Working Together for Student RetentionSSAO/VPAA/CIO

ExecutiveTrinity:

• Founded in 1885 as a land grant

• AAU institution

• 38,000+ students; 25,000+ undergrads; 7,300 freshman

• Mean SAT of entering freshman: 1105

• 2010 academic year awarded 8,240 total degrees

SOME UA FACTS

SOME CONTEXTOver $100 million cut in last 3 years

Freshman retention rate between 78 and 80%. The UA has recently gone through a retention audit and written a retention strategic plan

Three execs appointed by same administration within the last five years all reporting to the Provost

University has a strong history of interdisciplinary, collaborative interactions

Work more efficiently and effectively on programs that impact student retention.

GOAL OF THE PARTNERSHIP

Implement classes of 700-1200 students while maintaining quality of instruction and positive student experience.

PROJECT 1: MEGA-CLASSES

FacultyTechnologyStudent needs/supportFaculty needs/support

RETHINKING TEACHING IN THE MEGA CLASSROOM

Decision in May for August launch

Appointment of external project manager

Building a staff/faculty team

Visit to Apple

Delegation of responsibilities

IMPLEMENTATION

CENTENNIALHALL

STUDENT AFFAIRS

• Learning Support (supplemental instr., tutoring)• Preview Slides• Cohorts• Student input and feedback

OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY

• Classroom technology• Podcasting• Response devices• D2L

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

• Faculty selection• Funding for TA’s• Faculty training• Library support• Teaching evaluations• Course evaluation

Overall student satisfaction: 67%

Students considered classes of 50 to be “large”

Overall student final grades declined slightly

Teacher evaluation scores declined for some professors

Students identified slides as a major source of information

Mega-classes magnified issues that were common in all classes

FIRST YEAR FINDINGS

Update and refine a system that warns students, faculty and staff when milestones are not met in a specific class.

PROJECT 2: EARLY ALERT

EARLY ALERT

STUDENT AFFAIRS

• Tracking during course• Engaging students• Post-semester analysis

OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY

• Dashboards• D2L integrations

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

• Faculty selection• Identify triggers• Compare data

Equip our classrooms and learning spaces with modern state-of-the-art technologies.

Just getting started…

PROJECT 3: CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGIES

“Early alert has helped me to be in sync with at-risk students as well as those who just needed a reminder now and then. I definitely had more emails from students after an alert went out. Those emails ranged from simple questions to exam preparation and exam grade consequences.”

Elaine Marchello --Assistant Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Participating classes:

General ChemistryIntro to Biology Multiple math levelsLanguageGeneral Education

Students received 2-4 alerts in different classes from emails to phone calls from Student Affairs Outreach Facilitators

EARLY ALERTFALL 2011 QUICK FACTS

Range of Course Enrollment: from 157 to 2042

ALERTS SENT THIS SEMESTER: 2,482TOTAL STUDENTS ALERTED: 1,944

Alerts by Academic StandingFreshmen (75%) 1,862Sophomore (18%) 453Junior (5%) 115Senior (2%) 52

CLASSROOMTECHNOLOGIES

STUDENT AFFAIRS

• Engage students for input• Emergency response requirements• Classroom scheduling

OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY• Project planning & management• Installation & support of equipment• IT fee

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

• Faculty input• Instructional support experience• Classroom scheduling

Working with Admissions, Advisors, Faculty, and Students and using Technology to inform students

Degree SearchDegree Tracker

Project 4:HELPING STUDENTS FIND AN ACADEMIC HOME

HELPING STUDENTS GRADUATE IN 4 YEARS

Degree SearchDegree Tracker

STUDENT AFFAIRS

• Admissions website modified • Student input and feedback

OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY

• Programmers • Web designers• PeopleSoft consultants

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS• Advisors involved in development and testing• Faculty involved in transfer articulation • Faculty involved in curriculum review

http://degreesearch.arizona.edu

http://aprr.web.arizona.edu/data/114/UGRD.USBSC.JOURBA.pdf

DEGREE TRACKER

DEGREE TRACKER

Appreciation for each other’s staff and areas

A sense of urgency helps

Use best practices from each culture

Have the help of an external project manager

WHATWE LEARNED

Working together in this way has built a broader understanding of and commitment to student retention.

WHATWE LEARNED

Centennial has become a highly desirable venue for faculty

Greater attention to testing, clickers, academic integrity

Greater involvement of faculty in SA events

Collaborative projects with senior executives are extremely valuable

UNEXPECTEDOUTCOMES

SUMMARYCollaboration and cooperation allows top administrators to tackle difficult problems with creative solutions and strong institutional support