No More Advising in the Dark: Using Data to Design Interventions for Specific Student Populations

1. No More Advising in the Dark: Using Data to Design Interventions for Specific Student Populations NACADA Annual ConferenceOctober 2011Session Code 536 Mr. Greg Dieringer Assistant Dean of University College The University of Akron Dr. Jennifer Hodges Assistant Dean of University College The University of Akron

2. Campus Stats Located in Akron, OH Undergraduates: 25,190 Total enrollment: 29,699 75% of undergraduates are full time students 50% male / 50% female for undergraduates Almost 50% of first-year students live on-campus (16% of all undergraduates live on-campus) 23% of undergraduates are 25 or older 96% are from Ohio 78% receive financial aid Carnegie Classification: Research Universities (high research activity) Who is The University of Akron?

3. What information are you already collecting about your students? What data collection methods do you utilize? • How many of you collect midterm reports? • How many of you use early alerts/warnings? • How many of you have a required FY course? • How many of you have Learning Communities? • Percentage of residential vs. commuter? • Does anyone use products such as MAP-Works, Grades First, Starfish, etc.?

4. What Do We Know about UA Students? Admission Categories • Direct Admits • Top 21% Admitted Directly into Major • 3.0 or higher HS GPA/19 ACT or higher • Standard Admits • Middle 62% Admitted into University College • 2.3-3.0 HS GPA/17-23 ACT • Provisional Admits • Bottom 17% Admitted into Associate of Arts • <2.30 HS GPA/16 or less ACT

5. What Do We Know about UA Students? Basic Demographic & Programatic Data • Residential/Commuter • Participation in FY Programs • Age • Financial Need • Developmental Courses • Majors • PT/FT State and National Reporting Data • Retention & Graduation Rates • HEI, VSA (NSSE & CLA), IPEDS 5

6. What else would we like to know about our students and their success?

7. Information Collected • Academic Integration • Academic Self-Efficacy • Core Academic Behaviors • Advanced Academic Behaviors • Commitment to Higher Education • Student Characteristics • Gender • Race/ethnicity • Entrance exam scores • # credit hours enrolled • High school GPA • Self-Assessment • Communication Skills • Analytical Skills • Self-Discipline • Time Management • Health and Wellness • Social Integration • Peer Connections • Living Environment (on/off campus) • Roommate Relationships • Homesickness

8. MAP-Works Process • Expectations • Behaviors • Student Profile • Institution Profile • Campus Resources • Social Norming • Expectations • Campus Resources • Student Summary • Sort Students • Coordinate Efforts

9. Data Inspired Interventions

10. Course Difficulties Student-Reported • How many courses are you taking? • Of those, how many are you struggling in? • Regarding the course you’re having the most difficulty, to what degree: • Have you talked with your instructor regarding your difficulties • Have you turned in assigned homework • Have you done required readings

12. Course Difficulties Faculty/Staff-Reported • Alerts • Allows faculty to input alerts for a single student. • Academic Updates • Allows faculty to input alerts for an entire class section. • Alerts and Academic Updates are primarily for academic issues such as poor grades, excessive absences, overall risk of failure. Advisers have access to both student and faculty reported course difficulties to recommend individual strategies...tutoring, academic workshops, withdrawal. 12

13. Student Success Seminar Instructors • Focused course topics on areas in need of attention based on survey results • Created assignments for students to use student reports to develop an individualized action plan for the semester • Class discussions illustrating survey results for the class cohort

14. Academic Behaviors &Time Management • How many of your scheduled classes have you attended this term? • To what degree are you the type of person who: • Attends class • Takes Good Notes in Class • Spends sufficient study time to earn good grades • Shows up on time • Plans out your time • Makes “to-do lists” • Balances time between classes and other activities

15. Fall Transition Written Student Report

16. Sense of Belonging/Peer Connections To what degree: • Do you belong here • Are you fitting in To what degree are you connecting with people: • Who share common interests with you • Who include you in their activities

17. Off-Campus Outreach Team • MAP-Works questions used to identify 297 students • Intent to Return for Spring and Next Year • Commitment to Institution • Commitment to Completing Degree • Sense of Belonging • Off Campus Outreach Team • Volunteers from various Student Affairs departments • Assigned an average of 11 students each • Trained on MAP-Works • Guidelines and Scripts

18. Off Campus Outreach Fall 2010 Outcomes

19. Residence Life and Housing • MAP-Works questions used to identify students • Homesickness • Social Aspects • Roommate Relationship • Sense of Belonging • Keep track of “frequent flyers” prior to survey launch • Integrate Map-Works into everyday work pattern (student conduct meetings, room changes, etc.) • Map-Works follow up plan submitted by Hall Staff • Used data to create floor and building programs

20. RLH MAP-Works Data Points

21. Commitment to the Institution& Intent to Transfer • To what degree are you committed to completing your degree at this institution. • To what degree do you intend to come back to this institution for the: • Spring term • Next academic year Enrollment Management identified students who indicated they intended to transfer. • At the time of fall registration, approximately half of those students were enrolled for the fall. • Of those who had not yet enrolled, 30 students with a 3.0 or higher GPA were offered scholarships as an incentive to stay. • 15 of those students accepted.

22. First-Generation Status (and financial need) – Integrated with other interventions

23. UA Fall to Spring Persistence& Fall to Fall Retention

24. Further Discussion/Questions?Thank you for your participation! Greg Dieringer - gdierin@uakron.edu Dr. Jennifer Hodges - jhodges@uakron.edu