Transfer Success: Skills to Succeed in a Baccalaureate Program

Charlene A. Stinard, DirectorTransfer and Transition Services

University of Central FloridaMarch 7, 2014

Miami Dade College Staff Development Day

Objectives• Identify critical elements of successful transfer• Maximize resources in support of transfer

success• Collaborate for student success• Review examples of “best practices” and

innovative programs• Assess program success

Establishing the Context

• Increasing enrollments in community colleges (Adelman 2006)

• Community college to university remains the most prevalent pathway (Handel 2007)

• President Obama’s support: American Graduation Initiative

Institutional ContextGeorge Kuh identifies “High Impact Practices”

• Define student success as high levels of learning and student development

• Emphasize preparing students to become, not just to do (citizenship, lifelong learning, not just a job)

• Encourage engagement: compensatory effects of engagement

MDC Context• Large, diverse, public college• Demographics, significant “risk” factors– Hispanic/Black majority (gender differences)– First generation (learning “the ropes”)– Working, older (less connected to campus

community)– Low income (financial literacy)– Levels of “college readiness”

UCF Model: Transfer and Transition Services

• Help students before they transfer• Work with them during the transition/first semester• Help them graduate by promoting engagement

Focus on Preparation• Establish academic expectations early• Academic plans– First year success class– Exploring majors and careers– Completing GEP, taking prerequisites before transfer

• Mandatory orientation and advising• Student Services/Faculty collaboration

Partnerships

• Academic preparation: advisors crucial role– Choosing a degree program – Confusion about AA or AS programs– Finding the appropriate major

• Career Services to promote early decisions• Academic support programs

Questions to Consider

Partnerships at MDC

• Who are your partners?• Who should be your partners?• What programs promote collaboration?• What are the barriers to collaboration?

Partnerships• Involving academic and career advisors– Student affairs/services– Faculty– Other relevant relationships?

• Promoting collaboration– Whose responsibility?

• Identifying partners at receiving institutions– Administration, admissions, transfer office, student

affairs/services, career center, financial aid, faculty

Collaboration

• Sharing data between institutions– Student success (GPA, retention/graduation rates)

• Providing information and resources– Transfer Advising Workshop – annual updates– Dedicated transfer staff– Website: transfer information and resources

• Regular joint meetings

Strategies

• Most effective strategies for improving student retention and college completion – Academic support programs– Mandatory advising– Programs for first-year students– Programs for honors students

Noel-Levitz, 2013 Student Retention and College Completion Practices Report for Four-Year and Two-Year Institutions

Strategies (2)

• Identify targeted (at-risk) populations– GPA < 2.5– Difficult majors: STEM, business– First generation, low income, minorities– Returning veterans– Students with Disabilities

• Develop specific interventions, programs

Strategies (3)

• Resources for Students– Academic advising (mandatory)– Outreach programs (information about majors,

careers)– Dedicated transfer staff: sending and receiving– Websites, targeted communications– Transfer checklists, steps to successful transitions

Questions to Consider

MDC Programs

• Who are your best partners? Why does that work?

• Where are the problems in encouraging collaboration?

• What successful programs are in place for transferring students?

Innovative Programs• Full-time TTS advisor at partner college• DirectConnect to UCF – early advising, guaranteed

admission• S.E.E. UCF (Successful Early Exploration)– FTICs visit campus to explore majors and careers

• Brother to Brother program– Multicultural and first generation men

• Identifying “meta-major” interests

Innovations

• TTS Peer Mentor program– Pre-admission academic advisors– Establishing personal connections– Getting the student’s perspective– Listening to the “student voice”

• New MASS project: Engaging Latino Students for Transfer and College Completion

Program Planning and Assessment

• Needs Assessment• Data analyses• Strategic planning factors– Institutional goals and needs– Community needs– Enrollment growth

Assessment CycleStudent LearningOutcomesSMART

2+ DirectMeasuresMATURE

Determine evidenceneeded

Collect data

What is next?

Assesschanges

CHANGEProceduresResourcesOutcomes Measures

Report ResultsWho, what, when?

Data Analyses and Assessment

• Starting from scratch: who are your at-risk students?– Determining “at-risk”• Non-persistence, lack of progress, failure to complete

their degree

– Exploring strategies• Your experience, colleagues at peer institutions• State, regional, national trends

Data Analysis

• Types of student data and analyses– Admissions, enrollment– Demographics– Expectations, experiences, satisfaction– Retention, progression, graduation– Institutional, division, program data– Surveys, focus groups, interviews

Program Effectiveness

• Measuring the value of specific programs– Participant evaluations– Student surveys– Focus groups

• Use information/data– Improve programming– Reach targeted student groups

Assessment

• Transfer student success– Transfer Shock: GPA information– Retention, graduation rates

• Program assessment– How do we know what’s working?– Survey/focus group: What did students think?– Keep, revise, or scrap?

Questions to Consider

Assessment at MDC

• Who is responsible for data gathering and analysis?

• Do you have access to the data you need?• Is there support for program assessment?

Next Steps

• Program planning, development, and implementation strategies– Think “outside the box”– Benchmark similar institutions– Utilize institutional data– Promote collaborations and partnerships

Finally..

• Start with small pilot programs• Establish baselines• Develop a communications/marketing plan• Attend to budget considerations early• Private funding - foundations• Federal funding – grants• Community resources

Comments and Questions

Thank you! Contact Information

Charlene A. StinardTransfer and Transition Services

University of Central Florida407-823-2231

Charlene.Stinard@ucf.edu