Return to Excellence: ReOrientation of TwoYear College Students on Probation

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Return to Excellence
Re-Orientation of Two-YearCollege Students on
Probation

• Merril A. Simon, Ph.D., NCCC, RPC / California
  State Univ., Northridge
• (merril.simon_at_csun.edu 818/677-2558)
• Esau Tovar, M.S. / Santa Monica College
• Melissa Edson, M.S. / Santa Monica College
• Brenda Johnson Benson, M.A. / Santa Monica
  College
• Presentation for the
• American Counseling Association National
  Conference
• Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence!
• Anaheim, California on March 24, 2003

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Presentation Abstract

• This program will share the results of a series
  of interventions with a large sample of diverse,
  urban, community college students on probation
  after their first term. These interventions were
  designed to promote a return to success of these
  students through re-orientation in small groups,
  the use of the College Student Inventory
  (Stratil, 2000), and developmental advisement.
  This study, conducted at a large, diverse, urban
  community college was undertaken to address the
  counseling and educational needs of the growing
  number of probationary students.

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Rationale for Program

• 35 of all first-time students are on probation
  at the end of their first term.
• 54 - 73 success rate for first semester students
  based on ethnic breakdown)
• Persistence rate of 54 from semester one to
  semester two.
• Commitment by institution to successfully serve
  students.

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Factors Underlying High Probationary Rates

• Initial orientation to college does not meet
  students needs
• Lack of social and/or academic integration
• Delayed or flawed educational planning and
  undefined career goals.
• Need for intrusive advisement and mandatory
  assessment
• Delayed completion of math and English courses
  needed for success in other courses

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Funding Support

• Provided by
• Santa Monica College
• Fund for Instructional Improvement of the State
  of California

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Counseling Faculty Training

• Developmental, intrusive advisement strategies.
• Using flashpoints
  (Hirsch, 2001)
• Student involvement and I-E-O Model (Astin,
  1993)
• Retention strategies (Basham Lunenburg,
  1998)
• Social academic integration
  (Tinto, 1993)
• Training on the administration and interpretation
  of the College Student Inventory
  (Stratil, 1988)

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Probationary Student Re-Orientation

• Researched existing programs for probationary
  student in community colleges and four-year
  institutions
• Intended to address the specific needs of
  continuing students
• Discussed topics including commitment to college,
  motivation to succeed, understanding of
  institutional expectations, balancing, school,
  work and personal commitments and connecting
  with faculty members and peers (social and
  academic integration)

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Demographic Survey

• Included
• Name student ID
• Distance of SMC from home
• Parents/Guardians educational level  of
  attainment
• Hours employed per week
• Location On- or Off-  campus
• Hours studied per week
• High school GPA (approximate)
• Students reason for probation

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Participant Invitations

• All students who had enrolled for the first time
  in Fall 2002 and were now on (academic or
  lack-of-progress) probation 1,100 were mailed
  invitation letter with follow-up phone call
  reminders to those who didnt respond.
• 323 students participated
• Small group intervention
• 10-15 students / group. XX groups

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Re-Orientation Beginning

• Introductions
• Brief introduction of counselor and student
  worker
• Overview of Orientation and Purpose of SSP
• Counselor explained the purpose and the history
  of SSP
• Counselor presented an overview of orientation
• Discussed What is Probation handout
• Assessment Center
• Reminded students to complete the math and/or
  English assessment if they had not already taken
  it. Briefly discussed the importance of assessing
  math English placement to be successful in
  their other classes.

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Icebreaker Exercises

• Gave students five minutes to write down a
  response to one of the following two questions
• What was your biggest adjustment in starting
  college?
• What is something important thing you have
  learned about yourself since starting college?
• Asked for volunteers from the group to  share
   their responses.

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Re-Orientation Discussion Questions (1 of 2)

• 1. How many people have jobs? For those of you
  who do work, how does working affect your
  academic and social experience at SMC?
• 2. If you found yourself having trouble keeping
  up in class this coming semester, what would be
  the most effective method   of improving your
  situation? Why would you choose this   method?
  What has worked in the past? What has not
    worked   in the past?
•      Distribute Math and English Tutoring
  Schedule
• 3. Each semester, about 3,500 new students are
  placed on probation. What factors will those
  students need to address to become successful in
  college?
• Distribute Calculating Your GPA handout

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Re-Orientation Discussion Questions (2 of 2)

• 4. What does time management mean to you? How
  do you manage your time so that you can study
  enough hours each  week?
•   (If relevant, distribute Time Management
  handouts)
• 5. Have your instructors or counselors talked
  with you about effective study skills? What
  study skills would you recommend to others in
  your group?
•    (If relevant, distribute Study Skills
  handouts)
• 6. Research has shown that college students face
  many personal obstacles while working to
  achieve their academic  goals. How do you deal
  with personal obstacles so that they  do not
  impede your progress towards your goals?

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College Student Inventory

• All students were asked to complete the
  assessmentand all but two did.
• Version B100 items.
• Assesses motivation, coping skills, and
  receptivity to support services. Provides a
  general overview of students likelihood to
  dropout and experience academic difficulty.
• Takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
• Student and counselor will discuss results in a
  subsequent appointment.

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CSI cont.

• Norms for the CSI are available for four-year,
  and two-year schools.
• Results include profiles for advisors and
  profiles for students with suggested
  interventions.
• Also available is a full-length version (A164
  items). May be completed online or sent in for
  processing.

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Completion of Re-Orientation
Process

• Orientation Evaluation
• Students completed evaluation and answered final
  demographic question (Based on what you learned
  here today, what do you plan to do differently
  next term?) when they finished their assessment.
• Encouraged students to make an appointment to
  speak with an SSP counselor during the winter
  inter-session to solidify goals.

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Financial Aid Information

• Answered student questions regarding financial
  aid.
• Distributed and discussed the green paper titled,
  Warning Being on Academic Probation Does Affect
  Financial Aid
• Distributed Financial Aid Myths pamphlet

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Campus Resources

• Distributed and discussed the SSP Contact
  Information Handout
• Distributed and discussed the Campus Resources
  Handout
• Including program-provided math English
  tutoring.
• Showed dates and deadlines in SMC catalog
  (encouraged the students to buy one) and the
  Schedule of Classes.
• Showed Student Planning Guide and where to get
  it on-line.
• Showed Student Plannerbuy in the bookstore.

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Evaluation Results

• Reasons given for being on probation were
  assessed in terms of attribution theory with four
  areas (and a general-non-categorized) identified
• Course Specific
• Internal-Stable-Specific Attributions
• Internal-Unstable-Specific Attributions
• External-Stable-Specific Attributions
• External-Unstable-Specific Attributions

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Course Specific Attributions

• Student states obvious reasons for lack of
  success (e.g., probationary status) in the
  following ways
• Withdrew from too many courses
• Low Grade Point Average

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Internal-Stable-Specific Attributions

• Student identifies an aspect of him/herself which
  contributed to poor performance, and seems to
  impact only a given course or only college.
• Lack of Academic Preparation for Course
• Adjustment to college
• Too much fun
• Lateness or attendance problems
• Enrolling in too many classes

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Internal-Unstable-Specific Attributions

• Student identifies an aspect of him/herself
  which contributed to poor performance in course,
  but not other aspects of school.
• Lack of Enthusiasm or Interest in the Course

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External-Stable-Specific Attributions

• Student states specific conflicts that
  contributed to poor performance and attributes
  lack of success to these entities.
• Persistent Work Conflicts
• Another person made me do it
• Unreliable transportation/Distance

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External-Unstable-Specific Attributions

• Student states multiple conflicts that
  contributed to poor performance, but did not
  affect other aspects of life.
• Poor performance (changed throughout) in class
• Lack of studying
• Poor time management
• Family, personal, financial problems

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Demographic Characteristics

• Probationary Student Orientation Participants

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Orientation Participation

• 29 of invited probationary students attended
  orientation.
• 80 were strictly on academic probation (lt 2.0
  GPA)
• 315 students completed the College Adjustment
  Inventory

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Gender Ethnicity

• No Gender X Ethnicity differences found for
  participation.
• Attendees were predominantly Latino (39).
  However, they constitute 26 of SMC students.
• Age 93 were 22 or younger (M 19.5, SD 3.5).

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Demographics (cont.)

• Male and females differed on self-reported HS GPA
  (Female 2.8 vs. 2.7, p lt .05).
• Ethnic differences in Distance traveled, travel
  time, and self-reported HS GPA (p lt .05).
• Mode of Transportation 27 use public
  transportation to get to the college 55 drive
  13 are driven by another person and 5 walk or
  ride a bike.

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Course-Taking Characteristics
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College Student Inventory

• Preliminary Outcomes for
• Gender Ethnicity

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Multivariate Analysis of Covariance for Gender
Ethnicity

• High school GPA used as covariate
• Significant multivariate effects for Gender
• Academic Motivation scales
• Significant multivariate effects for Ethnicity
• Composite CSI scales
• Academic Motivation scales
• General Coping scales
• Receptivity to Support Services

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Analysis of Covariance for Composite Scales

• Ethnic differences in dropout proneness,
  predicted academic difficulty, and educational
  receptivity. Educational stress, not
  significant.
• Latino students are most likely to dropout and
  experience academic difficulties however, are
  also more willing to accept assistance.
• Asian students are under somewhat more
  educational stress than other students.

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Analysis of Covariance for Academic Motivation
Scales

• Consistent with theory, students with poor
  academic achievement, these students generally
  express a low tolerance toward instructors.
  Latinos had a slightly more favorable
  impressions than other students. African American
  students had the least impression.
• White students expressed a higher degree of
  verbal confidence compared to African American
  and Latino students. This is particularly crucial
  as it impacts students attitudes and subsequent
  success in courses where extensive reading,
  writing, and public speaking is expected.
• Regardless of ethnicity, females expressed a
  higher degree of intellectual interests (i.e.,
  enjoys the learning process). Men, on the other
  hand, expressed higher degrees on confidence in
  their perceived capacity to do well in math and
  science, and where communication skills are
  highly emphasized.

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Analysis of Covariance for General Coping Scales

• No statistically significant differences were
  found for gender or ethnicity in the General
  Coping scales. This indicates that all students
  have developed similar coping mechanisms, albeit
  not particularly favorable.
• As such, counselors must work all the harder with
  these students through personal work as we strive
  to find the flashpoint (Hirsch, 2001) to effect
  change and ensure student success.

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Analysis of Covariance for Receptivity for
Institutional Help Scales

• African American and Latino students are more
  receptive to discuss means by which to increase
  financial resources to pay for college.
• Asian students express a higher need to discuss
  problems of a personal nature (e.g., personal
  problems, dating, family problems, school) with a
  counselor. This finding is consistent with their
  high degree of educational stress.
• Latino students are more willing to readily to
  engage in the social communities of the college
  by meeting other people and participating in
  group experiences.

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MANCOVA Results
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ANCOVA Results
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Estimated Means
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References

• Astin, A. (1993). What matters in college Four
  critical years revisited. San Francisco
  Jossey-Bass.
• Basham, V., Lunenburg, F. (2001, Aug.).
  Usefulness of the College Student Inventory as a
  needs assessment tool in community colleges.
  Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the
  National Council of Professors in Educational
  Administration. (ERIC Document Reproduction
  Service No. ED457211)
• Hirsch, G. (2001). Helping college students
  succeed. Philadelphia Brunner-Routledge.
• Pascarella, E., Terenzini, P. (1991). How
  college affects students. San Francisco
  Jossey-Bass.
• Stratil, M. (1988). College Student Inventory.
  Coralville, IA Noel-Levitz.
• Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college Rethinking the
  causes and cures of student retention. Chicago
  University of Chicago Press.