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Moving the Needle on Retention & Graduation
Rates for Underrepresented Students:
Using Texting to Support College Student Success
Erin Cox, uAspire
Doreen Kelly-Carney & Diane Scott, Academy of the Pacific Rim
Brian Kathman, Signal Vine
Introductions
Big Picture - Defining the Problem
Harsh Realities
• “In spite of our collective belief that education is the engine for
climbing the socioeconomic ladder — the heart of the “American
dream” myth — colleges are now more divided by wealth than ever.” -Why Poor Students Struggle by Vicki Madden, New York Times, 9/21/2014
• At the 193 most selective colleges, only 14 percent of students were
from the bottom 50% of Americans in terms of socioeconomic status.
Just 5% of students were from the lowest quartile. - Anthony Carnevale and Jeff Stroll in Rewarding Strivers: Helping Low-Income Students
Succeed in College, Century Foundation Books, June 3, 2010, Richard D. Kahlenberg
(Editor).
Money
• Very small paperwork issues
• Miscommunication about reward renewal
• Slight changes in family income
• Small reductions in financial aid awards (100s of dollars)
—> students to withdraw
Barriers
• Amazingly resistant to change
• Some growing because of the recession
Summer Melt
“Across the country, 10-40% of seemingly college-intending
students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, fail to
enroll in college in the fall after graduation. This phenomenon is
known as Summer Melt. College-intending students have
completed key college-going steps, such as being accepted to
college and applying for financial aid, and have concretely
signaled their intention to enroll in college.”
Strategic Data Project, Center for Education Policy Research, Harvard Graduate
School of Education (http://cepr.harvard.edu/sdp/resources/summer-melt/index.php)
Academic
• Kids at highly selective schools struggle academically even when they are capable
of doing the work. But UNDERREPRESENTATION itself leads students to respond
differently than their peers
• Different Mindset. Instead of, “Wow, this is a hard class; who can I get to help me?”
they think, “I can’t do this; I am not supposed to be here; I can’t let anyone know.”
• Unusual for underrepresented students to feel comfortable going to professors to
ask for help or teaming up with other students in study groups to manage the
workload
• Underuse of college supports like writing centers, learning centers, time
management workshops, study strategies courses, disability support offices, etc.
• Counter-intuitive, but…
• Especially if 1st gen + low income + ethnic or racial minority
Social/Cultural
• Reduce “connectedness” to other students and campus
community at large (e.g., first gens way more likely to work
off campus and in jobs that are familiar from home like Best
Buy).
• Other students (and their interests or “tastes”) can seem
almost foreign to our students especially as you climb the
selectivity ladder
• Struggle with references to things they have never heard of
from the Economist-reading, public radio listening world
Social Isolation and Alienation
“But once those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds arrive on campus,
it’s often the subtler things, the signifiers of who they are and where they
come from, that cause the most trouble, challenging their very identity,
comfort and right to be on that campus. The more elite the school, the
wider that gap.”
“Hardest was the awareness that my own experiences were not only
undervalued but often mocked, used to indicate when someone was studid
or low-class.” Madden, Barnard
Why Poor Students Struggle by Vicki Madden, New York Times, 9/21/2014
Something lost - enough gained?
“To stay four years and graduate, students have to come to terms with the
unspoken transaction: exchanging your old world for a new world, one that
doesn’t seem to value where you came from. The transition is not just about
getting a degree and making more money.” Much weightier
Why Poor Students Struggle by Vicki Madden, New York Times, 9/21/2014
11
500,000
12
13
3%
14
Who is uAspire?
College cost is a barrier that every college-ready young person from a low and moderate income family must overcome. We believe that eliminating this barrier will lead to higher rates of
enrollment and graduation, helping more students attain the economic promise of an affordable college degree that will break the cycle of poverty in this and subsequent
generations.
uAspire works to ensure that all young people have the financial information and resources necessary to find an affordable path to – and through – a postsecondary education.
The nation’s leader in addressing the college affordability crisis
PREPAREFight the misperceptions of college costs that derail students early in their high school careers
7th-11th
Grade
AFFORDGuide students through the
financial aid process, securing financial aid and enabling good
decision-making
12th
Grade
SUCCEEDSupport students throughout their
postsecondary career, helping them reach their goal of college graduation
College
16
uAspire works to ensure that all young people have the financial information and resources necessary to find an affordable path to – and through – a postsecondary education.
Directly impact the lives of at least
25,000 young people unlocking
more than $150M in financial aid each and every year (through direct
service in 8 markets and virtual advising)
Influence policy & education leaders to
ensure that, each year,
Millions of students receive the support they
need
Train and support more than 1,000community and school-based practitioners who
will counsel 250,000+ students each year
Our National Growth Strategy:Reach More Than 1 Million Students Annually by 2017
17
Three Summers, Three RCT Intervention Designs, All with Measurable Impact
Summer 2011: Proactive Advisor Outreach
Summer 2012: Peer Mentor Model
Summers 2012-2014:Texting Model
Texting for Impact: Summers 2012 & 2013
Targeted college-intending Class of 2012 & 2013 grads (2,200 students total from Boston, Springfield, and Lawrence)
Series of 10 text messages sent throughout summer. Messages customized to each student’s intended college and sent via an automated text messaging platform (Signal Vine)
– Messages provide college-specific information, due dates, and web links for important tasks (e.g., registering for orientation)
– Messages provided the option of requesting 1:1 assistance from a uAspire advisor
Cost - $7/student
Texting for Impact: Results & Learnings
Texting can be used to mitigate “summer melt”: Students who received texts during the summer
after high school graduation were 7.1 percentage points more likely to enroll in college than those who did not.
– For students without defined college plans, the impact was even bigger: 11.3 percentage points. These were students who at the end of senior year either didn’t name a school they planned to attend or were still choosing between multiple schools.
Information provided via text can enable students to take necessary action: 86% of
students reported that the texts prompted them to complete a task they hadn’t yet done, and 85% reported that the texts informed them about something they hadn’t realized they needed to do.
Students are receptive to ongoing text message support: Fewer than 3% of students opted out
of receiving regular text messages at any point during the summer-long intervention.
Can advising happen via text? Yes!
Actual Texting Interaction via Signal Vine Portal Between uAspire Advisor and a Student
Advisor: “uAspire reminder: Fall bill due 8/7. Do u have a good plan for paying ur bill? Need help? Questions about loans? Text us, or visit our walk-in hrs!”
Student: “I saw what my bill is so is that what financial aid takes care of”
Advisor: “Do you know how much your bill is for?”
Student: “3000 & some change”
Advisor: “That doesn't sound like your fin aid has been applied yet. Did you check your email? Check to see if you have any emails from the fin aid office.”
Student: “Okay.” 7 min later: “I figured it out, they need my transcript”
Advisor: “Ok that makes sense. Once they receive this, the fin aid office may have more papers for you to fill out. Be sure to check your email often and let us know.”
Student: “Okay thank you.”
Texting for Impact: Persistence
Expanded work with Signal Vine to focus on first-year postsecondary students.
1st text sent in Nov:
“Hi (NAME), it's uAspire! We're still here for free help affording college. We'll be sending you texts all year, save our # and text back for help!”
Responses received within 1 hour of text being issued:
Texting for Impact: Parent Engagement
uAspire texted 650 parents in Boston, Springfield and Lawrence during Summer 2014. One example of a parent exchange is captured below. The parent wasn't aware that waiving health insurance was a method to reduce her student’s fall bill. She got support via text, took action, and her bill was reduced by $800.
uAspire: Good morning. We will definitely help in any way possible. Have you already waived the school’s insurance?Parent: Not yet.uAspire: That will decrease the bill. If you log onto the student portal or the school website u can access the link. You will need your insurance card at the time.Parent: Thank u…we will.
The following week:Parent: Ok…We’re all set. They had removed 800 so ill now submit the payment. Thks again.
Two-Way Texting Platform
• Anatomy of a Personalized Text
• Technology Traps
• How it Works
Two-Way Text EngagementRelevance = Engagement = Results
2-way messagingProvide students with direct
counseling; answer questions
SchedulingSchedule messages as part of a
campaign, or for an individual student
PersonalizationEnable unique message content and
pathways
Case managementResponses are routed to the
appropriate counselor inbox;
Track histories and interactions
Message Intelligently
Anatomy of a Personalized Text
Element of personalization
Relevant information
Timeliness/urgency
Call to action/next step
Hi! It’s Jess w/ GEARUP. Did u know WV 4year colleges require either
the ACT or SAT? Need to take the ACT? Reg. by Jan 10 for the Feb test
http://bit.ly/1bUHmOs
Technology traps“You wouldn’t just get on a loudspeaker”
One-Way Alerts● A ‘Black Hole’ for communication
● No Support
● Reserve for Emergency Blasts
Download Required● Will not reach everyone
● Very difficult to scale
● Several steps to lose students
Mass Text● Same message for everyone
● Not relevant for many
● Quickly Ignored
Mobile Mass Marketing● Impersonal communications
● Toeing the FERPA line
● Not process & outcome driven
Text Messages Go Out• “Program” of scheduled messages
• Personalized for each student–Campus- and task- specific content & web links in messages
–Messages based on their data profile
Students reply
• Student Replies are routed to the appropriate Counselor Inbox• Each Counselor Portal allows texting with many students at once• Students reply when they need support
A text conversation starts
An interactive, two-way
text conversation
Send reply message
Best Practices How often would you prefer to receive college planning text messages?
Source: survey of students who attended
West Virginia’s 2014 College Goal
Sunday event
Results
Metrics & Measurement
35
+11%matriculation
+ 20%persistence
10% - 60%response rates
70% - 90%engagement
Relevance
Results
message intelligently
Academy of the Pacific Rim
Our mission to empower urban students of
all racial and ethnic backgrounds to achieve
their full intellectual and social potential
by combining the best of the East - high
standards, discipline and character
education - with the best of the West - a
commitment to individualism, creativity
and diversity.
Academy of the Pacific RimTexting Pilot with Signal Vine
Academy of the Pacific Rim
• 18-year-old, nationally recognized public charter school in
Boston
• Serve just over 500 students in grade 5-12
• 57% Free/Reduced Lunch; 84% students of color; 80-85% first
generation college students
• Just over 330 graduates, over 90% college going (of that, 95%
to four-year, 5% two-year); matric to huge range
• 95% retention sophomore year as reported by National
Student Clearinghouse
Some Details of our Pilot
• No real summer melt issue, and 95% soph. year retention (as
reported by NSC); wanted to use to dig into retention to
graduation (following up on anecdotal evidence and “gut”)
• 100 alums - graduating classes of 2012, 2013, 2014
• Unlimited texts for period of pilot
• Started in January, 2015
• In “Phase Two” now
Context of Text Messages: Phase One
Relationship/Connect to events
(#10) Put it on your calendar – APR Graduation is June 5th, 6 – 8 pm, you know
where! ☺ Alumni & Faculty Reception to follow. Details TBD. Stay in touch!
– late Feb.
Financial Aid
(#3) One last reminder – get help on your FAFSA renewal from MEFA
(www.fafsaday.org) or uAspire
(https://www.uaspire.org/boston/students/succeed). Don’t miss your FAFSA
renewal priority deadline: [deadline]! – Jan. 23
Context of Text Messages: Phase One
Summer jobs/career help
(#5) February is a great time to plan for summer internships/jobs! See [career
planning office info] for help with leads, resumé, mock interviews,
professional interview clothes, etc. – early in Feb.
Academic Support/major
(#7) All the best for midterms and that tough academic work! Don’t forget
that when you’re balancing a lot, help can be … well, helpful! ☺ [academic
support center] offers great FREE support! Older peers and [multicultural
student center/org. info] can be great resources too! – later in Feb.
Brigett • Class of 2014• GPA: 3.7• SAT CR 510 & M 630• White (daughter of Italian
immigrant), working class, 1st gen• Matric. to four-year public in
Honors program
Results
Richard• Class of 2014• GPA: 3.0• SAT CR 500 & M 570• Latino (Cuba and DR);
“overmatched”; 1st gen• Matric. to selective private
Catholic college as MLK Scholar
Results
Anderson• Class of 2013• GPA: 2.3• SAT CR 340 & SAT M 370• Black man (Haitian-American),
low-income, 1st gen• Went to four-year public through
summer transition program
Results
Context of Text Messages: Phase Two
Summer & long term job/career skills (#2) As you apply for these great summer job/internship opportunities, do you have a resume? If
not, make sure you see your [career center] on campus, or if time is short, check out this helpful
tips – from Emerson College http://www.emerson.edu/student-life/careers-
internships/resources/resume-writing-undergraduate-students and American University
http://www.american.edu/careercenter/Resumes.cfm, plus American U.’s resume template for
undergrads
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lr1qfh6oxf0kbgs/underclassmen%20resume%20template.docx .
Financial Aid
(#5) Money matters. Did your financial aid award change? Do you need help figuring out
why? Remember that we are here to help, and so is uAspire –
www.uaspire.org/boston/students/succeed. Remember that you may not be able to
register for classes if your financial aid and bill are not squared away!!!
Context of Text Messages: Phase Two
Self-care #8) You know what they say about all work and no play, right? Remember to
create that work/life balance: take recreational classes (Ms. Scott took
windsurfing!); go to the gym; get involved in an activity or two (but not too
many!) that sounds fun; take care of your spiritual side through meditation, yoga,
prayer, etc.; check out discussion groups offered through res life or the
counseling center. Ahhh . . .
Academics
(#9) Are you prepared to end the semester strong? Check out the offerings of
[Academic Support Center]. In addition to tutoring and paper-writing help, they
often offer speed reading or time management courses. Check out this example from
Tufts – http://uss.tufts.edu/arc/manage ! Who knew? Get in the know! “Highly-
effective people” use all available resources to succeed.
What We Have Learned/Next Steps
• Having a running list of potential/future texts
• Incorporate our 2015 graduates
• Differentiate by year in college
• Expand our reach and “N” (sample size)
• Connect with academic researchers for robust
study
Questions?
Comments?
ContactErin CoxPresident
uAspire
(617) 778-7195 x121
www.uaspire.org
Brian KathmanCEO
Signal Vine, LLC
(703) 338-1046
www.signalvine.com
Diane Scott &
Doreen Kelly-CarneyCo-Directors of College
Placement
Academy of the Pacific Rim
(617) 361-0050 x154
www.pacrim.org
