What we know, what we do not know, and what we are learning

C. Jill Randles

Office of Undergraduate Education

jrandles@umbc.edu

What we know...

Fall Cohort n Graduated 2 Have NOT Graduated

# % n %

1995 1,278 602 47.1 676 52.9

1996 1,134 584 51.5 550 48.5

1997 1,120 605 54.0 515 46.0

1998 1,129 602 53.3 527 46.7

1999 1,063 597 56.2 466 43.8

2000 1,160 639 55.1 521 44.9

Total 6,884 3,629 52.7 3,255 47.3

465

1,304601

514634

339998

536923

465

970%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Graduated Have NOT Graduated

Missing GPA < = 1.99 2.00 - 2.49

2.50 - 2.99 3.00 - 3.49 > = 3.50

*

2 > 95% graduate w/in 6 yrs.

1 Graduation data includes up to summer 2007.

Trends in Graduation Rates for Trends in Graduation Rates for

New Full-Time Transfer StudentsNew Full-Time Transfer Students(Fall cohorts, 1995 – 2004)(Fall cohorts, 1995 – 2004)

Trends in Graduation Rates for Trends in Graduation Rates for

New Part-Time Transfer StudentsNew Part-Time Transfer Students(Fall cohorts, 1995 – 2004)(Fall cohorts, 1995 – 2004)

Semester and one-year retention models 1995 – 2006 fall and spring cohorts of degree-seeking new

transfer students (n = 19,010)

Four-year and six-year graduation models 1995 – 2000 fall and spring cohorts of degree-seeking new

transfer students (n = 9,520)

Based on 10th day enrollments

Cohort term Fall/Spring entrant Sex Race Geographic origin Non-traditional-aged student Transfer institutional type Transfer GPA Type of degree transferred

in Student-level at entry Major area @ matriculation Dorm status

Scholars’ programs Honors College Athlete UMBC merit scholarship Applied for financial aid Pell Grant recipient Expected family

contribution Credits attempted (BOT) % STEM coursework Difficulty of coursework Withdrew/cancelled

registration 1st semester

Top 5: Credits attempted (BOT)

Major area @ matriculation

Race

Student-level at entry

Transfer GPA

Cohort term (trend) Geographic origin Non-traditional-aged student Transfer institutional type Athlete UMBC merit scholarship Difficulty of coursework Type of degree transferred in Withdrew/cancelled

registration 1st semester

Study presented in June 2007; extends and complements prior analysis (www.umbc.edu/oir)

Focused on 1st semester engagement in an FYS, IHU or LLC (fall cohorts, 2000 – 2006)

Objectives: Assess participation rates and who was more/less likely

to participate Assess the relationship of engagement in an FYE to

retention—semester, one-year and two-year

Prior OIR analyses using the NSSE (2005) showed that FYS & IHU participants stated they were more engaged than non-participants (www.umbc.edu/oir).

Students at-risk were less likely to voluntarily enroll. Non-Scholar students and Non-Honors College students Commuting students Transfer students

Highlighted the question: “What does a first-year experience look like for new transfer students?”

For new freshmen, first semester engagement in an FYE is positively related to retention—semester, one-year and two-year—after controlling for other factors.

For new transfer students, first semester engagement in an FYE is positively related to semester retention, after controlling for other factors.1

1 Given that few new transfer students participate in an FYE, there is limited statistical power in modeling the longer term impact of FYE engagement on retention.

Further exploration of the significance of race for new transfer students’ persistenceAfrican American transfer students , particularly

males, have a six year graduation rate 10 percentage points lower than White transfer students

There is also a need to achieve parity between the 6-year graduation rates of our transfer students and those of our full-time, first time freshman

Looking ahead also meant:exploring where our transfer students face the

greatest difficulty and how they experience UMBC andhow can our first-year experience offerings

contribute to and enhance a transfer student’s experience

What are our goals and priorities? How does recruiting and supporting transfer students fit into our long term strategic plan? Does it fit?

Who needs to be on board with those goals and priorities?

What does our data tell us?Based on what we know, how can we use our

limited resources most effectively?How are we working to enhance our relationships

with our community college partners?What does it mean to have a campus culture that

embraces transfer students? Are we there?So the work began....

Transfer Student AllianceFinancial awards beyond our transfer sch0larships (80+),

TSA awards are $1500 for each of the two years of full-time study

We commit to high achieving students who make an early commitment to UMBC upon completion of their associate’s degree with a 3.5 GPA

Community College Partnerships

http://www.umbc.edu/undergraduate/learn/for_txr_students.htmlHave significantly increased the number of 2+2 transfer programs

ARTSYS Orientation

Option of half day or full day programs and an option of priority registration

Have taken our first-year IHU and modified it to more effectively address the needs of transfer studentsTSS Success Course Topics -09FINAL.doc

Currently piloting the course in Computer Science and Information Systems

Some of our community college partners have created their own version of a first-year seminar so it is important that our transfer course factor in their previous experience

Current model is connected to an upper level course in their major department

NEXT STEPS...

Targeted efforts to support all students by integrating supplemental instruction into courses that have been identified as putting students at a higher risk of failure

Initial focus is on Math inclusive of Algebra, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, and Differential Equations

Even with many tutoring options, students are not as successful in these courses, and this lack of success impacts their persistence.

Pilot program in Fall 2009 with one course in Pre-Calculus

Many students , native and transfer, attending UMBC major in the Sciences and Engineering

Faculty in the Chemistry Department revamped the discussion sessions associate with CHEM 101 to include small group work in which students focus on questions and solutions related to real world problems Result: pass rates well into the upper 80%

This success led to the creation of CNMS Active Science Teaching and Learning Environment which is a lab space that will enable Biology, Physics and Mathematics to adapt their lower-level courses to the model used so successfully in Chemistry

UMBC has had a first-year intervention program for a number of years.

It was a manual process managed by staff in our Learning Resources Center

Recently went to an on-line versionProcess was successful in its first year, and

what we hope will be possible in the next year, is that faculty can report any student in academic difficulty

We expect that this next step will include new transfer students

In addition to academic support systems, we know students need to connect with their peers and others.

The challenge is to provide a wide enough variety of activities that will help them create meaningful relationships and new peer groups.

To date, one of our most successful efforts has been the Commuter and Transfer Student Retreat. Students who participate in this program bond with each other, and they begin their time at UMBC connected to a group of peers. It is a starting point and supports what our data has shown...all students engage more successfully with the University if they have interactions in small groups

Self-Reported Confidence Level about Graduating (n=288)

66.7%

18.8% 8.7%

3.1% 2.8%0

20

40

60

80

1-Extremely 2 3 4 5-NotConfident At

All

Few New Transfer Students are Engaged in a

First-year Experience(Fall Cohorts)

8

3314

2713

8

9

5 32

10

18

2424

13

40

20

40

60

80

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

FYS IHU LLC

1,131 1,044 1,093 957 966

Few New Transfer Students are

"Affiliated" their First Year(Fall Cohorts)

11 10 9 9

22 1610 18 22 18 16

3734

30 24 2433

8

12 15711

0

20

40

60

80

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Scholar Honors College Athlete Shriver

1,1341,160(n)

0%

5%

4%6% 6%

< .5%2%#

p

art

icip

an

ts

*

* Understated for Shriver; do not have complete data for that year.

4% 5% 5% 6%6%

(n) 1,160 1,134 1,131 1,044 1,093 957 966

6%

How Do We Engage New Transfer Students?

*

#

pa

rtic

ipa

nt

s

Knowledge of/Participation in First Year Experiences (n = 322)

51.2%34.8%

49.4%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

IHUClasses

1st yrSeminar

BookExp.

Have NOT Heardof

Heard of/Didn'tPart.

Participated

Top Challenges (n = 278)(multiple response item)

140

110

7956

102105124

0

30

60

90

120

150

Perso

nal F

inanc

es

Time

Constra

ints

Acade

mic Rigo

r

Parkin

g/Tra

nspo

rtatio

n

Family

/Life

Obli

gatio

ns

Emplo

ymen

t

Diff icu

lty Fi

tting In

Continue to get to know our studentsLook at what we are doing and determine

how we can make the experiences more relevant to transfer students

Improve our communication to better convey the benefits of our initiatives

Look for ways to overcome the reality that in most cases “students don’t do optional,” and, as the data shows, most transfer students do not think they will need help

Continue to pursue a Mandatory First-Year Experience

For transfers, build into their first year experience a focus on advising in the major, mentoring by faculty in their discipline, opportunities for internships/applied experience/undergraduate research, along with the opportunity to connect with each other

Identify the best ways to reach out to our transfer students who are most at risk

Continue to assess all of our current efforts and be willing to adjust as students provide us with feedback

Transfer Students from Two Perspectives, Ramona Arthur, Director of Off-campus & Transfer Student Services, Dr. Susan Martin, Assessment & Research Coordinator for Student Affairs, Shannon M. Tinney, Research Analyst for Institutional Research

Refer to the Office of Institutional Research web site for more details related to the data shared today. Specifically:Comparative Study of New Freshmen’s and New

Transfer Student’s Persistence (Shannon Tinney, updates Connie Pierson)

Strategic Retention Initiatives: The Role of First-Year Experiences

Academic Performance and Persistence: The Role of Math Gateway Courses