 Gregory Schutz Rion McDonald Chris Tingle TASSR Fall Conference October 24, 2013

 The Complete College Tennessee Act mandated that public higher education institutions in Tennessee improve student success.  Meanwhile, approximately two-thirds of incoming freshmen at Tennessee Board of Regents institutions required some sort of pre-college learning support in fall 2011.

 The TBR adopted new learning support (LS-precollege) guidelines with the goal that all students be able to move through LS in a timely manner.  Holding demographic and academic preparedness constant, the authors find one-year, LS completion rates differ by institution.

 Purpose  Background  Findings  Recommendations

 Introduce evaluation data being collected a the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) for their Learning Support (developmental education) initiative.  Illustrate a predictive model that includes academic preparation, demographics, and institutional components for completing LS.  Provide a method and tools for researching the impact of Learning Support (developmental education)  Discuss implications on best implementation practices and future research.

Completion of all learning support competencies within the first semester or first year of enrollment.

* No significant difference

 Part-time students are significantly less likely to complete the learning support program.  Adult students and under-represented minority students are both more likely to need remediation and also less likely to complete all required learning support.  The lower the high school grade point average, the less likely a student is to complete all required learning support.  Students that are required to take more learning support are less likely to complete the learning support curriculum.

 Mainstreaming learning support students into college level courses while providing supplemental instruction. o Immediate credit accumulation, increased retention. o May not work for high need students.  Condensing semester long learning support courses into shorter timeframes and stacking courses for quickest completion. o Reduced withdrawals from learning support courses.  Modularizing learning support competencies into specific skills in order to reduce a student’s needed learning support. o Increased success of first college level course and increased retention.  Increasing student support, especially additional advising or tutoring, positively affects learning support outcomes.

 All students must meet ACT college benchmarks or be diagnosed for and placed into appropriate learning support.  Institutions will design learning support curriculum so that full-time students can satisfy pre-college level requirements in one semester.  Institutions must structure learning support so that a student who has demonstrated mastery of a competency will not be required to repeat support in that area.  Delivery of learning support must be based on proven methods of integrating technology as a tool for instruction.  Universities will not award credit that is less than college level.

(retrieved 8/3/13)

Log (Odds of Completion)= constant + coefficient(ACT Score) + coefficient(HS GPA) + coefficient(# Competencies Required) + coefficient(Attendance Status) + coefficient(Age) + coefficient(Minority Status) + coefficient(School1) + coefficient(School2) + coefficent(School3) +….etc. + error Probability of Completion Odds of Completion = (1 –Probability of Completion)

* ceteris paribus

Change in Completion Odds Per School * SchoolFirst-TermFirst-Year Univ1415%276% CommColl1189%55% Univ231%-21% Univ4insignificant31% CommColl3insignificant23% Negative Effects-35% to -77%-20% to -46% * deviation from average, ceteris paribus

Probability of Completion for Average Student * SchoolFirst-TermFirst-Year Univ158%76% CommColl144%56% Univ226%39% CommColl226%51% Univ425%52% Bottom Eight Schools6% to 20%31% to 42% * constant student-related factors used across schools

Change in Completion Odds Per Unit Increase * VariableFirst-TermFirst-Year ACT English13%7% HS GPA (.5 increase)46%58% 1 vs. 2 Competencies711%242% FT vs. PT63%86% Age3%4% Non-White vs. White-24% * ceteris paribus

Change in Completion Odds Per School * SchoolFirst-TermFirst-Year Univ1953%443% CommColl11251%84% CommColl1213%49% CommColl4162%49% Negative Effects-24% to -68%-20% to -64% * deviation from average, ceteris paribus

Probability of Completion for Average Student * SchoolFirst-TermFirst-Year Univ176%83% CommColl1151%63% CommColl148%58% CommColl444%58% Schools 5 through 818% to 29%46% to 49% Bottom Eight Schools9% to 17%20% to 39% * constant student-related factors used across schools

Change in Completion Odds Per Unit Increase * VariableFirst-TermFirst-Year ACT Reading7% HS GPA (.5 increase)48%59% 1 vs. 2 Competencies646%208% FT vs. PT65%75% Age2% Non-White vs. White-15%insignificant * ceteris paribus

Change in Completion Odds Per School * SchoolFirst-TermFirst-Year CommColl11411%130% Univ1297%180% Univ3292%101% CommColl171%insignificant CommColl441%insignificant Negative Effects-39% to -60%-36% to -48% * deviation from average, ceteris paribus

Probability of Completion for Average Student * SchoolFirst-TermFirst-Year CommColl1165%68% Univ159%72% Univ358%65% CommColl138%47% CommColl916%53% Bottom Eight Schools13% to 23%33% to 44% * constant student-related factors used across schools

 The ultimate aim of graduation and the near future goal of completing entry level math, writing and reading courses need to be evaluated further to confirm the strength of completing learning support as a leading indicator.  Continue to follow if one-semester completion rates impact college success more strongly than one-year completion rates.

 Continue to investigate mainstreaming learning support students into college level courses while studying where the level of unpreparedness may make the method unfeasible.  Look more closely at age to see how age is impacting learning support completion.  Pilot services like learning support to first-time college students just meeting TBR college readiness goals.  Target LS delivery and services for students of different backgrounds, demographics, and majors.

 Institution should commit to finishing in one semester.  Student and instructor interactions.  Facilitate LS competency completion as a prerequisite or corequisite for college level courses.  Create a data driven decision-making culture.  Coordinate LS functions on campus.  Maintain a faculty-led classroom while implementing new technology.  Require professional development for full-time and part- time faculty.  Promote use of full-time faculty in the classroom.

 TBR has changed policy and practice to meet literature recommendations on college readiness and initial indications show improved results for institutions implementing these policies.  The completion of learning support in a timely fashion is a leading indicator for underprepared first-time college students.  The variation of success in completing learning support across campuses suggests that best practice institutions can be identified by results.  The success of learning support with underprepared students suggests that the process of identifying and delivering competency levels could be piloted for other university and college populations.  TBR can use system level data sources to help campuses with their strategic planning and for evaluating the possible impact on college completion (trajectories).

 Gregory Schutz – Rion McDonald – Chris Tingle – TASSR Fall Conference October 24, 2013