Moving the Needle on Retention & Graduation

Rates for Underrepresented Students:

Using Texting to Support College Student Success

Erin Cox, uAspire

Doreen Kelly-Carney & Diane Scott, Academy of the Pacific Rim

Brian Kathman, Signal Vine

Introductions

Big Picture - Defining the Problem

Harsh Realities

• “In spite of our collective belief that education is the engine for

climbing the socioeconomic ladder — the heart of the “American

dream” myth — colleges are now more divided by wealth than ever.” -Why Poor Students Struggle by Vicki Madden, New York Times, 9/21/2014

• At the 193 most selective colleges, only 14 percent of students were

from the bottom 50% of Americans in terms of socioeconomic status.

Just 5% of students were from the lowest quartile. - Anthony Carnevale and Jeff Stroll in Rewarding Strivers: Helping Low-Income Students

Succeed in College, Century Foundation Books, June 3, 2010, Richard D. Kahlenberg

(Editor).

Money

• Very small paperwork issues

• Miscommunication about reward renewal

• Slight changes in family income

• Small reductions in financial aid awards (100s of dollars)

—> students to withdraw

Barriers

• Amazingly resistant to change

• Some growing because of the recession

Summer Melt

“Across the country, 10-40% of seemingly college-intending

students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, fail to

enroll in college in the fall after graduation. This phenomenon is

known as Summer Melt. College-intending students have

completed key college-going steps, such as being accepted to

college and applying for financial aid, and have concretely

signaled their intention to enroll in college.”

Strategic Data Project, Center for Education Policy Research, Harvard Graduate

School of Education (http://cepr.harvard.edu/sdp/resources/summer-melt/index.php)

Academic

• Kids at highly selective schools struggle academically even when they are capable

of doing the work. But UNDERREPRESENTATION itself leads students to respond

differently than their peers

• Different Mindset. Instead of, “Wow, this is a hard class; who can I get to help me?”

they think, “I can’t do this; I am not supposed to be here; I can’t let anyone know.”

• Unusual for underrepresented students to feel comfortable going to professors to

ask for help or teaming up with other students in study groups to manage the

workload

• Underuse of college supports like writing centers, learning centers, time

management workshops, study strategies courses, disability support offices, etc.

• Counter-intuitive, but…

• Especially if 1st gen + low income + ethnic or racial minority

Social/Cultural

• Reduce “connectedness” to other students and campus

community at large (e.g., first gens way more likely to work

off campus and in jobs that are familiar from home like Best

Buy).

• Other students (and their interests or “tastes”) can seem

almost foreign to our students especially as you climb the

selectivity ladder

• Struggle with references to things they have never heard of

from the Economist-reading, public radio listening world

Social Isolation and Alienation

“But once those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds arrive on campus,

it’s often the subtler things, the signifiers of who they are and where they

come from, that cause the most trouble, challenging their very identity,

comfort and right to be on that campus. The more elite the school, the

wider that gap.”

“Hardest was the awareness that my own experiences were not only

undervalued but often mocked, used to indicate when someone was studid

or low-class.” Madden, Barnard

Why Poor Students Struggle by Vicki Madden, New York Times, 9/21/2014

Something lost - enough gained?

“To stay four years and graduate, students have to come to terms with the

unspoken transaction: exchanging your old world for a new world, one that

doesn’t seem to value where you came from. The transition is not just about

getting a degree and making more money.” Much weightier

Why Poor Students Struggle by Vicki Madden, New York Times, 9/21/2014

11

500,000

12

13

3%

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Who is uAspire?

College cost is a barrier that every college-ready young person from a low and moderate income family must overcome. We believe that eliminating this barrier will lead to higher rates of

enrollment and graduation, helping more students attain the economic promise of an affordable college degree that will break the cycle of poverty in this and subsequent

generations.

uAspire works to ensure that all young people have the financial information and resources necessary to find an affordable path to – and through – a postsecondary education.

The nation’s leader in addressing the college affordability crisis

PREPAREFight the misperceptions of college costs that derail students early in their high school careers

7th-11th

Grade

AFFORDGuide students through the

financial aid process, securing financial aid and enabling good

decision-making

12th

Grade

SUCCEEDSupport students throughout their

postsecondary career, helping them reach their goal of college graduation

College

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uAspire works to ensure that all young people have the financial information and resources necessary to find an affordable path to – and through – a postsecondary education.

Directly impact the lives of at least

25,000 young people unlocking

more than $150M in financial aid each and every year (through direct

service in 8 markets and virtual advising)

Influence policy & education leaders to

ensure that, each year,

Millions of students receive the support they

need

Train and support more than 1,000community and school-based practitioners who

will counsel 250,000+ students each year

Our National Growth Strategy:Reach More Than 1 Million Students Annually by 2017

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Three Summers, Three RCT Intervention Designs, All with Measurable Impact

Summer 2011: Proactive Advisor Outreach

Summer 2012: Peer Mentor Model

Summers 2012-2014:Texting Model

Texting for Impact: Summers 2012 & 2013

Targeted college-intending Class of 2012 & 2013 grads (2,200 students total from Boston, Springfield, and Lawrence)

Series of 10 text messages sent throughout summer. Messages customized to each student’s intended college and sent via an automated text messaging platform (Signal Vine)

– Messages provide college-specific information, due dates, and web links for important tasks (e.g., registering for orientation)

– Messages provided the option of requesting 1:1 assistance from a uAspire advisor

Cost - $7/student

Texting for Impact: Results & Learnings

Texting can be used to mitigate “summer melt”: Students who received texts during the summer

after high school graduation were 7.1 percentage points more likely to enroll in college than those who did not.

– For students without defined college plans, the impact was even bigger: 11.3 percentage points. These were students who at the end of senior year either didn’t name a school they planned to attend or were still choosing between multiple schools.

Information provided via text can enable students to take necessary action: 86% of

students reported that the texts prompted them to complete a task they hadn’t yet done, and 85% reported that the texts informed them about something they hadn’t realized they needed to do.

Students are receptive to ongoing text message support: Fewer than 3% of students opted out

of receiving regular text messages at any point during the summer-long intervention.

Can advising happen via text? Yes!

Actual Texting Interaction via Signal Vine Portal Between uAspire Advisor and a Student

Advisor: “uAspire reminder: Fall bill due 8/7. Do u have a good plan for paying ur bill? Need help? Questions about loans? Text us, or visit our walk-in hrs!”

Student: “I saw what my bill is so is that what financial aid takes care of”

Advisor: “Do you know how much your bill is for?”

Student: “3000 & some change”

Advisor: “That doesn't sound like your fin aid has been applied yet. Did you check your email? Check to see if you have any emails from the fin aid office.”

Student: “Okay.” 7 min later: “I figured it out, they need my transcript”

Advisor: “Ok that makes sense. Once they receive this, the fin aid office may have more papers for you to fill out. Be sure to check your email often and let us know.”

Student: “Okay thank you.”

Texting for Impact: Persistence

Expanded work with Signal Vine to focus on first-year postsecondary students.

1st text sent in Nov:

“Hi (NAME), it's uAspire! We're still here for free help affording college. We'll be sending you texts all year, save our # and text back for help!”

Responses received within 1 hour of text being issued:

Texting for Impact: Parent Engagement

uAspire texted 650 parents in Boston, Springfield and Lawrence during Summer 2014. One example of a parent exchange is captured below. The parent wasn't aware that waiving health insurance was a method to reduce her student’s fall bill. She got support via text, took action, and her bill was reduced by $800.

uAspire: Good morning. We will definitely help in any way possible. Have you already waived the school’s insurance?Parent: Not yet.uAspire: That will decrease the bill. If you log onto the student portal or the school website u can access the link. You will need your insurance card at the time.Parent: Thank u…we will.

The following week:Parent: Ok…We’re all set. They had removed 800 so ill now submit the payment. Thks again.

Two-Way Texting Platform

• Anatomy of a Personalized Text

• Technology Traps

• How it Works

Two-Way Text EngagementRelevance = Engagement = Results

2-way messagingProvide students with direct

counseling; answer questions

SchedulingSchedule messages as part of a

campaign, or for an individual student

PersonalizationEnable unique message content and

pathways

Case managementResponses are routed to the

appropriate counselor inbox;

Track histories and interactions

Message Intelligently

Anatomy of a Personalized Text

Element of personalization

Relevant information

Timeliness/urgency

Call to action/next step

Hi! It’s Jess w/ GEARUP. Did u know WV 4year colleges require either

the ACT or SAT? Need to take the ACT? Reg. by Jan 10 for the Feb test

http://bit.ly/1bUHmOs

Technology traps“You wouldn’t just get on a loudspeaker”

One-Way Alerts● A ‘Black Hole’ for communication

● No Support

● Reserve for Emergency Blasts

Download Required● Will not reach everyone

● Very difficult to scale

● Several steps to lose students

Mass Text● Same message for everyone

● Not relevant for many

● Quickly Ignored

Mobile Mass Marketing● Impersonal communications

● Toeing the FERPA line

● Not process & outcome driven

Text Messages Go Out• “Program” of scheduled messages

• Personalized for each student–Campus- and task- specific content & web links in messages

–Messages based on their data profile

Students reply

• Student Replies are routed to the appropriate Counselor Inbox• Each Counselor Portal allows texting with many students at once• Students reply when they need support

A text conversation starts

An interactive, two-way

text conversation

Send reply message

Best Practices How often would you prefer to receive college planning text messages?

Source: survey of students who attended

West Virginia’s 2014 College Goal

Sunday event

Results

Metrics & Measurement

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+11%matriculation

+ 20%persistence

10% - 60%response rates

70% - 90%engagement

Relevance

Results

message intelligently

Academy of the Pacific Rim

Our mission to empower urban students of

all racial and ethnic backgrounds to achieve

their full intellectual and social potential

by combining the best of the East - high

standards, discipline and character

education - with the best of the West - a

commitment to individualism, creativity

and diversity.

Academy of the Pacific RimTexting Pilot with Signal Vine

Academy of the Pacific Rim

• 18-year-old, nationally recognized public charter school in

Boston

• Serve just over 500 students in grade 5-12

• 57% Free/Reduced Lunch; 84% students of color; 80-85% first

generation college students

• Just over 330 graduates, over 90% college going (of that, 95%

to four-year, 5% two-year); matric to huge range

• 95% retention sophomore year as reported by National

Student Clearinghouse

Some Details of our Pilot

• No real summer melt issue, and 95% soph. year retention (as

reported by NSC); wanted to use to dig into retention to

graduation (following up on anecdotal evidence and “gut”)

• 100 alums - graduating classes of 2012, 2013, 2014

• Unlimited texts for period of pilot

• Started in January, 2015

• In “Phase Two” now

Context of Text Messages: Phase One

Relationship/Connect to events

(#10) Put it on your calendar – APR Graduation is June 5th, 6 – 8 pm, you know

where! ☺ Alumni & Faculty Reception to follow. Details TBD. Stay in touch!

– late Feb.

Financial Aid

(#3) One last reminder – get help on your FAFSA renewal from MEFA

(www.fafsaday.org) or uAspire

(https://www.uaspire.org/boston/students/succeed). Don’t miss your FAFSA

renewal priority deadline: [deadline]! – Jan. 23

Context of Text Messages: Phase One

Summer jobs/career help

(#5) February is a great time to plan for summer internships/jobs! See [career

planning office info] for help with leads, resumé, mock interviews,

professional interview clothes, etc. – early in Feb.

Academic Support/major

(#7) All the best for midterms and that tough academic work! Don’t forget

that when you’re balancing a lot, help can be … well, helpful! ☺ [academic

support center] offers great FREE support! Older peers and [multicultural

student center/org. info] can be great resources too! – later in Feb.

Brigett • Class of 2014• GPA: 3.7• SAT CR 510 & M 630• White (daughter of Italian

immigrant), working class, 1st gen• Matric. to four-year public in

Honors program

Results

Richard• Class of 2014• GPA: 3.0• SAT CR 500 & M 570• Latino (Cuba and DR);

“overmatched”; 1st gen• Matric. to selective private

Catholic college as MLK Scholar

Results

Anderson• Class of 2013• GPA: 2.3• SAT CR 340 & SAT M 370• Black man (Haitian-American),

low-income, 1st gen• Went to four-year public through

summer transition program

Results

Context of Text Messages: Phase Two

Summer & long term job/career skills (#2) As you apply for these great summer job/internship opportunities, do you have a resume? If

not, make sure you see your [career center] on campus, or if time is short, check out this helpful

tips – from Emerson College http://www.emerson.edu/student-life/careers-

internships/resources/resume-writing-undergraduate-students and American University

http://www.american.edu/careercenter/Resumes.cfm, plus American U.’s resume template for

undergrads

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lr1qfh6oxf0kbgs/underclassmen%20resume%20template.docx .

Financial Aid

(#5) Money matters. Did your financial aid award change? Do you need help figuring out

why? Remember that we are here to help, and so is uAspire –

www.uaspire.org/boston/students/succeed. Remember that you may not be able to

register for classes if your financial aid and bill are not squared away!!!

Context of Text Messages: Phase Two

Self-care #8) You know what they say about all work and no play, right? Remember to

create that work/life balance: take recreational classes (Ms. Scott took

windsurfing!); go to the gym; get involved in an activity or two (but not too

many!) that sounds fun; take care of your spiritual side through meditation, yoga,

prayer, etc.; check out discussion groups offered through res life or the

counseling center. Ahhh . . .

Academics

(#9) Are you prepared to end the semester strong? Check out the offerings of

[Academic Support Center]. In addition to tutoring and paper-writing help, they

often offer speed reading or time management courses. Check out this example from

Tufts – http://uss.tufts.edu/arc/manage ! Who knew? Get in the know! “Highly-

effective people” use all available resources to succeed.

What We Have Learned/Next Steps

• Having a running list of potential/future texts

• Incorporate our 2015 graduates

• Differentiate by year in college

• Expand our reach and “N” (sample size)

• Connect with academic researchers for robust

study

Questions?

Comments?

ContactErin CoxPresident

uAspire

(617) 778-7195 x121

erin@uaspire.org

www.uaspire.org

Brian KathmanCEO

Signal Vine, LLC

(703) 338-1046

brian@signalvine.com

www.signalvine.com

Diane Scott &

Doreen Kelly-CarneyCo-Directors of College

Placement

Academy of the Pacific Rim

(617) 361-0050 x154

dscott@pacrim.org

dkellycarney@gmail.com

www.pacrim.org