College Assessment I - Finish in Four

Welcome to the College Assessment Survey

This tool provides a high-level empirical assessment of your college’s culture as it relates to supporting on-time graduation.

College/University Name*

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Position/Relationship to College*

Area of Responsibility

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Please select the statement(s) that best represent your college in the following ten student success impact areas.
Note: If you are not familiar with a specific area no selection is required.

INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH [Select each statement that describes your college]

Research and data are not used to analyze student’s progress or institutional effectiveness.

Strategic planning decisions are based primarily on the intuition and expertise of the faculty, trustees, and/or administration.

Major milestone indicators such as freshmen persistence and graduation rates provide the primary benchmarks for assessing institutional effectiveness.

When students drop out there is no follow-up to determine what factors impacted their decision.

At-risk profiles are developed to determine what and how many services and advising initiatives will be needed to assist students if they seek institutional help.

Our strategic planning process includes identifying quantifiable goals.

Data is used to analyze/measure different retention program’s effectiveness by benchmarking beginning and targeted expectations annually.

The college’s database encompasses all elements of students’ experiences—e.g., recruitment, admission, academic, financial, social, and career preparation and placement.

Our college believes that data mining to predict students’ needs, to monitor behavior for potential intervention (in and outside the classroom), and to assess institutional performance is critical to students’ success.

Critical data points are constantly reviewed to determine if new or better indicators can be utilized to identify and predict student behavior.

PREDICTIVE MODELING [Select each statement that describes your college]

Strategic planning is regularly completed but does not include measurable targets.

Our college uses historical data primarily to facilitate scheduling of classrooms, faculty, and courses.

We are not averse to data, but the belief that professional educator’s expertise and intuitive decision-making skills provides better results than trying to push number driven processes.

Using statistical indicators to initiate proactive intervention is not consistent with our philosophy that students are adults and they need to take charge of their own academic lives.

We do not identify potential at-risk students before they enroll, because all students are supported equally.

The use of statistical information to assess the college’s quality of education includes macro indicators such as graduation rates, freshmen persistence rates, and average freshmen SAT/ACT scores as opposed to evaluating institutional (process) factors that may negatively impact students’ success.

The college’s database encompasses the significant elements of students’ experiences that are needed to provide parameters for creating predictive models—e.g., what will happen if certain retention related actions are taken.

Data modeling, or tracking trending rates, is used to identify weak operational programs or at risk behavior of students who dropped out.

Targeted (action plan) expectations are quantified and assigned to an individual and progress is communicated to relevant stakeholders regularly.

Data mining to monitor students’ behavior, creating predictive models for early warning, and assessing what is working to help students succeed is a fundamental cornerstone of our college’s retention efforts.

RECRUITMENT & ADMISSION [Select each statement that describes your college]

The college’s primary focus is to handle an overwhelming number of enrollments each year.

The college’s recruitment is relatively easy because of a loyal high school feeder population, a strong academic reputation, and/or returning alumnus family members.

The college is not concerned about replacing non-persisting freshmen because there seems to be an unlimited pool of prospective students.

The college recruits first-generation and at-risk students but is careful not to label or treat them differently than our traditional freshmen.

The anticipated supplemental needs of all students are analyzed when building a budget —not focusing resources only on targeted or special need enrollees.

We do not target certain categories of students for special help or intervention programs.

The college annually compares its freshmen persistence rates to its recruitment strategies.

This college has a very strong strategic recruitment plan that links retention planning to specific targeted prospects.

The definition of an acceptable at-risk prospect pool is adjusted annually based on program successes in dealing with former students’ difficulties.

The college will only enroll students that it believes will graduate on time.

FINANCIAL PLANNING [Select each statement that describes your college]

The college provides cost-of-education information on the website and at general recruiting sessions. It is the students/parents responsibility to complete the budgeting process and determine if adequate funds are available.

One-on-one financial counseling with prospects is rare unless a student loan or other federal assistance (e.g., Pell Grant, college work study) is requested.

There is no institutional sign-off before classes begin to confirm that a student’s four-year academic/personal budget will last until graduation.

The college believes that students have the responsibility to assess the adequacy of funding, including annually determining whether remaining financial aid and anticipated personal funds will be available until graduation.

Staff is accessible to provide assistance when enrolled students requests federal aid, but the college is not proactive in anticipating financial problems or intervening unless a student asks for help.

Freshmen survival lectures/classes (including information about budgeting and financial planning) are mandatory.

Every student, with their family, completes an enrollment-to-graduation budget under the direct supervision of qualified staff.

We monitor and cross-reference each student’s budget plan to their degree plan at least annually.

The college understands that budget and degree planning is critical for late arrivals and mandate a counseling session immediately after classes begin.

If a student experiences a change in program/major, or an unexpected financial emergency occurs, a mentor/advisor is assigned to work through the problem with the student and family members.

ACADEMIC ADVISING [Select each statement that describes your college]

The college has the standard advising services and programs to help students succeed. However, students must seek assistance if they determine it’s needed.

The college does not target students into certain categories in anticipation that they may require special help or intervention.

The aggregate needs of students are analyzed using historical data when building a budget with the anticipation that all students will be equally supported.

There aren’t enough staff or resources to monitor every student or pre-determine that a student is in academic trouble.

Counselors/advisors typically focus on helping students select a major, transfer to another college, or qualify for graduate school. They rarely deal with student’s academic or personal issues.

The college is better at identifying and helping certain easy to identify freshmen at-risk students before they enroll (e.g., first-generation, low income, low test scores) than finding and supporting students that are having trouble after they begin classes.

Once a student declares a major, department faculty become the academic advisors until graduation. The advising staff focus on students that have not declared a major.

Efforts are targeted at high return-on-investment students (focused advising) by using data to anticipate, identify, and quickly respond before issues become unresolvable.

Faculty-advisors/mentors monitor freshmen-to-graduation behaviors that might indicate proactive intervention is needed.

We know what our students are doing! Using phone and card swiping apps at campus events, students are tracked to confirm that they are engaged academically and socially.

CURRICULUM SCHEDULING [Select each statement that describes your college]

Our degree requirements are difficult to understand, especially for students, who are not familiar with terms (e.g., co-requisite, pre-requisite, con-current) and definitions.

Advisors are available, but students are responsible to make their own class schedule decisions.

Some students are unable to obtain required classes because they are not offered every semester or fill to capacity quickly. This may force students to enroll in classes not required for their degree thus delaying graduation.

It often takes longer to complete a bachelor degree plan, but delayed graduation has become the norm.

The reasons for delayed graduation are too numerous and confusing for the college to identify or try to resolve.

Freshmen and sophomores are not required to complete general education courses before declaring a major.

Advisors review and sign-off on proposed two-year class schedules for all freshmen which include general education requirement options and electives, while the computerized registration systems blocks students from deviating from their plan.

Even students that change majors have little trouble graduating on time because freshmen and sophomores are required to take a general education curriculum—using electives to explore different subjects and degree options.

The college believes that cohort registration (providing prescribed courses to clusters of students), especially for freshmen, creates an environment that helps students graduate on time.

The college provides supplemental courses (i.e., extra lab time or two-semester stretch classes) instead of remedial/developmental classes.

FACULTY CONNECTIONS [Select each statement that describes your college]

The faculty are not expected to interact with students other than in the classroom and during office hours.

A large percentage of freshmen/sophomore classes are taught by part-time/adjunct faculty or teacher assistants who typically do not have scheduled office hours nor mentor students.

Students enroll at this college because of its academic reputation or convenient location, but with no expectation that they will personally get to know the faculty.

Students don’t have many opportunities to work with the faculty outside the classroom unless they find a faculty sponsored research internship, which are typically reserved for upper level and graduate students.

There are mandatory first-year experience (FYE) classes that help all (part-time and full-time) freshmen transition to the college. A faculty mentor is assigned to each class and acts as a coach/confidant to the students.

Freshmen, full-time and part-time, are clustered into faculty-mentored community learning (cohort) groups—no exceptions permitted.

Full-time faculty are expected to mentor at least one freshman class a year and participate in at least two group social events during each term.

Faculty mentors work with students to develop their study skills and incorporate college funded off-campus activities such as museums visits or cultural events for academic and personal enrichment.

Once a faculty mentor has been assigned to a group of freshmen or transfer students, the oversight relationships are expected to last until graduation.

Every student is expected to participate in a lower and an upper division high-impact practices activity (internship; research, international travel, clinical practitioner, directed research, etc.) that is supervised by a full-time instructor.

STUDENT LIFE [Select each statement that describes your college]

There is a large commuter population with some students living in a few dorms or nearby apartments. The college sponsors social functions but nobody shows up.

The college doesn’t differentiate academic and campus life activities to accommodate nontraditional students—e.g., older, single-parent, part-time.

Some students may not attend or prepare for classes, focusing on their social scene instead. Other than dropping students for lack of attendance, there is no institutional intervention program to help them improve their time management or study skill behaviors.

Freshmen are expected to choose and connect with the social opportunities of college life by exposing them to the many alternative options during orientation. However, no one checks to see how each student is doing, either during orientation or after classes have begun.

The college has a first-year experience (FYE) class that is intended to help freshmen transition to college, but nothing is offered for first-generation students that may need first day assistance.

Students typically find orientation week to be an amazing way to meet people. Unfortunately, after classes begin, there are not enough connecting activities/opportunities, resulting in students becoming strangers again.

During first year-experience classes, freshmen participate in personal growth activities such as completing a personality/behavior questionnaire that may help students select a degree plan.

Campus life programs are relevant to full-time traditional and part-time nontraditional students. Which is noted by the high participation rates at collage events.

The college uses data mining/tracking techniques (id cards/phone apps) to track student’s participation in campus life events; intervention is instigated when involvement falls on either side of established norms.

When a student’s behavior is showing signs deviating from the successful norm, the retention management team will meet to discuss what appropriate steps should be taken to provide supportive intervention.

NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS: Any student who did not enter college as a full-time freshman directly from high school [Select each statement that describes your college]

We do not distinguish between our “traditional” full-time students that entered as freshman directly from high school with any other students.

Business offices and student support hours are available during weekdays hours and are not extended to support the nontraditional evening/weekend students.

Some degrees require students to take classes or clinical assignments which are only offered during the day.

The college tries to provide social and community service activities on weekends to give nontraditional students, and their families, an opportunity to interact with staff, faculty and the full-time traditional students.

The college provides full services to all students (day and evening) including financial aid for part-time students, evening childcare/vouchers, special weekend tutorials and labs, etc.

To accommodate working adults, the college eliminated traditional winter/summer gaps, making year-round learning a reality and on-time or early degree completion the norm.

Nontraditional students are clustered during their first term into learning/study groups to help develop supportive networks of peers.

The college has recently developed several new online and hybrid programs. The courses provide working students access to new classes and outstanding faculty.

The college is expanding online personal chat support to a 24/7 system.

Transfer students are required to participate in an orientation program that includes one-on-one counseling sessions where each student’s degree plan, financial budget, and personal interests were discussed and documented.

CAREER GUIDANCE/PLACEMENT [Select all items that describes your college]

The Career Placement Center is the place where students get assistance in finding on-campus part-time jobs and meeting corporate recruiters when they come to campus. Few believe that the center is very helpful in finding a career related job.

The college does not track students job placement history after they graduate.

There are several workshops available annually to help students prepare resumes and conduct mock interviews.

Most of our students get their summer internships through personal searches and family contacts.

To reduce wasted credits caused by changing degrees, students cannot declare a degree major until they have completed a series of job market-oriented seminars that provide information about career options and course requirements.

There is a job fair program where some of the largest national and regional firms come to the campus. We track the success of the job fair in placing students.

The career center actively promotes career guidance to all students from freshmen to graduation; the programs may include developing career option profiles, personality profiles, freshman-to-degree success plans, personal appearance and interviewing skills and placement into summer internships.

Historical data is used to profile whether a student, based on high school and college grades, is likely to graduate in the chosen degree field and is guided by the career center to an alternate degree when appropriate.

The career center has a virtual interviewing services that connects graduates with small business employers.

The college’s academic community believes that the Career Placement Center’s services and programs are fundamental to the curriculum and the degree attainment process.

Would you be interested in receiving monthly updates on student success initiatives and best practices?

Yes

Thank you for completing the College Assessment Survey. Once all surveys are submitted we will provide the senior administration an interpretative report of the results. This tool provides a high-level empirical assessment of your college’s culture as it relates to supporting on-time graduation and is an excellent gateway for discussions on future student success goals.

Jeff Marsee, Ph.D.
Finish in Four

Thank you for completing the College Assessment Survey. We would recommend that you ask as many of your college’s stakeholders (trustees, administrators, managers, faculty, staff, donors, and students) as possible to complete the survey within the next 10 days.

Once all surveys are submitted, we will provide you with an interpretative report of the results. This tool provides a high-level empirical assessment of your college’s culture as it relates to supporting on-time graduation and is an excellent gateway for discussions on future student success goals.

Jeff Marsee, Ph.D.
Finish in Four

Thank you for completing the College Assessment Survey. Once all surveys are submitted we will provide the senior administration an interpretative report of the results. This tool provides a high-level empirical assessment of your college’s culture as it relates to supporting on-time graduation and is an excellent gateway for discussions on future student success goals.

Jeff Marsee, Ph.D.
Finish in Four