Student Retention Tracking at UM

How to Define Student Success or Student Retention: First Year Retention (& Second, Third, etc. Year Persistence) Success in Individual Courses Continuance in Initial Major or STEM Major Graduation Rates (4, 5, or 6 year rates)

At UM, IR staff have analyzed retention data - Classical Logistic Regression approach, and - Classification and Regression Tree approach Independent variables include High school gpa (both total and core) Standardized scores (ACT or SAT, composite or sub-scores) Residency Gender Parent’s college level FAFSA/Pell Grant recipient Undecided major and certain majors Race/Ethnicity Hours taken (Working part-time)

First Year Retention: HS gpa is the most important indicator, followed by test score, and residency. All other variables have less importance ( though there is a difference for different majors). After end of the first semester, the college gpa then becomes the dominant indicator. Key Findings:

Some unexpected, but reasonable findings: Residence Housing: Students who live in certain residence housing having lower first year retention rate. (The last housing facilities to fill up; correlates with students who are the last to register for orientation & courses; and with less qualified students, in terms of hs academic metrics.) Success in Math 261 (first course in Calculus): HS gpa is a stronger predictor than the math ACT subscore.

Graduation Rate: Directly correlates with first year retention rate Ethnicity, Pell grants, gender, and state residency shows up as important factors, though were less important for first year success. White Males>White Females, Minority Females> Minority Males State Residents (male and female) > Non-Residents Key Findings:

What are we doing? Freshmen advised by professional advisors, rather than faculty Retention reports fed to academic administrators and advisors (daily in some seasons) School-based advisors contact at-risk students FABI and attendance scanners, with info sent to advisors Midterm grades; students having 2 or more D or F’s are contacted by advisors Developed an online advising interface Lifting of Bursar holds, temporarily, to allow registration Survey at Orientation; survey after first month to identify at risk characteristics

What are we doing? Early Fall survey of freshmen, to identify fixable problems Non-Resident application process modified Revamped English Composition Course (QEP) Freshmen Year Experience Program (Freshmen Seminar course, common reading assignment, commencement, other community building activities) Learning Communities (FASTrack, Luckday) and FIGS SI and other academic interventions (e.g., Biology, Engr Bootcamps) High-Risk Student Cohort (40-50) identified and given additional advising Degree Audit System shows percent completion of degree requirements; in house system