Elevate Your Career Freshman Support Programs Merrimack College Compass Program Promise Program Jennifer Evans, Director Sara Quagliaroli, Director
Learning Communities and Advising Careers Advisors: Where do you see yourself in five years? What career tracks does Academic Coaching lead to? How are you currently thinking about retention as it relates to Academic Coaching?
Learning Communities and Advising Careers ● Directing a Learning Community represents new challenges: Operational considerations, leadership, program development, personnel management and training ● Can be centered around academic support for retention purposes or other needs your institution can identify through the data Serving high-risk students is important as well as becoming more prevalent ●
About Us Jennifer Evans M.A. Interpersonal Communication and Counseling Marketing copywriter > Adjunct > Full Time CC Instructor > TRiO Coach/LD Specialist > Academic Coach > Program Manager > Program Director Sara Quagliaroli, Ed.D. , Educational Leadership (Terminal degree earned after promotion) Resident Director -> Academic Success Coach -> Director, Promise Program
About Compass Established in 2011 as a way to increase enrollment at Merrimack College. ● Needed to grow! ● Students with lower High School GPAs (2.0 average) - need proactive support program Pilot was one Academic Coach for 36 students with 3 linked courses ● ● After 3 years with high retention we got a student space and FT employees ● Students still receive support as upperclassmen ● Currently in its 7th year - we can support 72 new freshmen each year with 3 Academic Coaches for 230 total students ● Lives in Academic Success Center - Reporting to Dean ● We didn’t always have a Dean (previously a Director)
About Promise Emerged in 2016 as a vehicle to broaden proactive academic & holistic support to more students at Merrimack (2.6 average re-calculated HS GPA) Proposal designed to support an initial cohort of 60 students Welcomed 85 students in FA16, 120 new students in FA17, 140+ in FA18?? Lives within the Academic Success Center Sara identified as Director, promoted from Academic Success Coach role; 2 additional Master’s Level Professionals hired + Graduate interns
Identifying a Need
Identifying a Need RETENTION RETENTION RETENTION: Proactive support ● ● Cheaper to retain than to recruit ● High-Risk Populations Research & Data from your institution ● Institutional Research Outreach for lowest retention numbers in different ● populations: ○ HS GPA ○ Gender ○ Academic School / Major ○ First Generation ○ International
Identifying Need What are your freshmen to sophomore retention numbers? Does your institution have a number in mind? Which groups have already been identified by your area?
What is the Pitch?
The Pitch (and who gets the pitch?) ● The institutional gap that will be met through this program Student demographic that will be served and their retention concerns ● Why the institution should serve them - morality, retention dollars & rank ● ● Projected financial investment (personnel & operational) ● Initial Mission & Vision of Program, Initial Program Components Who’s In On It With You? ● Why am I the best person to build and run this transition program? ● Advisors: Where are areas that you might meet resistance at this stage?
Program Components
Program Components - Promise ● Students identified through Admissions, conditional acceptance 1:1 Academic Coaching w/ Professional or Graduate Fellow Success Coach ● ○ Structured referrals to campus resources (counseling, financial aid, residence life, career services, other academic support services, etc) ○ Time Management, Academic Skills, Advocacy ● FYE + 4-credit co-enrolled (linked) course in fall semester FYE tailored for Promise Students ○ ○ Integration of more StrengthsFinder & Academic Development components Peer Leadership - Connected to Linked Course ● Spring Promise Course Sections ● ● Promise Pathways - new for Spring 2018
Program Components - Compass ● Definitely NOT a living learning community - bad habits die hard, stigma ● Classes were capped at 18 students Smaller class sizes will help any struggling population ○ Joining a program as a first semester freshmen will be a hard sell - framing ● ○ students are CONDITIONALLY accepted / though some opt-in Cornerstone course with a dedicated Professor - for 4 credits (FYE works well too) ● ○ Research shows programs tied to Professors retain at higher rate, higher student satisfaction ● Needs of the population - what does it mean for them to succeed? Seeking to address critical thinking skills, note taking, reading, writing, time management ○ ○ MOTIVATION and RESPONSIBILITY, financial aid, community, advocacy Building community for buy-in and dedicated academic counseling ● ○ How much time with AC? Peer leaders? Budget constraints, initial priorities
Watch Out for ‘Charley Horses’
Careful Considerations - Watch Out! ● Pitch WELL in advance - fall for following fall ideally but as soon as next year’s budget is due Limit components for the pilot year ● ● Scaffold other components to add as years progress & program gets stronger ● Careful about the number of students for the pilot - enrollment partners - small is good! Manage first year expectations (and your manager’s expectations) ● ● Don’t recreate the wheel - delegate and partner ● Don’t promise a big roll out until your job description is updated and $ is there Negotiation ○ ○ Gain experience Timing ○
Where on campus do you solicit buy-in?
Buy-In ● Other Academic Support Professionals: Math Center, Tutoring, Academic Retention committees, other Learning Communities Other advisors from different schools depending on your advising model ● (centralized vs. decentralized) ● Admins from different schools and majors - they know what is going on! ● Dean or Director of Academic Support area Provost / Administrative office your area reports to ● Create a quick elevator pitch for partnership- being clear with the level of ● commitment (I will spearhead-can you meet twice this month for brainstorming?
First Year Considerations
First Year Considerations ● BUILDING COMMUNITY! Relationships are key ○ Staff/ Professors/ Students / Peer Mentors ○ ○ Big supportive network - this work is hard! ○ Stronger relationships = higher retention Mission statement ● Objectives and goals ● ● Peer Leaders or Mentors - who and where? ● Can you incorporate FYE? Can you teach the FYE? Hold workshops in the classroom / any outside class times are mandatory ● Assessment: Student surveys, faculty surveys, count anything you can ● (Sample report- maybe show them our midyear reports)
Support Structure - Possible Elements COMMUNITY - What is going to build community within this population? ● Linked cohort courses with seasoned, proven Professors ● Cornerstone or FYE co urse each semester: specialized instruction and ● increased lab time ● Dedicated one-on-one academic counseling - frequency and time may vary In class workshops on strengthening academic practices, reflection and ● motivation, financial literacy- those who need it will not show for an unscheduled time ● Academic Counseling for all four years / until graduation Leadership and community opportunities for upper class students ●
Program Assessment ● Freshmen to Sophomore retention - institutional focus ** ● Keep up with general population and you will be good - pilot year shouldn’t count or discourage, very common to be low. Track why they leave - Did students leave in good/great standing for ● institutions they were originally denied? That is still a success! ● Judged on retention but also factor in GPA after freshman year and other success milestones: community involvement, leadership roles, 5/6 year graduation rates ● We do a student satisfaction survey each semester ● Faculty survey each semester as well - end of semester review meeting
Opportunities and Barriers What challenges could emerge in the first year? How do you stay connected to your stakeholders? (Partners, families, etc.)
Leadership Traits / Training
Leadership: Traits and Training ● Design for your strengths and hire for your weaknesses ● What additional training do you need for your target population? Learning Differences/ ED courses ○ ○ Emotional Needs/ Higher Level Counseling / Psych courses Understanding First Generation Students ○ ○ Multicultural training HERS Institute ● Harvard Management Development Program ● ● Parent Involvement - you are the “face” of the program- Polish ● Presentations and Charisma - get everyone on board Favorite saying: Expect Problems and Eat Them for Breakfast!! ●
Sample Program Mission
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