Getting  Serious  About  Student  Retention

Advice  for  Early  Implementers  of  Starfish  

Meet  the  crew…..

Scot  BeekmanAssistant  Director  of  Administrative  Information  Systems,  Tech  Lead

Heather  DarrowStaff  Associate  for  Student  Retention

Rebecca  LawsonOpen  SUNY  Concierge  &  Academic  Coach

Who  is  Broome?• Community  College  in  the  State  University  of  New  York  system

• Approx 7,000  students  per  semester  (Fall  2016)– 4,000  full  time  – 3,000  part  time

• Fall  to  Fall  Retention  Rate  of  52.1%    (2015-­‐2016)

“While  we  have  an  excellent  track  record  of  student  success…we  are  always  seeking  ways  to  innovate  and  improve  our  students’  experience.  We  want  even  more  

students  to  achieve  their  academic  dreams…”

–Kevin  E.  Drumm,  President,  SUNY  Broome  Community  College

“I  believe  that  as  an  institution  of  higher  

education,  we  have  a  moral  obligation  to  offer  all  that  is  possible  to  assist  with  a  

student’s  success.    Starfish  has  been  a  meaningful  

partner  with  assisting  us  to  reach  this  imperative.”

Francis  L.  Battisti,  PhDExecutive  Vice  President  &  Chief  Academic  Officer

Getting  Serious…Starfish  • Fall  2015

– Pilot  Group  40-­‐50  faculty  and  staff

– Manual  alerts  &  progress  surveys  campus-­‐wide

• Spring  2016– Campus-­‐wide  roll  out  &  

training  for  faculty  &  staff  • Fall  2016  to  present

– Ongoing  expansion  &  optimization

Achieving  The  Dream• Fall  2016

– Joined  ATD  network  with  the  goal  of  improving  student  outcomes  for  all

– Looking  to  streamline  and  focus  our  retention  efforts

– Move  toward  a  culture  of  evidence.

Skimming  the  Surface:  Our  Early  Alert  History

• Limited  homegrown  early  alert  system  in  BANNER  – Alerts  only,  no  positive  feedback– Notifications  came  from  Learning  Specialist– No  close  the  loop  feature– Only  ¼  of  faculty  using  it

Getting  on  board  with  Starfish• System  Configuration  and  Staffing• Roles  and  permissions• Staffing  considerations• Academic  coaches  (Existing  staff)• EOP,  SSS,  Open  SUNY,  Perkins,  LA  

Overflow• Triaged  intervention  approach• Ongoing  coordination  &  collaboration

Lessons  Learned:  A  Tech  Perspective

• Banner/Argos/Blackboard/Google  Calendar/RR  Advisor(Tutor)Trac• Prioritize  your  data  file  programming• If  integrating  with  Blackboard,  use  BB  user  and  section  ID’s• Imports  are  incremental  only,  full  data  push  available  by  request• If  possible,  base  roles  on  position  number• Multiple  data  files  for  multiple  terms  for  easier  troubleshooting• Once  live,  version  your  change  requests  into  semester  releases

All  Hands  on  Deck!!• Our  strategy  for  improving  campus  buy-­‐in• Starfish  Communication  Plan

– Fish  food  messages– Faculty  emails

• Starfish  training  options• Division  outreach• Faculty  Ambassador  program• Orientation  demo  for  students• Faculty  “Course  Tools”• Faculty  resources/website (www.sunybroome.edu/starfish)

Making  a  Splash  with  Starfish!

• Faculty  usage  &  alerts  have  more  than  doubled  over  our  previous  system

• Greater  than  2:1  Kudo  to  Flag  ratio• Fall  to  Spring  retention  of  alerted  (flagged)  students  has  risen  7%  since  our  pilot  in  Fall  2015  

89.4%91.1%

77.5%76.2%

70.0%

75.0%

80.0%

85.0%

90.0%

95.0%

Fall  2015 Fall  2016

Fall:Spring  Retention  Comparison  First  Time,  Full-­‐time  Students

Students  Tracked  in  Starfish Students  Not  Tracked  in  Starfish

#  of  Students #  Retained %  Retained #  of  Students #  Retained %  RetainedTracked  in  Starfish 710 635 89.4% 650 592 91.1%Students  not  Tracked  in  Starfish 825 639 77.5% 1063 810 76.2%

Fall  2015 Fall  2016

Any  Questions?