Category: Blog

Spotlight on Innovation: How Delta State’s Okra Scholars Program Hopes to Provide Systematic Intervention for the Most At-Risk Students

by Lisa Cook (opens in new tab)

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. At Delta State University in Cleveland, MS, students who score between 17 to 21 on the ACT, are Pell-eligible, and are first-generation college students or residents of the Mississippi Delta face additional challenges to stay in college. These students accounted for more than half of DSU’s Fall 2012 freshmen class. This range represents a student cohort for whom timely and consistent intervention can have the greatest impact. To help those students finish their degree and do so in four to five years, DSU has established the Okra Scholars program, which will use a $1.6 million First in the World grant to establish a holistic, integrated student support approach for this targeted group of at-risk students. We reached out to project director Christy Riddle to learn more. A […]

Spotlight on Innovation: LaGuardia Community College Pilots Project COMPLETA to Support First-Gen, Low-Income Students

by Lisa Cook (opens in new tab), Daniel Fusch (opens in new tab)

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. by Lisa Cook and Daniel Fusch, Academic Impressions LaGuardia Community College’s students in Queens, NY face a bevy of obstacles to their academic success. The college serves a mix of first-generation, low-income, and minority students, more than 70 percent of them from families who earn less than $25,000 annually. LaGuardia also offers GED programs; many students who complete the GED then successfully apply and are admitted to LaGuardia, but unfortunately many of these students fall away in “summer melt.” LaGuardia hopes to get those students back on track and help other low-income and underrepresented students succeed through Project COMPLETA, Comprehensive Support for Student Success, which will be funded by a $2.9 million First in the World grant. We reached out to Bret Eynon, associate dean for teaching […]

Spotlight on Innovation: How Bay Path University is Improving Accelerated Online Learning through a Social Learning Platform

by Lisa Cook (opens in new tab)

Bay Path University is already breaking ground after establishing the only all-women’s fully online degree program, The American Women’s College Online (AWC), in the U.S. in 2014. The AWC offers over 20 degree programs, including business, criminal justice, cybersecurity, health services administration, leadership and organization, and psychology in an accelerated format. But Bay Path recognizes that online learning in an accelerated environment can present a number of challenges – particularly if students begin falling behind. Their newest innovation, the Social Online Universal Learning Platform (SOUL), funded by a $3.5 million First in the World grant, seeks to address those challenges by making student progress more immediately visible to both faculty and students. We talked to David Demers, chief operating officer of the American Women’s College Online, to learn more about this innovative program. Demers highlighted three key components of the new program: Here’s what Bay Path is doing. 1. Leveraging Data and Learning Analytics While the AWC provides a number of student support services to address the challenges working women frequently face while working on a degree, access to those services is typically reactive, after a student has started to fall behind. With SOUL, the AWC plans to leverage data […]

“No One Ever Told Me”: How Advisors Can Maximize Service and Minimize Risk through Effective Documentation

by Sue Ohrablo, Ed.D. (opens in new tab)

This article is an excerpt from Sue Ohrablo’s acclaimed book High-Impact Advising: A Guide for Academic Advisors, which you can find here. Electronic documentation has become an integral part of an academic advisor’s daily life. Student records and notes are often maintained electronically, and email has been established as a preferred method of communication among students, faculty, and staff. No longer are advisor records locked securely in a file cabinet within the department; our records and communications are more transparent and accessible to a broader audience than ever before — as colleagues within the department rely on accurate, timely notes for consistency in service, and departments throughout the institution may access these records to develop an historical perspective on a student. “No one ever told me”: five words that are sure to make an academic advisor cringe, yet are uttered all too frequently in higher education. The implications behind those words may range from mild frustration on the part of the student to the basis for a lawsuit. It is crucial for academic advisors, as well as all university personnel, to maintain accurate, timely student records and documentation. By ensuring that your documentation is clear, concise, and accurate, you can maximize the delivery […]

Strategies to Promote Student Resiliency: What to Do When Adult Students Blame Life Circumstances for their Lack of Success

This article is an excerpt from Sue Ohrablo’s acclaimed book High-Impact Advising: A Guide for Academic Advisors, which you can find here. Ask anyone who has worked with adult students the major challenges that adult students face and they will tell you work, family, health, and finances. Each of these challenge areas poses a threat to student persistence, especially if the student has low resiliency. Academic advisors have the opportunity to help strengthen student resiliency by providing students options and tools for success. Work As employers respond to changes in the economy, they are often faced with doing more with less. The impact on employees can result in increased workload due to workforce reduction, unemployment, or reassignment of duties. Our adult students are not immune to experiencing these significant life challenges. These challenges can lead students to decide to drop out, stop out, or reduce their course load. When a Student Has a New Job with Increased Responsibilities Ask the student to consider and articulate exactly how the change has impacted her life. If she’s taken on a new job with increased responsibilities, what will that look like? If she usually works 8:30 – 5:00, will she now be working until […]

Spotlight on Innovation: Arizona State University Rolls Out Project-Based Modular Learning to Improve First-Gen Student Retention and Completion

by Lisa Cook (opens in new tab)

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. At Arizona State University, students from first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented backgrounds earn bachelor’s degrees at a rate that is 40 to 80 percent of their more advantaged peers. M. Jeanne Wilcox, a professor in in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, and Elizabeth D. Capaldi Phillips, provost emeritus and professor of psychology, head the ASU team that hopes to close that gap with three complementary innovations designed to boost retention and completion. Art Blakemore, Senior Vice President, and Duane Roen, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters, are working with Wilcox and Phillips on the implementation team. ASU hopes to increase first-generation completion rates and prepare students more effectively for life and career after graduation as they pilot several new strategies, learning what works and what requires […]

Performance-Based Funding for Higher Education: What You Need to Know

by Patrick Cain (opens in new tab), Dennis P. Jones (opens in new tab)

January 2015. While states and institutions across the country experiment to find successful funding formulas, all will agree that performance-based funding (also termed outcomes-based funding) is once again gaining momentum. A majority (60%) of states have already adopted measures to allocate public funding on the basis of outcomes, and many more plan to follow suit.The time is now for your institution to begin thinking about how performance-based funding models can represent state and institutional interests while achieving better student outcomes at your institution. To offer a clear look at the future landscape of performance funding — and what conversations college and university leaders need to be leading on their campuses today — we reached out to Dennis Jones, the president of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). We would like to share our interview with you. An Interview with Dennis Jones, NCHEMS Patrick Cain.Looking back 12-18 months, what overall trend have you seen in regard to the position of policy makers and senior institutional leadership on adopting performance based funding?Dennis Jones.There continues to be growing interest in outcomes-based funding among policymakers. It is increasingly viewed as a form of good budgetary practice at the state level; and […]

Measure of Grace: A Different Approach to Tuition and Persistence

by Daniel Fusch (opens in new tab), Sarah Seigle Peatman (opens in new tab)

With their new “Measure of Grace” initiative, Grace College is working to keep their undergraduate degrees affordable and incentivize student persistence and completion. A few years ago, the college began offering the option to complete all of their bachelor’s degrees as three-year degrees. Now, with “Measure of Grace,” the college is: “We could have just reduced tuition to increase our competitiveness and increase enrollment,” Cindy Sisson, Grace College’s vice president of enrollment, notes, “but we also wanted to reward students for persisting. In fact, the students who came in last fall will get the $500 reduction this coming fall, and the free textbook rentals.” Grace College already has a tradition of high persistence, with 81% freshman-to-sophomore retention in 2014, reflecting recent gains from their three-year degree initiative. A Closer Look at Grace College’s Tuition Model We asked Cindy Sisson about the economics of the new tuition model. She suggests that while there is definitely a cost involved in these tuition reductions, Grace College hopes this will be offset by: At Academic Impressions, what strikes us about Grace College’s model is that (a) it allows the institution to better serve its mission in keeping a faith-based, private education affordable for students, […]

Student Affairs: Trends to Watch in 2015

How can SA professionals best use social media? How do you serve students and satisfy the demands of regulatory compliance? What will “move the needle” on completion rates? On February 9, Marla Whipple, a senior director of in-person events at Academic Impressions, moderated a free panel (you can access a recording here)– with 335 institutions attending — where she asked three thought leaders in student affairs what trends student affairs leaders should be watching in 2015. This is just one part of our comprehensive curriculum for Student Affairs professionals. What followed was a vigorous discussion between Gavin Henning, associate professor of higher education and director of the educational administration programs at New England College; Tony Doody, director of student life at Rutgers University; and Susan Salvador, vice president of enrollment and student affairs at Northampton Community College — with questions coming in from a diverse array of colleges and universities. The following is a partial and complimentary transcript of this panel. Share it with your colleagues! A Panel of Experts: What’s on their Minds this Year? Marla Whipple: Gavin, Susan, Tony, welcome! What institutional trends are you watching in 2015? Gavin Henning: I’m paying close attention to the completion agenda. There is a […]

Parking Garage Advising: How Florida Atlantic is Test Driving a New Approach to Advising Commuter Students

by Lisa Cook (opens in new tab)

by Lisa Cook, Academic Impressions Why We’re Taking a Close Look at FAU Florida Atlantic University has piloted several innovative strategies for providing students more timely advising and support. In fall 2014, FAU’s University Advising Services office started a resident hall outreach but struggled to come up with a plan to reach out to commuter students, who frequently attend part-time and only in the evening due to work and family commitments. Historically, all university offices closed at 5, which posed an additional challenge to reaching out to students with full-time jobs. The reality is that commuter students, who are often part-time, take longer to graduate, making outreach to that population especially critical. We talked with Joe Murray, director of University Advising Services, to learn more about the initiative. Taking Advising to the Parking Garage The idea to reach out to commuter students was the brainchild of Florida Atlantic University academic coach and advisor Jennifer Coisson, who herself had once been a commuter student and knew that commuter students often miss out on campus support services. Yet outreach to these students is difficult because FAU doesn’t have commuter lounges or any one spot on campus where commuter students congregate. Except the […]

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