Education, LLC

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New Student Enrollment Balance

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Strategic Planning

Strategic Enrollment Health

Strategic Planning

Campus Environment

Campus Environment

Student Success/Retention

Financial Aid

StrategicEnrollmentHealth

Recruitment/Admission

Branding, Positioning,Marketing

Campus Environment

Systems andProcesses

Academic Excellence & Reputation

Student LifeExperience

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Student Success: Complexity

• The results of access to higher education (Bean & Eaton, 2004; Goodman, Baxter-Magolda, Seifert, & King, 2011; Tinto, 2003)

• Pressures of global society (Adelman, 2010; Braxton, Hirschey, & McClendon, 2004; Davidson, Henderson, Knotts, & Swain, 2011)

• Materialism of our culture – better job = better pay = happiness

• Cost of higher education (Kuh, Kinzie, & Schuh, 2005)

• Challenges faced in K-12 education• Diversity of needs: SES, students of color, First-Generation• The answer is not that easy: Only 25% of the variance in first-

year achievement can be explained by prior academic achievement. (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2010; Robbins et al., 2006)

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The REAL Question

Why do students stay?

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A Culture of Student Success

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What We Know From the Research

• Students who persist (particularly from the freshman to the sophomore year) are more likely to do so when they are:– Academically integrated – Socially integrated– Encouraged by family and friends– Attitudinally positive about their financial investment

(value proposition)– Committed to finishing a program and a college degree– Committed to the institution – Performing well academically

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How Do Colleges/Universities Respond?

WHY STUDENTS STAY

Academically Integrated

Socially Integrated

Positive Financial Attitude (Value Proposition)Family Supportive

Strong Goal Commitment

Self-Theories

High levels of Institutional Commitment

FIRST-LEVEL RESPONSE SYSTEMS

Early Alert System

First-Year Experience

Academic Advising

Career Exploration/Placement

Academic Support Services

Honor’s ProgramResidence Life ExperienceFinancial Counseling

Programs, services,

and systems considered operational

“best-practices”

on campuses

experiencing the most

improvement in

freshmen to sophomore retention

rates (ACT, 2010; Cuseo, 2009;

Pascarella & Terenzini,

2005)

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Three Levels of Student Success “Wellness”

• Residential Experience• Living/Learning Communities• Bridge Programs• Multicultural Programs• At-Risk Programs• Integrated Student Services• Predictive Modeling

Strategic

Operational• First-Year Programming• Academic Advising (Emphasis)• Honor’s Programs• Comprehensive Early Alert Systems• Comprehensive Academic Support Services• Transfer/Commuter Student Programs• Proactive Financial Counseling• Career/Placement Center• Peer Mentoring Programs• Multicultural/Diversity Support Services

• Learning outcomes-based curriculum• General Education curriculum integration• Strengths-based Advising• Undergraduate Research• Service Learning• Pipeline Retention • Study Abroad• Sophomore Program

Strategic with Leverage

Transparent and logical institutional systems, policies, and processes (Berger, 2000)

Data driven decision making: assessing student needs prior and throughout enrollment.

Culture of teaching and learning: What will help our students learn? (Bain, 2004)

Admissions and Retention:In Practice

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Admissions and Retention in Practice

• Randolph-Macon College - Ashland, VA– 1250 enrollment, traditional undergrad– Consistent mid 70’s Fr. to Soph. retention– Strategic plan goal of 80%– New Retention Committee

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Own and Share

• Take ownership of admissions role in retention puzzle• Develop EQUAL partnerships with colleagues in

Student Life and Academics

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Perform Data Driven Assessment

• Helps debunk myths• Helps locates disconnects– Identify areas of ownership

• Helps focus action and resources

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Have a bias for action

• Pick the low hanging fruit– R-MC actions• Lead messages about rigor• Early MAP• Advising

– Make best practice your practice

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Monitor Progress

• Watch for new challenges– Targeted Financial Aid Counseling

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Have a Plan

• Next five percentage points will be harder– Higher level of buy-in will result in higher level of

success– It takes a campus, it takes a culture

• Early success builds confidence and openness to new initiatives and new ideas

• Every year is a new year. A different set of challenges and opportunities

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Questions and Answers

Or have we overwhelmed you entirely?

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References

ACT (2010). What works in student retention. Bean, J.P. (2005). Nine themes of college student retention. In A. Seidman (Ed.), College student retention: Formula for student success (pp. 215-244). Westport, CT: Praeger.Bean, J.P. & Eaton, S.B. (2001). The psychology underlying successful retention practices. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1), 73-89.Braxton, J.M. (Ed.). (2000). Reworking the student departure puzzle. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.Braxton, J.M., Hirschy, A.S., & McClendon, S.A. (2004). Understanding and reducing college student departure. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Cabrera, A.F., Nora, A., & Castaneda, M.B. (1993). College persistence: Structural modeling of an integrated model of student retention. Journal of Higher Education, 64, 123-139. Davidson, R., Henderson, L.K., Knotts, G., & Swain, J. (2011, March/April). Where is the space for education? Change, 16(1), 30-36.Eccles, J.S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Motivational beliefs, values, and goals. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 109-132.Finn, J.D., & Rock, D.A. (1997). Academic success among students at risk for school failure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 221-234.Goodman, K.M., Baxter-Magolda, M., Seifert, T.A., & King, P.M. (2011, March/April). Good practices for student learning: Mixed-method evidence from the Wabash National Study. Change, 16(1), 2-8.Hidi, S., & Harackiewicz, J.M. (2001). Motivating the academically unmotivated: A critical issue for the 21st century. Review of Educational Research, 70, 151-180.Hossler, D. (2009). How colleges organize themselves to increase student persistence: Four-year institutions. College Board.Hu, S., Kuh, G.D. (2002). Being (dis)engaged in educationally purposeful activities: The influences of student and institutional characteristics. Research in Higher Education, 43, 555-575.Kuh, G.D., Arnold, J.C., & Vesper, N. (1991). The influence of student effort, college environments, and campus culture on undergraduate student learning and personal development. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Boston, MA. Kuh, G.D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J.H., & Whitt, E.J. (2005). Student success in college: Creating conditions that matter. Washington, DC: Jossey-Bass.

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References

Le, H., Casillas, A., Robbins, S.B., & Langley, R. (2005). Motivational and skills, social, and self-management predictors of college outcomes: Constructing the student readiness inventory. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 65, 482-508.Linnenbrink, E.A., & Pintrich, P.R. (2002). Motivation as an enabler for academic success. School Psychology Review, 31, 313-327.Lotkowski, V.A., Robbines, S.T., & Noeth, R.J. (2004). The role of academic and non-academic factors in improving college retention. ACT Policy Report. Retrieved from www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/college_retention.pdf Pascarella, E.T. (2006). How college affects students: Ten directions for future research. Journal of College Student Development, 47, 508-520.Pascarella, E. & Terenzini, A. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Robbins, S.B., Allen, J., Casillas, A., Peterson, C.H., & Le, H. (2006). Unraveling the differential effects of motivational and skills, social, and self-management measures from traditional predictors of college outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 598-616.Robbins, S.B., Lauver, K., Le, H., Davis, D., & Langley, R. (2004). Do psychosocial and study skill factors predict college outcomes? A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 130(2), 261-288.Schreiner, L.A. (2010, May/June). The thriving quotient: A new vision for student success. About Campus, 2-9.Svanum, S., & Bigatti, S.M. (2009). Academic course engagement during one semester forecasts college success: Engaged students are more likely to earn a degree, do it faster, and do it better. Journal of College Student Development, 50, 120-132.Tinto, V. (2005, July) Student retention: What next? Paper presented at the meeting of the National Conference on Student Recruitment, Marketing, and Retention, Washington, DC.