Student Success Centre Reaching Those Who Don’t Reach Out · Reaching Those Who Don’t Reach...
Transcript of Student Success Centre Reaching Those Who Don’t Reach Out · Reaching Those Who Don’t Reach...
Reaching Those Who Don’t Reach Out:Developing an Undergraduate Early Alert System
Shermin Murji, Early Alert CoordinatorRoxanne Ross, Director, Student Success CentreJulie Stewart, Former Early Alert Coordinator
Student Success Centre
Learning outcomes
▪ By participating in this session, registrants will:
— Explore common challenges in student help-seeking behavior based on recent literature and experience
— Gain a better understanding of early alert and proactive advising approaches
— Consider structure and important stakeholders involved in implementing an early alert system
— Begin to develop guiding questions for pursuing the proactive advising and early alert best practices within the context of their own institution
Outline
▪ What is early alert?
▪ Discussion: challenges of connecting
▪ University of Calgary model
▪ Our development process
▪ Outcomes to date
▪ Planning your early alert approach
Why do student leave before degree completion?
Why do students leave?
Why do students leave?
▪ Low student engagement
▪ Lack of sense of belonging/community
▪ Not the right fit (post-secondary)
▪ Not the right program
▪ Financial limitations
▪ Family commitments or pressure
▪ Lack of academic preparation
▪ Part of a vulnerable/at-risk group
▪ Stress, burnout, health issues (MENTAL HEALTH)
Some definitions
▪ Retention = rate or percentage of students who return from one enrollment period to another (Habley, Bloom, & Robbins, 2012)
▪ Attrition = the “non-continuation” of students (Higher Education Academy, 2015)
▪ At-risk students = students or student groups with a higher probability of attrition (The Glossary of Education Reform, 2013)
Why Early Alert?
▪ Retention/ Efficiency of resources (EAB, 2013)
▪ Mental health initiatives
Components of Early Alert
Lynch-Holmes, 2015
Proactive outreach
early in a problem Connection to resources
Identification/alert
Proactive Advising
▪ Advisor-directed
▪ Anticipates student challenge/intervenes early in a problem
▪ Focused on motivating the student to engage in resources
Varney, 2012
Trends in Post-secondary Early Alert
Academic factors
• In-progress course grades
Behavioural factors
• Engagement
• Attendance
• Financial aid applications
Non-cognitive factors
• Motivation
• Goal orientation
• Self-efficacy
(EAB, 2013; Lotkowski et al., 2004)
Issues We See in Early Alert Students
▪ Financial/housing
▪ Personal relationships
▪ Physical health
▪ Mental health
▪ Legal/immigration
▪ Motivation
▪ Bereavement
▪ Transition (first year or international)
▪ What makes it so hard to find students early in a problem?
▪ What prevents people from accessing help when they need it?
UCalgary Definition of Early Alert
▪ Academic indicators of change from baseline behaviour (e.g., grade decline, disengagement from class)
▪ Comparing each student to their own historical performance
▪ Identifying life issues that could derail a student if not resourced quickly
Academic Development Specialists
▪ One-on-one, relationship-based support
▪ Self-regulated learning strategists
—Information processing, test strategies,
—Time management, organization, life balance
—Skills for monitoring and refining strategies
▪ Referral network
—Skills for finding and accessing help
Our Solution
Timeline
▪ Fall 2013: —Coordinator hired, working group established
—Environmental scan, faculty consultation
—Commercial early alert software testing
—Early alert development conference
▪ Winter 2014:—Small pilot with invited faculty
—Cultivating relationships with IT, FOIP officer
Timeline
▪ Fall 2014:
—Revised model piloted in select faculties
—Switch to D2L data, Cognos system
▪ Spring-Fall 2015:
—Software tool development process with IT
Timeline
▪ Winter 2016:
—launched software tools
—Launched branding
▪ Spring-Summer 2016:
—refinement of algorithm
—Faculty outreach
Timeline
▪ Fall 2016 and onwards:
—Full-campus launch of finalized model
—Hired research assistant
—Student surveying, student ambassador
How We Find Undergraduate Students
In-house analytic tool
Thrive Administrator
PeopleSoft GPA historyD2L gradebook data
Faculty report form
Student ADS
Student
ADS Student
Student
Student Student
Multiple-course View
0
1
2
3
4
Jan. Feb. Mar.
GPA
Math GPA
Physics GPA
Chem GPA
Winter 2017
Performance drop across multiple courses
First-year/First-term Model
0
1
2
3
4
IncomingGrades
Sept. Oct.
GPA
Math GPA
Physics GPA
Chem GPA
Fall 2016
Failing grades across multiple courses
Managing Privacy
▪ FOIP officer advised on development
▪ Info collected under Post-Secondary Learning Act
▪ Collection notice on university website
▪ Faculty put information into Thrive system, but do not receive information on student actions
▪ Students surveyed on approach are generally comfortable
Next steps
▪ Define “success”: what indicators to use for assessment— Uptake rate?
— Flagged students?
— Use of resources/referrals?
▪ Continue to explore developing a parallel mental health/wellbeing form and support
▪ Refine algorithm to correctly identify “at risk” students
▪ Continue to debate predictive modelling and its potential application
— How do we use specific factors ethically?
Research Questions
▪ Does flagging alone have an impact?
▪ Who are/aren’t we reaching?
▪ Are we reaching students at the right moment?
▪ How does Thrive impact the students who use it?
▪ How can we improve the Thrive system?
▪ Do certain faculties use the concern form more than others?
Reflecting on your own Early Alert plan
▪ What are your financial/human resources?
▪ Who are your allies/champions?
—Admin, student affairs, wellness, IT
▪ What is your institutional context?
—Size
—Teaching/assessment practices
—Institutional strategy documents
Reflecting on your own Early Alert plan
▪ Who is best placed to offer this support in your institution?
▪ What is your referral network once you connect with a student?
▪ What kinds of outreach are already taking place at your institution?
▪ Do you take a centralized approach to student support or is it handled by faculties or smaller units?
Reflecting on your own Early Alert plan
▪ How will you communicate your system?
—to students
—to faculty/staff
▪ How will you evaluate your system’s effectiveness?
Questions/Contact
Contact: Shermin Murji [email protected] Ross [email protected]
Faculty website: http://www.ucalgary.ca/ssc/faculty/thriveFaculty concern form:https://thrive.ucalgary.ca/Concern/InfoStudent website: http://www.ucalgary.ca/ssc/advising/thrive
References
Donaldson, P., McKinney, L., Lee, M. and Pino, D. (2016). First-year community college students perceptions and attitudes toward intrusive academic advising. NACADA Journal, (36) 1, pp. 30-42.
Educational Advisory Board (2013). Hardwiring student success: Building disciplines for retention and timely graduation. Academic Affairs Forum.
Educational Advisory Board (2014). The murky middle of project: Preliminary findings. Student Success Collaborative.
Educational Advisory Board (2013). Implementing early alert systems. Student Affairs Forum.
Habley, W. R., Bloom, J. L., & Robbins, S. (2012). Increasing persistence: Research-based strategies for college student success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Higher Education Academy. (2015). Student attrition. Retrieved June 6, 2017, from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/student-attrition.
Lotkowski, V. A., Robbins, S. B., Noeth, R. J. (2004). The role of academic and non-academic factors in improving college retention. ACT Policy Report. Retrieved from http://ww.cfder.org/uploads/3/0/4/9/3049955/the_role_ofacademic_and_non_academic_factors_in_improving_college_retention.pdf.
Lynch-Holmes, K. (2015). Early alerts as a tool for student success: Defining what “good” looks like. Ellucian White Paper Series. Retrieved from http://www.ellucian.com/White-Papers/Early-alerts-as-a-tool-for-student-success/ .
The Glossary of Education Reform. (2013). At-risk. Retrieved January 4, 2017, from http://edglossary.org/at-risk/.
Varney, J. (2012). Proactive (intrusive) advising. Retrieved from http://www.ship.edu/uploadedFiles/Ship/Advising/Resources_for_Faculty/advisor_handbook/Proactive%20Advising%20Article.pdf.