Second Year PersistenceRetention

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Second Year Persistence/Retention
Strategic Study Group

• Presidents Executive Council
• April 26, 2005

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Members of the Strategic Study Group on Second
Year Persistence/Retention

• Ms. Dorothy Body Dr. Armendia Dixon
• Dr. Michael Drohan Dr. Deborah DuBartell
• Ms. Ethel Easter Dr. Cynthia Legin-Bucell
• Dr. Akhtar Mahmood Ms. Terri Mando-Smith, Team
  Facilitator
• Ms. Eleanor Randall Mr. Kahan Sablo
• Ms. Paula Warner Ms. Sue Weber
• Guidance Team
• Ms. Kim Kennedy
• Dr. Denise Ohler
• Quality Advisor
• Dr. Erinn Lake

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Issue Statement

• Edinboro University of Pennsylvanias retention
  rate has declined over the past three years as
  follows using Consortium for Student Retention
  Data Exchange (CSRDE) data for first-time,
  full-time, baccalaureate degree-seeking freshmen
  institution-wide

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Issue Statement (Continued)
Continued to 2nd Year Cohort Year
1996 72.4 Cohort Year 1997
73.0 Cohort Year 1998 73.0 Cohort Year
1999 72.6 Cohort Year 2000 74.9 Cohort
Year 2001 71.0 Cohort Year
2002 68.8 Cohort Year 2003 67.5
(unofficial to be finalized
March/April,2005)
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Issue (Continued)

• PASSHE 2002-2003 system average for 2nd year
  persistence was 74.32.
• PASSHE target retention rate scheduled for 2009
  is 79.
• Performance funding for Edinboro University of
  Pennsylvania (EUP) was based on a ranking of 14
  out of 14 PASSHE schools.
• Average PASSHE Performance Indicator (PI)
  funding award was 188,865 during the last
  funding cycle.
• EUP received 19,793 in PI funding for retention
  during the last funding cycle.

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Improvement Statement
To improve the first year to second year
persistence rate of students who are in good
academic standing.
Second Year Persistence/Retention
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The Current Process

• There is not presently a retention or second year
  persistence process which could be flowcharted by
  the team (as is customary for Strategic Study
  Groups).
• While there are many points of possible
  intervention which may positively affect
  retention and graduation from pre-admissions to
  commencement, there does not exist any formalized
  process to improve retention.

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Information Collection

• The topic of second year persistence has been the
  focus of several groups on campus, including the
  Retention Roundtable and the Uniting for Success
  Persistence/Graduation Team, during the 2004-2005
  academic year. Recently, retention and
  graduation rates were the focus of the Freshman
  Achievement Study. This report, previously
  submitted to President Pogue, identified factors
  associated with academic success and persistence.
  
• The SSG reviewed current literature in retention
  efforts across universities and colleges a
  review of the literature indicates that
  institutions employ several strategies to improve
  retention.
• See Attachment A.

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What retention efforts work well on the Edinboro
University campus?

• According to the Uniting for Success
  Appreciative Inquiry exercise, we learned the
• following
• What works to improve retention?
• Campus connections that provide positive
  interaction among students, faculty and staff
  outside of the classroom enhance student
  retention (e.g. athletics, ACT 101 study groups,
  the Goddess study group, and Frederick Douglass
  scholars).
• Living Learning Floors provide support for
  student success through peer and faculty
  involvement in the residence hall community.
• UNIV100 courses help students to adapt to the
  University quickly.
• Small programs/tracks better 1st semester GPA.
  (We need to refine the advisement for large
  programs to improve retention).
• We know some of the variables that influence
  success (e.g. high school rank, SAT scores, unmet
  financial need). We need to acquire and analyze
  the data then we need to develop programs
  accordingly.
• Work study/student employment helps to improve
  unmet financial need and thereby improves
• retention.
• E-REG works.

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What works(continued).

• It is worth noting that in addition to the above,
  there are a number of excellent retention efforts
  currently taking on the Edinboro campus. We were
  pleased to see (and we participated in) campus
  training on customer service and its affect on
  retention in February 2005. The directive from
  Vice President Mogavero that each unit attending
  the session focus on improvement in customer
  service was well-received and important.
• We applaud the improved outcomes that are being
  achieved in the Frederick Douglass Living
  Learning Community. Also, Dr. Bartelts
  suggestion that faculty take students to lunch is
  yet another example of the creating of a caring
  campus community. Other examples include the We
  want you back letter sent by Records and
  Registration and the Faculty Referral Form for
  students at risk sent by Dr. Ohler on behalf of
  faculty in the Dr. Gerald P. Jackson Department
  of Academic Support Services. See Attachment B.

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• We know that retention/graduation rates are not
  just an Edinboro concern, but a national one as
  evidenced by a recent AASCU study on the topic.
• We realized that this study is limited in scope
  due to the time allotted for completion but we
  are optimistic about its impact.

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Which EUP academic departments are struggling
with retention issues and which are doing well?

• According to the Freshman Achievement study
• The 3 majors with students with the lowest 1st
  semester GPA are
• Business Administration
• Criminal Justice
• General Studies
• The 3 majors with students with the highest 1st
  semester GPA are
• Art Education
• Elementary Education/Special Education
• Fine Arts Applied
• See Attachment C.

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What type of students need early intervention?

• Students most at risk for attrition, according to
  the Freshman Achievement Study, are those who
  achieve less than 800 on the SAT, fall in the
  bottom 40 of their high school rank and/or have
  at least 200 of unmet financial need.
• This corresponds with the flowchart developed to
  protect the fall retention cohort which the SSG
  supports.
• See Attachment C.

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How many students leave the University in good
academic standing?
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(No Transcript)
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Interviews

• The SSG met with campus colleagues, including Dr.
  Michael Bucell, Dr. Armendia Dixon, Ms. Vickie
  Hopkins, Mr. Tim Pilewski and Dr. Frank Taylor to
  gather additional information regarding student
  retention efforts.
• Dr. Dixon cited the significant impact peer
  tutoring and peer mentoring has on students who
  are on academic probation and students who need
  assistance in content areas. The results of peer
  tutoring and peer mentoring are published in the
  Peer Tutoring and Peer Mentoring Progress Report,
  Fall 2004

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Interviews (Continued)

• Dr. Bucell, Director of Counseling and
  Psychological Services, presented data
  identifying increased demand for services over
  the past five years. Additionally, data showed
  the longer the wait for services over the 11 day
  average, the less likely it is that students come
  in for services when contacted. It was also
  reported that 40 of students seen at CAPS have a
  prior history of mental health treatment. See
  Attachment D.
• In order to better understand this issue,
  literature was reviewed and other institutions
  were studied regarding effective practices in
  student retention. These efforts are summarized
  in Attachment A.

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Data Collection

• We were able to obtain, with assistance of Mr.
  Pilewski, data from the National Data Clearing
  House. See Attachment I. At this point in time,
  the data needs to be further analyzed and
  clarified. We are interested in further
  analyzing the transfer trends i.e. to what
  schools are we losing students and in what
  particular majors is this particularly
  noteworthy.
• The SSG was able to contact a very limited sample
  of non-persisting students in an attempt to
  determine why they left the University. Given
  the conclusion of the semester, we were unable to
  finalize this data collection technique.

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Data Collection

• However, even in this limited phone outreach, we
  were able to reinstate 5 (out of 12) students who
  were contacted!
• We are optimistic that if this outreach effort
  were more formalized into our retention culture
  and specifically assigned to a particular
  division/employee, we could achieve improved
  retention rates.

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Data Collection (Continued)

• Data collection can be challenging and this
  effort was particularly so. We realized that by
  developing an Edinboro Retention Database, we
  could more effectively manage data for those
  students who did not persist. CSRDE data tracks
  students who continue. However, we did not
  easily have access to a unified report of those
  students who did not continue at Edinboro.
• Therefore we met with Technology and
  Communications Applications Developer Nancy
  Richardson who assisted in the development of a
  report which can now be routinely ran each
  semester, if this direction is approved by
  executive management.

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Recommendations
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Recommendations(Continued)
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Recommendations(Continued)
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Recommendations(Continued)
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Recommendations(Continued)
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Recommendations(Continued)
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Recommendations(Continued)
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Recommendations(Continued)
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Questions?
Thank you.