What Works to Increase First-Year Student Success in Community Colleges Dr. Wes Habley Principal Associate Educational Services ACT, Inc.

Types of Attrition Expected and Justified  realized a goal other than a degree/certificate Stopping Out  not on our timeframe Unnecessary and subject to institutional intervention

Definitions RETENTION: the process of holding or keeping in one’s possession ATTRITION: the process or state of being gradually worn down PERSISTENCE: to continue to exist or prevail

Retention Trends Freshman-Sophomore Year Highest %Lowest %Current % Two-Year Public 55.7 (’10)51.3(’04)55.4 BA/BS Public70.0(’04) 66.4(’96,’05)65.6 MA/MS Public71.6(’06)68.1(’89)71.2 PhD Public78.6(’10)72.9(’08)77.9 Two-year Private 72.6(‘92)55.5(’08)57.8 BA/BS Private74.0(’89)68.7(’10)69.0 MA/MS Private78.0(’85)71.4(’10)71.9 PhD Private85.0(’85)80.3(’10,’11)80.3

Completion Trends Two-year Colleges – Graduation in 3 years or less Highest %Lowest %Current % Public38.8(’89)25.5(’10)26.9 Private66.4(’90)50.2(’08)50.0 ALL44.0(’89)28.3(’10) Type “retention” in the search engine

% of 9 th Graders graduating H.S. in 4 years College enrollment rate % of 9 th graders graduating in 4 and enrolling in college All races74.9%70.1%52.5% White alone (non- Hispanic) 81.0%69.2%50.9% Black Alone61.5%68.7%42.3% Hispanic (any race)63.5%49.3%37.7% Asian/Pacific Islander91.4%92.2%84.3% American Indian/Native Alaskan 64.2%N/A Sources: National Center for Educational Statistics and the US Census, 2010

College Participation/Completion Some College AA/AS Degree BA/BS Degree Above a BA/BS All races19.5% 8.5% 17.7%9.3% White (non-Hispanic)20.0% 9.2% 19.9%10.6% White in combination.19.4% 8.6% 18.1%9.4% Black alone22.2% 8.1% 11.6%5.6% Black in combination22.5% 8.2% 11.7%1.1% Hispanic (any race)15.6% 5.8% 8.8%3.1% Asian alone13.9% 6.6% 29.8%18.7% Asian in combination14.6% 6.7% 29.5%18.2% U.S. Census, 2010: population 18 years or older

What Works in Student Retention What Works in Student Retention (Beal and Noel, 1980). What Works in Student Retention in State Colleges and Universities (Cowart, 1987) What Works in Student Retention (Habley and McClanahan, 2004)

What Works in Student Retention (Habley, Valiga, Burkum and McClanahan, 2010) Overall responses:  Mailing: 3360 institutions  Usable returns: 1104 (32.9%) Community college responses:  Mailing: 949 institutions  305 usable returns (32.1%) Type “retention” in the search engine

Survey Details Survey sections I. Background II. Retention and degree completion rates III. Factors affecting attrition IV. Retention practices V. Highest impact programs

11 What Works….. The data reported in this survey are based on the perspectives of the individuals who responded to the survey. In some cases responses were informed by data collected at the respondent’s institution This session is the tip of the iceberg. Complete data reports are available at: Type “retention” in the search engine

Coordination of retention – all Community Colleges 59.5% report that there is a person who is responsible for coordinating retention. Most common titles  Chief student affairs officer 26.1%  Chief academic affairs officer 16.5%  Coordinator of retention 13.6%  Chief enrollment officer 11.4%  Remaining titles < 7.5%

Retention/Degree Completion Goals - all Community Colleges 32.1% of Community Colleges reported having a goal for first to second-year retention 23.0% of Community Colleges reported having a degree completion goal

Factors affecting attrition 42 factors listed To what degree does each factor affect attrition at your school  5 = Major effect on attrition  4  3 = Moderate effect on attrition  2  1 = Little or no effect on attrition

What Works in Student Retention (Habley, Valiga, Burkum and McClanahan, 2010) Overall responses:  Mailing: 3360 institutions  Usable returns: 1104 (32.9%) Community college responses:  Mailing: 949 institutions  305 usable returns (32.1%)  Community Colleges: >20% Hispanic: 37  Community: >20% Black: 83

Highest rated attrition factors Attrition Factor All CC’s >20% Hisp. >20% Black Preparation for college level work Study Skills Adequate personal financial resources Commitment to earning a degree Motivation to succeed

Highest rated attrition factors Attrition Factor All CC’s >20% Hisp. >20% Black Student family responsibilities Job demands on students Low Socio-economic status Amount of financial aid Personal coping skills

Attrition rating at least.20 greater for community colleges > 20% Hispanic enrollment Level of preparation for college level work Study skills Adequacy of personal financial resources Student family responsibilities Low socio-economic status

Attrition rating at least.20 greater for community colleges > 20% Hispanic enrollment Level of motivation to succeed Job demands Available financial aid Student commitment to earning a degree Emotional support from family and significant others

Attrition rating at least.20 greater for community colleges > 20% Black enrollment Adequacy of personal financial resources Level of preparation for college level work Study skills Low socio-economic status Available financial aid

Attrition rating at least.20 greater for community colleges > 20% Black enrollment Family responsibilities Job demands Commitment to earning a degree Motivation to succeed Student employment opportunities

Retention Practices 94 identified retention practices 2 wild cards Two sub-sections:  Is this intervention offered? (yes or no)  If it is offered, rate the contribution to retention Five-point Rating Scale  5 = Major Contribution to Retention  4  3 = Moderate Contribution to Retention  2  1 = Little or no contribution to Retention

Retention Practices Intervention clusters  First-year transition programs (8 items)  Academic advising (15)  Assessment (9)  Career Planning and Placement (6)  Learning Assistance/Academic Support (19)  Mentoring (4)  Faculty Development (7)  Financial Aid (3)  Co-curricular Services/Programs for specific sub- populations (10)  Other activities/programs (10)

Highest rated retention interventions Intervention All CC’s >20% Hisp. >20% Black Reading center/lab Comprehensive learning assistance center/lab Tutoring Mandated course placement based on test scores 4.1 Required developmental courses

Highest rated retention interventions Intervention All CC’s >20% Hisp. >20% Black Increased number of academic advisors Writing center/lab4.0 Program for 1 st generation students Advising interventions with selected student populations Academic advising center3.94.0

Highest rated retention interventions Intervention All CC’s >20% Hisp. >20% Black Supplemental Instruction Program for adult students Freshman seminar (non-credit) Staff mentoring Programs for racial/ethnic minorities

Retention practices rated at least.30 higher for community colleges with high Hispanic enrollment Tutoring Mandated placement based on test scores Supplemental instruction Required remedial/developmental coursework Program for first generation students Program for adult students Freshman seminar/University 101 (non- credit)

Retention practices rated at least.30 higher for community colleges with high Hispanic enrollment Recommended remedial/developmental coursework Foreign language center Mathematics center Academic advising center Staff mentoring Increased number of academic advisors

Retention practices rated at least.30 higher for community colleges with high Black enrollment Reading Center Comprehensive learning assistance center Recommended placement based on test scores Mandated placement based on test scores Tutoring Writing center

Retention practices rated at least.30 higher for community colleges with high Black enrollment Freshman seminar/University 101 (non- credit) Required remedial/developmental coursework Foreign language center Mathematics center Academic advising center Supplemental instruction

Top three practices - Community Colleges with high Hispanic enrollment Practice Hispanic >20% All Other Community Colleges Mandated placement of students in courses 32%30% Required remedial/development coursework 18%19% Tutoring 29%19% Training of faculty advisors 11%10% Comprehensive learning assistance center/lab 14%13% Academic advising center 11% Early warning system 18%13%

Top three practices - Community Colleges with high Black enrollment Practice Black >20% All other Community Colleges Mandated placement of students in courses based on test scores 40%27% Required remedial/development coursework 27%17% Tutoring 17%22% Training of faculty advisors 14%10% Comprehensive learning assistance center/lab 10%16% Academic advising center 10%12% Early warning system 13%14%

Top Four Clusters Learning Assistance/Academic Support Assessment Academic Advising Programs/Services for specific student sub-populations

Combining Percentage of Use with Item Means – all Community Colleges Top one-thirdMiddle one-thirdLowest one-third Highest rated items > 80%> 35% - 79%< 35% Percentage of Institutions offering a specific intervention (INCIDENCE)

SLEEPERS: Highest ratings and bottom third of usage – all community colleges integration of advising with first-year transition programs (3.9) organized student study groups (3.8) extended freshman orientation (credit) (3.7) foreign language center/lab (3.7) peer mentoring (3.7) staff mentoring (3.6)

Comparing Intervention Practices – all Community Colleges Top quartile first to second year retention rate (high performers) v. bottom quartile first to second year retention rate (low performers)  High = 69 institutions  Low = 70 institutions Included only items with a mean > 3.6 for all community colleges High performer incidence rate > 10% above low performer incidence rate

High/Low Intervention Differences – all Community Colleges Intervention High Low reading center/lab 61% 48% comprehensive learning assistance center/lab 81% 70% increased number of academic 44% 32% advisors integration of advising with first-year transition programs 43% 28% remedial/developmental coursework required 51% 37%

High/Low Intervention Differences Intervention High Low pre-enrollment financial aid 93% 77% advising diagnostic academic skills 69% 41% assessment racial/ethnic minority students 63% 41% center(s) that integrates advising with career/life planning 61% 45% staff mentoring 29% 18%

What’s Next? Designate a visible individual to coordinate a campus-wide planning team. Conduct a systematic analysis of the characteristics of your students. Focus on the nexus of student characteristics and institutional characteristics. Carefully review high-impact strategies identified through the survey.

What’s Next? Do not make first to second year retention strategies the sole focus of planning team efforts. Establish realistic short-term and long- term retention, progression, and completion goals. Orchestrate the change process. Implement, measure, improve!

What Works to Increase First-Year Student Success in Community Colleges Dr. Wes Habley Principal Associate Educational Services ACT, Inc.