Student Success Advisor Training Foundation Program

Student Success Advisor Training Foundation Program

Conceptualising the role of the Student Success Advisor and

Practice Frameworks for Student Success and Retention

Acknowledgment to Country

In the Spirit of ReconciliationFollowing on from Sorry Day

I would like to acknowledge and honour the Traditional Custodians of this land that we

are meeting on today, the Yugambeh People, and pay respect to their Elders past

and present

Our Goal

Working together to make sense of and build ownership and commitment to

the Student Success Advisor (SSA) role.

What is the SSA role?

How shall we start to work together to ‘make sense’ of our SSA role?

Student Success Advisor: What is our core purpose?

Student Success Advisor: Core Purpose

Proactive intervention for enhancing student engagement, success and retention.

Focused on being a ‘game changer’ in students lives.

Strategic Activities

Strategic Goals

Practice Frameworks and PrinciplesInstitutional Strategy

School Strategy

Partnerships

Student Success Advisor

Why are coherent practice frameworks important?‘The Six Rs’...........

• Rationale for what I plan to do• Reflect and re-orient as I am working• Review what I have done or the effect I have had• Replicate what has worked• Re-design what hasn’t worked• Report to others what I have learnt

Why are coherent practice frameworks important?‘The Six Rs’...........

Rationale

Reflect

Review

Replicate

Re-design

Report

We are not ‘lone wolves’......as a network of SSAs we need a shared language!

What are the general practice frameworks that we will use? Our Shared Language

1. Student Transition2. Student lifecycle 3. Levels of systems intervention 4. Facets of academic culture

1. Transition Model for student success: The Five Senses of Success

The Five Senses of Student Success

(Lizzio, 2006)

Sense ofStudentIdentity

Sense of Connectedness

Sense of Capability

Sense of Purpose

Sense of Resourcefulness

How might we as SSAs facilitate student’s successful transition?

How might we as SSAs facilitate our student’s successful transition?

Sense of Identity: Help me understand, validate and appreciate myself as a university student.

Sense of Connection: Help me to belong and feel connected.

Sense of Resourcefulness: Help me to navigate this system and my competing priorities.

Sense of Capability: Help me to feel confident and capable as a student.

Sense of Purpose: Help me to develop a sense of direction and commitment.

2. The Student Lifecycle

The Student Lifecycle

Students’ needs, identities and developmental priorities vary over their degree....

ThereforeWe need to understand and respond with developmentally appropriate services and interventions at key points of the lifecycle.

Understanding the Student Lifecycle Process (Higher Education Academy, 2001)

Early Contact

Pre-Semester (Admission, Enrolment & Orientation)

All of Semester 1, especially the first 7 Weeks

End of semester 1

First 7 Weeks of Semester 2

End of Year One transition into Year 2

Years 2 & 3

Alumni and Postgraduate

How might we as SSAs facilitate our student’s success across the lifecycle?

Pre-SemesterEngaging students from point of offer

Orientation and InductionAssisting planning, enrolment & orientation of students

Early SemesterRunning foundational academic skills development & assessment workshopsWorking with students at early risk of disengagement & departure

Through SemesterConsulting with students to assist academic success or academic recovery

Post SemesterFacilitating recovery or problem-solving with failing & failed students

Levels of Systems InterventionHow do we identify our priorities for

strategic action?

How do we identify our priorities for strategic action?Levels of Intervention Framework

Tertiary PreventionWhat do we do for failing

students?

Secondary PreventionWhat do we do for identified at-risk

students?

Targeted/ Selective Primary PreventionWhat do we do for specific groups of potentially at-risk

students?

General/ Primary PreventionWhat do we do for all students?

How might we as SSAs facilitate strategies focused on general primary prevention?

What will we do for all students?

Collaboratively Contribute to a Student-Centred Success CultureMembership of the Student Success & Retention Team

Establish Universal Procedures and MechanismsFacilitate early student planning through Mail-outs, Enrolment Day

Provide Universal Opportunities for DevelopmentImplement academic skills development workshops & assessment workshops

Communicate with the Whole CohortFacilitate peer mentoring systems, use email and social media to assist

planning & engagement

Priorities for Strategic Action to Improve Retention - Levels of Intervention framework


students?


students?

Targeted/ Selective Primary PreventionWhat do we do for specific groups of potentially at-

risk students?


How might we as SSAs facilitate strategies focused on targeted primary prevention?

What will we do for specific groups of students?

Pre-semester Front-loaded Outreach Interventions Initiate from point of offer negotiated engagement consultations with “late

engagers” (students identified at risk of early discontinuation based on distal indicators (viz., low OP x low preference x LOTE x low SES)

Mid-Semester Front-loaded Outreach InterventionsWorking with other staff to retain students who may ‘migrate’ or ‘transfer’

to other universities (e..g, high OP low preference)Active Ongoing Profiling and Monitoring of StudentsBuilding and maintaining a CRM ‘practice database’ on the engagement and

performance of identified sub-groups of students (e.g., international)

Griffith students at risk of early discontinuation 1/2012 on Distal risk markers

(Low OPs (11+) x Low degree preference (3rd+) x LOTE x Low SES)

HealthFoundationProgram(5 Schools)

Bachelor of Nursing

Bachelor of Business

School of Humanities

BachelorUrban & Env’mental Planning

CohortSize

856 703 550 468 127

High risk studentnumbers

3% (28/856)

6% (40/703)

12% (68/550)

19%(91/468)

24% (31/127)

Does early intervention work?We have achieved good success rates with “High Risk” Students in targeted Schools/Programs 1/2012

Late Engagers = (low OP x low preference x ESL x LSES)B. Business – 68 ‘late engagers’ in Sem. 1 (12% of the FY

intake) 82% passed at least 1 course 6 3 % passed all 4 core courses Only 7% failed all 4 core courses Those who passed all 4 courses evidenced high levels of

attendance at PASS, SASA academic skills workshops & SASA consults

Priorities for Strategic Action to Improve Retention Levels of Intervention framework


students?


students?Targeted/ Selective Primary Prevention

What do we do for specific groups of potentially at-risk students?


How might we as SSAs facilitate strategies focused on secondary prevention?

What will we do for students identified as ‘at-risk’ of discontinuation?

During semester Working with academic staff to implement the 6

Risk Markers in a key or threshold course and following-up students who are failing early assessment tasks

Secondary Prevention:Proximal Success or Risk Markers across first semester

W 1 •Readiness: Attendance at orientation or completion of online orientation

W2-3 •Early engagement: Online engagement (WK 2) & Class attendance (WK 3)

W 2-4 •Early performance: Submission of first or early assessment

W5-6 •Early outcomes: Passing of first or early assessment

S/B •Cumulative outcomes: Passing of first-semester first year courses

Operation Student Success Trial: Markers 1-3: Patterns for 1/2012

RiskMarker

School of Nursing – Bachelor of Nursing

HealthFoundationProgram

School of Humanities

BachelorUrban & Env’mental Planning

Bachelor of Business

CohortSize

703 856 468 127 550

1 O-Day 160 (23%) 130 (15%) 114 (24%) 22 (17%) 85 (15%)

2 On-line

51 (7%) 200 (22%) 65 (14%) 17 (13%) 62 (11%)

3 ClassAttend

148 (21%) 36 (4%) 110 (24%) 19 (15%) 67 (12%)

How might we as SSAs facilitate strategies focused on secondary prevention?

What will we do for students identified as ‘at-risk’?

Mid semester • Contact students from the Starting@Griffith

survey who self-identify an early intention to leave Griffith

Priorities for Strategic Action to Improve Retention - Levels of Intervention framework

Tertiary PreventionWhat do we do for failing students?


students?

Targeted/ Selective Primary PreventionWhat do we do for specific groups of potentially at-risk

students?


How might we as SSAs facilitate strategies focused on tertiary prevention?

What will we do for failing students?

Post semester • Facilitating the academic recovery of students

who have failed 2 or more courses in any semester through advising, support and/or referral

4. Facets of Academic Culture

What’s culture?The governing values, beliefs and ideas of an organisation

The way we do things around here!

Why is culture important? ‘Culture’ beats ‘strategy’ hands down every time!

Engaging our commencing students: What culture does our mindset create?

Social DarwinistCulture

High ChallengeLow Support




Academic WelfareCulture

Low ChallengeHigh Support






Aspirational CultureHigh Challenge

High Support






Disengaged CultureLow ChallengeLow support


High Support






Disengaged CultureLow ChallengeLow support


High SupportSupported Independence

CultureScaffolding, Dialogue

and Data-driven Engagement

Cultural transformationSupported Independence

Valued Longer-Term Outcome

Necessary Scaffolding Process

What is the SSA role?

Activating sustainable student energy!

How do we work to optimise these outcomes?

If we are to be ‘game changers’ and ‘transformers’ for our students then we need to consciously examine our notions of ‘student

support’...

Student Support in Higher Education: Traditional Conception: The language of ‘deficits’

What do you associate with the term ‘student support’? ‘Barriers to success’ are conceptualised as being located

within individual students. Positions the student as ‘having a problem’ with which they

‘need help’. Systems basic-assumptions (e.g., starting academic capital)

are generally unquestioned in the face of diversity• Diversity is confounded with deficit with the consequence

that non-traditional students are more likely to feel marginalised

Student Support in Higher Education: Transformational Conception: The language of ‘strengths’

What do you associate with the term ‘facilitating student success’?

‘Barriers to success’ are conceptualised as being located in student, society and university.

Systems basic-assumptions (e.g., culture) are open to questioning and re-design in the face of diversity

Diversity is conceptualised as inclusive of a range of strengths and identities with the consequence that non-traditional students are more likely to feel respected and valued.

If we are to be ‘game changers’ and ‘transformers’ for our students then we need to consciously examine our approach to ‘student diversity’ ........

Evolutionary States of Diversity1. Denial: I treat everyone the same

2. Frustrated awareness: I know people are different but there is not much I can do about it

3. Tolerance: I put up with difference and make some minor adjustments

4. Remediation: I fix students’ problems so they can cope better with my expectations

5. Active engagement: I work with my students to understand their strengths, preferences and needs

If we are to be ‘game changers’ and ‘transformers’ for our students then we need to consciously examine our notions of ‘student risk’...

Systems understanding ofStudent Risk

We need to honestly acknowledging that there are multiple sources of student risk:

1. Students can mis-judge or assume expectations and requirements

2. Staff can mis-judge or assume students’ entry level capabilities

3. Students can experience personal or system’s blocks to help-seeking or receiving

If we are to be ‘game changers’ and ‘transformers’ for our students then we need to consciously examine our notions of ‘how to help people to be successful’......

Our Goal: Co-Creating a Student Success Culture

Focusing on a proactive, outreach approach to facilitating students’ understanding of:

What unique ‘eye’ and ‘voice’ do they each bring How might their personal capacities and experiences be useful? How they achieve What is successful learning at University?What they need to do to be successful What are the predictors of academic success at Uni?What personal and institutional resources they require to achieve

that success What external resources are available at the Course/School/Uni level?What inner resources do students need to develop?

Our Strategy: Negotiated Student Engagement

While recognising & acknowledging the competing pressures influencing student priorities, we also need to establish the non-negotiables required for academic success:

Orientation to academic study and the level of application (time & commitment) required for successful performance

For NT first-in-family students this also involves building academic capital & deconstructing the “Hidden Curriculum”

The role of the SSA is key to negotiated engagement

Negotiated Student Engagement

• The normalisation of student diversity in HE also involves a parallel process of the normalisation of the diversity of student support needs for success

• The reality is that while ALL students need some type of support

• Different students need different types & amounts of support

• And at different points across their first year, & the student degree lifecycle

Transformational Language

• Facilitating Student Success through contributing to cultures of supported independence in Schools/Programs is inclusive of all students

• Negotiated Engagement sits at the heart of facilitating a Student Success Culture of supported independence

• We need to think in terms of student success culture rather than student support

If we are to be ‘game changers’ and ‘transformers’ for our students then we need to consciously examine ourselves........

• Our thinking about risk and diversity• Our language in describing our work to ourselves

and others• Our behaviour towards people from backgrounds

different to our own• Our capacity to facilitate the conditions for success

Student Success Advisor: Revisiting our Core Purpose

Proactive intervention for enhancing student engagement, success and retention.

Focused on being a ‘game changer’ in students lives.

A few personal comments...

How are you feeling about the SSA role at the moment?

I would be surprised if some level of confusion wasn’t part of the deal...

It is normal to feel overwhelmed at this stage of the process

There will be a multitude of thoughts, feelings and arguments surfacing.....

Self-doubt and self-questioning is something we all share...

So....let’s keep talking and sharing with each other...we are just

beginning the process of creating our own success culture and community

Student Success Advisor Training Foundation Program

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Transcript of Student Success Advisor Training Foundation Program