THIRD-PARTY VENDORS FOR DATA ANALYTICS: FRIEND OR FOE? Tiffany Beth Mfume, Assistant Vice President for Student Success and Retention, Morgan State University

Morgan State University Office of Student Success and Retention (OSSR) The largest of four, public historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the State of Maryland Enrollment just under 7,600 students, with approximately 6,300 undergraduate students  Entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation -- the only college or university to earn this designation for the entire campus Listed by U.S. News & World Report as "one of student's most popular universities“ and named by Forbes magazine among "America's Best Colleges and Universities 2016" Identified as "one of the 25 Best Universities for African Americans, Hispanics, and Women" by the Black EOE Journal, Hispanic Network magazine, and Professional Woman's magazine

Morgan State University Office of Student Success and Retention (OSSR) For six consecutive years, Morgan’s retention rate has exceeded 70%. This achievement was highlighted twice in U.S. News & World Report magazine where MSU has been listed as one of the top 12 HBCUs where freshmen return. More than 90% of our undergraduates receive some type of financial aid and approximately 60% are Pell-eligible.  Morgan’s student body is still primarily a first-time, full-time population of African American students, many of whom are first generation college students.  More than 65% of our undergraduate students test into developmental English, reading, and mathematics courses.  By every traditional measure, many Morgan students are "high risk" students.

Morgan State University Office of Student Success and Retention (OSSR) The only HBCU to win a $100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the implementation of Integrated Planning and Advising Services (IPAS) technology (2013) Winner of the Association of Public and Land- grant Universities (APLU) Project Degree Completion Award (2015) Invited participant: Ed Trust OASIS (Optimizing Academic Success and Institutional Strategy) Network (2016) Winner of the Association of Public and Land- grant Universities (APLU) Turning Points Video Competition Award (2016) Winner of a $760,000 HBCU Student Success Project grant from the Lumina Foundation (2016) Winner of the Hobsons Education Advances Award for Student Success and Advising (2017) Director of Student Success and Retention, Dr. Tiffany Mfume, receiving APLU 2015 Project Degree Completion Award

Morgan State University Office of Student Success and Retention (OSSR) Morgan State University has increased its retention rate from 63% (2006 cohort) to 73% (2015 cohort) and graduation rate from 28% (2005 cohort) to 38% (2011 cohort), both ten-point increases that are directly correlated to the ongoing efforts of the OSSR. In the Fall (2015) our retention rate for the 2014 freshman cohort was 76.% for the 2nd year in a row, Morgan’s highest retention rate in 20 years; Morgan has had seven consecutive years of a retention rate above 70%. The Fall 2017 retention rate is up an additional +2 points to 75.2% for the Fall 2016 cohort of freshmen.

Starfish Implementation and Campus-Wide Adoption In 2013, Morgan State University applied for and was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the implementation of Integrated Planning and Advising Services (IPAS) technology. Morgan identified Starfish Retention Solutions as its designated IPAS system for implementation by Spring 2014 and named the new initiative Morgan’s STAR (Student, Technology, and Retention) Enterprise.

We help academic institutions. What is Starfish? “I made a difference for that one.” We are. A Student Success Company We believe. The campus community engaged with a student will lead to that student’s success. We help academic institutions. Identify. Which students are at risk now? Guide. Where do I go to get/offer help? Connect. When can I get help? Optimize. How are services performing?

Starfish Solutions Early Warning and Student Tracking System Feedback on students can be manually recorded when observed or through periodic surveys. Recommendations can be communicated to the student. Appropriate personnel are informed of tracking items raised and cleared. Close the loop with faculty when progress is made. Educational Support Networking System Each student has personal My Success Network of instructors and staff. Online scheduling for in-person meetings – both individual and group appointments. Appointment confirmation by email. Documentation of contact with students through private and shared notes. Service catalog of available campus support resources.

Morgan’s Program Goals and Objectives University-wide academic advising technology system that interfaces with existing systems (Banner/WEBSis) Consistent, comprehensive intervention (OSSR) Enhance the value of Academic Advising Services Promote the use of early alerts (flags, kudos, referrals, and to-do’s)

How We Measure Success IN THE SHORT TERM Adoption of Starfish (usage) Increased consistency of process and data (progress surveys) Engagement (appointments, student folder) Course Completion (grades, GPA) IN THE LONG TERM Persistence (retention & progression) Degree completion

Starfish Super Users at Morgan Role of Administrative Director and/or Retention Coordinator = Super User! Train and encourage use of Starfish among instructors and advisors - act as evangelists for the project Assist in testing Starfish configuration and revising training materials Advise students Brainstorm solutions and improvements as part of steering committee Share knowledge and gather feedback Report issues and help troubleshoot

Starfish: Instructor Role Instructors can: Set up office hours and a profile that students can see Raise alerts Respond to progress surveys Communicate with their students via Starfish Make appointments with their students and document outcomes Guide their students to information about available services Review student information of students enrolled in his/her courses

Starfish: Advisor Role Advising roles can: Set up profile and office/service hours Manage alerts, document activities and communicate with students. Manage assigned cases and provide advising services to students Connect students to other available services Review student information of assigned students or students in their area Create and document appointments

Starfish: Administration Other monitoring roles (e.g. Deans/Chairs) can: Monitor alerts Review case information for their programs/campuses Review student information Central Administration role can: Monitor and manage alert workflow Review case information across the institution Manage Steering committee Collect feedback and make decisions about Starfish configuration Develop Metrics and Reports

Starfish: Student All students who are Starfish users can: Set up a profile and communications preferences Review flags/kudos raised and respond Find and connect to recommended/ available services Make and Track appointments with instructors or others in their “success network”

Retention Advisor and Assigned Advisor Starfish: Early Alert General Workflow Instructor Student Retention Advisor and Assigned Advisor Instructor raises a flag Student receives a notification and flag is displayed in Tracking tab Retention Advisor reaches out to the student and makes comments on the flag Student makes an appointment for services Advisor Closes the flag and enters ‘close loop’ comments which are sent to the instructor

223,623 total tracking items in Starfish Morgan State University Starfish Success 223,623 total tracking items in Starfish

5,533 5.12 2.15 Starfish: Spring 2017 Update Total Items Raised Breakdown of items based on method raised Item Name Total Raised Manually Raised Survey Raised System Raised FLAGS 25221 1136 15224 8861 Attendance Concern 3386 419 2967 Behavioral Concern 24 Final Grade Flag 3 General Concern 507 70 437 In Danger of Failing 3503 263 3240 Low Participation 1179 21 1158 Low Quiz / Test Scores 3207 109 3098 Mid-Term Grade Flag 8858 Missing or Incomplete Assignments 3855 208 3647 Punctuality Concern 646 20 626 Writing Concern 53 2 51 KUDOS 5616 337 5279 Keep Up the Good Work 3733 233 3500 Outstanding Academic Performance 937 68 869 Showing Improvement 946 36 910 REFERRALS 50 Career Development Center 6 CASA (Center for Academic Success and 8 Counseling Center 11 Tutoring Referral University Writing 5 TO DOS 12 Follow Ups Meet with Your Retention Coordinator 1 GRAND TOTAL 30899 1535 20503 Starfish: Spring 2017 Update Total Unique Students with a Flag or Kudos: 5,533 Average Number of Flags Per Student: 5.12 Average Number of Kudos Per Student: 2.15 Table Includes all Starfish tracking items from 1/23/17 – 5/1/17.

Starfish: Progress Surveys Update Survey Name Survey Date Surveys Sent Surveys Viewed Survey Reminders (1st) Survey Reminders (2nd) Surveys Completed Tracking Items Created Progress Survey #2 Spring 2017 4/24/17 1485 596 1230 1057 565 9470 Progress Survey #1 Spring 2017 2/27/17 1488 736 1216 991 689 11033 Progress Survey #2 Fall 2016 11/14/16 1477 627 1084 597 10378 Progress Survey #1 Fall 2016 9/26/16 651 1245 1055 9496 Progress Survey #2 Spring 2016 4/18/16 1446 556 1165 1040 534 8294 Progress Survey #1 Spring 2016 2/29/16 1451 636 1202 1039 605 8341 Progress Survey Fall 2015 #2 11/16/15 1447 615 1163 1000 594 8903 Progress Survey Fall 2015 #1 9/28/15 1444 621 1233 584 8418 Progress Survey Spring 2015 #2 4/20/15 1484 506 1305 1093 471 6851 Progress Survey Spring 2015 #1 3/2/15 1496 673 1278 1180 7657 Progress Survey Fall 2014 #2 11/17/14 1452 560 1270 1199 528 7193 Progress Survey Fall 2014 #1 10/6/14 1453 750 1267 1121 693 9829 Progress Survey #2 4/28/14 1467 477 1142 442 3821 Progress Survey #1 3/31/14 1471 647 1019 602 7366

Outcomes A Spring 2015 analysis of Starfish (IPAS) from Spring 2014 through Spring 2015 by the Office Institutional Research at Morgan found that: the majority of D’s at mid-term were raised to C or better by the end of each semester; the mean cumulative GPA of students with concern flags has been above 2.0, with about 75% of these students ending the semester with GPAs at or above 2.0; and, results of the annual University Student Satisfaction Survey indicate that student satisfaction with advising increased from 2.4 to 2.6 on a scale of 0 (F) to 4 (A) from Spring 2014 to Spring 2015.

Outcomes Fall 2016 Mid-term Grade Distribution by Whether Instructor Used Starfish Instructor Status Missing Grades A B C D F AU FL I NA PS PT S Total Number Ds or Fs Percent Did Not Use Starfish 1302 897 836 427 24 15 5 14 176 47 3748 39 1% Used Starfish 1285 4857 6211 6002 3751 5521 3 38 472 73 19 57 28289 9272 33% 2587 5754 7047 6429 3775 5536 486 249 104 32037 9311 29% The Starfish Early Alert System was first used in the spring 2014 semester. At that time, analyses were conducted to see if there was a difference in grade improvement between students who received Starfish alerts and those who did not. Now that Starfish has been operational for a number of semesters, we see that the overwhelming majority of mid-term grades were awarded by instructors who use Starfish. Fall 2016 Final Grade Distribution by Whether Instructor Used Starfish Instructor Status Missing Grades A C D AU F FL NA NG P PS PT S TR TW W Total Number Ds or Fs Percent Did Not Use Starfish 85 1675 359 45 1 72 7 34 183 171 36 38 76 6 113 3748 117 3% Used Starfish 313 7062 6233 1891 3 3275 14 288 365 131 24 1467 28289 5166 18% 398 8737 6592 1936 4 3347 21 322 548 302 60 39 119 1580 32037 5283 16% As with the mid-term grades, the overwhelming majority of final grades were awarded by instructors who use Starfish.

Third-Party Vendors for Data Analytics: Friend or Foe? Starfish Best Practices: Patty Raymond & Richard Calhoun! Workflow design Progress Surveys Attributes Message templates Reports YouTube videos Photos of students

Third-Party Vendors for Data Analytics: Friend or Foe? Communication and Ongoing Feedback: Surveys every semester Presentations at every Faculty Institute Updating faculty via email twice / semester Sharing changes and modifications which have resulted from advisor feedback.

Third-Party Vendors for Data Analytics: Friend or Foe? Lessons Learned: Let Leadership Lead Engage Strategic Partners (IT, IR, CFO) Remember Data Integration Discuss Tools with Users at Other Campuses Set Clear Goals and Objectives Make the Most of Training Celebrate Your Wins Evaluate and Share Results Be Open to Tweaking and Evolving Stay Focused!

Third-Party Vendors for Data Analytics: Friend or Foe? Bottom Line: Technology, tools, and systems can help faculty, administrators, and staff work smarter and not harder. With the support of external partners and collaborators, institutions can use technology to design and deliver strategic initiatives to foster student success and degree completion.