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
Time M
anag
emen
t
Acad
emic S
kills
Finan
cial D
ifficul
ties
Sensi
tive O
bstacl
es
Too M
uch So
cial Li
fe
Lack M
otiva
tion
Poor
Concen
tratio
n
Fear
of Fa
ilure
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10
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!