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RetentionatWSU:ResearchandReview1/8/16

ExecutiveSummaryandBestPractices

WashingtonStateUniversityhasanumberofpositiveretentioneffortsinplace,yetretentioncontinuestobeaconcern.Overthepastcoupleofyearsanumberofeffortshavebeenmadetogatherdatatobetterunderstandtheissuesaroundretentionandpersistence.Thisreportattemptstogatherallofthatinformationintooneplace,andlookfortrendsacrossthedata.

Overall,thesedatasuggestsomeareaswherewemightplaceadditionalefforts:

• Supportforstudentmentalhealth• Representamoresupportiveenvironmentoutsideofclass(studentandadministrative

services)• Assistincomingstudentsinunderstandingtheacademicdemandsandensureadequate

supportandinformationregardingappropriatestudyskills,timemanagement,etc.

*Note:MuchoftheresearchcitedhereisspecifictothePullmancampus.Theliteraturesuggestsdifferentstrategieswouldbeeffective,onourdifferentcampusesasissuesatresidential,non-residentialandonlinecampusesdiffer.Therefore,wherepossibleitmakessensetolookatthecampusesseparately.

Thebulleteditemsbelowsummarizethemostnoteworthyfindingsfromdatasetscurrentlyavailable.

• IRresearch:Pullman-Primaryfocushasbeenontrackingfirsttimeenteringfreshmen.PredictivefactorsforretentionatWSUareconsistentwithexternalresearch:

• EnteringHSGPA–GPAsbelow3.0poseafairlyhighriskofnon-retention• FirstGeneration(lesslikelytopersist)• F&RLunchstatusinHighSchool(SES)(highfreeandreducedlunch(>50%atthe

school)arelesslikelytopersist• Residencystatus(in-statestudentsaremorelikelytopersist)• Financialneed<$7,000(morelikelytopersist)

• NSSE2014(n=1251)(AllWSU)o WSUaveragesarebelowInstitutionalpeersforSupportiveEnvironmentandQualityof

Interactions.Takentogetherthesefindingssuggestingwecoulddobetterinsupportingandinteractingwithourstudents.

o NSSEfindingsalsosuggestthat,acrosstheWSUsystem,weneedstudentsmoreengagedinHighImpactPractices(HIP).WhileoverhalfoffirstyearstudentsparticipateinatleastoneHIP,only10%participateinmorethanone,lessthaninstitutionalpeers.

• NSSE2014PULLMANo SpecifictoPullman,studentsarewellengagedHIPincomparisontolegislativepeers.o FirstyearandSeniorstudentsarebelowlegislativepeersforSupportiveEnvironment

andQualityofInteractionsandSupportiveEnvironment.o Lookingatthehighestandlowestperformingrelativetolegislativepeers:

§ Strengths:

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• Engagementwithfaculty:Discussingcareerplanswithafacultymember,anddiscussingcoursetopics,ideasorconceptswithafacultymemberoutsideofclassareamongstWSU’shighestperformingfactors.

• Bothfirstyearandseniorsindicateandmanycoursesincludeacommunitybasedprojectandseniorsindicatethey’veparticipatedinaculminatingexperience.

§ Concerns:• Lackofsupport:Lackofinstitutionalemphasisonhelpingstudents

managenon-academicresponsibilitiesandqualityofinteractionswithstudentservicesandotheradministrativestaffandofficesareamongstWSU’slowestperformingitems.

• Inaddition,forseniors,participatedinaninternship,co-oporfieldexperienceisoneofthelowestperformingitems.

• NationalCollegeHealthAssessment2012(n=3908)&2014(n=4078)(Pullman)o Respondentsidentifyanumberofitemsperceivedtonegativelyimpacttheiracademic

performance.Relatedtomentalhealth,respondentsidentifiedstress(30%),anxiety(21%),depression(12%)and/orrelationshipdifficulties(10%)asnegativelyimpactingtheiracademicperformance.ThesenumbersarealmostidenticaltotheNCHA2015ReferenceGroup

Further,significantnumberofrespondentsindicatednotreceivinginformationfromWSUondepression/anxiety(55%),relationshipdifficulties(67%),stressreduction(43%)orsuicideprevention(67.2%).Inaddition20%ofrespondentsindicatedtheyhadconsideredsuicidewithinthelastyearsuggestingmoresupportintermsofmentalhealthissuesiswarranted.

o Otheritemsidentifiedasnegativelyimpactingacademicperformance,bygreaterthan10%ofrespondentsincluded,lackofsleep(25%),Internet/videogames(15%)andwork(11%).Ofrespondentstothissurvey,lessthanhalfareemployedand30%employedlessthanhalf-time.Again,thesenumbersareverysimilartotheNCHA2015ReferenceGroup

• ENGAGEFall2012o Ifusedasintended,thissurveywouldhelpidentifystudentsatriskfordroppingoutand

allowforincreasedinterventionbyadvisorsorothersupportstaff.o Reviewingtheaggregatedataforthesingleadministrationofthisinstrument,WSU

students’percentilescoreswerebelowthenationalsampleonall10constructs(alldifferencesbeingstatisticallysignificant)withthelargestdifferencesfoundinAcademicDiscipline,AcademicSelf-confidenceandCommitmenttoCollege.

§ AcademicDiscipline–theamountofeffortastudentputsintoschoolworkandthedegreetowhichastudentseeshim/herselfashardworkingandconscientious.

§ CommitmenttoCollege:Commitmenttostayingincollegeandgettingadegree.§ AcademicSelf-confidence:Thebeliefinone’sabilitytoperformwellincollege.

o ThisdatasuggeststhattheincomingclassofFall2012wasnotpreparedfortheacademicrigorsofWSU.

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• LASSI–DeliveredFall2014,thethirdweekoftheterm,to485firstyearstudentsacrossarangeofcourses.TheLASSIisa10-scale,80-itemassessmentofstudents'awarenessaboutanduseoflearningandstudystrategiesrelatedtoskill,willandself-regulationcomponentsofstrategiclearning.LikeENGAG,theLASSIprovidesstudentsfeedbackinwhereaswheretheymaybeweakandneedtoimproveknowledge,attitudes,beliefsandskills.StudentswhocompletedtheLASSIdidslightlybetterintheirfallsemesterthanstudentswhodidnotcompletetheassessment.ThereisnotanationalsampleforcomparisontoWSUstudentscores.WSUstudentsscoredlowestin“Attitude”and“self-testing”

o TheAttitudeScaleassessesstudent’sattitudesandinterestincollegeandacademicsuccess.

o TheSelf-TestingScaleassessesstudents'useofreviewingandcomprehensionmonitoringtechniquestodeterminetheirlevelofunderstandingoftheinformationtobelearned

• EducationalBenchmarkingSurvey(ResLife)?• FirstYearFocus:

o DatafromtheEducationalBenchmarking,Inc.survey,administeredFall2012,2013&2014comparingFreshmaninFYFtootherfreshmen,consistentlythedataindicatethattheexperiencepositivelyimpactsfactorsknowntopredictpersistenceofstudents.

§ Increasestudents’interactionwithfacultyandstaff§ Increasestudents’personalinteractionwithotherpeople§ Affectretentionandgraduationthroughincreasedstudentengagement.

• PropensityanalysisofHD205suggeststhatstudentswhocompletethiscoursearemorelikelytoberetainedbytheuniversity.Takenwiththepre/postdatafromthecourse,threefactorsseemtobekeytotheretentionofthesestudents:connection,valuesandmindfulness(Kidwell,2014).Itisalsonoteworthythatthedatafromthiscoursesshowsasignificantincreaseinpositivementalhealthfrompretoposttest,fiveofsixsemesters,indicatingwecanperhapspositivelyimpactpotentialmentalhealthissuesthroughouracademiccourses.

• ROOTS(History105&305)(PI-JesseSponholzandClifStratton):Dataisbeingcollected,onallcampuses,forstudentswhoreachfirstyearcompetencylevelontheresearchpaperassignment,vsthosewhodonot.Inotherwords,thisdataprovidessomeinsightintotherelationshipbetweenacademicabilityandsuccess.DataforAY2014-2015suggeststhefollowing:

o Studentsfailbecausetheydon’tturninthework,notbecausetheycan’tdotheworkortheirskillsarebelowthelevelofthosewhopasstheclass,suggestingthatretentionisnotrelatedtoacademicability.

o StudentsaremoresuccessfulinclasseswithTeachingAssistants,suggestingmoreacademicsupportisbeneficial.

o Q-valueandfirstgenstatusarepredictiveofsuccess.• VancouverBSSEfindingssuggestthatincomingstudentsmayhaveunrealisticallylow

expectationsregardingthelevelofacademicdifficultytheywillencounterduringtheirfirstyearofcollege.ItwouldbehelpfultoknowifthisfindingisconsistentacrosstheWSUsystem,andlookforwaysforrecruitersandrecruitingmaterialstoaddress.

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Insum,asasystemWSUmaybenefitfrombecomingmoresupportiveforstudents.Weneedtofindmoreandbetterwaystoengagestudentswithfacultyandwiththeuniversity.Weneedtoensureexpectationsofincomingstudentsarerealisticandthatstudentscanaccesssupportwhenlifebecomeschallenging.Wealsoneedtohelpfacultyunderstandtheirroleinstudentretentionandfacilitatemoreopportunityforstudentfacultyinteraction.Inaddition,weneedtodevelopabetterunderstandingofWSUstudentculture,priorities,andexpectationsinordertobestunderstandhowtopositivelyimpactclassattendance,academicintegrity,andretentionandgraduationrates.Lastly,whilethereareanumberofretentioninitiativesinplace,thereseemstobelittleexistingdataastotheeffectivenessoftheseeffortsonspecificgroupsofstudentsidentifiedasleastlikelytopersist.ItissuggestedthatweadoptanassessmentinstrumenttoadministertoenteringfreshmeneachyearandtrackthroughtograduationtocontinuetodevelopourunderstandingofretentionissuesandpotentialsolutionsforWashingtonStateUniversity.

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LiteratureReview&BestPractices

Nationally,despiteaprevalenceofhigh-impactpracticesinplace,graduateratesareflat.

Tinto(1993)describesthreeprinciplesofeffectiveretentiongleanedfromsuccessfulretentionprogramsatdifferentcollegesanduniversities.Institutionalcommitmentsunderscorethesethreeprinciples:

• commitmenttostudentwelfare,• commitmenttotheeducationofallstudents• Commitmenttotheintegrationofallstudentsintotheacademicandsocialcommunitiesatan

institution.

Factorsinfluencingretention

• Academicso Academicpreparednesso GPAandcreditcompletiontrendso Timelinessofmajoridentificationo EducationalAspirationso Hoursstudiedperweeko Successinfoundationalcourses

• senseofbelongingo StudentInvolvemento Fitoftheuniversityo Expectations(brand)o Firstchoiceinstitutiono Perceptionsoffaculty/connectionwithfacultyo Commitmenttotheschool

• Demographicso SESo Firstgeno Raceo Gendero residency

• Health• Financialsupport

Strategies

BestPractices:

• Communicatetoparents,students,facultyandstaffhowtoaccessresourcesandsupportsystemsoncampusandcontinuouslypromoteawarenessofsuchprogramsandpoliciessothatasupportivelivingandlearningenvironmentisfostered.

o Faculty,staff,academicadvisorsshouldattendtotheholisticdevelopmentofthestudent

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• Incorporateintocourseso Social–PsychologicalInterventions(persuasivecommunication)(Yeager&Walton,

2011)§ Senseofbelonging§ GrowthMindset§ Valueaffirmations§ Personalrelevance§ Levelsoflearning§ Meditation

o Civicengagement/communitybaseservicelearningprojectso Internships

• Engagestudentsinthecampusenvironment(studentslivingandworkingoncampusaremorelikelytofinishin4yearsorless(Letkiewicaet.al,2015).

o Engagestudentsinextraandco-curricularactivities§ StudyAbroad§ Researchprojects

• Earlyassessment/interventionof“fit”Studentresponsesjust8weeksintothefirstsemesterwerepredictiveofsubsequentenrollmentpatterns(Campbell&Mislevy,2013).Simplyasking

students“howdoyoulikeithere”canhelpidentifythoseatriskfordroppingout.• Providingoncampusfinancialcounselingcentersandfinancialprograms.(Letkiewicaet.al,

2015)• Formationoflearningcommunitiesandcohortbasedprograms• FreshmanSeminars• Firstyearmentormatching• Earlyalert/warning

o SSCCampus/MyWSU/OBIEE§ Utilizedatatoidentifyatriskstudents§ Targetedcampaigns

• Murkymiddle-“MurkyMiddle”studentsleavelater,buttrendsforeshadowdepartureseveraltermsinadvance.(EAB)

• Highend–graduateschool• Lowend–supportandresources• Successmarkercourses• Studentswithholds/notyetenrolledforthenextterm

§ SuccessMarkers

Advisingpoliciesandpractices(EAB)

• Mandatoryexitinterviewforleavers• Automatedwithdrawaladvising

o Automatedadvisingsurveyprompted;walksstudentsthroughconsequencesandcampusresources

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FacultyRoleinStudentSuccess

• FirstthreeoftheBigSix(Gallup)o Ihadatleastoneprofessorwhomademeexcitedaboutlearningo Ihadaprofessorwhocaredaboutmeasapersono Ihadamentorwhoencouragedmyhopesanddreams

• Facultymentoringandoutofclassresearchprojectswithstudent(s)• Incorporateservicelearningintocourses• Identify/monitoratriskstudents–reachoutorrefertoadvisingstaff

o Classattendanceo Earlyacademicperformanceo Concerningbehavior(e.g.sleepinginclass,undertheinfluence,non-participatory,etc.)

• TeachingInnovation(EAB–separateattachment)a. Activelearning:Increasesstudentengagementandsatisfactionb. gatewaycourses:AdaptiveLearning–self-pacedlearning–increasessupport,c. Bottleneckcourses:Flipped/Hybrid–Increasescapacityd. InnovationandchangebringsriskBarriersinclude

i. risktoannualreview(negativecourseevaluations,increaseDFW)1. re-envisionevaluationofteaching2. Revisetenureguidelines

ii. Timetore-envisiondetractsfromtimetoresearchiii. Needanexitstrategy–whatifinnovationfailsiv. Whatifthetechnologydoesnotwork

e. Promotionofcollaborative/cooperativelearning

Removecurricularbarrierstocompletionanddecreasetimetograduation(EAB):

• Allowstudentstoenrollincoursesformultiplesemesters• AcceleratedDegreePathways• Competency-basededucation• Semesteralternatives

o Alabama’s10wkredirectcourseforstudentsidentified“atrisk”thefirst5weeksoftheterm.

o Developmentalcoursesofvaryinglengtho StrategicallyutilizeexistingWSU3-wek(intersession,wintersessionandmaymester)to

delivergateway&highdemandcourses.o WSUSpeech&HearingSciencesofferssignlanguage201&202each4weeksbackto

backinonetermallowingstudentsto• PriorLearningAssessment

AnexampleofaninnovativeinitiativehappeningatWSUTri-Cities:

ProjectOverviewWSUTri-Cities,PascoSchoolDistrictandLIGOwillcollaborateonacontinuationoftheCollaboratory’soriginalSTEMFlicksproject.WSUTCDigitalTechnologyandCulture(DTC)studentswillproducetwo5-7minutevideosfortheproject,oneeachduringthespringsemestersofthe2016and2017

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academicyears.WSUTCstudentsinphysicsandeducationwillsupportthemakingofthefilmsbyrespectivelycontributingsciencecontentexpertiseandthedevelopmentofweb-basedteachersupportmaterialstoaccompanythevideos.HighschoolstudentsfromthePascoSchoolDistrict,workingwiththeguidanceofaPSDteacherwhowillserveaspartoftheprojectteam,willplayleadrolesinthestorylinesofthevideos.LIGOHanfordObservatorywillserveasthefilminglocationforbothvideos.ThePSDstudentswillnarratethevideoson-siteatLIGO,interactingwithLIGOscientists,engineers,andstudentemployees(bothofwhomarecurrentlyWSUTCstudents)totellstoriesthatillustrateNextGenerationScienceStandardsScienceandEngineeringPracticesinthecontextofcuttingedgeastrophysicsresearch.PSDhighschoolscienceclassroomswillserveastestsitesforthevideos,withteachersandstudentsprovidingbeta-testfeedback.Uponcompletionandevaluation,thevideoswilljointheCollaboratorySTEMFlickswebcollectionandwillbeadvertisedtoallCollaboratoryconstituencies.STEMFlicksIIwillalignwiththeobjectivesandmethodsoftheoriginalSTEMFlicksproject,leveragingPNNL’sSTEMFlicksexpertiseasfullyaspossiblethroughface-to-faceconsultationsandthroughtheextensivedocumentationthattheSTEMFlicksteamhascreated.https://ligo.caltech.edu/WAhttps://www.midcolumbiastem.org/Pages/Flicks.aspx

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RetentionInitiativeatWSU(ascompiledbyJermanRose–thisisaworkingdocument)

Name Activity Whydowethinkthiswillwork?

Howdowemeasuresuccess?

Measures WhoisinCharge?

StudentsGraduate

PASS Freshmanseminar

TOPS multiple

PassporttoCollege multiple

Globalleadership courses

UndergradResearch

SURCA postersessions

WritingProgram tutors

PAWS multiple

CalculatedSuccess bootcamp goodmathisessentialforsuccess

WeekofWelcome multiple

SaveaSeat earlycertification studentssecurethattheywillgetwhattheywant

Automaticenrollmentfreshmancourses

CougarSuccesssite

Courseredesigngrants courseredesign improveDFWrates DFWrates TeachingInnovationSeries

workshops ifteachersareuptodatethey'llbemoreeffective

TestKitchen Accesstoteachingtechnology

SuccessCollaborative Advising earlywarningallowsremediation

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TeachingAcademy

Studenttechtools(multiple)

multiple studentscontroltheirprogram

LASSI

Onlineadvisingtools

Biologycourses

HD250 Skillandconfidencebuilding

studentsdropoutfromlackofskillsandconfidence

RAEducationDirectors intervenemidterm

ifstudentsgethelpthey'llpersist

ASCCTutoring scheduledtutoring ifstudentsgethelpthey'llpersist

HealthandWellnessworkshops

multiple ifstudentsgethelpthey'llpersist

URECprograms multiple activestudentsgetbettergrades

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References:

Braxton,J.&Mundy,M.(2001-2002).Powerfulinstitutionalleverstoreducecollegestudentdeparture.J.CollegeStudentRetention,3(1)91-118.

Nora,A.(2001-2002).ThedepictionofsignificantothersinTinto’s“RitesofPassage”:Areconceptualizationoftheinfluenceoffamilyandcommunityinthepersistenceprocess.J.CollegeStudentRetention,3(1)91-118.

Campbell,C.&Mislevy,J.(20012-2013).Studentperceptionsmatter:Earlysignsofundergraduatestudentretention/attrition.J.CollegeStudentRetention,14I(4),467-493

Hoffman,M.,Richmond,J.,Morrow,J.,&Salomone,K.(2002-2003).Investigating“senseofbelonging”infirst-yearcollegestudents.J.CollegeStudentRetention,4(3),227-256

Findingsfromthisinvestigationindicatethat“senseofbelonging”totheinstitutionstemsfromperceptionsof“valuedinvolvement”inthecollegiateenvironment.Thisperceptionof“valuedinvolvement”appearspredicatedon:1)establishingfunctionallysupportivepeerrelationships–“functional”intermsoftheabilityoftherelationship(s)todirectlyaidstudentsinmeetingthechallengesandchangesoftheirnewenvironment:and2)thebeliefthatfacultyarecompassionateandthatthestudentismorethanjustanotherfaceinthecrowd.

ScalingLearningInnovations:FromEarlyAdopterstoCampus-Wide.EducationAdvisoryBoard,2015(Attachment1:InnovationsinBrief)

MeditationReferences:

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-013-0199-5#/page-2

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130409131811.htm

Johnson,S.K.,Goolkasian,P.&David,Z.(2010),Mindfulnessmeditationimprovescognition:evidenceofbriefmentaltraining.ConsciousnessandCognition:AnInternalJournal,19,597-605

Moore,A.&Malinowski,P.(2009).Meditation,mindfulnessandcognitiveflexibility.ConsciousnessandCognition,18,176-186.

Shapiro,S.L.,Brown,K.W.,&Astin,J.(2011).Towardtheintegrationofmeditationintohighereducation:Areviewofresearchevidence.TeachersCollegeRecord,113,493-528.