Improving Student Outcomes Based on Organizational Change, Adaptation, Practice and Theory

Presented byDr. Vincent Banrey Jr., Director of Enrollment Management

& Ms. Janice Zummo, Chairperson,

Special Programs/Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge

Medgar Evers College of The City University of New York

Prepared for

Seventh Annual Foundations of Excellence Winter Meeting 31st Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience

February 17, 2012 San Antonio, Texas

Self Study 2003 – 2004: Evaluate first-year program to improve the delivery of student services and student

outcomes

The Freshman Year Program: Standalone Unit

• Freshman Seminar Courses

• Academic Advisement

Following FoE Study: Setting Goals

Focus on Dimension # 2: Organization• Goal 1: Create organizational structures and policies that provide a

comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated approach to the first-year. • Goal 2: Develop comprehensive and holistic structures that address the

first-year and Freshman Experience (0 – 30 credits) throughout the College beyond the Freshman Year Program.

Organizational ChangeResulting from FoE Participation

Organizational Change Components

Establishment of a unifying structure to integrate programs that impact first-

year students including:

Develop mission and philosophy statements

Create an organizational structure

Select a name that reflects the academic purpose of the new structure

Complete all University requirements

Implement

Evaluate first-year program to improve the delivery of student services

and student outcomes

• Freshman Year Program - Academic Advisement, First-year Seminars

• Percy E. Sutton Search for Elevation, Education and Knowledge (SEEK) Program - Access to College, Counseling, Academic Support & Financial Aid

• Academic Foundations Division (Developmental Skills): Reading, Writing, and Mathematics

• Academic Support Services/Learning Center: Tutoring & Workshops

• Testing Office: CUNY Skills Assessment Tests, CUNY Proficiency Exam, CLEP, NLN Exam, TOEFL

• Student Advocacy and Support Services (SASS) Center: Academic Advisement, Counseling & Probation Services

Creating an Effective Organizational Structure: College of Freshman Studies Components

Adaptation: Focus on Student Transition

Unifying Services for First-Year Students and Beyond the First-Year Experience Testing Office - Assess basic skill levels at entrance, within the first-

year and beyond FYP - First-year advisement services & seminars (FS 101/102) SEEK Program - Counseling, academic advisement, academic

support, and financial aid in the first-year through graduation Academic Foundations - Basic skills instruction for pre-freshmen,

freshmen, and continuing students Academic Support – Tutoring in basic skills, core and major courses SASS Center - Second year (and beyond) advisement services;

transfer seminars, readmit seminars

Five Key Student Retention & Persistence Strategies

IntegrationInvolvementValidationStudent EngagementAcademic Performance

Retention Strategies: Student Support Services Intentional

Interventions Model

College of Freshmen Studies: Student Support Services Intentional Interventions Model

Retention

Persistence

STUDENT

Academic Support/Learning Center

Academic Foundations

Division

Testing Center

Student Advocacy & Support Services

Center

• Tinto (1975) – Student Integration • Bean (1983) – Influence of External Variables on Student

Persistence

• Bean & Metzner (1985) – Model of Non-Traditional Student Attrition

• Astin (1985) – Student Involvement

• Porter (1990) – Freshmen Year Experience

• Bonifacio & Sinatra (1991) – First-Generation Students

• Kuh (2008) – Student Engagement

Theoretical Studies Related to Student Retention and Persistence

Pascarella & Terenzini (1977) – Faculty/Student Contact

Richardson & Skinner (1991) – Institutional Adaptation to Diversity

Terenzini (1994) – Institutional Intervention

Rendon (1994) – Student Validation

Roueche & Roueche (1994) – Institutional Program Design

Guenter (1994) – Student Retention Programs

Noel & Levitz (2001) – Faculty/Student Interaction

The Institutional Dimension of Student Retention

Holistic Integration of Support Services

Stage 1. Reactive

▪ Testing & Screening

▪ Compensatory & Developmental Courses

▪ New Student Orientation

▪ Financial Aid

Stage 2. Strategic

▪ Financial Aid

▪ New Student Seminar

▪ Counseling

▪ Academic Advising

Stage 3. Adaptive

▪ Academic Advising

▪ Tutoring & Learning Assistance ▪ Counseling

▪ Mentoring

Student Access and Institutional Adaptation

Increase Access Increase Achievement

The figure above displays the adaptation of the Richardson and Skinner Model (1991), which incorporates the SEEK/CD Program components as they relate to increasing access, improving persistence and retention, and increasing the achievement of students who are academically and economically disadvantaged (Banrey, 2008) .

Practice: SEEK Program Mission Possible

Integration of Services - Counseling - Academic Support - Financial Aid

Learning CommunitiesPeer Mentor ProgramSupplemental Instruction

Mission Possible Peer Mentor Program Enhancing the Student Learning Experience

Impact of Challenges

The undergraduate experience of historically underserved students can differ markedly from that of the majority (Kuh et al., 2008, p. 542).

Degree completion rates are considerably lower for historically underserved students (p. 541).

Rationale

Student engagement in educationally purposeful activities during the first year of college had a positive, statistically significant effect on persistence … (Kuh et al., 2008, p. 555).

African American students benefited more than White students from increasing their engagement in educationally effective activities (Kuh, et al., p. 551).

Mission Possible: Intentional Intervention

Theoretical Foundation

Bandura’s Theory of

Self-Efficacy

Maslow’s HieracrchyOf Needs

Payne, DeVol & Smith

Bridging Generational

Poverty

Theoretical Foundation for Mission Possible

Bandura’s Academic Self-efficacy: Peoples’ beliefs in their capabilities to

produce desired effects by their own actions

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Understanding the underlying factors that

motivate behavior and meeting basic needs precedes meeting higher order needs

Payne, DeVol & Smith: Mentoring to bridge generational poverty,

benefit of mentoring, tutoring and counseling

Project Outcomes: Survey Responses

16% increase in student’s ability to identify their strengths

10.2% increase in students’ ability to identify areas that need improvement

Decreases in the ability to define academic goals, motivation for attending college, and ability to adapt were small at 5.8%, 3.4% and 5.1% respectively.

Mission Possible Project Outcomes:Blocked Courses & Tutoring

Fall 2009 - SEEK Collaborative Learning Community Block 1

30 students registered in ENGL112, PSYC 101, and SP/C 003

Average GPA – 2.58 for students who attended tutoring

Average GPA – 1.08 for students who did not attend tutoring

Fall 2009 – Spring 2010 Retention – 83% Fall 2009 – Fall 2010 Retention – 63%

Project Outcomes: Blocked Courses & Tutoring

Fall 2009 - SEEK Collaborative Learning Community Block 2

19 students registered in ENGW006, SPCH 102, and SP/C 003

Average GPA – 3.32 for students who attended tutoring Average GPA - .81 for students who did not attend tutoring

Fall 2009 – Spring 2010 Retention – 89%

Fall 2009 – Fall 2010 Retention – 74%

Significance of CLC Data

Retention Data for the 2009 Cohort at CUNY, Medgar Evers College (MEC), SEEK (MEC), SEEK CLC

Full-time Freshman in Associates Programs:CUNY MEC SEEK(MEC) SEEK(CLC)61.4% 50.3% 57.7% 74%

Full-time Freshman in Baccalaureate Programs:CUNY MEC SEEK(MEC) SEEK(CLC)61.4% 59.9% 65.2% 63%

Thank you.

Questions and AnswersDr. Vincent Banrey – vbanrey@mec.cuny.edu Ms. Janice Zummo – jzummo@mec.cuny.edu