BuildingaSuccessfulRetentionPlan:AWorkshopApproach

TennesseeBoardofRegents

October26,2018

TomGreen,Ph.D.

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Workshopoverview

1. ContextforretentionandcompletionworkwithinSEM

2. Whyretentionplansfailandhowtoavoidpitfalls

3. Focusingonstudentcohorts

4. Settingretentiongoals

5. Retentionstrategies

6. Discussionandconcludingthoughts

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AnotherdefinitionofSEM

SEMisanorganizationalmindsetthatisfocusedoninternal studentsuccessandexperiencesandtheexternalenvironmentasameanstomoreeffectivelyrelateitsinstitutionalmissionandvaluestoitskeystakeholdersandaudiences.

Green, 2014

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ThebenefitsofstrongretentionfromaSEMperspective

1. Createsanumberofgreatercostefficiencies:– Fullercoursesectionsbeyondintroductorylevels– Lessexpensivethanrecruitment,generally

2. Increasesexpectationsamongstudentsthatcomingbackorcompletingarenormalbehaviors

3. Relievespressureonrecruitmentandmarketingtomakebudgets,fillseats/placesinprograms,etc.

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Someacknowledgements(myperspective)

1. Wearefixatedonmeasuringthewrongoutcomesformoststudents– Degreeorcertificateattainmentmaynotbethestudent’sgoalor

reasonforenrollment

2. Oursystemsencouragestudentstoenrollforcredentialstheymaynotbeseeking:– Financialaidpressures– Ourownfocusoncredentials

3. Itisimportanttomeasureandreportalternativeoutcomes:– Thatdoesnotmeanthatweshouldnotalsodoggedlypursuebetter

retentionforsomecohortsofstudents– Studentsmaynotalwaysknowtheirownintentions

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Aretentionframework(Tinto+)

1. Academicintegration

2. Socialintegration

3. Financialsupport

4. Goalclarity

5. Supportoffamilyandfriends

6. Engagement(fromKuh)

CautionaryTales:WhyMostRetentionPlansFail

Andhowtoavoidthosepitfalls

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Reason1:Waitingforbetterstudents

1. Thisisthemostcommonreasoncitedforlowretentionrates

2. Preparationlevelsarenotlikelytoincreaseandmay,infact,decrease

3. Mostfacultydidnotgetaterminaldegreeinthefieldtoteachremedialcoursesorskills

4. Howtoavoidthis:– Teachingandlearningprofessionaldevelopmenttohelpfacultylearn

howtoworkwithlesspreparedstudents– Learnallyoucanaboutsuccessfulmethodstohelpstudentsgetupto

thelevelsthey(andyou)needforthemtobesuccessful– Don’tallowittobethereasonretentionisn’tpursued

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Reason2:Lackoffocus

1. Post-secondaryculturerewardsparticipationwithegalitarianinclusionofallideas

2. Retentionplanswithmorethanthreegoalsandfivetosixstrategiesaredestinedtofail:– Lackofresourcestofundinitiatives– Lackofpersonneltocarrythemout– Lackoffollow-throughtodeterminetheirefficacy

3. Howtoavoidthe”moreisbetter”retentionpitfall:– Clearexpectationsthattheprocesswillidentifythebesttwotothree

goalsandstrategiesfromamongmanygoodideas– Disciplineanddiplomacyinleadingtheprocess

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Reason3:Lackofaccountability

1. Ifthereisnotclearassignmentofdutiesandresponsibilitytoseethattheyarecarriedout,mostplanswithersoonaftertheyarewritten:– Everyoneisbusywiththeirexistingwork– The“it’severyone’sjob”fallacy

2. Howtoavoidthe“plantoplan”pitfall:– Developtacticalworkplansthathaveclearassignments,timelines,

expectedoutcomes,metricsandreportingrequirements– Setmilestonesforwhereyouwanttobeinayear,twoyears,etc.,

whileyouarebuildingtowardtheendgoal– Nostrategiesortacticsshouldinclude“developaplan”or“createa

committeetostudy”

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Reason4:Lackofconnectivity

1. Ourstudentsupportservicesaretooofteninvitationalinnature

2. Thestudentswholeastneedthesupportaresometimesthemostlikelytoparticipateinsupportservices:– Itistheircomfortwithhelp-seekingbehaviors,nottheirlackof

preparation,thatgetsthemintoourlabs,tutoringandservices

3. Howtoavoidthedisconnect:– Makesurethereisatrackingmechanismtoknowifstudentswho

weresuggestedtoreceiveservicesevergotthem– Follow-upwithstudents:

• Whentheydogo,didithelp?• Whentheydidn’tgo,call,textoremail;findoutwhy;walkthemdown

CreatingaStrongRetentionPlan

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Exercise1:Studentcohorts

1. IdentifytheLEASTnumberofstudentcohortsthatcompriseourenrollment– Lessthanfive– Fewerisbetter

2. Examples:– Directfromhighschool– Workforcedevelopment– Technical/tradeprograms– Adultlearners– Militaryprograms– Transferfromanotherpost-secondary– Others?

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Understandthepipeline

1. Whereareyoulosingstudents?

2. Howdothedifferentcohortsprogressovertime?– Flyingwedgemodels

3. Whatarethesimilaritiesanddifferencesincreditsperterm,programsorearnedGPAs?

4. Cancohortsbecombinedbecausetheyhavelargelysimilarenrollmentbehaviorpatterns?

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FlyingWedgeAnalysisofCompletionFreshmen Fall2006 Spring2007 Fall2007 Spring2008 Fall2008 Spring2009 Fall2009 Spring2010 Fall2010 Spring2011 Fall2011 Spring2012 Fall2012 Spring2013 Fall2013 Spring2014 Fall2014 Spring2015 Fall2015 Spring2016 Fall2016 Spring2017New 500Retained 450 400 370 330 310 270 260 101 80 63 40 18 12 7 4 2 3 2 1 0 0Completed 0 0 0 0 0 6 13 156 20 15 16 20 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0Departed 50 100 130 170 190 224 227 243 400 422 444 462 484 492 495 498 496 498 499 499 500Percentenrolled 90% 80% 74% 66% 62% 54% 52% 20% 16% 13% 8% 4% 2% 1% 1% 0% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0%New 500Retained 470 415 385 340 323 280 271 103 80 67 43 19 13 9 5 4 2 1 1Completed 0 0 0 0 0 5 15 165 22 11 17 22 5 2 1 0 1 0 0Departed 30 85 115 160 177 215 214 232 398 422 440 459 482 489 494 496 497 499 499Percentenrolled 94% 83% 77% 68% 65% 56% 54% 21% 16% 13% 9% 4% 3% 2% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0%New 500Retained 450 390 360 325 305 260 249 91 75 53 34 13 9 7 4 5 2Completed 0 0 0 0 0 4 14 155 15 20 13 20 3 1 0 1 0Departed 50 110 140 175 195 236 237 254 410 427 453 467 488 492 496 494 498Percentenrolled 90% 78% 72% 65% 61% 52% 50% 18% 15% 11% 7% 3% 2% 1% 1% 1% 0%New 500Retained 440 375 348 317 300 255 244 96 77 58 37 15 10 7 3Completed 0 0 0 0 0 5 15 145 18 17 15 20 5 2 1Departed 60 125 152 183 200 240 241 259 405 425 448 465 485 491 496Percentenrolled 88% 75% 70% 63% 60% 51% 49% 19% 15% 12% 7% 3% 2% 1% 1%New 500Retained 445 385 355 325 301 261 252 102 81 64 41 19 12Completed 0 0 0 0 0 7 16 147 20 15 16 20 6Departed 55 115 145 175 199 232 232 251 399 421 443 461 482Percentenrolled 89% 77% 71% 65% 60% 52% 50% 20% 16% 13% 8% 4% 2%New 500Retained 430 350 330 300 278 265 255 110 87 72 46Completed 0 0 0 0 0 6 15 142 22 13 18Departed 70 150 170 200 222 229 230 248 391 415 436Percentenrolled 86% 70% 66% 60% 56% 53% 51% 22% 17% 14% 9%New 500Retained 450 375 352 320 289 252 241 83 67Completed 0 0 0 0 0 5 13 155 15Departed 50 125 148 180 211 243 246 262 418Percentenrolled 90% 75% 70% 64% 58% 50% 48% 17% 13%New 500Retained 455 360 340 325 307 261 250Completed 0 0 0 0 0 6 15Departed 45 140 160 175 193 233 235Percentenrolled 91% 72% 68% 65% 61% 52% 50%New 500Retained 463 370 357 335 318Completed 0 0 0 0 7Departed 37 130 143 165 175Percentenrolled 93% 74% 71% 67% 64%New 500Retained 455 362 348Completed 0 0 0Departed 45 138 152Percentenrolled 91% 72% 70%New 500Retained 440Completed 0Departed 60Percentenrolled 88%TOTALENROLLED 500 450 900 840 1245 1145 1500 1383 1581 1449 1628 1454 1606 1455 1611 1465 1629 1482 1649 1505 1645 1487

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ThreelevelsofSEMplandetails

1. Goals– Thelargetargetssetforenrollment– Specifictoasegmentoftheenrollmentmix

2. Strategies– Themajorwaysinwhichtheinstitutionwillfocusitsenergyand

resourcestoachievelong-termresults

3. Tactics– Thedetailsofwho,what,whenandhowtheworkwillbedone– Assuresthateachaspectoftheplanhasaccountability

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Settingretentiongoals

1. Specifythestudentcohortyouwanttoimpact

2. Definethecurrentstate

3. Definethedesiredoutcome

4. Assignatimeforthedesiredoutcometobeattained

5. Example:– Raisetheone-yearretentionrateofenteringdirectfromhighschool

studentsfrom66%infall2018(forthefall2017enteringcohort)to75%infall2023(forthefall2022enteringcohort).

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Exercise2:Createaretentiongoal

1. Pickoneofyourstudentcohorts:– Ideally,theoneyouthinkthat,ifchanged,wouldsignificantly

improveyouroverallenrollment

2. Weacknowledgethatwecannotknowtheinformationweshouldhaveinfrontofus:– Currentretentionrates– Benchmarksofcomparableinstitutions

3. Writearetentiongoal:– Identifythecohort– Whatisthecurrentstate(makeitup)?– Whatandwhenarethedesiredoutcomes?

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Strategies

1. ThemajorwaysinwhichtheUniversitywillorganizeitstimeandresourcestoachieveenrollmentgoalsor“thebigmoves”

2. Eithernewinvestmentorreorganizationofexistingresourcestomakeasignificantchangeinstudentretentionpractices

3. Examples:– Createandconductacampus-wideadvisortrainingprogramfor

facultyandstaff,includingthecreationofanadvisortrainingandreferencemanual

– Purchaseandimplementaretentiontrackingsoftwareprogramthatlinksearlyalerts,facultyreferralsandotherrecommendationswiththespecificsupportprogramattendance,participationandcompletion

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Exercise3:Createaretentionstrategy

1. Usetwocriteriatoevaluateyourpotentialstrategy:– Itmustimpactthegreatestnumberofstudentsinyourdesired

cohort– Itmusthaveastronglikelihoodofsuccess

2. Beboldandcreative!

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Discussionquestions

1. Whataresomeofthebarrierstoretentionatyourinstitution?

2. Whatdidyoulearntodaythatyoucantakehomeandadaptorimplement?

3. Whatdoyouwanttoresearch?

4. Whatdoyouwanttodiscussthatwedidn’tgettimetoaddresstoday?

Thankyou!

Tom.Green@aacrao.org