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RetentionatWSU:ResearchandReview1/8/16
ExecutiveSummaryandBestPractices
WashingtonStateUniversityhasanumberofpositiveretentioneffortsinplace,yetretentioncontinuestobeaconcern.Overthepastcoupleofyearsanumberofeffortshavebeenmadetogatherdatatobetterunderstandtheissuesaroundretentionandpersistence.Thisreportattemptstogatherallofthatinformationintooneplace,andlookfortrendsacrossthedata.
Overall,thesedatasuggestsomeareaswherewemightplaceadditionalefforts:
• Supportforstudentmentalhealth• Representamoresupportiveenvironmentoutsideofclass(studentandadministrative
services)• Assistincomingstudentsinunderstandingtheacademicdemandsandensureadequate
supportandinformationregardingappropriatestudyskills,timemanagement,etc.
*Note:MuchoftheresearchcitedhereisspecifictothePullmancampus.Theliteraturesuggestsdifferentstrategieswouldbeeffective,onourdifferentcampusesasissuesatresidential,non-residentialandonlinecampusesdiffer.Therefore,wherepossibleitmakessensetolookatthecampusesseparately.
Thebulleteditemsbelowsummarizethemostnoteworthyfindingsfromdatasetscurrentlyavailable.
• IRresearch:Pullman-Primaryfocushasbeenontrackingfirsttimeenteringfreshmen.PredictivefactorsforretentionatWSUareconsistentwithexternalresearch:
• EnteringHSGPA–GPAsbelow3.0poseafairlyhighriskofnon-retention• FirstGeneration(lesslikelytopersist)• F&RLunchstatusinHighSchool(SES)(highfreeandreducedlunch(>50%atthe
school)arelesslikelytopersist• Residencystatus(in-statestudentsaremorelikelytopersist)• Financialneed<$7,000(morelikelytopersist)
• NSSE2014(n=1251)(AllWSU)o WSUaveragesarebelowInstitutionalpeersforSupportiveEnvironmentandQualityof
Interactions.Takentogetherthesefindingssuggestingwecoulddobetterinsupportingandinteractingwithourstudents.
o NSSEfindingsalsosuggestthat,acrosstheWSUsystem,weneedstudentsmoreengagedinHighImpactPractices(HIP).WhileoverhalfoffirstyearstudentsparticipateinatleastoneHIP,only10%participateinmorethanone,lessthaninstitutionalpeers.
• NSSE2014PULLMANo SpecifictoPullman,studentsarewellengagedHIPincomparisontolegislativepeers.o FirstyearandSeniorstudentsarebelowlegislativepeersforSupportiveEnvironment
andQualityofInteractionsandSupportiveEnvironment.o Lookingatthehighestandlowestperformingrelativetolegislativepeers:
§ Strengths:
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• Engagementwithfaculty:Discussingcareerplanswithafacultymember,anddiscussingcoursetopics,ideasorconceptswithafacultymemberoutsideofclassareamongstWSU’shighestperformingfactors.
• Bothfirstyearandseniorsindicateandmanycoursesincludeacommunitybasedprojectandseniorsindicatethey’veparticipatedinaculminatingexperience.
§ Concerns:• Lackofsupport:Lackofinstitutionalemphasisonhelpingstudents
managenon-academicresponsibilitiesandqualityofinteractionswithstudentservicesandotheradministrativestaffandofficesareamongstWSU’slowestperformingitems.
• Inaddition,forseniors,participatedinaninternship,co-oporfieldexperienceisoneofthelowestperformingitems.
• NationalCollegeHealthAssessment2012(n=3908)&2014(n=4078)(Pullman)o Respondentsidentifyanumberofitemsperceivedtonegativelyimpacttheiracademic
performance.Relatedtomentalhealth,respondentsidentifiedstress(30%),anxiety(21%),depression(12%)and/orrelationshipdifficulties(10%)asnegativelyimpactingtheiracademicperformance.ThesenumbersarealmostidenticaltotheNCHA2015ReferenceGroup
Further,significantnumberofrespondentsindicatednotreceivinginformationfromWSUondepression/anxiety(55%),relationshipdifficulties(67%),stressreduction(43%)orsuicideprevention(67.2%).Inaddition20%ofrespondentsindicatedtheyhadconsideredsuicidewithinthelastyearsuggestingmoresupportintermsofmentalhealthissuesiswarranted.
o Otheritemsidentifiedasnegativelyimpactingacademicperformance,bygreaterthan10%ofrespondentsincluded,lackofsleep(25%),Internet/videogames(15%)andwork(11%).Ofrespondentstothissurvey,lessthanhalfareemployedand30%employedlessthanhalf-time.Again,thesenumbersareverysimilartotheNCHA2015ReferenceGroup
• ENGAGEFall2012o Ifusedasintended,thissurveywouldhelpidentifystudentsatriskfordroppingoutand
allowforincreasedinterventionbyadvisorsorothersupportstaff.o Reviewingtheaggregatedataforthesingleadministrationofthisinstrument,WSU
students’percentilescoreswerebelowthenationalsampleonall10constructs(alldifferencesbeingstatisticallysignificant)withthelargestdifferencesfoundinAcademicDiscipline,AcademicSelf-confidenceandCommitmenttoCollege.
§ AcademicDiscipline–theamountofeffortastudentputsintoschoolworkandthedegreetowhichastudentseeshim/herselfashardworkingandconscientious.
§ CommitmenttoCollege:Commitmenttostayingincollegeandgettingadegree.§ AcademicSelf-confidence:Thebeliefinone’sabilitytoperformwellincollege.
o ThisdatasuggeststhattheincomingclassofFall2012wasnotpreparedfortheacademicrigorsofWSU.
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• LASSI–DeliveredFall2014,thethirdweekoftheterm,to485firstyearstudentsacrossarangeofcourses.TheLASSIisa10-scale,80-itemassessmentofstudents'awarenessaboutanduseoflearningandstudystrategiesrelatedtoskill,willandself-regulationcomponentsofstrategiclearning.LikeENGAG,theLASSIprovidesstudentsfeedbackinwhereaswheretheymaybeweakandneedtoimproveknowledge,attitudes,beliefsandskills.StudentswhocompletedtheLASSIdidslightlybetterintheirfallsemesterthanstudentswhodidnotcompletetheassessment.ThereisnotanationalsampleforcomparisontoWSUstudentscores.WSUstudentsscoredlowestin“Attitude”and“self-testing”
o TheAttitudeScaleassessesstudent’sattitudesandinterestincollegeandacademicsuccess.
o TheSelf-TestingScaleassessesstudents'useofreviewingandcomprehensionmonitoringtechniquestodeterminetheirlevelofunderstandingoftheinformationtobelearned
• EducationalBenchmarkingSurvey(ResLife)?• FirstYearFocus:
o DatafromtheEducationalBenchmarking,Inc.survey,administeredFall2012,2013&2014comparingFreshmaninFYFtootherfreshmen,consistentlythedataindicatethattheexperiencepositivelyimpactsfactorsknowntopredictpersistenceofstudents.
§ Increasestudents’interactionwithfacultyandstaff§ Increasestudents’personalinteractionwithotherpeople§ Affectretentionandgraduationthroughincreasedstudentengagement.
• PropensityanalysisofHD205suggeststhatstudentswhocompletethiscoursearemorelikelytoberetainedbytheuniversity.Takenwiththepre/postdatafromthecourse,threefactorsseemtobekeytotheretentionofthesestudents:connection,valuesandmindfulness(Kidwell,2014).Itisalsonoteworthythatthedatafromthiscoursesshowsasignificantincreaseinpositivementalhealthfrompretoposttest,fiveofsixsemesters,indicatingwecanperhapspositivelyimpactpotentialmentalhealthissuesthroughouracademiccourses.
• ROOTS(History105&305)(PI-JesseSponholzandClifStratton):Dataisbeingcollected,onallcampuses,forstudentswhoreachfirstyearcompetencylevelontheresearchpaperassignment,vsthosewhodonot.Inotherwords,thisdataprovidessomeinsightintotherelationshipbetweenacademicabilityandsuccess.DataforAY2014-2015suggeststhefollowing:
o Studentsfailbecausetheydon’tturninthework,notbecausetheycan’tdotheworkortheirskillsarebelowthelevelofthosewhopasstheclass,suggestingthatretentionisnotrelatedtoacademicability.
o StudentsaremoresuccessfulinclasseswithTeachingAssistants,suggestingmoreacademicsupportisbeneficial.
o Q-valueandfirstgenstatusarepredictiveofsuccess.• VancouverBSSEfindingssuggestthatincomingstudentsmayhaveunrealisticallylow
expectationsregardingthelevelofacademicdifficultytheywillencounterduringtheirfirstyearofcollege.ItwouldbehelpfultoknowifthisfindingisconsistentacrosstheWSUsystem,andlookforwaysforrecruitersandrecruitingmaterialstoaddress.
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Insum,asasystemWSUmaybenefitfrombecomingmoresupportiveforstudents.Weneedtofindmoreandbetterwaystoengagestudentswithfacultyandwiththeuniversity.Weneedtoensureexpectationsofincomingstudentsarerealisticandthatstudentscanaccesssupportwhenlifebecomeschallenging.Wealsoneedtohelpfacultyunderstandtheirroleinstudentretentionandfacilitatemoreopportunityforstudentfacultyinteraction.Inaddition,weneedtodevelopabetterunderstandingofWSUstudentculture,priorities,andexpectationsinordertobestunderstandhowtopositivelyimpactclassattendance,academicintegrity,andretentionandgraduationrates.Lastly,whilethereareanumberofretentioninitiativesinplace,thereseemstobelittleexistingdataastotheeffectivenessoftheseeffortsonspecificgroupsofstudentsidentifiedasleastlikelytopersist.ItissuggestedthatweadoptanassessmentinstrumenttoadministertoenteringfreshmeneachyearandtrackthroughtograduationtocontinuetodevelopourunderstandingofretentionissuesandpotentialsolutionsforWashingtonStateUniversity.
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LiteratureReview&BestPractices
Nationally,despiteaprevalenceofhigh-impactpracticesinplace,graduateratesareflat.
Tinto(1993)describesthreeprinciplesofeffectiveretentiongleanedfromsuccessfulretentionprogramsatdifferentcollegesanduniversities.Institutionalcommitmentsunderscorethesethreeprinciples:
• commitmenttostudentwelfare,• commitmenttotheeducationofallstudents• Commitmenttotheintegrationofallstudentsintotheacademicandsocialcommunitiesatan
institution.
Factorsinfluencingretention
• Academicso Academicpreparednesso GPAandcreditcompletiontrendso Timelinessofmajoridentificationo EducationalAspirationso Hoursstudiedperweeko Successinfoundationalcourses
• senseofbelongingo StudentInvolvemento Fitoftheuniversityo Expectations(brand)o Firstchoiceinstitutiono Perceptionsoffaculty/connectionwithfacultyo Commitmenttotheschool
• Demographicso SESo Firstgeno Raceo Gendero residency
• Health• Financialsupport
Strategies
BestPractices:
• Communicatetoparents,students,facultyandstaffhowtoaccessresourcesandsupportsystemsoncampusandcontinuouslypromoteawarenessofsuchprogramsandpoliciessothatasupportivelivingandlearningenvironmentisfostered.
o Faculty,staff,academicadvisorsshouldattendtotheholisticdevelopmentofthestudent
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• Incorporateintocourseso Social–PsychologicalInterventions(persuasivecommunication)(Yeager&Walton,
2011)§ Senseofbelonging§ GrowthMindset§ Valueaffirmations§ Personalrelevance§ Levelsoflearning§ Meditation
o Civicengagement/communitybaseservicelearningprojectso Internships
• Engagestudentsinthecampusenvironment(studentslivingandworkingoncampusaremorelikelytofinishin4yearsorless(Letkiewicaet.al,2015).
o Engagestudentsinextraandco-curricularactivities§ StudyAbroad§ Researchprojects
• Earlyassessment/interventionof“fit”Studentresponsesjust8weeksintothefirstsemesterwerepredictiveofsubsequentenrollmentpatterns(Campbell&Mislevy,2013).Simplyasking
students“howdoyoulikeithere”canhelpidentifythoseatriskfordroppingout.• Providingoncampusfinancialcounselingcentersandfinancialprograms.(Letkiewicaet.al,
2015)• Formationoflearningcommunitiesandcohortbasedprograms• FreshmanSeminars• Firstyearmentormatching• Earlyalert/warning
o SSCCampus/MyWSU/OBIEE§ Utilizedatatoidentifyatriskstudents§ Targetedcampaigns
• Murkymiddle-“MurkyMiddle”studentsleavelater,buttrendsforeshadowdepartureseveraltermsinadvance.(EAB)
• Highend–graduateschool• Lowend–supportandresources• Successmarkercourses• Studentswithholds/notyetenrolledforthenextterm
§ SuccessMarkers
Advisingpoliciesandpractices(EAB)
• Mandatoryexitinterviewforleavers• Automatedwithdrawaladvising
o Automatedadvisingsurveyprompted;walksstudentsthroughconsequencesandcampusresources
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FacultyRoleinStudentSuccess
• FirstthreeoftheBigSix(Gallup)o Ihadatleastoneprofessorwhomademeexcitedaboutlearningo Ihadaprofessorwhocaredaboutmeasapersono Ihadamentorwhoencouragedmyhopesanddreams
• Facultymentoringandoutofclassresearchprojectswithstudent(s)• Incorporateservicelearningintocourses• Identify/monitoratriskstudents–reachoutorrefertoadvisingstaff
o Classattendanceo Earlyacademicperformanceo Concerningbehavior(e.g.sleepinginclass,undertheinfluence,non-participatory,etc.)
• TeachingInnovation(EAB–separateattachment)a. Activelearning:Increasesstudentengagementandsatisfactionb. gatewaycourses:AdaptiveLearning–self-pacedlearning–increasessupport,c. Bottleneckcourses:Flipped/Hybrid–Increasescapacityd. InnovationandchangebringsriskBarriersinclude
i. risktoannualreview(negativecourseevaluations,increaseDFW)1. re-envisionevaluationofteaching2. Revisetenureguidelines
ii. Timetore-envisiondetractsfromtimetoresearchiii. Needanexitstrategy–whatifinnovationfailsiv. Whatifthetechnologydoesnotwork
e. Promotionofcollaborative/cooperativelearning
Removecurricularbarrierstocompletionanddecreasetimetograduation(EAB):
• Allowstudentstoenrollincoursesformultiplesemesters• AcceleratedDegreePathways• Competency-basededucation• Semesteralternatives
o Alabama’s10wkredirectcourseforstudentsidentified“atrisk”thefirst5weeksoftheterm.
o Developmentalcoursesofvaryinglengtho StrategicallyutilizeexistingWSU3-wek(intersession,wintersessionandmaymester)to
delivergateway&highdemandcourses.o WSUSpeech&HearingSciencesofferssignlanguage201&202each4weeksbackto
backinonetermallowingstudentsto• PriorLearningAssessment
AnexampleofaninnovativeinitiativehappeningatWSUTri-Cities:
ProjectOverviewWSUTri-Cities,PascoSchoolDistrictandLIGOwillcollaborateonacontinuationoftheCollaboratory’soriginalSTEMFlicksproject.WSUTCDigitalTechnologyandCulture(DTC)studentswillproducetwo5-7minutevideosfortheproject,oneeachduringthespringsemestersofthe2016and2017
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academicyears.WSUTCstudentsinphysicsandeducationwillsupportthemakingofthefilmsbyrespectivelycontributingsciencecontentexpertiseandthedevelopmentofweb-basedteachersupportmaterialstoaccompanythevideos.HighschoolstudentsfromthePascoSchoolDistrict,workingwiththeguidanceofaPSDteacherwhowillserveaspartoftheprojectteam,willplayleadrolesinthestorylinesofthevideos.LIGOHanfordObservatorywillserveasthefilminglocationforbothvideos.ThePSDstudentswillnarratethevideoson-siteatLIGO,interactingwithLIGOscientists,engineers,andstudentemployees(bothofwhomarecurrentlyWSUTCstudents)totellstoriesthatillustrateNextGenerationScienceStandardsScienceandEngineeringPracticesinthecontextofcuttingedgeastrophysicsresearch.PSDhighschoolscienceclassroomswillserveastestsitesforthevideos,withteachersandstudentsprovidingbeta-testfeedback.Uponcompletionandevaluation,thevideoswilljointheCollaboratorySTEMFlickswebcollectionandwillbeadvertisedtoallCollaboratoryconstituencies.STEMFlicksIIwillalignwiththeobjectivesandmethodsoftheoriginalSTEMFlicksproject,leveragingPNNL’sSTEMFlicksexpertiseasfullyaspossiblethroughface-to-faceconsultationsandthroughtheextensivedocumentationthattheSTEMFlicksteamhascreated.https://ligo.caltech.edu/WAhttps://www.midcolumbiastem.org/Pages/Flicks.aspx
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RetentionInitiativeatWSU(ascompiledbyJermanRose–thisisaworkingdocument)
Name Activity Whydowethinkthiswillwork?
Howdowemeasuresuccess?
Measures WhoisinCharge?
StudentsGraduate
PASS Freshmanseminar
TOPS multiple
PassporttoCollege multiple
Globalleadership courses
UndergradResearch
SURCA postersessions
WritingProgram tutors
PAWS multiple
CalculatedSuccess bootcamp goodmathisessentialforsuccess
WeekofWelcome multiple
SaveaSeat earlycertification studentssecurethattheywillgetwhattheywant
Automaticenrollmentfreshmancourses
CougarSuccesssite
Courseredesigngrants courseredesign improveDFWrates DFWrates TeachingInnovationSeries
workshops ifteachersareuptodatethey'llbemoreeffective
TestKitchen Accesstoteachingtechnology
SuccessCollaborative Advising earlywarningallowsremediation
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TeachingAcademy
Studenttechtools(multiple)
multiple studentscontroltheirprogram
LASSI
Onlineadvisingtools
Biologycourses
HD250 Skillandconfidencebuilding
studentsdropoutfromlackofskillsandconfidence
RAEducationDirectors intervenemidterm
ifstudentsgethelpthey'llpersist
ASCCTutoring scheduledtutoring ifstudentsgethelpthey'llpersist
HealthandWellnessworkshops
multiple ifstudentsgethelpthey'llpersist
URECprograms multiple activestudentsgetbettergrades
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References:
Braxton,J.&Mundy,M.(2001-2002).Powerfulinstitutionalleverstoreducecollegestudentdeparture.J.CollegeStudentRetention,3(1)91-118.
Nora,A.(2001-2002).ThedepictionofsignificantothersinTinto’s“RitesofPassage”:Areconceptualizationoftheinfluenceoffamilyandcommunityinthepersistenceprocess.J.CollegeStudentRetention,3(1)91-118.
Campbell,C.&Mislevy,J.(20012-2013).Studentperceptionsmatter:Earlysignsofundergraduatestudentretention/attrition.J.CollegeStudentRetention,14I(4),467-493
Hoffman,M.,Richmond,J.,Morrow,J.,&Salomone,K.(2002-2003).Investigating“senseofbelonging”infirst-yearcollegestudents.J.CollegeStudentRetention,4(3),227-256
Findingsfromthisinvestigationindicatethat“senseofbelonging”totheinstitutionstemsfromperceptionsof“valuedinvolvement”inthecollegiateenvironment.Thisperceptionof“valuedinvolvement”appearspredicatedon:1)establishingfunctionallysupportivepeerrelationships–“functional”intermsoftheabilityoftherelationship(s)todirectlyaidstudentsinmeetingthechallengesandchangesoftheirnewenvironment:and2)thebeliefthatfacultyarecompassionateandthatthestudentismorethanjustanotherfaceinthecrowd.
ScalingLearningInnovations:FromEarlyAdopterstoCampus-Wide.EducationAdvisoryBoard,2015(Attachment1:InnovationsinBrief)
MeditationReferences:
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-013-0199-5#/page-2
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130409131811.htm
Johnson,S.K.,Goolkasian,P.&David,Z.(2010),Mindfulnessmeditationimprovescognition:evidenceofbriefmentaltraining.ConsciousnessandCognition:AnInternalJournal,19,597-605
Moore,A.&Malinowski,P.(2009).Meditation,mindfulnessandcognitiveflexibility.ConsciousnessandCognition,18,176-186.
Shapiro,S.L.,Brown,K.W.,&Astin,J.(2011).Towardtheintegrationofmeditationintohighereducation:Areviewofresearchevidence.TeachersCollegeRecord,113,493-528.
