With So Many Regulations, Can Financial Aid Ever Think Outside the Box?

Dr. Virginia Iannone AVP Academic Support Services

Barbara Miller Director of Financial Aid

Stevenson University

Stevenson, Maryland

Session OverviewO Who we areO What were our student needs and why

did we need to join forcesO The Model

O Comprehensive assessmentO Individualized support planningO Fidelity monitoring

O ChallengesO Implementation considerations

Stevenson University: THENO 1947 – Villa Julie founded by Sisters of

Notre Dame – specializing in medical-secretarial training

O 1954 – Official approval as 2-year collegeO 1967 – separated from Catholic ChurchO 1972 – becomes co-edO 1984 – becomes 4-year collegeO 2004 – on campus residencesO 2008 – name changed to Stevenson

University

Stevenson University: NOWO Total enrollment: 4,212O Male/female: 34%/66%O Pursuing a bachelor’s degree: 90% (10%

accelerated)O Pursuing a master’s degree: 10%O Minorities: 37%O Maryland residents: 85%O Full-time students living on campus: 56%O 25 athletic teams + marching bandO 92% of graduates received jobs or went on to

further their education within 6 months of graduation

Need for a New ModelO New regulations from the Department of

EducationO Institutional discussions among our

Strategic Enrollment Management teamO Extensive overlap between students who

failed SAP and other targeted cohorts

These led to the Office of Financial Aid approaching the Office of Academic Support Services to form a strategic

collaboration to support these students.

Obstacles to Academic Success

O Academic Under-preparednessO Competing ResponsibilitiesO Wellness, Personal, and Family IssuesO Time ManagementO ProcrastinationO Full Social LifeO Financial Difficulties

How Do You Know?

Ask

Assess

Four-Part Assessment O Interview

O Review of transcript, degree audit, and other relevant information

O Technology AssessmentO Obstacles to Academic Success

O Adapted from Brigham Young UniversityO Index of Learning Styles

O Felder & Silverman, North Carolina State University

Technology AssessmentO On average students reported at least

moderate proficiency on most items

O Average scores below a 3.0 (on a 5-point scale)O Using the SU Portal (2.57)O Using the Outlook Calendar (2.77)O Accessing SmartThinking (2.82)O Submitting Through the SU Careline (2.4)

Most Commonly Reported Obstacles

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Index of Learning Styles

O 44-items, A or B (forced choice)

O Sample QuestionsO I understand something better after I

O Try it outO Think it through

O When I see a diagram or sketch in class I am most likely to rememberO The pictureO What the professor said about it

Index of Learning Styles

O Measures Learning Preferences on 4 Dimensions

OActive-ReflectiveOSensing-IntuitiveOVisual-VerbalOSequential-Global

O Students tend to show preferences towardO Active, Sensing, Visual, and Sequential

Upon Completion of the Assessment

What do we know?

Now What?O Generating a personalized Academic

Support Plan (ASP)O Specific to the student as a person

(holistic) O Specific to the current semester

O Finite number of focus areas (standardized)

O Unlimited strategies to support the student

Considerations in Creating the Plan

O Specific to the needs of the studentO Flexible and changes if the needs of the

student changeO ComprehensiveO Includes realistic goal setting that occurs the

first week of the semester (after the student has been to each class at least once)

O Includes immediate Action StepsO Shared with significant individuals who will

help support the student

Focus Areas for the ASP

O Academic MajorO Basic Academic SkillsO Content TutoringO Financial StrainO Motivation/Procrastination

O Note TakingO Online CoursesO Study Skills/EffectivenessO Test-Taking StrategiesO Time Management

Implementation and Follow-Up

O Implementation is the responsibility of the STUDENT

O Follow-Up and compliance is monitored by the Office of Academic Support ServicesO Ongoing communication with the

studentO Mid-term grade checkO Modification of the plan as needed

ChallengesO Limitations in time and personnel resources

O Difficulties providing consistent follow-up of non-compliant students

O Students who did not honor the appeal deadline did not have time to undergo the entire process as designed

O Need to establish a clear role for faculty advisors

Modifications for Implementation in Fall 2013O More efficient assessment processO Training of additional staff in all phases of the

processO Adhere to published deadlinesO Increased collaboration between OASS and

FAOO FAO will be more involved in the monitoring and

tracking of studentsO Addition of intrusive advising for those not

involved in intensive intervention

Lively Discussion!

And Thank You!