Given the lower retention rates of first-generation students, more colleges and universities are devoting attention to how best to aid the success and persistence of this cohort. To learn more about how higher ed institutions can respond to the issue, we turned this week to Thom Golden, senior associate director of admissions at Vanderbilt University (@Doctor_Thom on Twitter). This week, Golden draws attention to the types of bridge programming that higher ed institutions can put in place to help first-gen students enter college better prepared to persist and succeed. Defining the Problem “In enrolling and retaining first-generation students, aspiration isn’t the issue,” Golden notes. He directs attention to findings from several studies from past years: According to the Ad Council’s 2006 study College access: Results from a survey of low-income teens and parents, 91 percent of low-income high school students said they believed that they would complete a college degree According to a 2006 US Department of Education study, The Toolbox Revisited, only 45 percent of Hispanic students attend a high school that offers calculus, and only 59 percent of white students do Outreach to high schools and to high school students, Golden suggests, must focus less on planting seeds of […]
This article is an excerpt from Sue Ohrablo’s acclaimed book High-Impact Advising: A Guide for Academic Advisors, which you can find here. Over the past few days, three different students have made comments to the effect of, “I am so glad I called. I almost didn’t. Honestly, before I called I had pretty much decided to withdraw from the program.” By the end of my discussion with each of these students, the student decided to persist and agreed to continue a dialogue that would help them to succeed. When students are in crisis, they are most vulnerable. They are apt to make rash decisions if they feel isolated and unsupported. If they have even one person within the institution on whom they know they can rely, it may make all the difference in retaining them. Being able to have that conversation effectively with an at-risk student at the most critical moment is key. I want to share seven approaches that advisors can use to maximize their effectiveness and establish a reputation as someone to whom a student can turn. 1. Be Reliable and Available Advisors can establish themselves as reliable advocates by consistently providing comprehensive advising and by making time for students, […]
Also in this series: Is it Time to Launch that New Academic Program? The Art and Science of Answering that Question Feasibility Checklist: The Science of Bringing New Academic Programs to Life Financial Modeling for New Academic Programs Sustaining New Academic Programs: 5 Key Factors In my previous articles in this series, I outlined a blueprint for new academic program development and stressed the importance of a balanced approach. Understanding that it is impossible to capture all variables on the front end, the potential viability of a program is difficult to assess until that program is up and running. While having a discipline around new program development ensures that you will anticipate most of the important potential impact issues, maintaining a culture of flexibility and responsiveness once the program is launched is equally critical for the program’s success. As the great American novelist Thomas Berger once wrote, “The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.” Indeed, cultivating a spirit of ‘question asking’ and ‘wide-eyed vigilance’ as a program is embedded within your organizational culture and context, while not easy, is nevertheless a foundational pre-requisite for long-term viability. Over the past decade, we have successfully implemented […]
By Hilary L. Link, PhDPresident of Allegheny College Between the end of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th, higher education in this country became more and more specialized and fragmented due to a number of factors: new research findings, the growth of experimental and scientific methods, the application of science to industry, and “an increased awareness of social problems brought about by an increasingly industrial and urban society.” Emblematic of this specialization, which continues today, is the focus on a student’s major, required by almost every college and university. Most majors are too discipline-specific on their own to give graduates the tools to solve the ever-more-vexing problems of today’s complex world. A major in English may present a career path that is traditionally narrow; combine it with a minor in Environmental Science and graduates expand their opportunities, for instance, as researchers in the natural sciences, leaders in the burgeoning alternative energy sector, grant-writers for climate action nonprofits or environment-focused policymakers and communications professionals. Our problems demand solutions that integrate different perspectives and disciplines, which is precisely why minors matter today more than ever before. As an interdisciplinary scholar of Renaissance art and literature, I have been […]
A 2010 US Department of Education study found that adjunct instructors teach 60% of the college courses in the US. They represent a critical first line of instruction for many students, yet often receive minimal faculty development and minimal institutional support for serving students. This week, we interviewed Jennifer Strickland, the interim director for Mesa Community College’s Center for Teaching and Learning, which supports the college’s 300+ residential faculty and 1100+ adjunct faculty. We asked Strickland why the issue of adjunct support should be accorded some urgency – and what forms of support she has found to be most needed in order to improve teaching and learning, as well as retention of adjunct faculty. The Need for a Shift in Institutional Culture Strickland argues that providing adjunct faculty with few resources to improve pedagogy and limited logistical support doesn’t serve students well. While the rationale for this has to do with the level of investment in contingent versus full-time faculty, what is actually at stake is the level of investment in the student. Strickland notes the example of institutions at which part-time faculty lack an office (even a shared one) and a phone line on campus-–curtailing their ability to offer […]
September 29, 2011 The 2010 census data paints a bleak financial picture for recent graduates, and as the recession lingers, it’s clear that many of the students enrolled at your institution will be graduating into a very difficult market. There has rarely been a better time to conduct an aggressive rethinking of your on-campus employment opportunities. We reached out to Brett Perozzi, the associate vice president for student affairs at Weber State University and a key thinker and innovator on this issue, to learn more about how on-campus employment opportunities can be structured well to enhance student learning and prepare students well for entry into their future careers. Perozzi offered us advice on these four items: “The key that I have found is selecting specific learning outcomes (for example, outcomes focused on critical thinking, communication skills, problem-solving skills, leadership), and then teaching and training students around those specific skill sets. Often we think: “Well, of course students will become better problem-solvers after these employment opportunities.” But you need to train for this and provide structured opportunities for this learning to occur. Good on-campus employment programs select specific learning outcomes, provide relevant and targeted training, and assess progress.”Brett Perozzi, Weber State […]
Financial aid offices at colleges that are experiencing rising enrollment as well as increased percentages of the student population seeking financial aid find themselves facing: High inbound call volume (especially at peak times) Longer lines as students unable to get through by phone visit the office in person A bottleneck in staff time and resources with the verification process, as the US Department of Education is selecting more financial aid reports to be verified This strain comes at a time of tight budgets, when most financial aid directors are not able to add staff or other resources. Once these bottlenecks begin to result in deterioration of service, this situation makes outsourcing your call center or your verification process an attractive option. But it is critical to outsource to the right contractor and with the right oversight in place. We turned to Dewey Knight, associate director of financial aid at the University of Mississippi, for his advice on due diligence in outsourcing financial aid operations. Making the Decision to Outsource “I am a big believer in outsourcing financial aid functions when that contributes to a better experience for students and parents,” Knight advises. “But you have to do it right.” In […]
July 7, 2011. In a climate of increased demand for online courses and increased federal scrutiny of regulatory compliance, it is increasingly critical that colleges and universities ensure the accessibility of their online course materials for students with disabilities — and not only for online courses, but also for classes held in the physical classroom that direct students to pursue research online or access supplemental materials via a course management system. Fortunately, significant gains in accessibility can be made with relative ease — the key is to be proactive and plan for them early rather than after an issue is noticed. To learn more about the “low-hanging fruit” for accessibility of course materials, we interviewed two leading experts on the issue from Drexel University — Dan Allen, content management specialist with Drexel’s Office of Information Resources and Technology, and Jenny Dugger, director of Drexel’s Office of Disability Services. Allen and Dugger offer the following tips for: Vetting potential vendors for accessibility Coaching your faculty in making course materials more accessible Vet Potential Vendors, Thoroughly “Where institutions often get into trouble is when they don’t vet their vendors for accessibility; by the time they realize there are issues, they have already made a long-term […]
In November of 2016, Academic Impressions held its first Women’s Leadership Success in Higher Education conference. (You can see information about the upcoming Women’s Leadership Success conference here.) For me personally, this was one of the highlights of my year and a culmination of months of work that sprung from an idea that had formed in the summer of 2015. As it happened, the conference took place the week after the election. I found myself wondering how or if the election would impact the synergy in the room. What we experienced was an incredibly positive, high-energy, joyful three days of learning! Key messages standout from that experience: As we prepare for the 2018 conference, coming up in just a few short weeks, we asked a few of our speakers for their thoughts on what holds women back from their leadership potential and what tactics they use in challenging situations to handle them with confidence. Their answers were varied, but demonstrate how each taps into her unique strengths to lead effectively. We spoke below with Jeanne Hey, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, University of New England, and with Arlethia Perry-Johnson, (Retired) Vice President of Marketing, Kennesaw State University. An Interview with 2 […]
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