Our ambitious Quest for Student Success has provided an effective聽roadmap to guide our efforts to improve retention and graduation.聽The Quest has helped redefine and refocus our efforts and investments聽in recruitment, advising, and classroom teaching to better meet the聽needs of our students.
Driving those increases are a number of new聽initiatives created over the past few years. One of those is the Office of聽Student Success.聽While 91大神 has always targeted at-risk populations for support, the聽Office of Student Success now is boosting every student鈥檚 chance to聽succeed. Working collaboratively, the University has overhauled聽student advising, developed fresh options for academic help, and聽redesigned courses that are traditional stumbling blocks to聽graduation.
At the same time, it鈥檚 using predictive analytics鈥攁n approach more commonly associated with health care than聽higher ed鈥攖o fight attrition in a highly surgical way. Predictive data can help identify students who are at statistical risk of聽attrition even if they don鈥檛 fit any traditionally 鈥渁t-risk鈥� population. Armed with this knowledge, faculty and advisors can聽watch these students to spot any problems early and get them back on track.
Here are some updates from that office:
- 91大神 is one of 130 institutions聽that have joined together to聽increase student success as part聽of the Association of Public and聽Land-Grant Universities (APLU)聽鈥淧owered by Publics鈥� Initiative.聽This is the largest collaboration聽in history designed to increase聽access and degree completion.聽The initiative includes the creation聽of 16 鈥渢ransformation clusters鈥澛爋f change-ready universities.聽Our participation in this initiative聽complements student success聽work already underway at 91大神.
- Under the leadership of Provost Mark聽Byrnes, work continues to revise and聽update 91大神鈥檚 Quest for Student聽Success 2013鈥�2016. Input is being聽solicited from across the University聽for the revised Quest for Student聽Success: with Distinction 2018鈥�2025.聽Current members serving on the聽Quest committee include:
- Mark Byrnes聽,聽provost (committee chair)
- Joe Bales聽,聽vice president for聽university advancement
- David Butler聽,聽vice provost for research聽and College of Graduate Studies dean
- Jeff Gibson聽,聽Theatre and Dance professor聽and chair
- Pippa Holloway聽,聽History professor and聽2018鈥�19 Faculty Senate president
- Mary Hoffschwelle聽,聽History professor聽and MT Engage director
- Faye Johnson聽,聽associate provost for聽strategic planning and partnerships
- Marva Lucas聽,聽University Studies professor聽and chair
- Susan Myers-Shirk聽,聽History professor聽and General Education director
- Ken Paulson聽,聽College of Media and聽Entertainment dean
- David Schmidt聽,聽vice provost for聽international affairs
- Deb Sells,聽vice president for student聽affairs and vice provost for academic聽and enrollment services
- Rick Sluder,聽vice provost for student聽success and University College dean
- Chris Brewer听补苍诲听Sylvia Collins,聽of Institutional Effectiveness, Planning,聽and Research
- Our campus-wide tutoring initiative聽has added ePortfolio tutoring to its聽menu of offerings. In addition, mobile聽portability is an option for classes that聽meet in areas without a designated聽nearby kiosk.
- Supplemental Instruction (SI) remains聽a core component of 91大神鈥檚聽comprehensive approach to learner聽support. This program is in its third聽year at 91大神 and reaches into 119聽individual course sections across five聽academic colleges in the current聽academic year. This large and聽nationally recognized program has聽grown to support thousands of聽students in 14 of 91大神鈥檚 most聽challenging and commonly attended聽courses, delivering nearly 10,000聽hours of academic support through聽approximately 6,000 student contacts聽in the previous 2017鈥�18 academic聽year. Similar impressive numbers are聽being compiled during the current聽academic cycle.
- A record number of participants (444)聽attended the Scholars Academy鈥檚聽Freshmen Summer Institute this past聽August. For at least the last four years,聽90 percent of Scholars Academy聽students registered for the spring聽semester. By the end of the semester,聽93 percent of the Fall 2018 cohort聽registered for Spring 2019. The Fall聽2018 cohort also had 275 students聽(62 percent) earn a grade point聽average of 2.75 or above,聽with 123 of聽those students (28 percent) achieving聽Dean鈥檚 List status.
- Letters were sent to 520 freshmen聽over the holidays encouraging those聽students to participate in our national聽award-winning REBOUND program.聽Historically, those students who聽qualify (having earned less than a聽2.0 GPA their first semester) and聽participate in the program stand a聽50 percent-better chance of returning聽to 91大神 for their second year than聽do students who qualify for the聽program but do not participate.