1. Brittney Swanson M.S. bcswanson@fullerton.edu
Graduation Specialists: Helping students Overcome Barriers to Graduation
Brittney Swanson M.S.

2. California State university, Fullerton
Over 38,000 students
Hispanic Serving Institution
8 Colleges
plus a satellite campus in Irvine, California
55 undergraduate degree programs offered
With an additional 20+ concentrations

3. Dual Advisement Structure
Graduation Requirements
Academic Advisement Center
General Education Advisement
Unit &GPA Requirements
Major Exploration
Major Advisor
Major & Minor
Requirements
Career and Internship Exploration
Graduate School Information
Student Support Professional - Staff
Faculty

4. Official Graduation Check:
Grad Check Process:
Apply online
Pay the grad check fee
Wait for approval from major advisor
Complete “remaining requirements”
Wait for degree to be awarded
Official Graduation Check:
Very Little Mandatory Advisement Required to complete Grad Check

5. So what did this lead to?

6. 2009:
1 in 5 students who had applied for the May graduation date did NOT successfully earn a degree

7. Degree Awarding Process
Graduation Unit Reviews Titan Degree Audits a
Deferral
Degree

8. DEFERRAL
A notice sent to students who have not satisfied all degree requirements
Indicates which requirements remain
Sent by Graduation Unit Evaluators – Not Advisors

9. FRUSTRATION
SHAME
EMBARRASSMENT

10. College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Over 20 departments and majors
Over students
~2400 seniors

11. The PILOT Project:
Development of Graduation Specialist Position & Live Graduation Check Workshops

12. Live Grad Check Workshops
Reviewed:
Students Titan Degree Audit
General Education requirements
Overall units
GPA requirements
Major requirements
Grad check process
Graduation and Commencement
Career Center resources
Prepping for Graduate School

13. 27% 4% 1% Overall Increase to CSUF Graduation rate
Overall increase to H&SS Graduation Rate 1%
Overall Increase to CSUF Graduation rate
27%

15. Graduation Specialists:
Funded by Student Success Initiative
Each advisor highly trained for each college they serve
Focus on Juniors and Seniors
Goals:
Identify Patterns of contributing factors to graduation deficiencies
Preemptively prevent graduation deferrals semesters in advance!

16. Strong collaborative relationships across campus:

17. Preventative Actions:
Live Grad Check Workshops
One-on-One student appointments
Drive-Thru/Pop-Up Advising Sessions
Mandatory University Advisement
Titan Degree Audit review – eAdvising (TAN)

18. Student Advising Learning Objectives:
The Graduation Specialist aims to educate each student on their remaining requirements and provide appropriate interventions. Doing so, each student will be able to:
Clearly interpret the TDA and articulate their remaining Graduation Requirements
Make informed decisions about their course choices based on CSUF requirements
Thoroughly review the TDA for any mistakes and take action to rectify any inaccuracies
Avoid a Graduation Deferral by initiating the postponement of graduation or successfully completing courses on time to graduate.
Calculate their minimum number of units remaining for graduation
Work collaboratively with their support team to solve any challenges pertaining to graduating
Articulate the value of their HSS degree

19. One-on-One student appointments
Students meet individually with the Graduation Specialist
Can review unique barriers to graduation
In person
over the phone
Through Skype
Although this is pretty standard for advising – the difference is these advisors are able to review ALL requirements for graduation. Versus the specialized major or GE advisors on campus.

20. eAdvising: Using the Titan Advisors Network

21. Drive-Thru/Pop-Up Advising Sessions
Collaboration between H&SS and Career Center
Quick 10 minute advising session
Graduation Specialist thoroughly reviews TDA
Career Specialist discusses next steps in preparing for post-graduate life
Held during the first week of the semester
Targeted for students “graduating” that term

22. Common Graduation Deficiencies:
Insufficient overall units (lacking the minimum 120)
Missing General Education
Missing major or minor
Transfer course errors on the Titan Degree Audit
CSUF, major or cumulative GPA below 2.0
The top deficiencies

23. Common Solutions: Extend Graduation date to a more appropriate term
Enroll in another CSUF course
Department level 499 if later in the semester
Petition for excess units
Take a transferable course at a community college
TDA Exception for major or minor
Submit Transcripts or AP Scores

24. Less Common Solutions:
University Petitions
General Education Variation Petitions
Dropping a double major or minor
Department Petition to Executive Senate

25. Results:
536 students applied for the Fall 2014 graduation date
1567 students applied for the May 2015 graduation date

26. H&SS Graduation Rates 1% increase Fall 2014 2.3% increase Spring 2015
Results:
1% increase Fall 2014
2.3% increase Spring 2015
Overall CSUF Graduation Rates
15% increase Fall 2014
12% increase Spring 2015
H&SS Graduation Rates

27. H&SS Graduation Rates:
2016:
2009:
First-Time Freshman
4 year graduation rate ~30%
6 year graduation rate ~61%
Transfer Students
2 year graduation rate ~44%
4 year graduation rate ~ 78%
First-Time Freshman:
4 year graduation rate ~17%
Transfer Students:
2 year graduation rate ~26%
4 year graduation rate ~71%

28. Evolution of the Student Success Team
Retention Specialists – works with Freshman and Sophomores
Graduation Specialists
Career Specialists
Experiential Learning Specialist
Assistant Deans
Associate Deans – oversees teams for each college
Others based on college

29. Thank you!!!