Academic Advising: The Future of Student Success

1. Academic Advising: The Future of Student Success Thomas J. Grites, Ph.D. Assistant Provost Tom.Grites@stockton.edu

2. The Big Picture • Collaboration: working together… or too many fingers in the pie? • Collision: a clash among forces…or a new “Big Bang Theory”?

3. The Big Drivers a.k.a.The Completion Agenda • Obama - 2020 Goal: US will return to 1st in the world in proportion of population (ages 25 – 34) with some form of post-secondary education; includes 90% high school graduation rate • Lumina Foundation – 2025; “The Big Goal”: 60% of Americans will hold some kind of “high quality” credential • Current Status (age 25+): 9.5% have Associate’s credential and 30.5% have Bachelor’s or higher Source: US Census Bureau (2011)

4. What do these goals mean? • To meet the 2020 Obama goal we will need to double our current US college enrollments (to 40 million students) by 2016 • To meet the 2025 Lumina goal we will need to produce an additional 166,000 US college graduates per year, each year - in New Jersey (now at 44.6%) we will need to graduate 765,000 additional students, an increase of c. 5,600 per year, each year, for 14 years Source: Chronicle, Sept 20,2011

5. Yet… • Retention Rates and (5-Year) Graduation Rates have remained relatively constant for the past 40 years; defined in late 1980s, but still used today • c. 75% and 52% respectively • c. 56% and 28% (3 years; 2-year schools) Source: ACT Institutional Data Files i.e., most students are counted as “failures” (including President Obama)

6. …and more Degree Completion Status after 7 years Bachelor's degree by year 4 35% Bachelor’s degree year 5 to 7 30% Associate’s degree only 4% No degree, but still enrolled 10% No degree, not enrolled 22% Source: ACT Information Brief 2012-18

7. The Competing Forces VS.

8. Enrollment Growth • Most likely to be in the community colleges ($$$$ targeted for technical programs/careers, adult non-completers; return to mission?) But downsizing programs (athletics, adult ed, remediation) Sources: AACC, 2012; White House, 2012; USA Today, 3/19/12 • More transfer students in the 4-year sector (vertical & reverse transfers, swirlers; non-traditional credit sources; shift in course needs?)

9. Legislative and Legal Action - Federal • The “credit hour” rule* • The “state oversight” rule (online students)** • The “gainful employment” rule* • The “maintenance of effort” requirement (states) (Alabama and Michigan sanctioned; Iowa and Ohio pending; 20 others cited, but complied) • Doubling the interest rate on student loans* (July 1, 2012) • No (Senior) ROTC credit = no Federal $$$* (HR 2628) • American Dreams Act of 2012* (college savings plans and re-introduction of a student-unit record k-PhD) *pending **joint commission appointed to make recommendations (5/23/12)

10. Legislative & Legal Action - States Your State Statewide Transfer Agreements - ? Florida common Gen Ed curriculum, common course numbering, Junior status, no more CCs, no funding for liberal arts majors Texas some of the above; the $10,000 Bachelor’s degree (2 created); the “slacker” law; the 6-course withdrawal limit)

11. Legislative & Legal Action - States Indiana create statewide core curriculum to reduce cost per degree, increase on-time completion; limit of 120 credits Michigan constitutional case re: 2-year schools awarding 4-year degrees

12. Legislative & Legal Action Institutions • Return of the 4-year guarantee (even though it never worked before…or always worked before) • Differential Tuition by Major • Differential Tuition by Gen Ed course demand - St. Monica College (2-year) • “Steering” (Columbia University) – Civil Rights violation; to/from courses or instructors

13. Advances in Technology/Applications • The “Big Data” phenomenon (analytics for marketing, policymaking, hiring?, and instructional potential – advising?) • The “innovation campus” (K-State, Missouri, Akron, Woolongong) – proximate industry/university research partnerships

14. Advances in Technology/Applications • MOOCs and badges – no cost, no degree, just skills; DIY U • Degree Compass (Austin Peay University) – predicts students’ grades and GPA before they register; within .02 of GPA and within .6 of individual course grades

15. Sources of Credit • AP*, IB*, CLEP, DSST, ACE, etc • Dual Credit, Dual Enrollment (high schools) • Degree Completion Programs (at CCs) • Reverse Transfer • Work, Military, Life Experiences • The “transfer college” (Altius) – credit brokering • New York Times (The Knowledge Network) • Outsourcing (reverse adjuncts) *reduced funding for low-income students (NYT, 3/17/12)

16. versus

17. Accreditation and SLOs “Middle States’ accreditation…attests…that an institution has met the following criteria: …that it is guided by well-defined and appropriate goals, including goals for student learning; {and}that it assesses both institutional effectiveness and student learning outcomes, and uses the results for improvement” (p. iv).

18. …continued • Lumina characterizes “high quality” degrees and certificates as those in which specific learning outcomes can be demonstrated. • Lumina’s Degree Qualifications Profile*- framework for SLOs in 5 areas of learning at the Associate’s, Bachelor’s, and Master’s levels * American Historical Association has begun this effort

19. …continued • WICHIE – Interstate Passport Initiative: 5 states and 28 institutions to map common learning outcomes in a common Gen Ed core to result in “friction-free” transfer, using Harmonizing – macro level (curriculum) Tuning* – micro level (courses) * American Historical Association has begun this effort

20. Career Outlook • Demand and focus clearly seem to be in the technical areas (STEM disciplines and job availability) – where the $$$$ are going • Yet employers still complain about “the character, interpersonal skills and comportment of the young people they encounter” as well as “such basic skills as writing a clear memo were called into question” (i.e., the need for and value of a liberal education) (Farkas, Public Agenda, 2011) • The good news – jobs for college graduates to increase by 7 - 9.5% this year (LA Times, 3/18/12)

21. Ability to Pay Federal level Federal Education Budget Project with “scorecard” – includes: costs, graduation rates, ability to repay loans, amount of debt, and earnings potential (“gainful employment”); no more “ability to benefit” test State level • VA set to launch similar scorecard in April

22. Ability to Pay Institutional level • reduced state funding (WA, MT, GA) • over $300M since 2007 • accelerated programs using the new sources of credit & provide more online education Student level • average loan debt: $28,720 (FinAid.org) • 27% have past due balances (IHE, 3/6/12)

23. What’s the (Big) Result? We will likely have: more students more remediation more transfer students more degree options more means to earn degrees and certificates more scrutiny more legislation less financial support

24. Where Are We Headed? On a collision course… more degrees awarded, in shorter time, with fewer credits, in more convenient modes, from new sources QUALITY OF THE DEGREE similar retention and graduation rates (now reported over 8 years), with accreditors and employers requiring more and better demonstrable skills, more student debt, fewer “equitable” jobs

25. What Do We Do? Our jobs, as academic advisors and administrators • Recognize and anticipate the competing forces • Adhere to the NACADA Concept Statement, Core Values, and the CAS Standards • Use the “Advising as Teaching” philosophy and strategies • Help create an experience through which each student obtains a “high quality” degree

26. In Fact… Academic advisors just might be the only ones who will have the ongoing opportunities to develop and preserve the quality of education that we espouse in our mission statements, our Bulletins and Program guides, our recruitment efforts, our rankings, and even our accreditation reports.

27. In Fact… The quality of higher education, as reflected in all these degrees and certificates to be awarded in the next decade,rests in our hands.

28. THANK YOU! Thomas J. Grites, Ph.D. Assistant Provost Richard Stockton College of New Jersey 101 Vera King Farris Drive Galloway, NJ 08205 Phone: (609) 652-4871 Tom.Grites@Stockton.edu