2011 NASPA Annual Conference Philadelphia, Pennsylvania March 12–16, 2011

Creating Cultures Focused on Retention and Student Success

Monday, March 14 12:15 – 1:30Al Foderaro and Denise Schmidt

Welcome Thank You for Joining Us Today

Al FoderaroFormer DirectorCareer Services & Cooperative Education

County College of Morris, Randolph, NJ

Denise SchmidtDirectorCareer Services & Cooperative Education County College of Morris, Randolph, NJ

Workshop Objectives

• Address new higher education persistence and completion expectations

• Introduce a practical, commonsense student success initiative

Recent Reports

“Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century”, Harvard School of Education, 2011

“With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them: Myths and Realities Why So Many Students Fail to Finish College”, Public Agenda, 2011

New Agenda:

Persistence and completion

New Focus:

Student access and student success

New Urgency:

Move students through faster

External Measures of an Institution’s Success

Student PerformancePersistence

Graduation RatesJob Placements

According to the experts, we need a minimum of 800,000 additional graduates every year for the next 15 years if we are to reclaim our nation’s global competitive edge and ensure our economic security.

2.8 million students enroll in our

institutions each fall.

Who Are They?• 25% attend residential colleges• 23% have dependent children• 60% pay for their own education• 45% of baccalaureate students and 60% of

community college students work more than 20 hours per week

• 25% of community college students work more than 35 hours per week

The Reality Less than 20% of community

college students graduate in 3 years.

Less than 40% of baccalaureate students graduate in 6 years.

Why do they take so long to finish?

Why do so many leave before they do?

The Non-Completers

How did they make their college choices?

• Based on cost (limited financial resources) and proximity (work/family responsibilities) rather than academics

• Completers, on the other hand, chose based on personal and career goals

What is their attitude toward education?

• No specific goal for college beyond better job/future

• Unwillingness to make sacrifices/put in effort

• Drop out ‘tipping point’ - least bit of uncertainty

• Fail to consider/realize impact of dropping out

“Young adults simply can’t chart a course if they don’t have a goal.”

Pathways to Prosperity

Counseling focuses on personal, psychological, social counseling -

not career counseling.

Inadequate counseling has been identified as a precursor to students dropping out.

“America’s current system of career counseling is wholly inadequate and many adolescents receive virtually no useful guidance.”

Pathways to Prosperity

Students Need to Learn How to Make Choices

Both graduates (71%) and non-graduates (68%) wish they had been given more

assistance and support in making college and career choices.

Colleges face increasing responsibility to support students as they make

educational and career choices.

How do we do that?

People’s lives are directly influenced by the choices they make throughout their

lives, and their satisfaction with their lives is determined by the outcomes of the

decisions made along the way.

WE NEED TO BE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS KNOW HOW TO MAKE CHOICES AND

DECISIONS.

Positive outcomes result when students utilize good decision-making skills.

Good decisions are based on the decision-makers needs and wants.

Making good choices directly impacts the quality of a person’s life.

Making a decision is a process.

Learning how to make good decisions is a skill that takes practice, time and effort to

perfect.

If we want our students to be more successful we have to teach them to

develop decision-making skills.

Decision-Making Process

State the Decision Identify Needs and Wants Identify Alternatives Research Alternatives Select Best

Alternative Implement Plan

Curriculum

Location/Environment

Quality of Academics

Cost ($5,000 to $15,000)

Financial Aid (Scholarships)

Size (7,500 – 12,000)

Class Size

Co-op/Internships

Facilities

Recreation/Clubs

X X . XX . X XX X X .

X . X .

. X X XX X X XX . X . X . . XX X . XX . X .

90% 50% 70%60%

Decision Making: CollegeImportant Criteria(Needs & Wants)

AlternativesChoice A Choice B Choice C Choice D

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

What Can We Do?

• Help students acquire the effective decision-making skills necessary to become better decision-makers.

• Create success-oriented environments where students make well-informed academic, career, and personal choices that will result in positive outcomes.

What Can We Do?Develop a comprehensive range of programs and services that will support students and enable them to:

stay in school complete their degrees pursue satisfying careers

Key Ingredients for Cultures of Student Success

#1 criteria: Everyone needs to care - the students, administration, faculty, counselors, and peers

Students need to have respect for themselves, their college, their professors, their friends, and the community and vice versa

Students need to develop the discipline necessary to work hard and they must accept responsibility for their education in order to achieve positive results

Foundation for Cultures of Student Success decision-making skills to empower students

success planning to establish goals

self-reflection and mentoring to guide choices

success teams to provide support

Cultures of Student Success

Embrace “personalization” as the core strategy for successful educational reform

Address individual interests, needs, and abilities in order to set realistic goals

Focus on the achievement of academic and career success for all students

Cultures of Student Success

Stress that students attend class, seek help when needed, get involved, and finish what they start.

Provide students with access to the resources and support systems they need to achieve success.

Cultures of Student Success

Re-engage students who have fallen behind in credits, in skills, and in their attitudes toward learning.

Increase the likelihood that students will choose to stay in college which in turn, will lower dropout rates and improve graduation rates

“Project Success”• County College of Morris pilot project

• 100 students invited to participate (voluntary)

• Goal: retain students on academic probation

• Incentive: Permitted to re-enroll regardless of overall GPA

• Strategy: students identify internal and external factors that prevent academic success

“Project Success” Intended Student Learning Outcomes

Through their participation, students will:

1. Identify their own personal learning styles2. Establish a support network on and off campus3. Improve their decision-making skills4. Develop realistic and attainable academic, career,

and personal goals

Counselor Responsibilities

• Send letters to faculty at start of semester• Review progress reports (sent out 5th week of

semester)• Check mid-semester warnings • Contact students at risk of failing• Send encouraging emails to students • Meet with students 3/4 times during semester

“Project Success”Pre-Launch Activities

• Students sent 2 mailings to explain project and encourage participation

• Each student meets individually with counselor to review application and sign “Project Success” contract

• Students complete Learning and Study Skills Inventory (LASSI)

“Project Success” Launch Program

Note: 95% of the students who signed a contractattended “Project Success” half-day Launch Program.

Goals of Launch Program1. Identify learning styles2. Identify behaviors that prevent them from

achieving academic success3. Begin to establish on-campus support networks

“Project Success” Launch Program Materials

• Project Success Contract

• Book: It’s Your Decision: A Commonsense Guide to Making Better Choices

• Results of Learning and Study Skills Inventory (LASSI)

• College Success Planning handout

• Workshop Info: Learning Styles and Study Skills, Time Management, Decision-Making workshops

It’s Your Decision, A Commonsense Guideto Making Better Choices

• Emphasizes the importance of students making good decisions regarding academic, career, and personal choices

• Establishes a common language among all involved participants

“It’s Your Decision” Workshop Presentation

• Reinforces importance of decision-making

• Presented by counselors, student services staff, or faculty

• Presenter’s Guide script provided

College Success Planner

• Organizes information related to personal, educational, and career decisions

• Students gain assistance from counselors, faculty advisors, and success team members

• Serves as resource for on-going discussions throughout a student’s college experience

Student Reflection Guide

• Resource for mentors

• Group discussion tool on decision-making topics.

• Opportunity for structured self-reflection and analysis.

Personal Success Teams

• Help students identify potential obstacles that could prevent continuation to graduation.

• Connect to supporters and resources necessary to overcome obstacles.

“Project Success” Anticipated Outcomes

Participants would establish stronger connections to the college

60% would be retained

50% would achieve a semester GPA of 2.0 or higher

“Project Success” Actual Outcomes

72% of participants met all requirements and were retained; 54% were still enrolled the following semester.

54% achieved a GPA of 2.0 or higher.

“Project Success” Students Compared to Entire Cohort of 1st Time Probation Students Project Success Students 1st Time Probation Students

54% had GPA 2.0 or better 16% had GPA of 2.0 or better

Potential Institutional Outcomes

• Creates a whole-college culture of improvement

• Accelerates progress toward increasingpersistence and completion rates

• Increase in student bonding activity and behavior

• Students connected to caring adults

• Increased student effort resulting in improved academic performance

Potential Institutional Outcomes• Student satisfaction with the institution will

increase• Campus environment and public image will

be enhanced• Community and stakeholder support for the

college will increase• College enrollment and finances will be

positively impacted

Assessment Measures• Improved student performance, persistence, and

completion rates

• Student satisfaction with outcomes of decisions (key indicator of a college culture focused on student success)

• ‘Holding power’ enhanced as college continues utilization and implementation of successful strategies

Culture of Student Success Program/Course Opportunities

Student orientation programming

Freshman seminars /First-year courses

Career development courses

Career Services, Counseling, EOF, Women’s Center, Student Life programming

Culture of Student Success Populations to Benefit

Students on academic probationStudent athletes

Learning disabled studentsOther at-risk studentsAll Students

Creating Cultures of Student Success

• Start the process immediately; Day 1 can be tomorrow

• Inventory already existing career programs, activities, and resources

• Incorporate reflection guides, planners, success teams and decision-making components

Create Cultures of Student Success

Provide your students with the decision-making skills, resources, and support they need to be

successful.

“We must transform institutions from places where failure is too often the norm to incubators of success.”

Pathways to Prosperity

Contact Information

Al Foderaro afoderaro@ccm.edu201.602.5144

Denise Schmidt dschmidt1@ccm.edu201-572-8572