Graduation Rates And the Importance ofDATA Cos Brown September 13, 2010
Vince Lombardi Quote on the Use of Data The legendary former coach of the Green Bay Packers Football Team is quoted as saying, “If you don’t keep score, then you are just practicing”
Motivational Comparison6-Yr Grad Rate by Race and Gender (2008)* 53% 37% 25% 23% 18% 9% *http://www.collegeresults.org
Learning From Prior Successes (Northridge Slide) 6-Year FTF Graduation Rates How did this happen?
CSU Comparisons* *http://www.collegeresults.org
CSU Comparisons-Freshmen* *http://www.asd.calstate.edu/remediation/09/index.shtml
Obama aims to lift college graduation rates, but his tools are few…* President Obama on Monday stated a US goal of retaking the world lead in college graduation rates by 2020. *From Christian Science Monitor August 9, 2010 University of Texas Austin
Count Students One-by-One (CSULA good stories) 1. Avery August 2. Luis P. Villarreal 3. Averess Rickerson 4. Randolph Cooper
Count Students One-by-One (CSULA good stories) Avery August, PhD Distinguished Professor of Immunology Penn State University Luis P. Villarreal Professor, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Director, Center for Virus Research, Center for Virus Research, U. C. Irvine
Institutions with Smallest White-Black Graduation Rate Gaps-Public Institutions
Institutions with Smallest White-Hispanic Graduation Rate Gaps-Public Institutions
How Folks Have Done It….* Georgia State University—a research university in downtown Atlanta—boosted its minority graduation rate by 18.4 percentage points. In 2002, only 32.3 percent of minority students graduated in six years. By 2007, that rate had increased to 50.7 percent—which exceeds the school’s non-minority graduation rate of 45.5 percent *Education Trust (http://www.edtrust.org)
How Folks Have Done It….* when administrators disaggregated the data, they found • First-year learning communities—where faculty members coordinate teaching two or more courses and often serve as advisors to the same group of students—were instrumental in improving retention rates between the freshman and sophomore years by five to six percentage points for all students. But for minority students, these rates rose by ten to 12 percentage points *Education Trust (http://www.edtrust.org)
Other Folks Have Done It*…. • At Loyola Marymount, for example, the institution examined the data and found that students who have a history of dropping one or two classes each semester are highly likely to quit school. • At Winthrop College (South Carolina), One program includes an early alert system, in which faculty members notify the University College of students who are struggling academically. The college then works with each student’s advisor and resident assistant to provide the student with intrusive counseling. *Education Trust (http://www.edtrust.org)
What Seemed to Work Best at UC Riverside*…. • Programming at the college level, focus on data throughout the institution, and strong campus leadership • Each college: 1) tracks student data; 2) designs learning communities, and 3) advises students, and links them to support services. • “An unusually robust relationship between academic affairs and student services” *Education Trust (http://www.edtrust.org)
What Seemed to Work Best at UC Riverside*…. • According to Provost Dallas Rabenstein. “When we admit students, we feel an ethical obligation to do what is necessary for them to succeed,” he says. To ensure this success, university leaders base their decisions on data. • They track student data and use it in an “ongoing feedback loop so empirical lessons are used to improve strategies, *Education Trust (http://www.edtrust.org)
Summary of Things that Work* • Designated faculty or staff members as “first responders” to students’ needs, helping students navigate these large, complex institutions. • Relatively high levels of student involvement and engagement in campus activities and programs, which personalize the college experience for students. • Well-developed first-year programs, such as freshman orientation programs, freshman success courses, freshman interest groups, and first-year learning communities, in which student participation is mandatory or high. *http://www.pellinstitute.org/files/files-demography_is_not_destiny.pdf
Summary of Things that Work* • Efforts to improve instruction in “gatekeeping” introductory courses, particularly in mathematics, such as reducing class sizes or keeping class sizes “small” through supplemental instruction. • Early warning and advising systems in place to monitor student progress and to intervene when student performance is low. • Ample academic and social support services, which are well-utilized by students due to proactive efforts to coordinate services with advising systems, to advertise services widely, and to train faculty and staff about available services. *http://www.pellinstitute.org/files/filesdemography_is_not_destiny.pdf
Summary of Things that Work* • Special programs for at-risk student populations that incorporate many of the “best practices” in the retention literature. • Strong leadership from top administrators who create an institutional culture that promotes student success by using rhetoric that demonstrates their commitment to retention, providing adequate resourcesto fund programs, and offering rewards to faculty and staff for getting involved in retention efforts. • A central person, office, or committee that coordinates undergraduate education and/or retention activities across academic and student affairs staff and programs in order to foster collaboration. *http://www.pellinstitute.org/files/files-demography_is_not_destiny.pdf
Suggestions • Students are “resources”. Every College has a Resource Manager. Why not have resource managers also provide college/department retention and graduation data.
Average Total Enrollments: FTF and TRF (2004-2008) 531 339
Average 1 Yr. Retention First-Time Freshmen: Latino Males-5 yr Avg. (2004-09)
Average 1 Yr. Ret. Transfer Latino Males (5 yrs) 76% 75% 74% 76%
Average 1 Yr. Retention First Time Freshmen: AA Males (5 yr. Avg.) 13 7
HHS: AA BS Majors by Gender
NSS: Latino/a BS Majors by Gender
Average 1 Yr. Ret. Transfer: AAM (5 yr. Avg.) 63% 57% 56% 71%
Variables Kept (from Mark)
Two Year Retention Pattern (from Mark) Starting Cohort After 1 year After 2 years Retained Not Retained
MANY THANKS To: Mark Robinson and Jen Chen in IR who I continue to bug daily… and to the administrators and faculty who I dragged into my office for numerous discussions and feedback on this topic.
