Work Smarter Not Harder: Breaking the Ice

withAt-Risk Students

Dan GockleyDirector of Residence Life, Fairmont State University

Darlena Jones, Ph.D.Director of Education and Program Development, EBI

How do you identify at-risk students?

Identifying At-Risk

Students

Successful Practices?

Unsuccessful

Practices?

Ideas You’d Like to Try?

• Founded in 1994• Over 1500 Colleges and

Universities worldwide• MAP-Works implemented on over

100 campuses

MAP-Works Retention Platform

Identify

Intervene &Coordinate

Inform

Manage

Motivate

• Student Profile Data• ERP Interface

(Banner, Peoplesoft, Datatel, Jenzabar)

• BlackBoard, Building Block partner

• Student Profile Data• Campus Resources• Survey Data• Alerts/Notes

• Social Norming• Expectations• Campus Resources

The MAP-Works Process

•Advisors•Residence Hall

Staff•Seminar

Instructors•Coaches

• Talking Points• Dashboard• Share Notes/Alerts• Coordinate Actions

Quickly Navigate

Quickly Identify Students

Drill down to see Johnathan’s Talking

Points…

Johnathan’s Risk Indicator was Green,

now it’s yellow…

Quickly identify most recent issues

Survey Rating is yellow and he’s not

strongly committed to returning in the

Spring…

Not socially integrating or

committed to the institution

Not studying long enough, poor time management skills,

weak academic behaviors.

Not highly confident in obtaining the

tuitions/fees needed

Poor academic self-efficacy, low levels of academic integration, experiencing course

difficulties…

Keeping Track of Work

Allows Direct-Connects see the interactions others are having

Utilize Everyone on Campus

Get everyone on campus involved by allowing them to issue Alerts when they have

concerns

Collect Academic Info Quickly

Request instructors provide immediate feedback on

performance Information is instantly provided to Direct-Connects for

follow-up…

Less Time Diagnosing

More Time Helping Students

Effectiveness & Efficiency

More Time Helping

Less Time on the Computer

All Students Report - Shared Response

Target programming initiatives to those in most need

All Students Report - Survey Snapshot

Aggregated information to understand global trends.

Engage Students in Process

Written Student Report

Facebook / Portal

Take survey, download report

Send emails or make appointments…

Fairmont State University

Daniel Gockley

• College Stats– Located in Fairmont, WV– 4 Year, Public– 4100 undergraduate

students– 90% in-state students– 98% full-time students– 48% male / 52% female– 51% of all first-year students live in college housing

Who is Fairmont State University?

– Fairmont State University was selected as one of three institutions to pilot MAP-Works by the West Virginia state Higher Education Policy Commission.

– Fairmont State University is co-located with Pierpont Community & Technical College, and students from the two institutions are mixed together in classes, in residence halls, and in activities across campus.

– FSU and PC&TC were both interested in improving retention efforts particularly due to the high percentage of 1st generation college students attending both institutions.

MAP-Works at Fairmont State

• Which students were involved?– All first-time, first-year students at the institutions,

including part-time students. A total of 1376 students were included in the Fall 2009 survey.

– All full-time first year students and transfer students with fewer than 15 transfer credits. A total of 1538 students were included in the Fall 2010 survey.

• Which faculty/staff/departments were involved?– Academic Affairs -Student Affairs– Residence Life -Off-Campus Programs– Athletics -Financial Aid

Implementation of MAP-Works

• Paraprofessional Staff Interventions– Resident Assistants developed relationships encouraging students to

complete the survey.– Resident Assistants utilized certain data elements for interventions.

• Faculty Interactions– Faculty referred students in crisis– Faculty utilized data to intervene with students.

• Student Behavior Interventions– Student behaviors led to outreach efforts

• Conduct Processes– Utilized student data during conduct meetings.

• Campus Intervention Teams

Breaking the Ice

• Meaningful Connections with Students– Students often deflect or deny their challenges.

• Detailed Conversations– Information helps overcome student resistance.

• Avoidance• Timeliness of Interactions– Intervene before there are academic consequences.

• Incomplete Information– Students struggle with more than class work.

• Retainability– Data helps identify which students can be retained.

• Reactive vs. Proactive– Survey results facilitate a proactive approach.

Intervention Challenges

• Early Intervention• Relationships Determine Success– Students will respond based upon their connections.

• Information = Foundation for Success• Data Drives Planning and Decision-Making– Plan programs to address student needs.– Develop future budgets.

• Intervene at the Lowest Level– Encourage resident assistants to utilize MAP-Works.

• Effective Interactions– MAP-Works helps supervisors ensure interactions are happening

effectively.

Successful Interventions

Open Discussion

• Does your campus have a culture of retention? Have your faculty bought in?

• How do you train your staff to reach out to students who are struggling?

• What transition factors (e.g., homesickness, time management, etc.) do you focus on?

Discussion Points

Discussion / Questions

Dan Gockley, dan.gockley@fairmontstate.eduDarlena Jones, Darlena@webebi.com