When Plan B Becomes Plan A: Advising STEM Students Who Aren't Admitted to Their First Choice Major Presenters: Leslie Dowler, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, ohio state university Stephanie ElliotT, University Exploration, ohio state university Brooke Raake, Department of Geography, ohio state university

Goals for this session Objective: Discuss a three step process most students go through after they are dismissed from their Plan A major until they choose a Plan B major. Outline Who we are Why this topic? Why now? Who our students are What our students are going through Our advice based on our research findings Your advice based on your experiences Question and answer Brooke – population we will discuss are re-deciding STEM majors at a large four-year public institution that has a competitive admissions process for individual major programs

Overview: Who we are Brooke Raake, Academic Advisor and Staff Assistant Department of Geography M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs, 2011 7 years of professional academic advising experience Advise ~400 students across five degrees Leslie Dowler, Academic Advisor and Staff Assistant Department of Computer Science and Engineering M.Ed. in College Student Personnel from Ohio University, 2006 8 years of professional academic advising experience Assigned to ~350 students but provides walk-in advising for anyone interested in CSE or CIS Stephanie Elliott, Assistant Director University Exploration M.A. in Secondary English Education, 1998; M.A. in English, 2002 12 years of professional academic advising experience with undecided/re- deciding students Advises ~350 students

Overview: The Ohio state university Ohio State University is a large, public institution with over 200 majors and 100 minors New First Year Freshman (Columbus campus) AU 2015 : 6,978 Total undergraduates (Columbus campus) AU 2015 : 45,289 First Year Retention Rate: 93%-94% Graduation Rate 4 year: 58%-59% 6 year: 83%-84% Admissions at Ohio State is major blind Students are first admitted to the university, then evaluated for admission to competitive majors Students admitted to the university but not to a competitive major are optioned into University Exploration Students can also choose to begin in University Exploration

Overview: Advising at Ohio state Advising at Ohio State University is decentralized Each college provides advising for students in that college All colleges have professional academic advisors Some colleges also utilize faculty advising in conjunction with professional academic advising University Exploration advising is not affiliated with any college It is an independent advising unit under the Office of Undergraduate Education UEXP serves several populations Incoming NFYS Incoming Transfer Students Re-deciding Students

Why is this topic relevant at OSU? Comp Sci & Engineering Computer & Info Science Autumn 2008 Pre-majors 288 132 Majors 275 Majors (BA) 5 Majors (BS) 176 420 pre-majors in Autumn 2008 Autumn 2012 Pre-majors 423 234 Majors 465 Majors (BA) 13 Majors (BS) 146 657 pre-majors in Autumn 2012 Autumn 2016 Pre-majors 638 303 Majors 701 Majors (BA) 33 Majors (BS) 174 941 pre-majors in Autumn 2016 44.6% increase in pre-major enrollment over an 8 year period.

Why is this topic relevant nationally? Science and Engineering bachelor’s degrees grew by 19% from 2009- 2013. (National Student Clearinghouse data, 2015) Research suggests that STEM is one of the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. Nearly all of these jobs require a college degree. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math: Education for Global Leadership. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/stem

Carnevale, A. P. , Smith, N. , Strohl, J Carnevale, A.P., Smith, N., Strohl, J. (2014) Recovery: Job Growth and Education Requirements Through 2020. Retrieved from Georgetown University’s Center for Education and the Workforce: http://cew.georgetown.edu/recovery2020

Research RESULTS Most students chose CSE because they were interested in computers (52.6%) or thought it would lead to a good job (36.8%) Most left CSE because they struggled in the coursework (62.8%) or did not like the CSE courses (14.2%) Most (78.2%) did not have a Plan B major when they enrolled at OSU 95.4% of students utilized their advisor as a resource in the re-deciding process 36.3% of students changed their major to GIS , 13.6% changed to Exploration 72.7% of students are “definitely happy” or “probably happy” in their new major Created a basic survey with 12 questions Sent survey to 76 students who started at OSU with CSE or CIS as their “Plan A” major, were program dismissed or decided to leave CSE during the AU15 or SP16 academic term, and had to re-decide on a new “Plan B” major 23 students responded, so we had a response rate of just over 30%

Acknowledgement Stage Group Advising First-year survey course Major application sessions Individual Advising Ask students what first interested them in their Plan A major Focus on the student’s academic strengths Collaboration with other Advisors/Departments Exploration/Re-deciding Student Services Career Services Majors that are popular destinations for dismissed students -Group Advising: Be honest with students about the competitive nature of their chosen program. -Individual Advising: Is their chosen major what they thought it was? Is there an alternate path available? (e.g. minor) Highlight successful courses while acknowledging lower grades. -Collaboration with Other Advisors/Departments Be aware of campus resources Make appropriate student referrals based on individual conversations

Exploration Stage Individual Advising “What Can I Do With a Major In” Occupational Outlook Handbook My Next Move Cost benefit analysis of potential majors Input vs. Output in previous courses Time to degree Different major, same university vs. different university, same major Collaboration with other Advisors/Departments Career Services Advisors in potential majors Students in potential majors -Individual Advising Appointments Understanding the relationship between majors and careers -Collaboration with other departments Gather information about career outcomes in related majors Learn about majors/careers that may have similarities but are accessible/non-competitive Establish contacts for successful referral process

Decision Stage Individual Advising Use language that makes the Plan B major sound relatable Provide information, not pressure Provide statistics on what employers want Most employers do not require a specific degree Value skills and personality traits in potential employees Collaboration with other Advisors/Departments Advisors in potential minors Students and alumni from Plan B major Employers Perspective from a department that houses many discovery majors that students choose as their Plan B major after their Plan A doesn’t work out -Individual advising Describe GIS as a cross between CIS, Data Analytics, and Design Use software developer, IT specialist, and database manager as example careers for GIS when speaking to prior CSE/CIS majors Assure students they can graduate with a GIS degree in four semesters 1st and 2nd years have time to consider other Plan B options before making a final decision -Provide statistics on what employers want Most employers in computer programming do not required a degree in computer programming; they only require a specific skill set

Student quotes “Do plenty of research and make sure your major is something you enjoy doing (at least a little bit).” “It really is okay to change your life plan. People before have done it and been fine and people after you will do it and be fine. We're only just barely adults.” “There is nothing wrong with changing majors. Just keep doing your best regardless. You never know if your new major might be the major you really love.” What advice would you give other students changing their majors?

Student quotes “Just pick [a major] that gets you out from under OSU’s thumb as quickly as possible.” “Take fun intro classes.” “Talk to your advisor.” “Don’t always listen to your advisors.” What advice would you give other students changing their majors?

Small Group Discussion Please form small groups and discuss the following: Do you see this trend (students starting in STEM majors and then re-deciding) on your campuses as well? What strategies/resources have you found effective when engaging students in each step of the re-decision process? How will you utilize the ideas from today’s session with students at your home institution?

Questions/Wrap-up