Undergraduate Student Success and Retention

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Undergraduate Student Success and Retention

• Board of Governors Update
• May, 2007

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Purpose

• To update the Board of Governors on student
  success and retention initiatives implemented
  Fall, 2006

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Strategic Vision

• What We Teach
• Meaningful up-to-date curricula, based on
  carefully articulated learning outcomes
• How We Teach
• Teachers use best practices in their teaching
• Enrichment
• Students engage outside the classroom in a campus
  environment that encourages academic success
• Student Support
• Services and programs geared to enhance student
  success

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Guiding Principle
SUCCESS
Responsibility
SUPPORT
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Initiatives F06

• Presidents Faculty Task Force on Retention
• Early Intervention Advising and Support
• Learning Communities
• Orientation and iStart
• Math Initiatives
• Policy Changes

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Presidents Faculty Task Force on Retention

• Charge
• Make recommendations to the university in Fall,
  2007.
• Co-Chairs
• Dr. Joseph Dunbar, Physiology, School of
  Medicine
• Dr. Lisa Rapport, Psychology, Liberal Arts and
  Sciences

Develop recommendations to achieve substantial
increase in student retention and graduation
rates overall and for particular sub-groups of
students. Consider faculty issues, policy
issues, programmatic changes, and other ideas as
appropriate.
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Presidents Faculty Task Force on Retention

• Organization
• College/school retention committees appointed to
  look at actions that can be taken at the
  college/school level
• Liaison Committee (13 members representing all
  schools and colleges and the Academic Senate)
• Coordinates the suggestions and input from the
  faculty, schools/colleges, and Advisory Committee
• Develop the final report
• Advisory Committee (21 members faculty
  volunteers)
• Central resource for generating ideas about
  problems and potential solutions. Develop
  specific program, policy, and action plan
  suggestions

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Early Intervention Advising and Comerica
Academic Success Center

• Outreach
• First-time students
• June and July, 06 - Newly admitted first-time
  students received personalized invitations from
  advisors to come and meet with them during
  Orientation and to set up individual appointments
  to discuss their academic plan at WSU
• positive response from students and parents

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Early Intervention Advising and Comerica
Academic Success Center

• Outreach
• Students on Academic Probation WayneREACH For
  students who fall below a 2.0 GPA after their
  first term (Started June, 2006)
• Complete Motivated Strategies for Learning
  Questionnaire (MSLQ)
• WayneREACH checklist (along with MSLQ) pinpoints
  problem areas
• Special Advising sessions study issues, course
  selection

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Early Intervention Advising and Comerica
Academic Success Center

• Early Academic Assessment (Midterm notification
  by faculty to students regarding academic
  concerns Homework, Exams/Quizzes, Lab work,
  participation, Attendance)
• Enhanced the existing EAA program for Fall, 2006,
  in several ways
• 390 FTIAC students with EAA notices received
  follow-up messages in October to see their
  academic advisors
• Free Blackboard course Success 101 put on line
  for EAA students
• Student survey

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EAA Survey Results
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EAA Survey Results
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EAA Survey Results
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Early Intervention Advising and Comerica
Academic Success Center

• SUCCESS 101
• Results for Pilot Program Fall, 2006
• Blackboard site includes modules on test-taking,
  reading skills, time management, concentration,
  note-taking, writing skills, vocabulary, memory
  skills, professional exam review, problem solving
  skills
• 4029 hits to Blackboard site
• 508 individual students
• 80 explored site beyond one contact

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Learning Communities

• What are Learning Communities?
• communities organized along curricular lines,
  common career interests, avocational interests,
  residential living areas, and so on. These can
  be used to build a sense of group identity,
  cohesiveness, and uniqueness to encourage
  continuity and the integration of diverse
  curricular and co-curricular experiences and to
  counteract the isolation that many students
  feel.
• Astin, 1985, Achieving Educational Excellence

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Learning Communities

• Vision for WSU Learning Communities
• To support Wayne State Universitys commitment
  to student learning and retention, the Learning
  Community Initiative seeks to enhance our
  undergraduates experience by providing all
  interested students dynamic, focused communities
  in which students, staff, and faculty learn and
  grow together.

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Learning Communities

• All programs that are denoted as learning
  communities must address the following
• having clearly delineated academic and social
  goals
• involving faculty and academic staff
• having a well thought-out plan to assess the
  achievement of both the academic and social goals
• having the support of the responsible
  administrative unit(s) and a plan for
  sustainability

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Learning Communities

• Whats new this year?
• Expanded learning community concept to include a
  variety of programs
• 2005 12 LCs (Approx. 950 students)
• 2006 16 LCs (Approx. 1500 students)
• 2007 21 LCs (Approx. 1800 students)
• Introduced peer mentors for student learning
  teams of 15-20 students
• 2006 (37 peer mentors)
• Expanded faculty participation in learning
  communities
• 2006 Faculty and staff coordinators in every
  LC
• All LCs have clearly delineated student learning
  outcomes and an assessment plan assessments to
  be implemented at the end of Winter, 2007

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Learning Communities

• Fall 2006 Winter 2007 Retention

Learning Community F06-W07 LC Retention Comments
Business Administration 87.0 (LC students - 44) 79.0 (All Business students 533)
Comerica Scholars 88.9 (LC students 27) 61.9 (F05 cohort of 21 students)
Division of Community Education 72.5 (LC students 177) 63.2 (Non-LC students)
Educational Talent Search LC (Trio Program) 87 (LC students 23) New LC in Fall, 06
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Learning Communities
Learning Communities
Fall 2006 Winter 2007 Retention (Contd)
Learning Community F06-W06 LC Retention Comments
Engineering Bridge 88.7 (LC students 115) 88.7 (All Engineering students 205)
Health Sciences 96.1 (LC students 51) N/A
Project 350 Math LC (Trio Program) 86.8 (LC students 38) 89.3 (All P350 students - 75)
Veterans Learning Community 83 (LC students 18) New LC in Fall, 06
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Orientation and iStart

• Continuum Approach All students full time,
  part time, residential, commuting
• Orientation
• Testing ?
• Advising ?
• Registration
• iStart (New Student Program)
• Welcome to campus ?
• Academic orientation ?
• Connection to peers and to academic
  support
• First-year Success
• Orientation course ?
• Learning Community ?
• Academic support services

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Math Initiatives

• Mathematics for Success Pilot Course (Winter,
  2007)
• Special developmental course to prepare students
  to achieve mathematics competency
• 25 students enrolled
• 4 credits 4 hours in class, 4 hours in lab
• Uses direct instruction and EnableMath software
• Team taught by DCE math instructor and Math Corp
  teacher from Detroit Public Schools

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Math Initiatives

• MAT 0993 Enhancements
• Increased intervention of teaching assistants
  with students in the Math Lab
• Workshop sessions with developmental math
  instructor to review for examinations
• Enhanced training of teaching assistants on
  developmental mathematics issues
• Improvements being developed for Fall, 2007
  Hybrid computer plus face-to-face format to
  enhance student-instructor interaction
• Assessments for current semester underway

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Policy Changes

• BOG-approved Withdrawal Policy Changes
  Implemented Fall, 2006
• GOALS Students withdraw sooner, improved
  customer service, better tracking for financial
  aid
• Eliminated unofficial withdrawal (X grade)
• On-line withdrawal process initiated increased
  convenience and efficiency

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Policy Changes

• Withdrawal Policy Impact
• Undergraduate

Grade F2005 F2006 Change
Failure or unofficial withdrawal 7,000 5,012 -28
Official withdrawal 3,682 5,190 41
Incomplete 1,176 938 -20
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Policy Changes

• Withdrawal Policy Impact
• Graduate

Grade F2005 F2006 Change
Failure or unofficial withdrawal 363 215 -41
Official withdrawal 255 455 78
Incomplete 489 495 -1
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Summary

• Presidents Faculty Task Force on Retention in
  place and active
• Retention initiatives for Fall, 2006 implemented
• Initial results show positive impacts on
  retention from Fall, 2006 to Winter, 2007

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Questions ?