Ralph J. Rascati

1. Lessons from the Foundations of Excellence – Transfer Focus Self-Study: New Policies and New Metrics Needed to Assess Transfer Student Success Ralph J. Rascati Associate VP for Advising, Retention & Graduation Initiatives, Dean of University College Ken Hill Lecturer, Special Projects Coordinator

2. Presentation Outline • Description of Institution • Summary of Findings • Recommendations • Metrics for Measuring the Success of Transfer Students

3. Kennesaw State University • Chartered in 1963 as a 2-Yr Jr College • First Class enrolled in 1966 - 1014 Students – Growth every year except one – many years @10%+ • 4-Yr status in 1978; First B.A./B.S. in 1980 • First Grad Programs in 1985 (M.Ed.; M.B.A.) • University Status in 1996 • On-Campus Housing Added in 2002 • Ed.D. added in 2007; D.N.S. & D.B.A. in 2008 • Ph.D. (International Conflict Management) in 2010 • Currently 24,000+ students; 3,000+ residential

4. FoE –Transfer Focus Self-Study – Summary of Findings Input Characteristics

5. FoE –Transfer Focus Self-Study – Summary of Findings

6. FoE –Transfer Focus Self-Study – Summary of Findings

7. FoE –Transfer Focus Self-Study – Summary of Findings

8. Student Survey Analysis • Positives – What we do well • Course selection • Teaching – course content, organization, pedagogy, assistance in understanding the material • Treating students with respect • Directing students to financial aid, registration help, etc. • Moderates – What we do reasonably • Timeliness of Transcript Evaluations • Encourage participation in related co/extra-curricular activities • Community engagement • Negatives – What we do not-so-well • Directing students to academic support services (tutoring, math lab, writing center, etc.) • Advising for future endeavors, life goals, motivation, etc. • Directing students to RSO’s (making connections to the institution) • Helping students manage non-academic (personal) issues (personal growth, budgeting, time management, etc.)

9. Student Survey Comments • It’s difficult to know where to go for things…it becomes a game of passing the student back and forth over the phone. They get very frustrated… • Streamline the transfer process. Give me one or two specific people to speak with [who are better at] providing better feedback on transfer credits. • I kept getting shuffled from one department to another and nobody could give me a solid “yes” or “no” on any issue. Nobody seems to know the big picture, or really anything outside their own cubicle • I wish you had told me before I had to sign up for classes which courses transferred to KSU so I would not have to take classes over again that I had taken at the other university RR

10. Student Survey Comments • Help me understand how my credits transferred over and where I really stand in my degree program • The transfer of my credits was arduous and the process was incompetent and ineffective • I can’t even come up with one way that this institution has helped me transition to this college. It has been one of the most isolating experiences I have had • It would have been nice to have been advised before registration. It was hectic figuring things out with overrides going on and the like • What could be improved, better advising. The reason for this [my difficulties] was the lack of an advising session before orientation. I can’t stress this enough. It would have made orientation so much more meaningful if I had an idea of course structures and classes… RR

11. Common Themes • Inform campus of FoE Self-Study results • Expand staff dedicated to transfer students • Communicate more effectively and intentionally with transfer students • Create transfer-specific programs • Re-evaluate/redesign/mandate transfer orientation • Increase awareness of department chairs, faculty and staff about the specific needs of transfer students • Develop relationships with feeder institutions • Improve the advising experience for transfer students

12. FoE Transfer Focus Self Study Recommendations • Create of a Transfer Advisory Council • Produce a Philosophy Statement • Design and implement a Portal of Information for Transfer Students • Create and maintain a Transfer Student Guide • Consult with transfer students through surveys and focus groups • Explore better ways to communicate with transfer students • Develop a co-curricular Transfer-Year Experience (TYE) • Create a Transfer Advocate Office • Serve a single point of contact for transfer students (Graduation Coach model) • Provide Transfer Liaison Officers • TCSG (technical) institutions • USG Access institutions • USG Universities

13. FoE Transfer Focus Self Study Recommendations (continued) • Make attendance at orientation mandatory • Conduct a DegreeWorks audit to be sent to incoming transfer students prior to their attendance at an on-campus orientation • Continue examination of transfer student • Demographics • Course Registration Patterns • Success Metrics • Retention • GPA • Graduation Rates • Time-to-Completion

14. FoE –Transfer Focus Self-Study – Summary of Findings Success Metrics

15. FoE –Transfer Focus Self-Study – Summary of Findings

16. FoE –Transfer Focus Self-Study – Summary of Findings

17. Metrics for Measuring Success of Transfer Students • One-year retention rate* • One-semester/One-year GPA • Mean-Time-To-Completion** • 1-yr/2-yr…8yr Graduation Rates** *need to be sure to account for students who graduate in the year of matriculation **Calculation of Grad Rates and Time-to-Completion are only meaningful if hours transferred are adjusted to include only those that can be applied toward graduation (major requirements, gen ed, free electives, etc.)

18. Graduation Rates by Credits Earned Miller, John W. and Braden J. Hosch, Persistence to Graduation for Transfer and “Native” Students: A Case Study, http://www.ccsu.edu/uploaded/departments/AdministrativeDepartments/Institutional_Research_and_Assessment/Research/20080526c.pdf, Reproduced by permission from the author.

19. Issues with Calculating Grad Rates • Hours transferred in often include hours not useable for major • Therefore it is necessary to do a degree audit and determine hours needed to graduate (Adjusted Transfer Hours) • Proactive degree audits on incoming transfers would not be possible on undeclared students since audits are based on both gen ed and major requirements • Proactive degree audits on incoming transfers who have declared majors could possibly be rendered invalid if the student changes major • Solution: Do retroactive degree audits on graduating students (vs. graduation major) to determine hours needed (at the time of matriculation) to complete a degree in that major • Caveat: Must be able to clearly delineate courses taken prior to the matriculation date (and transferred in) vs. those that may be taken elsewhere between the matriculation date and the graduation date (and transferred back).

20. Procedure for Using Credit Hours Remaining to Calculate Grad Rate and Time-to-Completion • Identify all graduating students who started as a transfer student • Assign them to a cohort based on their year of matriculation • Perform a degree audit (against the graduation major) of courses transferred in at the time of matriculation  adjusted transfer hours • Based on the adjusted transfer hours (or %-completion of the degree) determine credit hours needed to graduate • Sort the students in each cohort into bins (octiles) based on credit hours needed to graduate (0-15, 16-30, 31-45, etc.) • For each octile in each cohort calculate 1-yr, 2-yr…8-yr grad rates • For each octile in each cohort calculate mean-time-to-completion

21. Next Steps • Do retroactive degree audits on graduating students in years 2005-2011 • 2005 is chosen as earliest year under consideration because an 8-year rate would involve the 1997 cohort. 1997 is the first year KSU (and entire USG) was on semester system instead of quarter system • DegreeWorks audits not programmed for quarter-system requirements – In fact catalogs prior to 2008 are not scribed into DegreeWorks so the farther back a student matriculated the more likely the audit will be less than accurate. Fortunately Gen Ed requirements have only undergone minor changes since 1997 • We will conduct a spotcheck analysis to determine errors due to changes in program requirements • % completion will be inverted to % remaining; then converted to credit hours remaining; Grad Rates and Time-to-Completion calculations will then proceed as described

22. Questions ???