Course correction: Helping students find and follow a path to success

A SURVEY OF U.S. STUDENTS

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1,000 Students

Methodology and demographics

The survey fielding was managed by Market Connections via email invitation and online survey among U.S. students between July 22 and August 9, 2019. The margin of error for results is +/- 3.1 at a 95% confidence level.

200400400Two-year Four-year,

privateFour-year, public

168832Full-time students

Part-time students

450454Gen Z Gen XMillennial

96

10%

22%

54%

34%

10%

11%

62%

61%40%

56%

61%

65%

Gen Z

Millennial

Gen X

Two-year

Four-year, public

Four-year, private

60% of respondents work part- or full-time

20% of respondents care for children, aging parents, or other dependents

Gen Z

Millennial

Gen X

Two-year

Four-year, public

Four-year, private11%

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Today’s college students struggle with choosing a career path and major, increasing the time and cost associated with obtaining a degree.

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Just under half of all students are confident in their career path when they enroll in college

All Students49%

Millennial46%

Gen Z52%

Gen X56%

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Students, especially younger learners, express angst over choosing a major

1 in 3 studentsis unsure which major aligns

with his/her chosen career path

Almost two-thirdsof students feel overwhelmed by the process of selecting a major

74%

67%

62%

Millennial

Gen X

Gen Z

49%

63%

68%

Millennial

Gen X

Gen Z

Gen X students are

most confident about their

major choice

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Some students need extra guidance

All Students18%

Students said their schools were less than

moderately helpful in providing guidance

on majors

Four-year53%

Community college students are more likely to give their institutions high marks for helping them choose a major that aligned with their

career path Two-year

59%

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Students need more clarity around courses and prerequisites

1 in 3 studentssay major/degree course requirements are unclear

1 in 4 studentssays prerequisites are unclear

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More than half of students change their major at least once…

Students changing majors at least once

Number of major changes for all students

49%0

31%1

7%3

1%4

<1%5+

12%2

54%Gen X

44%Gen Z

58%Millennials

57%Two-year

47%Four-year

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…resulting in delayed completion dates and increased costs

49%

31%

Effects of major changes

Slightly delayed my expected graduation/completion date (by one semester) 23%

Significantly delayed my expected graduation/completion date (by two or more semesters) 28%

Needed to take additional general education courses 31%

Needed to take additional major courses 39%

Increased my overall tuition 23%

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Students rely on support from advisors during registration, and theyneed more attention when transferring.

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Students turn to their advisors first when they have registration questions

Two-year39%

Gen X41%

Students get helpful advice from:

Family member 36%

Other students 39%

Instructor/Faculty members 45% Gen X56%

Academic advisors 57%

Career center 31%

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However, the average student only met with an advisor twice during the most recent academic year

Number of advisor meetings

…and nearly half of those meetings were initiated solely by the student

53% Millennial

54% Two-year

52% Gen X

44% Four-year

43% Gen Z

48% All Students

29% of respondents met with their advisor one time or less

35%

8%21%

20%

9%7%

2

0

1

3

5+

4

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College affordability or

financial concerns

21%

27%

17%Academic plans, required courses, and current courses are the top topics of meetings with advisors

Less than half of students discuss career plans

Academic plans

70%

68%

71%

Financial aid

33%

45%

26%

Courses needed for major

or graduation

65%

60%

68%

Current courses

63%

60%

65%

Career plans

48%

46%49%

Emotional well-being/

mental health

19%

21%18%

Two-year students are more likely to talk about financial and transfer issues

All Students

Two-year

Four-year

Transfer process

23%

38%

13%

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Community college students need more guidance on the transfer process

23%

Support from the two-year institution

I haven’t yet received/did not receive any support 10%

Advice on choosing a four-year college 49%

Advice on how to transfer 56%

Advice on which courses are eligible for transfer 66%

One in three students did not receive advice from their two-year college on what courses were eligible for transfer

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Transfer students need more support acclimating to a four-year campus

23%

Support from the four-year institution

I haven’t yet received/did not receive any support 15%

Advice about on-campus resources (housing, financial aid, etc.) 46%

Advice on which courses are eligible for transfer credit 59%

Advice on which courses to take to fulfill major/graduation requirements

64%

More than half of transfer students did not get advice about on-campus resources from their four-year institutions

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Students value personalized, pathways-aligned approaches and technologies

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59% of respondents say group (meta) majors are helping students

71% of students find value in learning communities/block scheduling

Saves time registering for classes 51%

Makes choosing classes easier 55%

Creates instant study groups 47%

See the same students in all classes 46%

55% Millennial 52% Gen X62% Gen Z

62% Two-year 59% Four-year,public 53% Four-year,

private

Students benefit from guided pathway components

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Technology that students find very or extremely helpful

Students want technology solutions that help them stay on track

Online "what-if" tool for majors/degrees

Virtual one-stop

Proactive advising/targeted interventions

Date reminder nudges

79%82%

70%73%

66%76%

62%68%

All Students

Gen X

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It’s clear that students are finding value in the components of guided pathways and are looking to technology to help them along the way. Strong advisor support and intervention can help students get—and stay—on the right path to success.

The big question for institutions is how to scale the advisor relationship to drive more individualized conversations with students that will help them set their goals and stay on track.

The careful implementation of technology can help bring institutions into the digital future and extend human interaction to better support students along all points of their path. Forward-thinking institutions are scaling the advising function by augmenting human interactions with technology like voice assist, chatbots, and predictive analytics—as well as enabling personalized conversations and data that can help advisors serve students better.

Implementing technology to scale student-advisor relationships

Ellucian is the market leader charting the digital future of higher education with a

portfolio of cloud-ready technology solutions and services. Serving more than 2,550

institutions in over 50 countries, reaching over 20 million students, Ellucian delivers student information systems (SIS), finance and HR,

financial aid, integration, analytics, recruiting, retention, and advancement software

solutions. Ellucian also supports the higher education community with a range of

professional services that includes application software implementation, management

consulting, and grants services.

Visit Ellucian at www.ellucian.com

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