Lessons learned from San Jose State University: How nurturing an “Ecosystem”

of students and faculty engagement leads to STEP student success

NSF STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP) Grant #06-53260

Maureen Scharberg, Associate Vice President,Student Academic Success Services and Professor of Chemistry,

Maureen.Scharberg@sjsu.edu

* College of Science had issues with student success and retention, especially in “gateway” courses—needed mandatory academic advising—started with Chemistry

* Involvement with NSF Initiative for Systemic Changes of Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum—very student focused, active learning, group learning, problem-solving

* POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning)

* ACS Chemistry textbook project

* Professional Development of Faculty, Graduate Students and Teachers (focus on student engagement)

STEM Student SuccessSTEP by STEP

* Academic/Social/Personal—Changes with time

* Help students build their STEM student “toolbox”

* Transform STEM student “novice” to STEM student “leader”, wherever their entry point to the STEM degree is.

* Lessons learned and programs developed from this STEP grant applied throughout SJSU

Bottom Line Outcome from this Grant:

* Transformed SJSU by creating a Student Success Ecosystem

* Complex set of relationships* Many resources, including students, faculty, staff,

student leaders, student support network(s) * Interactive * Dynamic * Variable environment (within and outside SJSU) * Function as a unit

STEP Objective 1: Expand and enhance academic & career advising to entering students

* Created College of Science Advising Center (COSAC): * Opened April 2008—over 11,409 student visits to date

* “One-Stop Shop” for academic advising, career services, tutoring, time management, study strategies

* Intrusive, mandatory academic advising every semester.

* Probation and disqualification in the major, not the university (Colleges of Science and Engineering)

STEM Probation Students:

* Modified our existing transfer First Year Experience course in Spring 2009

* Started with College of Science, now expanded to include probation students from Colleges of Engineering, Social Science, Business, Applied Sciences & Arts as well as undeclared students on probation

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STEM MAJORS RETAINED THROUGH INTERVENTION SP09,FA09,SP10,FA10 (Sci 90T or Advising/Peer Mentoring)

* Strong partnership with Career Center—more STEM students visit the Career Center now than at the beginning of the grant

* Outreach to 2-year colleges by COSAC staff (professional academic advisor and intern); increased awareness of transfer STEM student needs by faculty * Transforming SJSU—six out of the seven colleges now have advising/success centers!!!

* Five are based on the COSAC model and have opened during the grant period! (professional advisers, peer advisers/tutors, liaison with Academic Advising & Retention Services)

STEP Objective 2: Provide Professional Development Opportunities for faculty who teach STEM “Gateway” courses

* Release time for small groups of faculty to study literature, attend professional conferences, develop/implement curriculum.

* Math (supplemental instruction)—started with pre-calculus, expanded to calculus, algebra, business calculus throughout grant period. * Computer Science – (stopped traditional lectures; active learning labs with short lectures)

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Precalculus and Calculus Passing Rates

STEP Objective 3: Immerse STEM majors into comprehensive learning communities

* Frosh First-Year Experience – Sci 2 class (600 students this semester; expand to include non-STEM majors)

* Supplemental instruction (Chemistry, Math, Physics) * STEM student leadership development (peer advisers, tutors, mentors) * 7,768 student questions answered during grant period * 11,636 hours of tutoring

First Time Frosh First Year Retention Rates

Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Fall 2011

All University 79.9% (3598) 84.3% (2764) 87.1% (2761) 82.9% (3947)

All UniversityFirst Gen

76.8% (754) 79.5% (601) 85.9% (659) 79.6% (1115)

Science 83.1% (338) 86.6% (298) 88.3% (314) 88.2% (335)

Science First Gen

78.2% (55) 84.4% (64) 95.2% (64) 85.7% (84)

Bottom Line:

* Created a college-wide social environment where science students feel a sense of belonging and identify with their college, fields of study, faculty, advisers and peers

* Expanded student success culture throughout the campus, catalyzed by this grant

Data Analysis:

* Beginning of grant period—pulling transcripts…too slow..

* Worked with our campus-wide programmers to create queries that gives associate deans major GPA, grades in key “gateway” courses—helps identify students for probation in the major

* Worked with our Office of Institutional Research to create our Student Success Milestone Dashboard for frosh and transfers (http://www.oir.sjsu.edu/reports/ssm/)

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SJSU Student Success Milestones (frosh/transfer)

“In search of adventure, 29-year-old Conor Grennan traded his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Orphanage in war-torn Nepal. But what began as a lark became a passionate commitment that would transform the young American and the lives of countless others.”

-Taken from www.conorgrennan.com

Sustainability:

* Student Academic Success Services (new Academic Affairs Unit as of June 2010---hub of student success operations, interacting with Student Affairs, departments, colleges, outreach)

* Funding: Special Sessions revenues, new Student Success, Excellence, Technology fee for Fall 2012; majority of student success operations, especially success centers, peer advising are not State of California dollars.

Questions for discussion:

* How does your STEP program define STEM student success?

* What STEM student support services do you provide?

* What data do you have to track STEM student success?

* What support do you provide STEM transfer students?

* How do you motivate your faculty to focus on integrating best practices for STEM student learning into their curriculum?

Thanks!

NSF STEP Grant: 06-53260, Susan Hixson, our Program Officer

• Dr. Dan Walker, PI• Dr. Gerry Selter, Provost Emeritus • and my mentor• Ann Baldwin, Program Manager• Michael Randle, Sci 2 and Sci 90T instructor• Student Academic Success Services• My colleagues at SJSU – students, faculty,

administrators, and staff