What Works to Increase

First-Year Student Success

in Community Colleges

Dr. Wes HableyPrincipal Associate

Educational ServicesACT, Inc.

Types of Attrition Expected and Justified

realized a goal other than a degree/certificate

Stopping Out not on our timeframe

Unnecessary and subject to institutional intervention

Definitions

RETENTION: the process of holding or keeping in one’s possession

ATTRITION: the process or state of being gradually worn down

PERSISTENCE: to continue to exist or prevail

Retention Trends 1983-2011 Freshman-Sophomore Year

Highest % Lowest % Current %

Two-Year Public

55.7 (’10) 51.3(’04) 55.4

BA/BS Public 70.0(’04) 66.4(’96,’05) 65.6

MA/MS Public 71.6(’06) 68.1(’89) 71.2

PhD Public 78.6(’10) 72.9(’08) 77.9

Two-year Private

72.6(‘92) 55.5(’08) 57.8

BA/BS Private 74.0(’89) 68.7(’10) 69.0

MA/MS Private 78.0(’85) 71.4(’10) 71.9

PhD Private 85.0(’85) 80.3(’10,’11) 80.3

Completion Trends1983-2011Two-year Colleges – Graduation in 3 years or less

Highest % Lowest % Current %

Public 38.8(’89)

25.5(’10)

26.9

Private 66.4(’90)

50.2(’08)

50.0

ALL 44.0(’89)

28.3(’10)

29.1WWW.ACT.ORGType “retention” in the search engine

% of 9th Graders

graduating H.S. in 4 years

College

enrollment

rate

% of 9th graders graduating in 4 and enrolling in college

All races 74.9% 70.1% 52.5%

White alone (non-Hispanic)

81.0% 69.2% 50.9%

Black Alone 61.5% 68.7% 42.3%

Hispanic (any race)

63.5% 49.3% 37.7%

Asian/Pacific Islander

91.4% 92.2% 84.3%

American Indian/Native Alaskan

64.2% N/A N/A

Sources: National Center for Educational Statistics and the US Census, 2010

College Participation/CompletionSome

College

AA/AS

Degree

BA/BS

Degree

Above a

BA/BS

All races 19.5% 8.5% 17.7% 9.3%

White (non-Hispanic) 20.0% 9.2% 19.9% 10.6%

White in combination. 19.4% 8.6% 18.1% 9.4%

Black alone 22.2% 8.1% 11.6% 5.6%

Black in combination 22.5% 8.2% 11.7% 1.1%

Hispanic (any race) 15.6% 5.8% 8.8% 3.1%

Asian alone 13.9% 6.6% 29.8% 18.7%

Asian in combination 14.6% 6.7% 29.5% 18.2%

U.S. Census, 2010: population 18 years or older

What Works in Student Retention What Works in Student Retention

(Beal and Noel, 1980). What Works in Student Retention

in State Colleges and Universities (Cowart, 1987)

What Works in Student Retention (Habley and McClanahan, 2004)

What Works in Student Retention (Habley, Valiga, Burkum and McClanahan, 2010) Overall responses:

Mailing: 3360 institutions Usable returns: 1104 (32.9%)

Community college responses: Mailing: 949 institutions 305 usable returns (32.1%)

WWW.ACT.ORGType “retention” in the search engine

Survey Details

Survey sectionsI. Background II. Retention and degree

completion ratesIII. Factors affecting attritionIV. Retention practicesV. Highest impact programs

1111

What Works…..

The data reported in this survey are based on the perspectives of the individuals who responded to the survey. In some cases responses were informed by data collected at the respondent’s institution

This session is the tip of the iceberg. Complete data reports are available at:

WWW.ACT.ORGType “retention” in the search engine

Coordination of retention – all Community Colleges

59.5% report that there is a person who is responsible for coordinating retention.

Most common titles Chief student affairs officer 26.1% Chief academic affairs officer 16.5% Coordinator of retention 13.6% Chief enrollment officer 11.4% Remaining titles < 7.5%

Retention/Degree Completion Goals

- all Community Colleges 32.1% of Community Colleges reported

having a goal for first to second-year retention

23.0% of Community Colleges reported having a degree completion goal

Factors affecting attrition

42 factors listed To what degree does each factor affect

attrition at your school 5 = Major effect on attrition 4 3 = Moderate effect on attrition 2 1 = Little or no effect on attrition

What Works in Student Retention (Habley, Valiga, Burkum and McClanahan, 2010) Overall responses:

Mailing: 3360 institutions Usable returns: 1104 (32.9%)

Community college responses: Mailing: 949 institutions 305 usable returns (32.1%) Community Colleges: >20%

Hispanic: 37 Community: >20% Black: 83

Highest rated attrition factors

Attrition Factor All

CC’s

>20%

Hisp.

>20%

Black

Preparation for college level work

4.3 4.3 4.1

Study Skills 4.1 4.3 4.0

Adequate personal financial resources

4.1 4.1 4.2

Commitment to earning a degree

4.0 3.8

3.8

Motivation to succeed 3.9 4.0 3.7

Highest rated attrition factors

Attrition Factor All

CC’s

>20%

Hisp.

>20%

Black

Student family responsibilities

3.9 4.2 3.8

Job demands on students 3.8 3.9 3.8

Low Socio-economic status

3.8 4.1 4.0

Amount of financial aid 3.6 3.9 3.9

Personal coping skills 3.6 3.6 3.3

Attrition rating at least .20 greater for community colleges >

20% Hispanic enrollment Level of preparation for

college level work Study skills Adequacy of personal

financial resources Student family

responsibilities Low socio-economic status

Attrition rating at least .20 greater for community colleges > 20% Hispanic enrollment

Level of motivation to succeed

Job demands Available financial aid Student commitment to

earning a degree Emotional support from

family and significant others

Attrition rating at least .20 greater for community colleges >

20% Black enrollment Adequacy of personal

financial resources Level of preparation for

college level work Study skills Low socio-economic status Available financial aid

Attrition rating at least .20 greater for community colleges > 20% Black enrollment

Family responsibilities Job demands Commitment to earning a

degree Motivation to succeed Student employment

opportunities

Retention Practices

94 identified retention practices 2 wild cards Two sub-sections:

Is this intervention offered? (yes or no) If it is offered, rate the contribution to retention

Five-point Rating Scale 5 = Major Contribution to Retention 4 3 = Moderate Contribution to Retention 2 1 = Little or no contribution to Retention

Retention Practices Intervention clusters

First-year transition programs (8 items) Academic advising (15) Assessment (9) Career Planning and Placement (6) Learning Assistance/Academic Support (19) Mentoring (4) Faculty Development (7) Financial Aid (3) Co-curricular Services/Programs for specific

sub-populations (10) Other activities/programs (10)

Highest rated retention interventions

Intervention All

CC’s

>20%

Hisp.

>20%

Black

Reading center/lab 4.1 4.0 4.1Comprehensive learning assistance center/lab

4.1 4.0 4.1

Tutoring 4.1 4.2 4.1Mandated course placement based on test scores

4.1 4.1 4.1

Required developmental courses

4.1 4.1 4.0

Highest rated retention interventions

Intervention All

CC’s

>20%

Hisp.

>20%

Black

Increased number of academic advisors

4.0 4.0 3.8

Writing center/lab 4.0 4.0 4.0Program for 1st generation students

4.0 4.0 3.8

Advising interventions with selected student populations

3.9 3.8 3.8

Academic advising center 3.9 4.0 4.0

Highest rated retention interventions

Intervention All

CC’s

>20%

Hisp.

>20%

Black

Supplemental Instruction 3.8 4.2 3.9

Program for adult students

3.5 4.1 3.5

Freshman seminar (non-credit)

3.5 4.0 4.0

Staff mentoring 3.6 4.0 3.3

Programs for racial/ethnic minorities

3.7 4.0 3.7

Retention practices rated at least .30 higher for community colleges with high Hispanic enrollment Tutoring Mandated placement based on test

scores Supplemental instruction Required remedial/developmental

coursework Program for first generation

students Program for adult students Freshman seminar/University 101

(non-credit)

Retention practices rated at least .30 higher for community colleges with high Hispanic enrollment Recommended

remedial/developmental coursework

Foreign language center Mathematics center Academic advising center Staff mentoring Increased number of academic

advisors

Retention practices rated at least .30 higher for community colleges with high

Black enrollment Reading Center Comprehensive learning

assistance center Recommended placement based

on test scores Mandated placement based on

test scores Tutoring Writing center

Retention practices rated at least .30 higher for community colleges with

high Black enrollment Freshman seminar/University

101 (non-credit) Required

remedial/developmental coursework

Foreign language center Mathematics center Academic advising center Supplemental instruction

Top three practices - Community Colleges with high

Hispanic enrollmentPractice Hispanic

>20%

All Other

Community Colleges

Mandated placement of students in courses

32% 30%

Required remedial/development coursework

18% 19%

Tutoring 29% 19%Training of faculty advisors 11% 10%Comprehensive learning assistance center/lab

14% 13%

Academic advising center 11% 11%Early warning system 18% 13%

Top three practices - Community Colleges with high Black

enrollmentPractice Black

>20%

All other

Community Colleges

Mandated placement of students in courses based on test scores

40% 27%

Required remedial/development coursework

27% 17%

Tutoring 17% 22%

Training of faculty advisors 14% 10%

Comprehensive learning assistance center/lab

10% 16%

Academic advising center 10% 12%

Early warning system 13% 14%

Top Four Clusters

Learning Assistance/Academic Support

Assessment Academic Advising

Programs/Services for specific student sub-populations

Combining Percentage of Use with Item Means – all Community Colleges

Top one-third Middle one-third Lowest one-third

Highest rateditems

> 80% > 35% - 79% < 35%

Percentage of Institutions offering a specific intervention (INCIDENCE)

SLEEPERS: Highest ratings and bottom third of usage – all community colleges integration of advising with first-

year transition programs (3.9) organized student study groups

(3.8) extended freshman orientation

(credit) (3.7) foreign language center/lab (3.7) peer mentoring (3.7) staff mentoring (3.6)

Comparing Intervention Practices – all Community

Colleges Top quartile first to second year retention rate (high performers) v. bottom quartile first to second year retention rate (low performers) High = 69 institutions Low = 70 institutions

Included only items with a mean > 3.6 for all community colleges

High performer incidence rate > 10% above low performer incidence rate

High/Low Intervention Differences – all Community

CollegesIntervention High Low reading center/lab  61% 48%

comprehensive learning assistance center/lab 81%

70% increased number of academic 44% 32% advisors integration of advising with first-year transition programs 43%

28% remedial/developmental coursework

required 51% 37%

High/Low Intervention DifferencesIntervention High Low pre-enrollment financial aid 93%

77% advising diagnostic academic skills 69% 41% assessment racial/ethnic minority students  63% 41% center(s) that integrates advising

with career/life planning 61% 45%

staff mentoring  29% 18%

What’s Next? Designate a visible individual to

coordinate a campus-wide planning team. Conduct a systematic analysis of the

characteristics of your students. Focus on the nexus of student

characteristics and institutional characteristics.

Carefully review high-impact strategies identified through the survey.

What’s Next? Do not make first to second year retention

strategies the sole focus of planning team efforts.

Establish realistic short-term and long-term retention, progression, and completion goals.

Orchestrate the change process. Implement, measure, improve!

What Works to Increase

First-Year Student Success

in Community Colleges

Dr. Wes HableyPrincipal Associate

Educational ServicesACT, Inc.