Building Blocks of Data-Driven Academic Advising Approaches

What is the importance of Data-Driven Academic Advising? Intentional approaches and strategies Accountability Assessment of effectiveness Improvement of performance Student satisfaction

Retention and Data-Driven Advising The direct result of a data-driven approach is the success and the improvement of retention rates of students under your caseload.

Some Retention Definitions Graduation rates of specific cohorts Persistence rates from one semester to the next Successful transfer rates from one institution to the other Recovery of students from academic probation

Definition of Attrition Attrition includes both voluntary leave such as withdrawal from a course or a semester and involuntary leave such as academic dismissal.

A Look at Statistics! Only 59% of full-time, first-time Bachelor degree seeking students who are enrolled in fall 2005 at 4-year institutions in United States completed their degree by the year 2011 (Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 2012)

Importance of Academic Advising to Student Retention Academic advising represents a referral hub to other institutional resources. However, surprisingly it is the single most underestimated service in higher education institutions (Light, 2001). The importance of academic advising to student retention is yet to be explored and institutionalized through effective data-driven programing.

Steps for Turning Data Into Academic Advising Strategies Define your sources of data Look for specific patterns in data Identify the sources that you refer our students to Define your Academic Advising Strategies

Step 1: Define Your Sources of Data Look at what data you have and what you still might need Does your College/ Department /institution provide you with any data about the incoming cohorts?

Sources of Data Institutional Data Unit-specific data Institutional Surveys Early Alert Programs

Institutional Data High school GPA Cumulative GPA Courses with high rates of grades D, F, W, I Participation in Programs and Services Student Characteristics: gender, age, employment outside the institution, first generation students

Unit-Specific Data Focus groups with students who belong to your college/department/unit Number of visits of students to your unit/department/center Unit-specific student satisfaction surveys Chats with your colleagues

Institutional Surveys National Survey of Student Engagement NSSE College Student Inventory (CSI) Student Satisfaction Survey SSS

Early Alert Programs Ellucian Course Signals Grades First Star Fish Appointment Manager

Step 2: Look for Specific Patterns in Data What is the data showing you: How many students do you have under your case load? Are there specific group/s of students who are at risk? Who really needs to be served?

Patterns in Data How many of your students are: First year students Students enrolled in courses with high DFWI rates First generation students Commuter students Employed students Students with family responsibilities Married students Students who failed a course twice On probation

Step 3: Identify the Sources that you Refer Your Students to List the programs/services on your campus that you already have in place? Which are the top 5 programs/services your students are likely to be referred to?

Referral Sources on your Campus Counseling Center Faculty and department heads Registration Department Office of Admission Enrollment Management Graduate teaching assistants Student learning support centers Residence hall coordinators (RHCs) Success coaches Financial Aid Career Service

Step 4: Define your Academic Advising Strategies What should be your strategies for improvement: Define your goals What is realistic?

Examples of Retention Goals Increase the rate of students recovering from academic probation from 42% to 52% by a specific date Increase the number of student who return for academic advising Increase opportunities for students to meet and/or visit with faculty Connect students to resources Identify gap between expected rate and actual rate and normalize first year lower performance Gather data during the first term on students on probation and institutional resources that could help them

Key Performance Indicators? Increase in GPA Increase in student satisfaction Increase in retention rates Increase in graduation rates

Conclusion and Final Thoughts There might be a wealth of data at your fingertips. Use it to find out what kind of support students need. “Students are most likely to persist and graduate in settings that provide academic, social, and personal support.” Vincent Tinto Distinguished University Professor Syracuse University

Thank you!

Presenter Contact Information Dr. Selma Haghamed shaghamed@hotmail.com

Resources

Retention Theories that are closely connected to Gulf-Arab Institutions Reasons for student departure from institutions of higher education Commuter students needs Challenges faces by first generation students Who are the non-traditional students and what are their needs

Success and Retention Resources Retention Article Haghamed, S. (2014). The Impact of Academic Advising on the Retention of First-year Students in a Gulf-Arab University retrieved Jan 19th 2015 from: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1221&context=cehsdiss Retention Journals Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice NACADA Journal First Year Journal Data Centers QU OIPD Data Warehouse/Cognos Center for Higher Education Data and Statistics Center for the Study of College Student Retention IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics Data websites: U.S. Department of Education Common Data Set (CDS) College Scorecard website http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/retain_2014.pdf

Success and Retention Resources Most Famous Retention and Success Books Braxton, J. M., Hirschy, A. S. and McClendon, S. A. (2004). Understanding and reducing college student departure. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press Bean, J. P. (1990). Why students leave: Insights from research. In D. Hossler, J. P. Bean, & Associates (Eds.), The strategic management of college enrolments San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Gordon, V. N., Habley, W. R., Grites, T. J. & Associates. (2008). Academic advising a comprehensive handbook. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-BASS. Ishler, J. L. C., & Upcraft, M. L. (2005) The keys to first-year student persistence. In M. L. Upcraft, J. N. Gardner, B. O. Barefoot, & Associates (Eds.), Challenging and supporting the first-year student: A handbook for improving the first-year of college. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. J., Whitt, E. J. & Associates. (2005). Student success in college: Creating conditions that matter. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students (Vol. 2). K. A. Feldman (Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Seidman, A. (2012). College student retention (2nd ed.). Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. Tinto, V. (2012). Completing college: Rethinking institutional action. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.