Graduation Rates And the Importance of

DATA

Cos Brown

September 13, 2010

Vince Lombardi Quote on the Use of Data

The legendary former coach of the Green Bay Packers Football Team is quoted as saying,

“If you don’t keep score, then you are

just practicing”

Motivational Comparison6-Yr Grad Rate by Race and Gender (2008)*

9%

23%

53%

25%

37%

18%

*http://www.collegeresults.org

6-Year FTF Graduation Rates

How did this happen?How did this happen?

Learning From Prior Successes (Northridge Slide)

CSU Comparisons*

CSU 2008 6- Yr. Grad Rate

% PellRecipients Among Freshman

% URM

Estimated Median SAT/ACT

SizeUndergraduate

FTE

Fullerton 49.00 29.00 34.10 980 25,733

Northridge 41.10 42.00 39.00 930 24,549

Dom. Hills 34.00 61.00% 69.30 815 6,589

CSULA 30.60 55.00 54.30 880 13,245

*http://www.collegeresults.org

CSU Comparisons-Freshmen*

CSU(Regular Admits)

NeedingRemediation

in Mathematics

NeedingRemediation In English

Mean High School GPA

Dom. Hills 79.9% 86.2% 3.02

CSULA 68.5% 80.1% 3.14

*http://www.asd.calstate.edu/remediation/09/index.shtml

Obama aims to lift college graduation rates, but his tools are few…*

President Obama on Monday stated a US goal of retaking the world lead in college graduation rates by 2020.

*From Christian Science Monitor August 9, 2010 University of Texas Austin

Count Students One-by-One (CSULA good stories)

1. Avery August

2. Luis P. Villarreal

3. Averess Rickerson

4. Randolph Cooper

Count Students One-by-One (CSULA good stories)

Avery August, PhD

Distinguished Professor of Immunology

Penn State University

Luis P. VillarrealProfessor, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

Director, Center for Virus Research, Center for Virus Research, U. C. Irvine

Institutions with Smallest White-Black Graduation Rate Gaps-Public Institutions

Institution Median

SAT/

ACT

Score

Undergrad

Enrollment

(FTE)

%

Black

Fall ‘07

White GR

(3 yr Ave-

2006-08)

Black GR

(3 yr Ave-

2006-08)

White-

Black Gap

UNC-

Greensboro104012,681 20.8 50.7 55.5 -4.8

UNC-

Charlotte

1055 15,750 13.8 50.1 50.1 0

UC

Riverside

104014,693 7.4 62.4 66.9 -4.5

Georgia

State

108516,349 30.2 41.6 46.9 -5.3

Institutions with Smallest White-Hispanic Graduation Rate Gaps-Public Institutions

Institution Median

SAT/

ACT

Score

Undergrad

Enrollment

(FTE)

%

Latino

Fall ‘07

White GR

(3 yr Ave-

2006-08)

Latino GR

(3 yr Ave-

2006-08)

White-

Latino Gap

FIU (Florida)110023,174 62.9 45.2 50.7 -5.5

UNC-

Charlotte

1055 15,750 3.7 50.1 54.3 -4.2

UC

Riverside

104014,693 25.7 62.4 63.4 -1.0

Whittier

College

10731,244 30.2 55.9 60.4 -4.5

How Folks Have Done It….*

Georgia State University—a research university in downtown Atlanta—boosted its minority graduation rate by 18.4 percentage points. In 2002, only 32.3 percent of minority students graduated in six years. By 2007, that rate had increased to 50.7 percent—which exceeds the school’s non-minority graduation rate of 45.5 percent

*Education Trust (http://www.edtrust.org)

How Folks Have Done It….*when administrators disaggregated the data, they found

First-year learning communities—where faculty members coordinate teaching two or more courses and often serve as advisors to the same group of students—were instrumental in improving retention rates between the freshman and sophomore years by five to six percentage points for all students. But for minority students, these rates rose by ten to 12 percentage points

*Education Trust (http://www.edtrust.org)

Other Folks Have Done It*…. At Loyola Marymount, for example, the institution

examined the data and found that students who have a history of dropping one or two classes each semester are highly likely to quit school.

At Winthrop College (South Carolina), One program includes an early alert system, in which faculty members notify the University College of students who are struggling academically. The college then works with each student’s advisor and resident assistant to

provide the student with intrusive counseling.*Education Trust (http://www.edtrust.org)

What Seemed to Work Best at UC Riverside*….

Programming at the college level, focus on data throughout the institution, and strong campus leadership

Each college: 1) tracks student data; 2) designs learning communities, and 3) advises students, and links them to support services.

“An unusually robust relationship between academic affairs and student services”

*Education Trust (http://www.edtrust.org)

What Seemed to Work Best at UC Riverside*….

According to Provost Dallas Rabenstein. “When we

admit students, we feel an ethical obligation to do what is necessary for them to succeed,” he says. To ensure this success, university leaders base their decisions on data.

They track student data and use it in an “ongoing feedback loop so empirical lessons are used to improve strategies,

*Education Trust (http://www.edtrust.org)

Summary of Things that Work*

1. Designated faculty or staff members as “first responders” to students’ needs, helping students navigate these large, complex institutions.

2. Relatively high levels of student involvement and engagement in campus activities and programs, which personalize the college experience for students.

3. Well-developed first-year programs, such as freshman orientation programs, freshman success courses, freshman interest groups, and first-year learning communities, in which student participation is mandatory or high.

* http://www.pellinstitute.org/files/files-demography_is_not_destiny.pdf

Summary of Things that Work*4. Efforts to improve instruction in “gatekeeping” introductory

courses, particularly in mathematics, such as reducing class sizes or keeping class sizes “small” through supplemental instruction.

5. Early warning and advising systems in place to monitor student progress and to intervene when student performance is low.

6. Ample academic and social support services, which are well-utilized by students due to proactive efforts to coordinate services with advising systems, to advertise services widely,

and to train faculty and staff about available services. *http://www.pellinstitute.org/files/filesdemography_is_not_destiny.pdf

Summary of Things that Work*7. Special programs for at-risk student populations that incorporate

many of the “best practices” in the retention literature.

8. Strong leadership from top administrators who create an institutional culture that promotes student success by using rhetoric that demonstrates their commitment to retention, providing adequate

resources to fund programs, and offering rewards to faculty and staff

for getting involved in retention efforts.9. A central person, office, or committee that coordinates

undergraduate education and/or retention activities across academic and student affairs staff and programs in order to foster collaboration.

*http://www.pellinstitute.org/files/files-demography_is_not_destiny.pdf

Suggestions

Students are “resources”. Every College has a Resource Manager. Why not have resource managers also provide college/department retention and graduation data.

Average Total Enrollments: FTF and TRF (2004-2008)

531

339

Average 1 Yr. Retention First-Time Freshmen: Latino Males-5 yr Avg. (2004-09)

Average 1 Yr. Ret. Transfer Latino Males (5 yrs)

75%

76%

76%

74%

Average 1 Yr. Retention First Time Freshmen: AA Males (5 yr. Avg.)

13

7

HHS: AA BS Majors by Gender

NSS: Latino/a BS Majors by Gender

Average 1 Yr. Ret. Transfer: AAM (5 yr. Avg.)

63%

71%

56%

57%

Variables Kept (from Mark)

Two Year Retention Pattern (from Mark)

Starting Cohort

After 1 year

After 2 years

RetainedRetained Not Retained

Not Retained

MANY THANKS

To: Mark Robinson and Jen Chen in IR who I continue to bug daily…

and to the

administrators and faculty who I dragged into my office for numerous discussions and feedback on this topic.