Student cohort tracking clinic

1. Student cohort tracking clinic Presenter: Rick Voorhees

2. Goals for Today’s Work Together • You’ll be able to • Define cohort tracking • Describe the components of cohort tracking • Make connections between cohort tracking and student success work • Learn how disaggregating cohort data can help colleges identify groups of students who are succeeding or not succeeding along pathways to earning degrees, certificates, or transfer

3. Four Components of a Culture of Inquiry • Component One • “What’s Wrong” • Use disaggregated longitudinal cohort data to determine: • Which student groups are less successful than others (i.e. identify gaps in student success • Which high enrollment courses have the lowest success rates Component Two “Why” Collect, analyze, and use data from other sources (focus groups, surveys, literature reviews) to identify the underlying factors (barriers or challenges) impeding student success. Component Three “Intervention” Use data from Component Two to design new interventions, or revise current ones, to effectively address the underlying factors impeding student success. Review and consider changes to existing practices and policies that impact those factors • Component Four • “Evaluation and Modification” • Collect, analyze, and use evaluation data to answer • To what extent did the intervention (including policy changes) effectively address underlying factors? • What extend did the interventions increase student success Source: K.P. Gonzalez. Using Data to Increase Student Success: A Focus on Diagnosis. Retrieved March 12, 2013 at http://www.achievingthedream.org/sites/default/files/resources/ATD_Focus_Diagnosis.pdf

4. The Context Source: Bailey, T., Jeong, D.W., & Cho, S.W (2009, November) Referral, enrollment, and completion in Developmental Education Sequences in Community Colleges. Community College Research Center: New York, New York

5. For Every 100 Students Entering the Nation’s Community Colleges

6. Upwards of 80 Percent Will Be Referred to Developmental Education

7. Of These 80 Students, 50% Will Complete Developmental Education

8. Of These 40 Students, 50% Will Complete Gatekeeper Classes

9. Less Than 10 Will Graduate or Transfer

10. Are We Happy With That?

11. What Happens to Those Who Don’t Succeed? ? ?

12. What is a Cohort? • A cohort is a group of students who enter a college or a program at the same time. • One common cohort consists of first-time college students. As a first step, describing this cohort’s entering characteristics should be illuminating to decision-making. • What % are full-time? Part-time? • What % are referred to developmental education • What are their demographics: age, gender, income, race/ethnicity

13. What’s An Analogy?

14. Or Maybe This? Creative Commons Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/1970_AMC_Rebel_The_Machine_egl-Cecil'10.jpg/1024px-1970_AMC_Rebel_The_Machine_egl-Cecil'10.jpg

15. What Is A Cohort Not? • Pass rates in courses over time • Changes in persistence rates from year to year • Calculating the number of students who enter compared to the number who graduate (not necessarily the same group of entering students) • These approaches are often described as Cross Panel Comparisons. But they’re not the same students!

16. Tracking Cohorts • Tracking entering cohorts beyond the first term allows the college to • Examine student progress: credits attempted v. credits completed, grades, success in gatekeeper courses • Identify when students change their enrollment status, achieve milestones, graduate, and/or transfer

17. Tracking Cohorts Over Time Starting fresh cohorts each year allows the college to know if success rates are improving

18. Components of Cohort Analysis

19. Components of Cohort Analysis • Student • Characteristics • Name • Identifier • Date of Birth • Race/Ethnicity • Address • English, reading, and math placement scores • ESL status • Last school/college attended • Highest level of schooling • Goal • Pell Grant • Major field of study • Term 1 • Progress Data • Identifier • Updated information: name, address, degree goal, declared major • Number of college-level credits attempted and completed • Number of cumulative credits earned • Term Grade point Cumulative GPA • Number of remedial credits attempted and earned • Term 2, 3 ,4 ,5… Progress Data • Identifier • Updated information: name, address, degree goal, declared major • Number of college-level credits attempted and completed • Number of cumulative credits earned • Grade point average • Cumulative GPA • Number of remedial credits attempted and earned • Outcome • Data • Identifier • Attainment of educational goal • Employment status • Relationship of current job to major • Salary • Hours per week employed • Current institution • New major (if applicable) • GPA at new institution

20. Marco Level Cohort SSBTN Template Micro Level Cohort Micro Level Cohort Intervention Level Intervention Level

21. Tracking the Success of Developmental Students

22. Completion Rates Developmental Math Students Over Four Years Source: Voorhees & Lee. (n.d.) Basics of Longitudinal Cohort Analysis. Retrieved April 15, 2012 at http://achievingthedream.org/sites /default/files/resources/ATD_Longitudinal-Cohort-Analysis.pdf

23. Disaggregating Data by Race/Ethnicity

24. Progression by Race/Ethnicity Source: Achieving the Dream Data Notes. January/February 2008

25. Evaluating an Intervention

26. Percentage of Students Persisting By Enrollment in a Student Success Class Source: Voorhees & Lee. (n.d.) Basics of Longitudinal Cohort Analysis. Retrieved April 15, 2012 at http://achievingthedream.org/sites /default/files/resources/ATD_Longitudinal-Cohort-Analysis.pdf

27. Discussion