Tufts University

BRIDGE TO LIBERAL ARTS~BLAST~

Tufts University

About Tufts

Undergraduates: 5,117Graduate and professional: 5,588Internationals: 1,174Faculty: 1,315 (9:1 student ratio)Staff: 3,1954 Campuses (Medford/Somerville)Full time status only (3-5.5 credits/semester)Tuition and Fees 46,598Plus housing and other fees 60,217

Students- Liberal Arts

SAT Verbal/Math 711/722

% of applicants accepted 22% enrolled on FA 41% outside of New England

70

%Freshman/Sophomore Retention 966 Year graduation rate 904 year graduation rate 85

Institutional Change and Planning

Assessment and Strategic PlanningReaccreditation visit – March 2013Strategic Plan (2014-2023) released – September 2013

Leadership ChangesDean of Arts and Sciences – August 2010President – July 2011Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies –

December 2011Provost – July 2012Dean of Tisch College for Citizenship and Public Service

– January 2014

Reorganized and New Positions

Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, Director of BLAST – May 2012

Associate Dean for Student Transition – July 2012

Coordinator of Scholar Development – September 2012

Dean of Campus Life and Leadership – July 2013

College Transition Advisors – (anticipated) December 2013

Admissions Barriers

As with other private PWIs, Tufts struggles to attract and enroll students who identify in underrepresented groups, particularly academically-qualified students of color

Tufts is in competition with many other well-respected

private PWIs in the Boston area ivy league institutions other liberal arts institutions other research universities

Tufts considers ability to pay for full college career

insufficient financial aid support to offer need-blind admissions no merit-based aid available to undergraduates

Diversity

27% of liberal arts undergrads identify as domestic students of color; 11% as first-generation college-goers; 10% international students

Group of Six CentersOffice of Intercultural and Social Identities

ProgramsDiversity Councils Strategic Plan BLAST and BEST

Academic Advising

No common curricular experience for first-year students

Academic transition largely relient on tiered advising structure Associate Deans College Transition Advisors Academic Advisors

Associate Deans ofUndergraduate Education (3)

Assigned alphabetically; support student throughout college career

Assist with navigation of procedures; clarify application of academic policies

Advocate for and make group decisions on petitions for exceptions to academic policy

Facilitate communication with faculty members (absence from class due to confidential reason, etc) and parents (academic progress, FERPA, etc)

Primary liaisons with Student Affairs and Student Accessibility Services on individual student issues

College Transition Advisors (4 anticipated)

Assigned by general disciplinary interest at entry; primary focus in first two years

First contact for common transactional questions: Pass/Fail and Add/Drop, application of pre-matric or transfer credits, cross-registration, etc

Refer more in-depth student concerns to Associate Deans, as needed

Primary liaisons for Student Affairs, academic departments and student government on programming to benefit pre-major students

Academic Advisors

Pre-major (150-170) Staff and faculty members with full-time non-

advising position Assigned based on preferences indicated by

student in pre-arrival May/June Support exploration of potential concentrations,

progress on core graduation requirements and curricular/co-curricular balance

Refer student to academic departments and/or colleagues for continued discussion of specific disciplinary interests

Academic Advisor

Major (all FT faculty) Teaching faculty members, lecturer or tenure-

track Selected by student prior to submitting

declaration of major form Support exploration of sub-concentrations,

research opportunities and theses, application of study abroad credits, graduate school and career planning

Bridge to Liberal Arts Success at Tufts

~BLAST~

Timeline

May 2011 Dean of Arts & Sciences requested examination of retention

Summer 2011 Working group formedSept 2011Working group recommendation- unanimously

recommend the development and implementation of a Summer Bridge Program

Sept 2011 -May 2012 Committee (faculty and staff) charge to develop an outline and structure (BC, Cornell, Georgetown, Northwestern, Princeton, UC Berkeley, and UC San Diego)

May 2012 Director hiredJuly 2012 1st cohort (n=22)July 2013 2ne cohort (n=23)

Admissions

Enrolled fewer African Americans and Hispanics than Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, MIT

Many of the Nation's high schools, notably in urban districts, face resource challenges that compromise the depth and quality of the curricula they offer students.

Tufts only admits students who have the ability to succeed.

BLAST

Pre-matriculation to Graduation ProgramAlumni network and outreachNot Remediation- Two courses for credit that meet

requirementsNot Race Based- involvement in college access

programs; applied from HS that are under-resourced and/or send few students to four year institutions; no enrollment history with Tufts; first generation students

BLAST

Summer Bridge experience- develop academic skills, build confidence, college transition, community surrounding the school, and build own community

Academic Year experience – Seminar attendance and advising. Students introduced to resources on campus, internships, scholarships, etc. Students discuss issues of leadership and social justice.

Program Overview

Math10 and History 54Hill HallWorkshopsNetworking Lunches/dinnersField TripsAdvisingSocial Justice and Leadership

History and Math

Residential Living

Workshops

Field Trips

Loj

Banquet

About the Data

N = 22All variables were measured on a 7-point, Likert-

type scale. All graphs are displaying the difference in means

between the pre-test and post-test results. We calculated the effect size between the pre-test

and post test means for every variable. From the variables with medium to large effect

sizes, we calculated statistical significance using the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed ranks test.

Effect Size and Significance

Graphs with green bars – LARGE effect size, statistically significant (p < .05)

Graphs with yellow bars – MEDIUM effect size, still statistically significant (p < .05)

Graphs with red bars – Small/medium effect size, though not statistically significant (p > .05)

BLAST Pre Test and Post Test Data

Pre Test Post Test4

4.5

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

"I feel prepared to take a college level history course"

Mea

n Sc

ore


Pre Test Post Test1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Confidence in selecting best courses

Mea

n Sc

ore


Pre Test Post Test1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Confidence in note-taking ability

Mea

n Sc

ore


Pre Test Post Test1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Confidence in public speaking ability

Mea

n Sc

ore


Pre Test Post Test1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Confidence in college level writing

Mea

n Sc

ore


Pre Test Post Test1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Likelihood of graduating with a Doctorate's or Professional degree

Mea

n Sc

ore


Pre Test Post Test1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Confidence in time management skills

Mea

n Sc

ore


Pre Test Post Test1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Anticipated ease of coursework

Mea

n Sc

ore


Pre Test Post Test1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Likelihood of success with no academic support

Mea

n Sc

ore

Post Test Responses

Question: Overall, how helpful was having done the BLAST summer program to you?

100% of respondents answered either very or extremely helpful

90.5% answered “Extremely Helpful”9.5% answered “Very Helpful”

Fall Programming

OrientationAdvising SeminarStudy GroupSocial EventDedicated Staff/Advising

BLAST Advising

Participants’ pre-major advisors are BLAST Director and Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies

BLAST seminar parallels “faculty seminar” structure offered to non-BLAST first-semester studentsThe faculty member teaches this course over and above the normal teaching load. The students in the class consist ONLY of the advising cohort. Students receive 1/2 credit on a pass/fail basis and take this course in addition to their normal course load. Faculty may elect to teach topics outside their area of professional expertise or to use the semester to pilot new course material.

Spring Programming

Optional Advising Seminar (20/22 enrolled)Study GroupSocial EventDedicated Staff/AdvisingConference OpportunitiesPeer Mentoring

BLAST Group Comparisons

BLAST participants will be compared:

Control Group 1 (n= 28)Admissions Access List- 2015Control Group 2 (n= 12)Admissions Access List- 2016

not selected for BLASTComparison Group (n= 59, anticipated 50%

response rate) Random sample

Comparison by SAT Scores

GroupMEAN SAT

Verbal ScoreMEAN SAT Math Score

Control 1 462 466

Control 2 468 454

BLAST 518 528

Comparison 565 568

Comparisons By Race

14%

29%46%

11%

Control Group 1

AsianBlackHispanicWhite

33%

17%

42%

8%

Control Group 2


9%

36%45

%

9%

BLAST Group


10%9%

53%

29%

Comparison Group

AsianBlackWhiteMissing

Comparisons by Gender

36%

64%

Comparison Group

MaleFemale55

%

46%

BLAST Group

MaleFemale

42%58

%

Control Group 2

MaleFemale

54%

46%

Control Group 1

MaleFemale

First Semester: GPA Comparison

Control 1 Control 2 BLAST Comparison

2.9

3.04

3.19

3.43

Mean GPA by Group

First Semester: Academic Probation

Control 1 Control 2 BLAST Comparison0

5

10

15

20

25

Percentage of Students on Probation By Group

First Semester: Deans List


10

20

30

40

50

60

11.5

33

13

57

Second Semester: GPA by Group


2.92

3.14 3.16

3.45Mean GPA by Group

Second Semester: Academic Probation


2

4

6

8

10

12

14

1614.3

0

9

0

Second Semester: Dean’s List


10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

35.7

25 22.7

69.5

End of Year: Cumulative GPA by Group


3.03.09

3.26

3.46Mean GPA by Group

Pre-Matriculation vs. End of Year Credits Earned

Pre-Matriculation End of Year0

2

4

6

8

10

12

C1 C2 BLAST Comparison

Groups Comparison: Income

0-20k

20-30k

30-40k

40-50k

50k+

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Household Income By Group

ComparisonBlastControl

Number of Students

Inco

me

(in

thou

sand

s)

Groups Comparison: Parental Education

Less than High School

Some High School

H.S. Graduate/GED

Some College

Associate Degree

Bachelor's

Master's

Professional

Doctorate

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Parental Education By Group

ComparisonBLASTControl

Comparison Results

Control BLAST Comparison0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Academic Preparedness

Mea

n R

ank

Results


5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Familiarity with Resources

Mea

n R

ank

Results


5

10

15

20

25

30

Willingness to Access Resources

Mea

n R

ank

Campus Involvement Tisch Scholars Rugby MMA ALAS Mujeres La Salsa Russian Culture

Club ALLIES IGL

Chapter Judo Club Tufts History

Society TUPAC ZBT Fraternity Team Q Pep Band Tae Kwon Do team Tufts Cabor

Coalition Latino Center Students for Justice

in Palestine Theta Chi

Fraternity Freshman Class

Council Relay for Life

Committee Admissions Voices

Ambassador TCU Election

Campaign Africana Center BLACKOUT Dance Tufts Culinary

Society WMFO 91.5 FM Peer Health

Exchange Debate Club Institute for

Political Citizenship Tufts Financial

Group Tufts Protestant

Student Assoc. Trombone Quartet

Tich-in-CORES - ESL classes

Student Advisory Board

Sharewood Soccer DREAM mentor LINK member TU-RAP member Vietnamese

Student Club Tufts Daily's New

Media Voices of Tufts ’12

Ambassador Tour guide Assistant to

Admissions Events ACE Fellow Intramurals LSA Football Compass

Fellowship

Radio Show Community Service Model UN Sports Writer for

the Tufts Daily Lacrosse Team Mock Trial TDC Dance

2012-2013 BLAST Highlights

Conference Presentations Harvard Graduate School of Education Alumni of Color Conference

Phuong Ta, Alexia Sanchez, Daniela Salazar, and Justin Silva

NACADA’s Northeast Conference in Montreal, CanadaPatrick Williams, Whitney Arnold, Daniel Vargas, Liz Palma, Jared

Smith, and Wayne Yeh

Peer MentorsXiomara Garcia, Alexia Sanchez, Patrick Williams, Jared Smith

Summer Abroad Tufts in Talloires

Kim Mendoza, Neil Pauling, and Jose Caballero Ortega

Cohort 2 Review

SatisfactionDifference in experiencePre-post test findingsBuilding Community between cohorts

Questions?

Robert MackAssociate Dean of Undergraduate Education, Director

of BLAST

[email protected]

Laura DoaneAssociate Dean, Orientation & Student Transition

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Tufts University