Reaching Those Who Don’t Reach Out: Developing an Undergraduate Early Alert System Shermin Murji, Early Alert Coordinator Roxanne Ross, Director, Student Success Centre Julie Stewart, Former Early Alert Coordinator Student Success Centre
Reaching Those Who Don’t Reach Out:Developing an Undergraduate Early Alert System
Shermin Murji, Early Alert CoordinatorRoxanne Ross, Director, Student Success CentreJulie Stewart, Former Early Alert Coordinator
Student Success Centre
Learning outcomes
▪ By participating in this session, registrants will:
— Explore common challenges in student help-seeking behavior based on recent literature and experience
— Gain a better understanding of early alert and proactive advising approaches
— Consider structure and important stakeholders involved in implementing an early alert system
— Begin to develop guiding questions for pursuing the proactive advising and early alert best practices within the context of their own institution
Outline
▪ What is early alert?
▪ Discussion: challenges of connecting
▪ University of Calgary model
▪ Our development process
▪ Outcomes to date
▪ Planning your early alert approach
Why do student leave before degree completion?
Why do students leave?
Why do students leave?
▪ Low student engagement
▪ Lack of sense of belonging/community
▪ Not the right fit (post-secondary)
▪ Not the right program
▪ Financial limitations
▪ Family commitments or pressure
▪ Lack of academic preparation
▪ Part of a vulnerable/at-risk group
▪ Stress, burnout, health issues (MENTAL HEALTH)
Some definitions
▪ Retention = rate or percentage of students who return from one enrollment period to another (Habley, Bloom, & Robbins, 2012)
▪ Attrition = the “non-continuation” of students (Higher Education Academy, 2015)
▪ At-risk students = students or student groups with a higher probability of attrition (The Glossary of Education Reform, 2013)
Why Early Alert?
▪ Retention/ Efficiency of resources (EAB, 2013)
▪ Mental health initiatives
Components of Early Alert
Lynch-Holmes, 2015
Proactive outreach
early in a problem Connection to resources
Identification/alert
Proactive Advising
▪ Advisor-directed
▪ Anticipates student challenge/intervenes early in a problem
▪ Focused on motivating the student to engage in resources
Varney, 2012
Trends in Post-secondary Early Alert
Academic factors
• In-progress course grades
Behavioural factors
• Engagement
• Attendance
• Financial aid applications
Non-cognitive factors
• Motivation
• Goal orientation
• Self-efficacy
(EAB, 2013; Lotkowski et al., 2004)
Issues We See in Early Alert Students
▪ Financial/housing
▪ Personal relationships
▪ Physical health
▪ Mental health
▪ Legal/immigration
▪ Motivation
▪ Bereavement
▪ Transition (first year or international)
▪ What makes it so hard to find students early in a problem?
▪ What prevents people from accessing help when they need it?
UCalgary Definition of Early Alert
▪ Academic indicators of change from baseline behaviour (e.g., grade decline, disengagement from class)
▪ Comparing each student to their own historical performance
▪ Identifying life issues that could derail a student if not resourced quickly
Academic Development Specialists
▪ One-on-one, relationship-based support
▪ Self-regulated learning strategists
—Information processing, test strategies,
—Time management, organization, life balance
—Skills for monitoring and refining strategies
▪ Referral network
—Skills for finding and accessing help
Our Solution
Timeline
▪ Fall 2013: —Coordinator hired, working group established
—Environmental scan, faculty consultation
—Commercial early alert software testing
—Early alert development conference
▪ Winter 2014:—Small pilot with invited faculty
—Cultivating relationships with IT, FOIP officer
Timeline
▪ Fall 2014:
—Revised model piloted in select faculties
—Switch to D2L data, Cognos system
▪ Spring-Fall 2015:
—Software tool development process with IT
Timeline
▪ Winter 2016:
—launched software tools
—Launched branding
▪ Spring-Summer 2016:
—refinement of algorithm
—Faculty outreach
Timeline
▪ Fall 2016 and onwards:
—Full-campus launch of finalized model
—Hired research assistant
—Student surveying, student ambassador
How We Find Undergraduate Students
In-house analytic tool
Thrive Administrator
PeopleSoft GPA historyD2L gradebook data
Faculty report form
Student ADS
Student
ADS Student
Student
Student Student
Multiple-course View
0
1
2
3
4
Jan. Feb. Mar.
GPA
Math GPA
Physics GPA
Chem GPA
Winter 2017
Performance drop across multiple courses
First-year/First-term Model
0
1
2
3
4
IncomingGrades
Sept. Oct.
GPA
Math GPA
Physics GPA
Chem GPA
Fall 2016
Failing grades across multiple courses
Managing Privacy
▪ FOIP officer advised on development
▪ Info collected under Post-Secondary Learning Act
▪ Collection notice on university website
▪ Faculty put information into Thrive system, but do not receive information on student actions
▪ Students surveyed on approach are generally comfortable
Next steps
▪ Define “success”: what indicators to use for assessment— Uptake rate?
— Flagged students?
— Use of resources/referrals?
▪ Continue to explore developing a parallel mental health/wellbeing form and support
▪ Refine algorithm to correctly identify “at risk” students
▪ Continue to debate predictive modelling and its potential application
— How do we use specific factors ethically?
Research Questions
▪ Does flagging alone have an impact?
▪ Who are/aren’t we reaching?
▪ Are we reaching students at the right moment?
▪ How does Thrive impact the students who use it?
▪ How can we improve the Thrive system?
▪ Do certain faculties use the concern form more than others?
Reflecting on your own Early Alert plan
▪ What are your financial/human resources?
▪ Who are your allies/champions?
—Admin, student affairs, wellness, IT
▪ What is your institutional context?
—Size
—Teaching/assessment practices
—Institutional strategy documents
Reflecting on your own Early Alert plan
▪ Who is best placed to offer this support in your institution?
▪ What is your referral network once you connect with a student?
▪ What kinds of outreach are already taking place at your institution?
▪ Do you take a centralized approach to student support or is it handled by faculties or smaller units?
Reflecting on your own Early Alert plan
▪ How will you communicate your system?
—to students
—to faculty/staff
▪ How will you evaluate your system’s effectiveness?
Questions/Contact
Contact: Shermin Murji [email protected] Ross [email protected]
Faculty website: http://www.ucalgary.ca/ssc/faculty/thriveFaculty concern form:https://thrive.ucalgary.ca/Concern/InfoStudent website: http://www.ucalgary.ca/ssc/advising/thrive
References
Donaldson, P., McKinney, L., Lee, M. and Pino, D. (2016). First-year community college students perceptions and attitudes toward intrusive academic advising. NACADA Journal, (36) 1, pp. 30-42.
Educational Advisory Board (2013). Hardwiring student success: Building disciplines for retention and timely graduation. Academic Affairs Forum.
Educational Advisory Board (2014). The murky middle of project: Preliminary findings. Student Success Collaborative.
Educational Advisory Board (2013). Implementing early alert systems. Student Affairs Forum.
Habley, W. R., Bloom, J. L., & Robbins, S. (2012). Increasing persistence: Research-based strategies for college student success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Higher Education Academy. (2015). Student attrition. Retrieved June 6, 2017, from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/student-attrition.
Lotkowski, V. A., Robbins, S. B., Noeth, R. J. (2004). The role of academic and non-academic factors in improving college retention. ACT Policy Report. Retrieved from http://ww.cfder.org/uploads/3/0/4/9/3049955/the_role_ofacademic_and_non_academic_factors_in_improving_college_retention.pdf.
Lynch-Holmes, K. (2015). Early alerts as a tool for student success: Defining what “good” looks like. Ellucian White Paper Series. Retrieved from http://www.ellucian.com/White-Papers/Early-alerts-as-a-tool-for-student-success/ .
The Glossary of Education Reform. (2013). At-risk. Retrieved January 4, 2017, from http://edglossary.org/at-risk/.
Varney, J. (2012). Proactive (intrusive) advising. Retrieved from http://www.ship.edu/uploadedFiles/Ship/Advising/Resources_for_Faculty/advisor_handbook/Proactive%20Advising%20Article.pdf.