May 31, 2011 Butler Community College Listening to Entering Students: EARS – Early Alert and Referral System

Early Alert DEFINITION: Timely intervention for students experiencing academic difficulty. Timely intervention for students experiencing academic difficulty or exhibiting behaviors counter-productive to student success. … plus a predictive modeling system that allows preemptive intervention for likely students in need. Entering Student Success Institute

Butler by the Numbers Residential campus – El Dorado (23% students, 30% credit hours) Commuter campus – Andover (41% students, 44% credit hours) Five additional teaching/service sites in five county service area 45% full-time 58% female 29% minority 62% traditional age (18 to 22) Headcount: 10,116 Total credit hours: 95,895 Entering Student Success Institute Fall 2010

Entering Student Success Institute Butler by the Numbers

Average Class Size: 17 Remediation 60% require developmental math 29% require developmental English Retention 58% fall-to-fall retention rate (first-time, full-time) 39% fall-to-fall retention rate (first-time, part-time) Entering Student Success Institute Fall 2010

Birth of EARS Outreach to students in need existed prior to 2008 but without college-wide coordination or promotion Discussions started in the spring of 2008 on implementing a more coordinated approach to identifying and reaching out to students in need based on best practices ESSI Institute, March 2008 Early Alert Program identified as way to address needs identified in SENSE data, specifically targeting students missing classes early on Explored Early Alert programs at other colleges Piloted Early Alert and Referral System (EARS) with Lead Faculty

Early Stages of EARS (Fall 2008) from VPA to 55 Lead Faculty with EARS referral form Director of FYE spoke with Lead Faculty at luncheon during faculty in-service (the week before fall classes) Director of FYE spoke with all faculty at Professional Development Days Began handling referrals, 49 students first semester Survey of Entering Student Engagement

Early Results 0.08

Early Process Entering Student Success Institute The FYE Director, Academic Advisor, or Counselor receives forms, , and/or call about student in need. Respond to the referring instructor to follow-up, ask if it is okay to share that instructor referred student. FYE/Advisor/ Counselor accesses student record in Banner. FYE/Advisor/ Counselor contacts student (phone, ). Contact student’s other instructors to ask for progress report and attendance; explain and promote the program. STRENGTHS High touch with students Personal contact with instructors WEAKNESSES Manual processes Info restricted No dedicated staff member Faculty permission problematic FYE/Advisor/ Counselor enters info into Excel spreadsheet on shared drive

EARS Challenges Large adjunct faculty and part-time student populations Multi-site college with commuter students Time-consuming manual process for faculty and staff Typically, only worst-case students referred Entering Student Success Institute

EARS Evolution Learning College Principles RESPOND WITH AGILITY We effectively respond to opportunities, changes and threats in our environment, continually seeking new or adapted ways to respond to the learning needs of our students and other stakeholders. Entering Student Success Institute

EARS Evolution ( ) Hired Retention Specialist (Title III grant) Refined referral process:  Behavioral issues – Dean of Students  Disability issues – Disability Services Director  Academic/Attendance – Retention Specialist Committed to intrusive intervention Established CARE Team Entering Student Success Institute

CARE Team Vice President of Student Services Dean for Enrollment Management (or Director of Advising) Dean of Students Retention Specialist Student Involvement Coordinator Advising Office Representative Counseling Office Representative Disability Services Director Security Office Representative Academic Dean Faculty Member Entering Student Success Institute Meets weekly on two major campuses Anyone may bring names forward Discusses both people and processes

Current Process Entering Student Success Institute Retention Specialist receives forms, , and/or call about student in need. Retention Specialist closes the loop with referring faculty. Retention Specialist accesses student record in Banner, and refers to appropriate person. Student is contacted (phone, , Facebook, text). Contacts tracked in Banner (SPCMNT – “Space Mountain”) STRENGTHS High touch with students Personal contact with instructors Streamlined process Alert attached to student record WEAKNESSES Manual processes Staff dependency

Entering Student Success Institute Continuing Challenge: Dependency on Specific Staff

EARS Today Campus-wide announcements promoting EARS and CARE Team Incorporated into Faculty Handbook Presentation at faculty in-service Multiple s to faculty from Retention Specialist with referral form attached Accidental Alert to students resulted in self-reports Survey of Entering Student Engagement

EARS Today 396 alerts submitted in Spring 2011 Full-Time: 67% Half-Time: 28% Less than HT: 4% Part-timer effect Virtual students? Entering Student Success Institute

EARS Today – Greatest Need Associate of Applied Science (19% of referrals, 26% of population) Associate of Arts (27% of referrals, 16% of population) Associate of Science (29% of referrals, 13% of population) Entering Student Success Institute African American (23% of referrals, 10% of population) Hispanic (10% of referrals, 5% of population) White (56% of referrals, 71% of population) Male (51% of referrals, 42% of population) Female (49% of referrals, 58% of population)

EARS Tomorrow Investing in student relationship management software package (Hobsons' Retain™ CRM – tentatively “Bear Tracks”) Banner-compatible student communication and early alert system. Automated at-risk identification tool and streamlined communication. Predictive modeling to statistically understand the strengths and weaknesses of current retention efforts and predict outcomes for students based on historical information. Piloting new processes in Summer 2011 Full roll-out Fall 2011 Banner compatibility will allow student outcome tracking Entering Student Success Institute

Lessons Learned Communication is key Dedicated staff person is imperative Spread the load (Specialists, CARE Team) Build stable, scalable processes (Hobson’s) Measure and improve Entering Student Success Institute