Student Retention Initiative, Fall 2013
Campus Feedback Report
1 4 0 5 A r bo rv i e w B l v d . , A nn A rb or , M I 4 8 1 0 3 • ( 7 3 4 ) 2 6 0 - 1 9 2 6 • br id g e p or t l lc @g m a i l . c o m
Student Retention Initiative, Fall 2013
Campus Feedback Report
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................... 4
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 4
Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 4
Proposal Ratings .................................................................................................................... 6
Focus Group Ratings ............................................................................................................ 6
Online Survey Ratings .......................................................................................................... 6
Open Forum Ratings ............................................................................................................ 6
Overall Discussion Themes .................................................................................................. 7
Focus Group Detailed Results ...................................................................................... 9
Individual Proposal Discussion Themes ............................................................................. 9
Advising: What Works Well .................................................................................................. 9
Advising: Concerns/Suggested Improvements ..................................................................... 9
Curriculum: What Works Well ............................................................................................... 9
Curriculum: Concerns/Suggested Improvements ............................................................... 10
Enrollment Policies: What Works Well................................................................................ 10
Enrollment Policies: Concerns/Suggested Improvements .................................................. 10
Financial Aid: What Works Well ......................................................................................... 10
Financial Aid: Concerns/Suggested Improvements ............................................................ 10
Student Preparedness: What Works Well .......................................................................... 11
Student Preparedness: Concerns/Suggested Improvements ............................................. 11
Males of Color: What Works Well ....................................................................................... 12
Males of Color: Concerns/Suggested Improvements ......................................................... 12
Single Parents: What Works Well ....................................................................................... 12
Single Parents: Concerns/Suggested Improvements ......................................................... 13
Open Forum Sessions: October 29-30, 2013............................................................. 13
Appendices ................................................................................................................... 14
Appendix A: Advising .................................................................................................. 15
Advising (Focus Groups): What Works Well ..................................................................... 15
Advising (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements .................................... 16
Advising: Online Feedback ................................................................................................. 19
Faculty ................................................................................................................................ 19
Staff .................................................................................................................................... 21
Students.............................................................................................................................. 22
Appendix B: Curriculum .............................................................................................. 24
Curriculum (Focus Groups): What Works Well ................................................................. 24
Curriculum (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements ................................ 24
Curriculum: Online Feedback ............................................................................................. 28
Faculty ................................................................................................................................ 28
Staff .................................................................................................................................... 31
Students.............................................................................................................................. 31
Appendix C: Enrollment .............................................................................................. 33
Enrollment Policies (Focus Groups): What Works Well ................................................... 33
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Enrollment Policies (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements .................. 33
Enrollment Policies: Online Feedback ............................................................................... 34
Faculty ................................................................................................................................ 34
Staff .................................................................................................................................... 35
Students.............................................................................................................................. 36
Appendix D: Financial Aid........................................................................................... 38
Financial Aid (Focus Groups): What Works Well .............................................................. 38
Financial Aid (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements ............................. 38
Financial Aid: Online Feedback .......................................................................................... 42
Faculty ................................................................................................................................ 42
Staff .................................................................................................................................... 42
Students.............................................................................................................................. 42
Appendix E: Preparedness ......................................................................................... 44
Student Preparedness (Focus Groups): What Works Well .............................................. 44
Student Preparedness (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements ............. 45
Student Preparedness: Online Feedback .......................................................................... 48
Faculty ................................................................................................................................ 48
Staff .................................................................................................................................... 52
Students.............................................................................................................................. 53
Appendix F: Males of Color......................................................................................... 55
Males of Color (Focus Groups): What Works Well ........................................................... 55
Males of Color (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements ........................... 55
Males of Color: Online Feedback ....................................................................................... 59
Faculty ................................................................................................................................ 59
Staff .................................................................................................................................... 60
Students.............................................................................................................................. 61
Appendix G: Single Parents ........................................................................................ 62
Single Parents (Focus Groups): What Works Well ........................................................... 62
Single Parents (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements .......................... 62
Single Parents: Online Feedback ....................................................................................... 66
Faculty ................................................................................................................................ 66
Students.............................................................................................................................. 67
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Campus Feedback Report
Student Retention Initiative, Fall 2013
Campus Feedback Report
Executive Summary
Introduction
Eastern Michigan University (EMU) studentsʼ six-year graduation rate is the second-lowest
among higher education institutions in the state of Michigan. Provost Kim Schatzel and her
team are committed to improving the institutionʼs performance in this area. While various
initiatives have been attempted at EMU over the years to target elements that contribute to
student retention, these previous efforts have not been undertaken in a comprehensive or
coordinated way. The Provostʼs Office intends to develop a programmatic, institution-wide
strategy in order to achieve the desired result of a transformational, sustainable, upward
trend in the Universityʼs graduation rate.
During the summer of 2013, Provost Schatzel and her staff convened teams of EMU staff
and faculty to develop seven “straw man,” or draft, proposals that set forth a suite of
potential actions that could be taken to improve student retention in five broad areas that
affect all students:
1. Advising
2. Curriculum
3. Enrollment policies
4. Financial aid, and
5. Student preparedness.
Two additional teams developed proposals addressing specific student populations that
may have distinct needs with regard to retention: males of color, and single parents. EMU
engaged Bridgeport Consulting, LLC of Ann Arbor, Michigan to gather feedback from the
EMU campus community to inform and improve the content of these seven draft proposals.
Methodology
Kerry Sheldon and/or Griffin Reames from Bridgeport Consulting conducted twenty-one (21)
focus groups in September and October 2013 to test each of the seven proposal topics with
three different focus group constituencies: faculty, staff, and students. In total, 101
participants (58 staff, 31 students, 12 faculty) attended. The focus group protocol included
opening remarks by Bridgeport Consulting staff that included:
 Welcome and introductions
 Session overview (brief orientation to the overall project, desired outcomes of this
focus group discussion, how the information will be used, and norms/housekeeping)
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Highlights of the individual proposal under consideration were shared, and participants were
offered several minutes to read the proposal, if desired. Facilitated discussion followed,
guided by two broad prompts:
 What do you think works well in this proposal?
 What concerns do you have about this proposal?
Bridgeport Consulting staff captured the results of the discussion, which have been distilled
into themes for purposes of this report; more detail on individual comments is available in
the appendices.
Each focus group was concluded by sharing information about next steps and additional
ways to get involved (share feedback via the online survey; attend another focus group;
participate in a town hall meeting). Participants were asked to complete an evaluation,
which included a quantitative question on the level of influence on timely graduation
afforded by the proposal, after which the focus groups were adjourned. Students were
provided a $10 gift card to attend; staff and faculty attendees were entered into a random
drawing for one of two available $50 gift cards.
An online survey was also deployed campus-wide to broaden the opportunity to provide
feedback. Over one hundred (116) respondents offered online feedback, of which 84 selfidentified as students, 16 self-identified as staff, and 16 self-identified as faculty. The online
survey mirrored the focus group protocol and included the quantitative question available on
the focus group evaluation form.
It is important to note that the participant numbers referenced here and above are not
unduplicated; in other words, some participants were present at multiple focus groups and
may have also given feedback online. In addition, not all participants or respondents
answered every question, and some respondents provided online feedback to multiple
proposals.
Bridgeport Consulting authored an interim report that captured key findings from the focus
group series and initial online survey tool. This report was shared with the Provostʼs Office
in mid-October. In turn, the Provostʼs Office incorporated the feedback into a second draft
of the proposals, which were combined into a single document, titled the EMU Student
Retention Plan. This document was shared broadly with the campus community, along with
an invitation to participate in four open forum “town hall” meetings scheduled for October
29-30, 2013.
Bridgeport Consulting has synthesized the feedback gathered in the focus groups, online
feedback, and open forum sessions into this report, which will inform the work of the
Provostʼs Office to develop a strategic implementation plan around student retention and
graduation success at Eastern Michigan University.
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Proposal Ratings
Focus group participants and online respondents were asked to rate each proposal
quantitatively, in response to the following question:
How influential do you feel the activities described within this proposal will be in
ensuring more EMU students graduate in four years? Please circle one:
1
Not at all
influential
2
3
Neutral
4
5
Very
influential
Focus Group Ratings
Proposal Topic
Students (32)
Advising (17)
Curriculum (15)
Enrollment (7)
Financial Aid (10)
Preparedness (8)
Males of Color (29)
Single Parents (14)
Rating
4.0
4.5
n/a
3.3
3.5
4.4
4.0
n
1
4
3
1
18
5
Staff (57)
Rating
3.8
3.5
4.0
3.4
3.2
3.4
4.3
Faculty (11)
n
13
8
7
7
6
9
7
Rating
2.0
3.0
n/a
n/a
2.0
5.0
2.0
n
3
3
1
2
2
Average
Straight
3.3
3.7
4.0
3.4
2.9
4.3
3.4
Weighted
3.5
3.7
4.0
3.4
3.1
4.1
3.8
1
Online Survey Ratings
Proposal Topic
Students (128)
Advising (43)
Curriculum (36)
Enrollment (14)
Financial Aid (25)
Preparedness (42)
Males of Color (11)
Single Parents (14)
Rating
3.5
3.7
3.3
3.2
3.4
3.4
3.6
n
28
26
6
22
26
8
12
Staff (22)
Rating
4.5
4.0
3.0
4.0
3.4
4.3
n/a
Faculty (35)
n
6
3
4
1
5
3
-
Rating
2.6
2.6
4.0
3.5
2.7
n/a
4.0
n
9
7
4
2
11
2
Average
Straight
3.5
3.4
3.4
3.6
3.2
3.9
3.8
Weighted
3.5
3.5
3.4
3.3
3.2
3.6
3.6
Open Forum Ratings
Participants in the open forums were asked to rate the combined second iteration of the
Student Retention Plan, to gauge progress between the first and second drafts of the
document. The average rating given was 3.9.
1
Straight average weighs each of the three constituencies equally; weighted average is by total
number of participants.
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Overall Discussion Themes
The following themes emerged as common across constituencies and proposal topics,
regardless of the setting (focus group, online comments, open forums):
These are the right topics for EMU to consider.
 Improvement in the areas of student retention and graduation success is
desperately needed, and most welcome.
 Staff, faculty, and students are committed to improving student retention, and the
proposals address areas that are in real need of improvement.
 EMU has correctly identified the demographic groups of “single parents” and “men
of color” as presenting distinct needs relative to student retention; while other
demographic groups may follow, there is broad support for addressing the needs of
these populations first.
The majority of EMU's students could be considered "non-traditional" – and that's a
strength, not a deficit.
 The definition of "timely" graduation necessarily varies depending on the student's
needs, constraints, and intentions.
 Many EMU students have faced, or are facing, multiple life challenges, which
generally means that the student population is savvy and determined.
 That said, this characteristic may also indicate that students could benefit greatly
from certain supports tailored to helping them get the most out of their University
experience.
Be sure not to neglect the resources that are already in place; consider how to expand,
augment, and appropriately support the existing assets that are working well.
 Most of the current assets are not well-communicated or known among the student
population.
 Awareness-raising is key, and additional resources may be required to reach more
students.
Increasing coordination among internal systems and processes must be a high priority.
 A shared, compelling vision around improving student retention and graduation
success is the central guiding force that will drive the needed changes.
 Consistent, visible, and relentless leadership around these issues must be in place.
 Accountability for progress must be demanded on an institutional level.
Decisions must be data-driven; desired outcomes should be measurable.
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


There is no one-size-fits-all solution for any topic.
Constituencies share a desire for data that support the recommended actions and
an enthusiasm for "getting started," setting goals, and measuring progress.
The Student Retention Plan must be supported by institutional data – both to
validate the proposed actions, and to measure progress toward desired outcomes.
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Focus Group Detailed Results
Individual Proposal Discussion Themes
The following themes emerged from the discussion in focus groups relative to each
proposal topic. The number of comments relative to each theme are tabulated in
parentheses next to the theme; comments that appear once are grouped into a
“miscellaneous” theme. A compendium of all comments is available by topic and theme in
the Appendices.
Advising: What Works Well
1. The focus on good advising is welcome; commitment to improve this crucial resource
for students (9)
2. Support for specific tools, ideas, systems mentioned in proposal (5)
3. Mutual accountability (advisor, student) is key (2)
4. Miscellaneous (4)
Advising: Concerns/Suggested Improvements
1. The culture, philosophy around advising should be to serve students: must be
accessible, supportive, respectful, helpful (6)
2. Cross-training, collaboration, and transparency are needed to improve advising (5)
3. Improve clarity, inclusiveness, and reach of communication (5)
4. Leverage, engage faculty expertise more intentionally when it comes to advising (5)
5. Ability to connect with an advisor currently requires student initiative, persistence (4)
6. Consider the broader context within which advising operates (4)
7. Questions, comments relative to University College concept (4)
8. The meaning, definition of "timely" varies depending on students' individual needs
and circumstances (3)
9. More, better data are needed (3)
10. Draw on and enhance existing assets; reflect on learnings, results of previous efforts
(2)
11. Early interventions are effective and needed (2)
12. Miscellaneous (5)
Curriculum: What Works Well
1. Appreciate attention to improving the experience around prerequisites (6)
2. Evaluating whether it is possible to graduate in four years (2)
3. Interest in General Studies degree concept (2)
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4. Interest in service learning, community immersion (2)
5. Soft skills are important (but may not need much help) (2)
Curriculum: Concerns/Suggested Improvements
1. Examine the timing, placement process, and presentation/framing of prerequisites
(21)
2. Caution about potential perception of General Studies degree as "default option" (7)
3. Caution against class cancellations; departmental leadership required here (4)
4. Enhance use of existing assets (4)
5. Enhance visibility, understanding of community credit offerings (3)
6. Improve the orientation experience (3)
7. Improved support for, coordination among faculty is needed (3)
8. Referring to "soft skills," "emotional intelligence" is problematic (3)
9. Interest in "soft skill" building; more information needed (2)
10. Better transparency is needed in internal systems (2)
11. The definition of "timely" graduation varies depending on students' life circumstances
(2)
12. Miscellaneous (4)
Enrollment Policies: What Works Well
1. Specific aspects of proposal are of value (2)
2. Worthy topic; appreciate the methodology (2)
3. Miscellaneous (1)
Enrollment Policies: Concerns/Suggested Improvements
1. Improve substance, coordination, timing of internal processes relative to
enrollment (5)
2. Refine the proposed rules and regulations to better support students' needs (5)
3. Attend to terminology, definitions used (4)
4. Comments, suggestions regarding the Transfer Center (2)
5. Consider the implications of various recruitment strategies (2)
Financial Aid: What Works Well
1. Evaluating the current system; using data (5)
2. Block tuition (2)
3. Miscellaneous (3)
Financial Aid: Concerns/Suggested Improvements
1. Align our own systems, processes to better support student retention (14)
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Tailor financial support to students' needs and use it to support their success (10)
Communication needs to be more explicit and clear (5)
Relationships matter (5)
Non-tuition expenses are demanding (4)
Not everyone can/does/wants to be a "full-time" student; offer more financial aid
flexibility (4)
7. Take a closer look at the appeals process (3)
8. Develop good data to inform the plan (2)
9. Expand work-study opportunities (2)
10. Help build students' financial awareness, sophistication (2)
11. Make the process more user-friendly, straightforward, and accessible (2)
12. Shorter degree programs: pros and cons (2)
13. Miscellaneous (8)
Student Preparedness: What Works Well
1. Acknowledgement of different access points for students to become engaged
with the University (5)
2. Specific suggestions, ideas (4)
3. Appreciate the holistic, data-driven approach (3)
4. Miscellaneous (2)
Student Preparedness: Concerns/Suggested Improvements
1. Improve internal engagement, coordination (7)
2. Information needs to be clear and accessible (7)
3. Pay more attention to existing resources/supports; acknowledge previous efforts
(7)
4. Use data to understand what is happening with regard to preparedness and
design effective interventions (5)
5. Consider how best to serve students who may need help (3)
6. The role of advising has enormous potential (3)
7. Use a strengths-based approach - EMU students have tremendous savvy (3)
8. Addressing preparedness requires early intervention (2)
9. Campus life is an important access point for students (2)
10. Transfer students have different needs than first-year students (2)
11. Miscellaneous (3)
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Males of Color: What Works Well
1. Welcome the University's recognition that better support is needed for men of
color (2)
2. Miscellaneous (2)
Males of Color: Concerns/Suggested Improvements
1. Leverage existing resources, assets; tailor to the needs of men of color (9)
2. Engage with and support men of color as early as possible (8)
3. Use good data, best practices to inform the implementation measures we select
(7)
4. Higher representation of people of color in faculty/staff is sorely needed;
adequate diversity is noticeably lacking (6)
5. Men of color do not feel safe, welcome on campus; negative perception is
pervasive and damaging (6)
6. Attend to balance between student life (a useful access point, connection for
students of color) and academic demands (challenging) (5)
7. Create a culture of shared accountability for the academic success of men of
color (5)
8. Reach out directly to men of color to learn from their experiences; design
supports that will be most useful (5)
9. Beware the risks of unintentionally creating a segregated experience (4)
10. Find the right balance between inclusivity ("students of color") and really
addressing the unique needs of subpopulations ("black men") (4)
11. Bold, focused, committed leadership will be required to make significant changes
in the success rate and perception of men of color on campus (3)
12. Cultural competency training for faculty/staff is needed (3)
13. Consider EMU's diversity as a strength; would help to visibly celebrate our men
of color (2)
14. Enhance and coordinate existing internal resources and supports (2)
15. Formal, informal mentoring is a crucial support; to work well, the mentor needs to
be able to connect with the student from a foundation of shared experience (2)
16. Miscellaneous (5)
Single Parents: What Works Well
1.
2.
3.
4.
Child-care support is a huge need (5)
Support for specific aspects of proposal (4)
Creating a community of peers is valuable (3)
Miscellaneous (4)
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Single Parents: Concerns/Suggested Improvements
1. Connect students with children with needed resources (on- and off-campus) (12)
2. Improved data are needed; diversity among this population (6)
3. Align internal systems to help support students with children; make resources
more accessible, visible (5)
4. Preparedness is a real issue; consider examples from other institutions regarding
how best to support students with children (5)
5. Academic offerings need to be made more accessible for students with children
(4)
6. Enthusiasm for, and suggestions regarding, the Family Resource Center (4)
7. Financial support to help defray child-care costs is needed; can take different
forms (4)
8. Improve flexibility of options with regard to child-care (4)
9. Comments, suggestions relative to the Children's Institute (3)
10. Many different subpopulations exist within "single parents;" be sure to tailor
supports to specific needs (3)
11. Provide enhanced linkages to other supports needed by single parent students
(3)
12. Attend to terminology (2)
13. Include mentoring as a component of the plan (2)
14. Provide residential options geared toward students with children (2)
15. Miscellaneous (6)
Open Forum Sessions: October 29-30, 2013
In response to the feedback received from the focus groups and online survey, Provost
Schatzel and her team revised and compiled the seven proposals into one campus-wide
retention plan. This second draft was broadly shared with the campus community with an
invitation to attend one or more of four open forum sessions on October 29-30, 2013 or to
provide online feedback. Bridgeport Consulting facilitated these sessions. Thirty-four
participants attended the open forums and twelve respondents offered online feedback.
The themes that emerged in the focus group and online feedback settings persisted, with
particular emphasis in the following areas:
 The Student Retention Plan needs to be data-driven;
 There is support for addressing the student retention needs within the two
demographic groups selected (single parents, men of color) – these are areas of
high need;

Good advising plays a crucial role in helping students navigate the University
and graduate in a timely manner; and
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
EMU students have tremendous strengths that should be recognized – the
Student Retention Plan should reflect a strengths-based approach.
In addition, participants shared several new ideas that had not been raised in other
settings:
 The Provostʼs Office was encouraged to consider including foundational reading
support as an important element of Student Preparedness. Work has already
begun to flesh out this element, and the suggested change will be enacted within
the implementation plan.
 Campus activity/student life organizations could be used as an access point to
help reinforce the culture shift toward an emphasis on timely graduation. The
leadership of these organizations could be oriented to all the support offerings
available for students, and in so doing, reach many students in a powerful way.
 On-campus residential life should be examined to ensure that the atmosphere is
conducive to student success and reinforce a culture of timely graduation.
Appendices
The attached Appendices contain all feedback gathered via focus groups and the online
survey, organized by proposal topic:
A. Advising
E. Preparedness
B. Curriculum
F. Males of Color
C. Enrollment
G. Single Parents
D. Financial Aid
Feedback received in focus group settings is organized into two sections per proposal:
participant comments relative to (1) what works well about the proposal, and (2) what
concerns or areas of improvement are suggested. Comments are organized into themes
and presented in order of prevalence. Online comments are organized by the respondentʼs
self-identified constituency and are not organized into themes.
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Appendix A: Advising
Advising (Focus Groups): What Works Well
The focus on good advising is welcome; commitment to improve this crucial resource
for students (9)
 Communication, tools, systems to reinforce; consistency, culture shift (x5)
 Emphasizes the importance of advising, and the consistency of it
 First four folder from fast track has guidelines for academic requirements,
financial aid, and professor check in
 Holistic approach to advising, appreciative advising, explores all aspects of
students' experience
 Improving both the quantity and quality of advising
 My advisor helped me switch from theater major to biology major with theater
minor before my freshman year
 Real commitment to connecting students with advising
 Student job fair directed me to academic advising, I work there now
 The need for good advising is there/should be recognized
Support for specific tools, ideas, systems mentioned in proposal (5)
 Audit process is helpful if in conjunction with advising
 Checklists are a great idea
 Consistent framework hits the bulls-eye, everyone gets the first piece of
information; attach more when indicated
 More frequent meetings with advisors
 Note taking software (x2); cross-communication; staff, faculty, creates a record of
what's being said to students
Mutual accountability (advisor, student) is key (2)
 Accountability and responsibility on both sides;
 Inviting students to be a part of the process; it gives them responsibility for their
education and graduation, it clarifies boundaries and responsibility for seeking
proper and efficient advising
Miscellaneous (4)
 Emphasis on professional development; time commitment that is allotted,
commitment to monthly meetings ensures consistency and collaboration
 Plan promoting graduating in 4 years; benefits those who can and want to
graduate in 4, but does not address others who need/choose to be part time
 University college concept: there are lots of undeclared students, the
assignment of advisors and career coaches is a good idea, for a limited
duration
 Validate whether students are hearing what we are saying
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Advising (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements
The culture, philosophy around advising should be to serve students: must be
accessible, supportive, respectful, helpful (6)
 Enticing, incentives for students to become engaged; yearly "tune-ups" can come
with a reward; institutional accountability? Fifth year is on us if…?; Keep the end
in mind: hold prevent graduation and feels like a hammer; advising needs to be
accessible and appealing, not punitive
 Matriculation process should help bridge between initial advisors; formal
transition plan for undecided to decided and if majors are switched
 Professional development - cultural competency is a need; sensitivity to students'
life experiences
 Students need welcoming, encouraging, non-intimidating help; they need to feel
safe, comfortable, and be treated like adults; advising should be accessible and
respectful. Locating it in the student center is a good step
 This plan should be mandatory for staff and administration but seen as beneficial
to students
 We need a culture shift: openness to change and assessment of results
Cross-training, collaboration, and transparency are needed to improve advising (5)
 Eliminate silos with transparency
 Like the career coach advisor concept, expand to team concept; need to be able
to communicate with each other; something on record in the system (wrap
around approach); cross training needed?; recognize that students may change
majors; flexibility and permanency need to be balanced
 Structure is less important than the students and staff themselves; you need to
build relationships
 Thinking too narrowly, focus on registrar, advising
 Why do I get conflicting information from different advisors? They don't know my
background story; general advisor knows what the requirements are, a major
advisor knows how to go about it and how it will help me get into my next
program (second admit and/or grad school goals)
Improve clarity, inclusiveness, and reach of communication (5)
 Alignment with curriculum - flexibility breeds uncertainty; say "meet with an
advisor" but how, where, why?
 Are we sending appropriate/accessible communication? --be aware of the FITIAC
lens; not everyone may need to meet with an advisor; needs to be clear, tailored
to populations (first generation, non traditional, disabilities, internationals)
 Communication loop needs to get back to the faculty
 Communication plan is a good idea: be sure that you concentrate on the email
headline. Simply "academic advising" won't get anyone's attention. Try "you need
these classes to graduate! See me asap!"; 2-3 emails a week until people take
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action is ideal, more than that will be annoying, less will be ineffective. What
about a voicemail? A real person is harder to ignore than an email or text.
Communication to students: deadlines, expectations, reminders; last day to drop
classes, etc should all be in emails
Leverage, engage faculty expertise more intentionally when it comes to advising (5)
 Better integration of faculty into enrollment/registration process; give advice on
class selection, planning; fast track (faculty used to be present, advising
students); need mutual understanding of what classes are appropriate/desirable
for first year students to complete
 How to include faculty in advising?; recognize informal advising currently taking
place and support that process; there is strength and interest in this, let's build
relationships
 Need better understanding among faculty about advising, better alignment and
coordination (x3)
 New advising center is the solution instead, or is it supposed to be? More about
the role of a person: communicating and tracking?; assign undecided students to
specific advisor instead to help them figure out their path (x3); will prompt faculty
push back
 Staff-driven agenda is clearly absent faculty input
Ability to connect with an advisor currently requires student initiative, persistence (4)
 I have a relationship with my general advisor but only because I took the initiative
to keep going back to him in particular
 Math placement test put me in 97/98 and I didn't want to take a non-credit class
so I advocated for myself, got permission to take math 104
 Need to address those who don't get into their second admit program: develop a
philosophy of plan B incorporation
 We need more academic advisors, it sometimes takes way too long to get an
appointment
Consider the broader context within which advising operates (4)
 Acknowledge advisors are on the front lines of "non-advising" problems
 Connection between retention plans/interplay of financial aid, advising, etc
 Does not address student life, campus engagement, social support, integration;
these topics deserve their own report/treatment, they are sorely absent and data
reveal high correlation with retention and completion; these areas/groups are a
huge part of retention and a great place to connect with advising
 Educate students on personal and parental responsibility
Questions, comments relative to University College concept (4)
 Need more details on a university college. What does advising look like in that
setting?
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University college - can't we use the talent we already have? How will this
change our graduation rate?; unclear what it is, feel like more administration bloat
University college concept should be based on: best practices; positive ID,
interdisciplinary majors, and exploratory (making it desirable); make it broader
than FITIAC, incorporate international and honor students; continuum of
carrot/stick; make it an exciting place to be
University college: you risk alienating people by forcing them to go to an advisor,
threatening to take money away
The meaning, definition of "timely" varies depending on students' individual needs and
circumstances (3)
 "Grad in 4" - is this the wrong metric? (x3); might not be realistic or desirable;
career exploration pre-college may not be in place; working students have added
pressures; tailor advising to student needs/desires
 Caution about cross-purposes! Clarify expectations and communication; 12hrs a
term does not get you to graduation in 4 years even though we call it full time;
consider the whole picture
 Caution: a 4 year graduation plan is not appropriate for everyone (x3)
More, better data are needed (3)
 Need to build in an assessment period before implementation
 Where is the evidence for these suggestions? -- Need data, who is using
services and what are the results?
 This needs to be data driven; identify why and when students drop out
Draw on and enhance existing assets; reflect on learnings, results of previous efforts (2)
 Previous forum - student success committee (staff faculty, admin); could
resurrect, good mechanism to track progress, evaluate results of these
proposals; need representation and buy in
 Proposal doesn't say enough about student supports in place; we need a better
inventory of existing resources (math lab, academic projects center, writing
center, etc); need more advising than just career prep and choosing a major; help
students complete academic credentials
Early interventions are effective and needed (2)
 Early alert is very positive idea, think through how we use and implement it in a
timely, meaningful way; look at registration especially for student at the end of the
first year - where are they going, why?; summer is a fragile time; simple
interventions help (phone calls)
 Early intervention does work!
Miscellaneous (5)
 Are the students ready for EMU?
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First generation students are less likely to reach out and make connections,
and they have a smaller web of support
Can you do a "meet the advisors" during campus visits?; we could find the
right fit; maybe a visit to the advising center?; also peer to peer
recommendations really help
Call the proposal "academic advising and student support services"
Vastly under resourced in academic advising, are you going to change this?;
otherwise this proposal is just lip service
Advising: Online Feedback
Faculty
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A University College *might* be a good idea at EMU, though it isn't clear from the
proposal how it would interface with existing programs focused on lower-division
courses. Timely progress to graduation is a laudable goal, of course, and if a UC
would provide students with a home base for advising, workshops on choosing a
major, and so on, then I would support further exploration of the idea. An online
degree audit system that reliably shows different scenarios in different programs
of study is long overdue at EMU. It would be a great benefit to everyone-students, families, faculty, advisers. With the right system, EMU could also learn
a lot about which majors students may be looking at exploratorily. That is, if the
system was designed with some consideration of data collection, the university
stands to learn a lot about the nature of inquiries into different majors, the timing
of the inquiries (including long gaps between inquiries), and so on. Please bring
this about! Enhanced communication about advising would also help
tremendously. There are strong academic programs positioned in large
departments that struggle for the light of day (in terms of advising) because
advising is in the hands of faculty who don't grasp the nuances of programs in
their units. It is great that EMU has boosted its advising teams (and the new
center is terrific), but communication about advising is due for further, continuous
improvement. Imagine, for instance, if program coordinators could call up a list of
students who have declared a major and see advising notes about conversations
that student has had with anyone else about the program of study. Even better:
what if the coordinator could tell which students have not had contact from
anyone in advising for more than, say, six months or a year? It would make a
great difference in how we communicate with students if we had access to a
system that supported sorting by a few of these basic criteria.
I don't understand why the proposal doesn't include any discussion of some of
the major student support services already available at EMU, including the
Writing Center, the Academic Projects Center, Holman, and the Library. Why not
consider investing in providing additional support through these services,
particularly the Writing Center and the Academic Projects Center, which could
both use additional funding in order to serve more students and expand hours or
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modes of service? These services focus on helping students build and develop
critical skills in writing, research, and use of technology, and go beyond a
remedial approach to student learning. Support services such as these that are
flexible and help students at their time of need (while they are working on course
assignments) are valuable parts of an academic support system. Another idea
for improving student support would be centralized information about academic
student support services. There are *many* such services on campus, and
students are often unaware of them and how to access them. Faculty and staff
who work with students would certainly find a central source of information useful
when advising and assisting students.
I think there needs to be more emphasis on action at the departmental level.
Each program should map out its courses and examine their pattern for offering
courses to ensure their programs are in fact 4 year programs. It would be nice if
there were a mechanism that would allow departments to force their majors to
see an adviser. Some students are apparently surprised to find out that not all
courses are offered every term. Perhaps at a minimum, students could satisfy
the requirement of departmental advising through an exchange of emails.
It is shocking to me that, in a proposal that is supposed to be about advising AND
student support services (I'm assuming academic student support falls in this
category), there is absolutely no mention of the (very successful and welldocumented) services that are provided through existing student support services
such as the University Library, Academic Projects Center, and University Writing
Center. Why are these services, that have been strapped as far as resources go
over the past few years, completely unmentioned in this document? The Student
Support proposal does not mention at all any these services or the informal role
that those who provide academic support through these venues play in providing
informal advising to students on how to succeed in college, in addition to helping
them to develop academically. As a faculty member deeply involved in these
services, I can say with certainty that we have very successful academic support
services in place that utilize the expertise of faculty to provide high quality, one to
one academic and social support. However, these efforts require more
coordination and sources of funding so that hours can be expanded and we can
ensure that these services are available to all that need them. This lack of
funding remains, even after the Academic Projects Center was rated as one of
top 10 improvements on campus in 2012. It is incredibly problematic that
faculty were not involved in developing these reports, as they are most familiar
with students' academic performance, and the challenges they face. Additionally,
the faculty librarians on campus have provided a key role in student
preparedness to successfully complete college level work, and this is also
missing from these reports.
Many EMU students are not FT students. To assume they can graduate in 4
years is not realistic. We need plans for FT and PT students.
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Sounds like a decent plan. Long time coming. I've been here over 25 years and
I'm a good advisor to students. They often say so, because they've often been
bounced around and just made more and more confused before they finally land
in my office. I never just shift them away; I identify and solve the problem with
them, whatever it is. I answer their questions, send them to the next step, and tell
them to come back if they encounter any more problems.
Student support is already happening at the University Writing Center, and I don't
see any mention of these services. Why not interview/solicit feedback from
students who have had writing consultations, UWC workshops presented in their
classes in the disciplines, faculty who value the services students receive in the
University Writing Center, UWC consultants and peer tutors? Why haven't you
included THE BEST of existing students services in your proposals?
University College is just another way to pile in more administrators. The
General Education program should instead be augmented and aligned with
advising to do the work mentioned in the plan without a lot of huge reorganizing.
The concept that students should graduate in 4 years is nice, and it is indeed
important that depts review and simplify their maze of pre-requisites and microcontrolled majors and minors, but this should not become a fetish! Many students
prefer and plan to take longer to graduate, and they should not be pressured into
different plans just because we want to show different statistics.
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Advising needs to get better! Students should be required to visit an advisor and
this staff member should be assigned to the student.
I don't work directly in this area but have heard through conversations that the
initiative to streamline degree auditing with Red Lantern has hit a wall. The work
to implement all degree requirements within the system is delayed and so
students cannot use it to get useful advising feedback. I don't know if that's the
whole story, but I wanted to voice my support for this initiative. It's not the only
way to improve advising on campus, but it's an approach that can succeed and is
worth pursuing.
Love the idea of providing advising support of undecided/undeclared students,
however I would suggest forming a professional Advising Center, rather than a
"University College". A professional advising center could also provide training
and support for faculty major advisors, connect students with the DRC for
accessibility concerns, provide more holistic advising of students (not just
schedule production, but goal setting and exploration of majors). The Advising
Center could also hire full time professional advisors, rather than relying on
faculty. There are successful models of this at other universities.
We have talking about a centralized advising note-taking system for two years
(given by the charge by the Regents in September 2011) and sadly that has yet
to come to fruition. As it is presented in this proposal as a done-deal, I hope it
has now been developed and ready to share with advisors! I think such a system
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is key to being able to deliver consistency in advising and reinforce the messages
that students receive. Thank you!
Students
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Fix the top so that the bottom knows where it can go, and what to expect. By this,
I mean that there is an obvious set of problems within the governance of a
possibly great institution of learning (with much potential) which surveys and
focus groups can not help. Because the university sets out a focus group seems
only to me to placate the ones who are paying for the "product," (this being the
education).
I believe all students should meet with an advisor at registration for every
semester. This session should include formal review of student progress in
degree completion. The online or in person meeting with a faculty advisor should
review courses and the students course planning & sign prior to registration
approval. This will allow for early detection of deficiencies and will promote
conversation with a mentor assigned to each student.
I believe that advising is a very influential part of a student graduating in four
years. The general advising department is very basic as it is and even some
departmental advisors are unable to help students. If advisors are able to supply
students with more information and a longer term plan for their education and
time at EMU there will be a much higher 4-year graduation rate.
I think if there were more ads about the advising center it would more helpful. A
lot of students who are juniors haven't even been to see an adviser and it can
delay their graduation.
Impossible to get a straight answer from the advising department. They have little
to no authority, advising should come from someone who can effect change.
My experience as a graduate student, returning to college after 17 years, has not
been very positive, when it comes to advising and support. The graduate
orientation was rather pointless - I already knew most of the information they
discussed. I have had a HORRIBLE time trying to get accurate, reliable,
friendly advising. The professors I have met with (IF they are even willing to meet
face-to-face) have acted like I am inconveniencing them. It is VERY frustrating.
And I am NOT the only one. I was talking to a fellow student yesterday, who had
a very similar experience. If you want to attract students, you need to
remember that WE are your customers. You are at EMU BECAUSE of us! HELP
US. That's your job. We want to graduate, but we need help from EMU staff.
The current advising system is confusing and difficult to navigate for many
students. Students feel frustrated when they get graduation audits back and find
they are missing a class or 2 still. Often, we don't know what classes will be
offered each semester and it would be nice if an adviser could give us notice that
certain classes might not be available during winter or summer semesters.
Ultimately, I would like to rely on 1 adviser who can tell me what classes to take
when and keep me on track to graduate with less frustration. Instead, I need to
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see 1 adviser about gen ed requirements, another adviser for my major, and
ideally a third for my minor. I believe this system is setting up students for failure
and contributing to lowered retention rates.
The general education classes are offered frequently and easily fit into students
schedules. Once a major is chosen, those specialty classes are often available
on a semester rotating basis. This is when students can get behind with
graduating in 4 years. Also, there is not enough emphasis on taking classes
during the spring/summer semester. This is a good chance for students to stay
on track and/or get ahead.
The last 4 yrs of attending EMU both as an Undergrad and now Grad Student I
have heard many of my fellow Eagles disappointed in what they believe msadvised. Understanding the high importance of giving proper advisement is a two
way street however, if there are undereducated individuals giving that advice
then perhaps the problem lies here. Our University has the most diverse
community that includes many who come from very poor economical status and
dysfunctional environments. Setting these individuals on the right starting path
will determine if the percentage stay.
Typically, my experiences with student advising have not been good ones.
While the staff is sometimes friendly, the advice or guidance has often been in
error. In speaking with other students over the years, this doesn't seem to be
an uncommon occurrence. This leads to wrong classes being taken, inefficient
planning for future semesters and generally slowing down and increasing the
cost of graduation. A more professional and engaged advising system for
students, would likely improve graduation rates as well as student satisfaction.
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Appendix B: Curriculum
Curriculum (Focus Groups): What Works Well
Appreciate attention to improving the experience around prerequisites (6)
 Good idea to take math/English first; helps transition to college; helps prepare
students academically for the rest of college
 Like that it is preparing students for career success and including academic
service learning to make a real world connection
 MACRAO students are stuck waiting for the progression of prerequisites because
they've already met the gen ed requirements, so this is good that you are
acknowledging this difficulty
 Math requirements: it's good that we are addressing this, it can be a hurdle
 Transfer credits from community college is stressful; it avoids summer (nonfunded) classes; non-MACRAO students don't get a lot of transfer credits
 Unpreparedness; developmental courses (do they influence time to graduation?
Evaluating whether it is possible to graduate in four years (2)
 Asking if it's possible to graduate in 4 (x3)
 Evaluation of whether it's possible to graduate in 4 (if that is a students' intention)
Interest in General Studies degree concept (2)
 General Studies degree: if it saves time (years of study) then it's worth it
 General Studies: how does it compare to the "individualized study" program?
Interest in service learning, community immersion (2)
 Community immersion course is appealing; exploring your interests shouldn't be
a requirement;
 Service learning: data based decision making
Soft skills are important (but may not need much help) (2)
 Addressing soft skills/EQ; helping to navigate a bureaucracy
 Do our soft skills really need help…?
Curriculum (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements
Examine the timing, placement process, and presentation/framing of prerequisites (21)
 "Build your foundation" by taking math rather than "get it out of the way" (x3); reframe the issue, focus on the next step, one semester at a time
 2-credit immersion course: are we adding requirements that will decrease degree
completion? Perhaps confer credit to existing activities? Portfolio based
approach? Self directed?
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ACT> 19 = math 110, or placement exam, taken up to three times and offered at
fast track
Business, education, etc. have some pre-reqs that seem like they could be taken
congruently but we aren't allowed to
Can we call General Studies something else? Maybe if we re-frame it would help
with internships and post-grad job searches
Create math that is relevant for non-traditionals and/or social work students.
Make it practical to them. The 097/98/104 classes are expensive and time
consuming. Are they helping students ultimately?
Cross-disciplinary majors within colleges - should we require students to
complete math gen ed requirements before declaring majors?
Evaluate transfer students' requirements for second admit eligibility. Shouldn't
need to take 30 more credits before they can apply, if they do then there's no way
they're graduating in 4 if they showed up with 100 credits already…
Improve coordination with community colleges to manage prerequisites
Is math 97 a/b and 98 a/b intimidating to prospective students? Are we losing
them to other schools because they think we have an unreasonable math
requirement? Can we combine those courses?
More transparency on what our requirements are (x4)
Placement tests should be offered in addition to refresher courses
Some pre-reqs are only offered in fall or winter; is this confusion? Not enough
professors? Why don't advisors know about the problem?
Stop charging people as much tuition for non-credit bearing classes
The highest math class I can take is 110 if my ACT score isn't high enough; can I
take a workshop instead of a credit course? Can I take it during the summer?
The QR/math requirement changes in 2004 intentionally made it easier for
transfer students, consequently it does seem inequitable that the same class
counts as transfer but not for first year students. Are we inadvertently
encouraging students to take the QR requirement at another institution?
Timing: take math early? Some data suggests that helps graduation rate
Try predictive, preventative interventions; sylvan prep before beginning classes;
optional summer programs (math 110, English 120)
We need a new math assessment tool besides ACT
We need to encourage students to take the math requirement early: register
immediately and/or take a placement test
We need to have realistic AND hopeful goals/expectations; encourage students
to reach high but to test those assumptions ASAP
Caution about potential perception of General Studies degree as "default option" (7)
 Does college-based general studies degree recognize contribution and strength,
not just a catch all/default major? What about exploratory majors?
 General studies degree solves a problem for the university (gets them to
graduate) but not necessarily for the students because it has a bad reputation. It
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also forces those students into a grad school track because they can't get a job
with a General Studies degree
General Studies degree: does that actually get you a job? It seems like a last
resort only; better than no degree but not better than having an actual major
General studies should be more than a default option; can we re-name it?
Integrative studies? Liberal arts?; doomed to develop a bad reputation with this
degree name; program is too narrowly focused; needs to be paired with strong
advising support, matriculation structure to relieve pressure to declare a major
right away; fast track runs counter to the gen studies conversation
How does general studies serve a grad if it is so stigmatized?
Illustrate the progressive nature of courses so students understand why they
need to take these classes early
Is general studies a program or a menu of courses; funding issue;
department/faculty support circles needed
Caution against class cancellations; departmental leadership required here (4)
 Class cancellations: department heads need to advocate for students needs, but
departments have to be relatively efficient; we know the Dean's office monitors
numbers of students per faculty hour
 Look at the math department for a registration monitoring program that actually
works; a department head has to take initiative to get and process enrollment
data, this is difficult for smaller programs (like restaurant management)
 Streamlining: making a plan that is contradictory to reality; classes are cancelled,
some classes only run every 1-2 years
 What about last minute class cancellations due to low enrollment? Some run with
4 students, some cancel. It can really mess up graduation time; if that happens
it's too late to get another class because everything but gen ed are full already
Enhance use of existing assets (4)
 Career services: how can they help more, both in freshman and later years?
 Intent but not yet declared students get lost, there's no advising, career
opportunities or pre-track help.
 Lack of inventory of existing assets; consider deploying more resources; improve
connection and visibility
 Proactive advising at the departmental level helps (like in Social Work)
Enhance visibility, understanding of community credit offerings (3)
 How much do community experience courses cost? Academic service learning is
already doing this (and is already funded)
 List community credit in the course options to get people interested in exploring
the idea
 We need help getting to know the geographic area and options for where to do a
community immersion
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Improve the orientation experience (3)
 Can in-person orientation also be broken down by topics, so working people who
can't come for the whole day can still come to sessions they are most interested
in?
 Make orientation more encouraging towards volunteering; don't make it
orientation optional
 Online orientation does not allow for signup for activities; be sure that the key
issues are online
Improved support for, coordination among faculty is needed (3)
 Department heads need more formalized training, we are taking academics and
making them administrate; focus on collaboration with other department heads
and encourage solidarity.
 Faculty awareness of general ed needs to increase, this will in turn trickle down
to students
 Formalized collaboration between departments; gen ed assessment structure
should be used; how much decision making goes on within each department?
Faculty needs time and incentives to do this
Referring to "soft skills," "emotional intelligence" is problematic (3)
 Dislike term "emotional intelligence"; jargon, clinical, static
 Dislike the assumption of inadequacy
 Emotional IQ is a problematic term: focus instead on "higher level thinking
ability"; analytic skills are missing and are critical to post-grads; we need this to
be a research based proposal (soft skill improvement is amorphous)
Interest in "soft skill" building; more information needed (2)
 Competency based tools make it hard to measure soft skills
 Soft skill building is an interesting idea; more specifics; important question; how
has this been phrased/imagined? Higher level skills, not basic; focus on
transferable, problem solving/ processing abilities (x2)
Better transparency is needed in internal systems (2)
 Create an online portal, one track for all advising, including notes from other
sessions; past courses, courses needed, major and minor requirements
 Departments have a silo problem and don't look at the student's needs as a
whole
The definition of "timely" graduation varies depending on students' life circumstances (2)
 Define "timely manner" depending on students' needs (non traditional students,
etc) while attending to the value of helping most students graduate near to four
years
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Second admit MACRAO transfers donʼt have time to finish in four years,
requirements can't be done more than 1-2 classes per term; pre-reqs have to be
done in a particular order
Miscellaneous (4)
 Look at minors and how that affects retention
 Online catalog needs clarification to students and advisors: entrance year to
EMU vs. entrance to college of study
 Advisors for your major, minor, and gen ed need to talk to each other
 Second admit "intent" but not admitted yet needs a plan B, there are limited
spaces in those programs, let's help those students connect to something
else, they are strong students (x4)
Curriculum: Online Feedback
Faculty
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Being a proponent of the assessment process, I think we should determine how
the General Studies degree program would be assessed before implementing it.
I do not think it unreasonable to require a capstone experience for this program.
Such a course could allow an opportunity to address some of the transition to
workforce skills outlined later. I like the section on streamlined curriculum. I
don't necessarily agree that all of the standards implied in that section are
applicable to all programs, but nevertheless every department should consider all
of the issues raised.
I had thought this survey would ask more specific questions related to the
proposal.
It's difficult to judge just how influential such a program would be. My first
concern is that while a BA in General Studies may improve the graduation rate
(i.e., allowing students with more eclectic combinations of courses to graduate),
the University would need to devote resources to resulting challenges, such as
how to articulate the degree's coherence--both for faculty who teach in the
program, for students and their families, and for prospective employers.
Otherwise it risks becoming a smorgasbord/sampler degree program whose
focus and coherence is ill-defined in the minds of its students. Without clear
sponsorship by faculty and instructional staff who grasp its coherence, "general
studies" will almost certainly appear too amorphous to impress potential
employers.
The notion that online diagnostic tools are going to "determine
competency" may work in some content-oriented instructional contexts, but it falls
short when students are applying methods (i.e., when they are actually involved
in making or doing, or when they are communicating with real humans and not
with computer programs). Re: "While EMUʼs academic programs are
adequately preparing students with technical and practical aptitudes, a
deficiency exists (for many students) in the development and strengthening of
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“soft skills” for job preparedness." What is the evidence for this claim? How have
the drafters of this proposal ascertained this deficiency? Direct evidence would
help establish the legitimacy of this claim. It's unclear who would design this
curriculum or, rather, whose purview it would fall under. Would it span colleges?
policies regarding class size and budgeting issues (i.e. when a class is cancelled
due to low enrollment) need to be examined and more clearly communicated and
understood policies put in place. Leaving decisions up to the whim of school
directors leaves students and faculty waiting until the last minute to know if a
class will be held. Furthermore, faculty workload assignments need to account
for credit hours generated through internships, directed studies, etc. if students
are to have these experiences available. Lastly, on-line education needs to be
addressed. Our technology infrastructure is absolutely horrible for delivering online education.
This line from the white paper needs some unpacking: "While EMUʼs academic
programs are adequately preparing students with technical and practical
aptitudes, a deficiency exists (for many students) in the development and
strengthening of “soft skills” for job preparedness." The programs may be
preparing students, but there are a sufficient number of individual classes that
are taught using skills that are less "teaching of ideas" than they are "dictation of
notes." I love that some teachers are engaging and find ways to inspire
students, but we have too many freshman classes where the lecture drives the
hour and fifteen minutes - limited discussion, sparse group work, no formative
evaluation, and more. Students dribble away and begin to wonder after a couple
of months if the rest of college will be so bleak and dull. Improve the teaching
by reminding faculty of basic elements of teaching - wait time, engaging
questions, multiple low-stakes opportunities to present insights without being
critiqued severely and without opportunity to address weaknesses. EMU is not
the place for such pedagogical malpractice. Fix the teaching and watch
retention increase.
We already have an independent studies major - isn't that the same thing?
EMU does have a responsibility to graduate skilled students, and I support the
idea of taking a fresh look at how skills are introduced and rehearsed in gen ed
and in the majors. This plan, however, is shallow, clearly written by people who
do not understand skills development or developmental education. Skills such as
writing, oral communication, mastery of powerpoint, whatever - they cannot
simply be plugged in to one class and considered having been taught. These
skills must be introduced, rehearsed, developed at higher skill levels and
introduced again. People who don't understand education often say things like
"why can't we just give them one course in all those things?" Well, because in
one course it is impossible to provide the gradual, graduated, learning process of
applying rehearsing and applying at a higher level that is needed. Skills must be
embedded in disciplinary-specific activities, practiced, developed and practiced
again. Further, the list provided of skills is incredibly vague. How would we
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assess "technical knowledge"?? I don't know why this is called "soft skills," by
the way - this is the core of what we hope students to develop in their education
along with the specific knowledge and skills of an academic discipline. It might
help to invite the gen ed office to develop specific, assessable outcomes
associated with some of these vague skills, and test how they are introduced,
rehearsed and developed through the gen ed program (is gen ed still a program,
or has it devolved into a menu of courses?). It is ridiculous to imagine a
"training" program to teach these skills out of context. You can't teach "writing"
(as the WAC program emphasizes) without specifying what kind of writing is
being taught. Journalism is not the same as a patient chart. Writing in various
genres is intro'd in 120/121 (and they do a very good job, given they have only
one semester), but it is up to the other courses in gen ed and in the disciplines,
and not just the WI courses, to introduce students and rehearse them in
discipline-specific and advanced writing skills. The same goes for qualitative
skills, for research skills (again, research in policy studies is hugely different from
research in biology), problem-solving and communication (think how different
these skills are in social work compared to aviation tech!), etc. Once we are past
the remedial level, in other words, these skills must be learned and practiced in
context, not as some sort of plug-in that can be magically injected into a student
in a "training." On the other hand, offering students a tool and rubrics so that
they can assess their own skill development and devise a personal plan to
address needs in their own individual set of courses and other activities might be
a good idea. This could be done with a combination of online assessment and
career coaches. I can imagine a student doing an online assessment, noticing
weakness in problem solving, brainstorming this with a career coach and
deciding on a plan to meet with a prof to ask for guidance in developing this skill
as part of a particular class, and then checking back with the career coach in a
few months to assess progress. Broadening ASL-type courses might help
faculty think about connecting what they teach more directly to the fields in which
students may be employed, but they are also incredibly expensive in faculty time.
It seems unlikely, given how difficult it is simply to teach an interdisciplinary
course, that EMU could afford to pay people enough to do this well. Doing it
badly, on the other hand, will make for a community nightmare.
Have we
considered a model closer to Berea college, in which students are asked to serve
within EMU as part of their education?
You're only making it worse. I'm apoplectic. I think the curricular changes of the
last two decades have been catastrophically bad. We keep lowering the bar. Has
anyone noticed that isn't working? Lowering standards for admission and making
it easier to graduate is not increasing the graduation rate. Can we see that? Is it
not glaringly obvious? If you insist on higher standards, students will meet those
standards. If they can't, what business do they have going to college and getting
a degree? I can't even get started on the new Gen. Ed. and the math dept. They
can figure it out; that's not my business. But again, are things better or worse
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than before MTH 110? Why are universities getting into all this remedial
education? It sucks our energy and time to cater to the lowest common
denominator instead of encouraging and challenging the best and brightest.
University is not for everyone. I understand EMU's position; we're not UofM and
shouldn't want to be. But we're not WCC or LCC or JCC or HFCC either.
Staff
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I want to comment on the item "Streamlining Math Placement Process". I did
already attend a focus group, and gave some feedback there, but I just want to
reiterate my main point. The General Education program, as developed in 20052007, was deliberately designed to be "transfer friendly". Thus it is not surprising
that some aspects of it appear to be "easier" for transfer students. The point
raised here is not confined to the QR requirement; it applies to all of the
requirements. Courses a transfer student takes BEFORE transferring to EMU
are given a benefit of the doubt that does not apply to FTIACs. The point raised
here might apply equally to a History course or an Art course. Also, note that it
does NOT apply to courses a transfer student might take once they have started
at Eastern, only to courses they took before starting here. Another thing that
concerns me is that this proposal seems to be aimed at encouraging students to
take a course elsewhere and transfer it back to EMU. I understand that there are
some occasions on which we might feel the need to do that, in the absence of
other options. But I hope that we do not do it on a routine basis.
Love the idea of a general studies (sometimes called Interdisciplinary Studies)
degree. I think there are many situations where this could be beneficial to
students. The lack of soft skills reported by employers is a national issue. Don't
forget that many of these are built in the co-curriculum. Encouraging students to
engage outside of the classroom will help build these skills too. Very well
written plan.
We need a first year experience program!!! All first year students should be
taking a UNIV course about how to go to college. This should be taught by the
student affairs staff who know how college works.
Students
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How and when this college offers classes is a barrier to working adults.
I am a parent that works full time. I am very disappointed that NOT enough
TESOL classes are available to finish my minor so I can support my family. It's a
shame that EMU can't offer more TESOL classes to help students accomplish
their degree in a timely manner.
I think the availability and scheduling of classes is incredibly important. Since I
live about 20 minutes away from campus, I try to schedule my classes into blocks
that allow me to have as few days on campus as possible because I share a car
with my spouse. I'm also trying to balance this with working occasionally, so
having more sections of classes available (especially labs in science classes)
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would be incredibly helpful. There should be clearer policies for prerequisite
requirements and when and how they can be waived (what other classes will be
accepted as equivalencies), and which classes are only for majors/minors and
which are open to the school at large. Since many upper level (300 and 400)
classes are offered rarely, I think majors in the subject should be allowed to enroll
first. I was in a 400 level writing intensive class for my major (anthropology) and
there was a psychology major who dropped out after a couple weeks as well as a
school employee who stopped coming during the final month of the semester.
These spaces could have been reserved for majors who needed the writing
intensive credit. Academic Service-Learning sounds interesting. I spent a year
volunteering through the Vision Center at a local preschool and the experience
has been incredibly influential in shaping my views on poverty, social policies,
and government assistance of families in poverty. If a socially-involved project
was available that would offer credit towards graduation and there would be
transportation available from campus to the location, I would sign up. I think
the school could push us harder towards professionalism in our conduct, speech
and dress. The level of informality on campus is certainly comfortable, but it is
hardly acceptable to show up to work in sweats or pajamas, which I invariably
see several classmates wearing daily. It would be beneficial to have more
experience with presentations and general workplace expectations. I have only
had a few teachers outside of a speech class that required public presentations,
and I participated in the Undergraduate Symposium 3 times over my 4 years at
EMU. I still feel very nervous presenting in front of a group.
It's very difficult for students that are also working while taking classes to
graduate in 4 years. There are a lot of courses to complete and those with
families and heavy work schedules need to be able to spread it out.
Professors need to be more direct with the exact textbooks needed for each
course. Possible putting together course packets with sheets planned to be
used. Extra credit opportunities have been WAY to big and long for one or two
points. Better preparation for final exams and STUDY GUIDES would be well
received.
Some elements are outdated.
The College of Education curriculum is well delivered by (mostly) wonderful
professors.
Very detrimental to have a "General Studies" degree. One might as well put "did
four years of nothing at college" on one's resume. I would more emphasize the
advising proposal to get students on track, so it's less likely they have earned 60
random credits by junior year that have no focus. Highly recommend preparing
students for the transition to the work force; this is a problem many employers
are finding, stemming back to many various colleges.
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Appendix C: Enrollment
Enrollment Policies (Focus Groups): What Works Well
Specific aspects of proposal are of value (2)
 Curricular review: clarity and purpose
 Requiring major declaration after 55 credits
Worthy topic; appreciate the methodology (2)
 Looked at best practices, serve as basis for these elements
 Looking at "is this the right thing to do?"; not getting stopped by why it hasn't
worked before
Miscellaneous (1)
 Physical location of a transfer center; these students have unique needs and
should have an accessible place to get help; would be meaningful to prospective
students; this acknowledges a commitment to this population; offer special
advising and financial aid needs; help navigate the university community (what if
EMU has the same problems that made them leave the last institution?); promote
resource awareness/create a orientation focused on transfer students
Enrollment Policies (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements
Improve substance, coordination, timing of internal processes relative to enrollment (5)
 Advising needs to be first stop for students - don't do a graduation audit until your
last term, there should be no surprises; academic program review is necessary;
prerequisites are so opaque and hard to navigate
 Need a recruitment strategy for ECA students: system reflects lower GPA/unweighted; these grades follow them in the EMU system; review dual-enrolled
students' experience too; affects academic progress and financial aid
opportunities; look at admission process to correct this problem
 Readmitted students financial aid appeals process is an opportunity for better
coordination between two systems/processes (enrollment and fin aid)
 We need current contact information for students; confirm their info before
allowing registration?
 What tools can we use to connect students to advisors? The relationship is
helpful.
Refine the proposed rules and regulations to better support students' needs (5)
 "Require" - how do we enforce these rules? Students react negatively to
requirements like holds on accounts; how do we communicate effectively, make
this supportive, not punitive? We need the opportunity to help students graduate;
what about an early warning system, it is incumbent on the university to intervene
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in a timely manner and to be welcoming and supportive. What carrots or sticks
are we proposing?
Add to the list of requirements: transfer students must meet with an advisor
Expand 55-credit major declaration requirement to transfer students with a
certain number of credits (create a parallel policy)
Transfer credits: how do we help student veterans?
Why the 55-hour credit major requirement? Junior status? We need best practice
research here
Attend to terminology, definitions used (4)
 "Students with transfer credit" instead of "transfer students"
 "Timely" graduation is relative; 4+ years may be entirely reasonable, even
desirable
 How do we define "advisor"? FT staff vs. faculty
 Incentives: how does this fit in? What is the title of this document referencing?
Comments, suggestions regarding the Transfer Center (2)
 McKenny is far away from other resources; co-location matters
 Transfer center would need to be more of a blended service model (like service
EMU)
Consider the implications of various recruitment strategies (2)
 Acknowledge volume implications for increasing and recruiting international
students; we need to be able to serve them and meet that capacity
 Opportunity to focus on out of state students as well, make it more convenient;
alignment of enrollment, registration systems; what are the barriers to increasing
out of state student enrollment?
Enrollment Policies: Online Feedback
Faculty
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Good luck. I don't think a four-year degree is possible or desirable for COE
professionals. Professional Studies in the COE and Student Teaching take time - at least an extra year. I think the demise of the paper catalog and schedule
books has had deleterious effects. Students no longer see the 'big picture.' They
can't see all the courses that are being offered or all the departments and majors
on campus in one place. I can't, and I know about most of them! I don't think
technology should be used for everything. This generation needs to handle and
read more books and write more with their hands, not thumbs. Call me oldfashioned, but I'm not stupid or illiterate. Making it easier for community college
transfer just makes our graduates less able. If education at community colleges
was just as good as university then we wouldn't need universities. Given the
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hoops we had to jump through to get a course approved as Gen. Ed., it's an
insult to have any old thing substitute for it from community colleges.
I find several strong suggestions in this proposal. I am particularly interested in
seeing EMU do a better job of reaching out to undecided/undeclared majors. We
are able to pull this information already from Crystal Reports, but it would be
great if we had some policy clarification about whether or not individual programs
can reach out to students who have, for instance, taken one class in a program
but who are showing as undecided/undeclared. I'm not sure we want individual
programs reaching out to these students for recruiting, but neither do we want to
ignore or overlook when these students are in our midst in a given class. Efforts
to communicate with undecided/undeclared students are sure to be informal in
some cases, but a clearer set of guidelines would be helpful. It would provide
instructors with a sense of what the university recommends/expects. In the
program I teach in, I have raised this question a few times, and nobody seems to
be sure whether or not we can send an email to the undecided/undeclared group
of students to invite them to learn more about our program, visit with a faculty
adviser, etc.
This is not my area of expertise, so I shall not comment closely on the proposal.
I will say, however: 1. it is excellent that close scrutiny is being given to
advising, which is improving but still has a long way to go. 2. The university
should consider carefully how we recruit internationally, and do research to see
how other universities are faring. We used to have an international admissions
office (do we still?) that seems to have become much more passive. International
recruiting is a special skill; and most of all it requires a high level of collaboration
with alumni, faculty and staff who already have international connections.
Despite the hope that we can draw international students to online courses, it is
the international students who come here to EMU campus who carry lifelong
loyalty and potential for further recruitment in their home countries. 3. Where are
the alumni? The alumni relations office has been pretty much a dead office or
some sort of promotion branch for athletics (or, for a time in the past, a place
where people were placed to keep them on the payroll or out of trouble). Alumni
should be a key element of recruitment plans, but that means putting together an
office that does more than promote sporting events.
Staff
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All suggestions besides the two noted below seem like good ideas. Rather than
a "Transfer Center", it seems like better training for advisors on how to support
transfer students would be more cost effective. Or, assigning advisors a list of
transfer students (splitting them up amongst advisors) and actually reaching out
to the students and being proactive about meeting their needs. Postponing
graduation clearance could be an issue if the advisor makes mistakes that a
graduation audit would bring to light. Students finding this out at the last minute
would cause issues.
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Enrollment should be easy. Offices on campus should work together to make
getting here easy!! We need to get out of our silos!
I strongly agree that more attention to the recruitment and support of international
students will pay off in significant ways. The second year residency
requirement should go. EMU needs to continue to be as transfer friendly as
possible. That said, we must ensure that academic program standards are not
compromised as we proceed. Work with CCs, but know that their mission is a
very different one and that students, if not properly oriented, will carry that
forward into their higher level study at the university, possibly shortchanging
themselves in the process by not "buying into" the full scope of a college
experience.
I'm not sure it is realistic to think that students who have academic difficulty can
actually graduate in four years. The proposals may help persistence, but I don't
think four years is realistic for this group as they may have to take time off, take
fewer credits per semester, etc., to remain in good standing and off probation.
Students
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Again, haven't seen or read the new policy but the current system works well in
giving higher priority to those closer to finishing.
I feel that making it mandatory for students to meet with an academic advisory
should be no matter if they are in good standing with the University or not. I also
feel that it should be required that the academic advisory's have working
knowledge of their roles and responsibilities. I have meet with an academic
advisory and have had to on many occasions tell the advisor what should be
done. I am currently a return to learn student and I find it very difficult to complete
my degree here at EMU. Although I have re-enrolled there are not exceptions to
these new policies that will help to have a return to learn student succeed. EMU
does forgive the coursed in which a return to learn student has failed but they do
not adjust the completion rate and therefore the student is excluded from
receiving financial aid in most cases and will be dismissed under these new
policies due to the completion rate no being able to be met.
I think a more generous transfer credit policy would have helped me
tremendously. I transferred to EMU with about 20 credits of music theory, aural
and keyboard skills, and the music department refused to accept them as
equivalents. They also did not respond to my request to look at the syllabi and
course requirements of my previously completed classes so my transfer credits
could have been adjusted. I would have almost completed a music minor and
could have avoided having to complete a second minor's worth of credits.
I think its crazy if a student is making progress but is still shy of the completion
rate, that they get dismissed and have to appeal the dismissal. For students
who are non traditional or young and trying to get their life back on track, it can
be hard to commit to school as much as you think you can, this puts you in a
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tough place and completion rate does go up very quickly its almost impossible to
do this in one semester.
Transfer Center an excellent idea. Where does money/staff/time come from for
curricular review proposed?
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Appendix D: Financial Aid
Financial Aid (Focus Groups): What Works Well
Evaluating the current system; using data (5)
 Assessment of the current system
 Data driven decisions: how do we decide where the money goes?
 Expanding/publicizing CAP program (x3); campus living impacts student
retention/graduation; living on campus is not covered by Pell grants alone, this
would make it accessible to more students
 Get a better understanding of why students opt out- is it really financial aid or is
that just an easy excuse?
 The idea of digging deeper (x2)
Block tuition (2)
 Block tuition: what about two models, one for full time 4 year track, one for
intentional part time longer track?
 Tuition blocks would make financial planning easier
Miscellaneous (3)
 Appeals program (we didn't know it existed)
 CAP program expansion and communication
 Service EMU, one stop shop is a good concept. But why doesn't it include
advising?
Financial Aid (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements
Align our own systems, processes to better support student retention (14)
 12 hour minimum is challenging academically, especially in sciences, but people
push themselves too far in order to stay eligible for scholarships
 Can we have a non-incremental payment system? If I have varying monthly
income then I can get locked out of my account for non-payment
 Can you give aid packages 1-2 weeks before classes start, or at least bookstore
credit so I can get my pre-term work done in time?
 GPA requirements: a 2.0 is good enough for graduation, but not enough for other
campus activities. How does that make sense?
 I had to turn down a campus job because I was ineligible for a single room (I
have a cat)
 Lab and lecture courses need to be separated for repeat needs (if I passed the
lab but not the lecture I'm forced to take both again, and pay for both)
 Late fees need adjustment: why am I charged a late fee if I couldn't pay because
my financial aid came in late? That's out of my control.
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Need based funds have been taken away from current students and given to
merit based new-student packages. This illustrates a current focus on recruitment
and bigger freshman classes, rather than retention
Need more transparency in how EMU tuition dollars are spent. Am I subsidizing
athletic scholarships while I'm struggling to get enough to eat and pay for my
books?
Re-organize registration based on graduation requirements
There are practically no need-based scholarships to freshmen. The FAFSA forms
are only available starting Jan 1, but EMU awards are given March 1. We can't
double check needs and give out awards in time.
There is a limit to the number of applications you can submit for university
scholarships
UACDC doesn't have any image files available to other advisors/departments, so
fin aid staff can't see what students are told and reference that in their meetings.
It is also unclear to fin aid and other staff what personal information you are
allowed to share between departments.
Whose "responsibility" is student retention? How to make EMU staff/faculty see it
as a priority and have some accountability?
Tailor financial support to students' needs and use it to support their success (10)
 Are the scholarship criteria appropriate for our students?
 Are we setting people up to fail by getting people to come to EMU who aren't
ready for college? Getting people to chose EMU vs. other U, rather than EMU vs.
no college at all
 Consider targeting demographics and guaranteeing funding, rather than taking it
away just wait to see what happens with guaranteed support in place
 Consider tiered scholarships contingent on completing x number of hours in first
three years
 EMU gives too much money to people who can afford to pay (too many merit
based scholarships)
 ID needs of each population, what structure can we put in place to preemptively
help people succeed?
 Proposal incentivizes full time enrollment
 Some flexibility is needed: some students need more transactional support, some
need more advising
 The proposal does not accurately reflect the needs of EMU student
demographics (x3)
 Where can we leverage our incentives to keep students?
Communication needs to be more explicit and clear (5)
 Communication with financial aid needs work; we need a visible account status to
check; how much money is left for me, now and long term?; most people don't
even know there's a limit to financial aid
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Keep it simple, focus on the important message
Our financial aid package doesn't cover all of a student's expenses; first
generation students don't know how much money is needed on top of what that
package covers. We need to be more clear and explicit about expectations and
limitations. Fin aid 101
Watch the jargon/acronyms
We need more transparency on the award decision making process so we can
better position ourselves to win one
Relationships matter (5)
 Consider student financial aid ambassadors/mentors, they can connect more
easily
 Does a relationship with or visit to financial aid make students less likely to drop
out?
 Make a formal support team for each students (this is already happening
informally)
 Offer a personal referral/connection to financial aid staff/help
 Single point of contact - one person, not just one location
Non-tuition expenses are demanding (4)
 Financial aid should help pay for my books!
 Living on campus is twice as expensive as off campus (x2)
 Meal plans are super expensive
 On campus living is not an option if you have a pet or have kids; double rooms
are tiny
Not everyone can/does/wants to be a "full-time" student; offer more financial aid
flexibility (4)
 4 year true freshman are not the average EMU students; we are a commuter
college, lots of students only take part time classes; credit hour requirement
excludes people who can't go full time, despite having good GPAs (x2)
 FT job hours (9-5) prohibits some STEM majors from going to school full time
(courses aren't offered at the right time to get it done in 4); only the math
department helps full time "real people."
 Part time status will max out your financial aid, but I am ineligible for financial aid
so I have to go less than full time because I have to work (x2)
 What about pro-rated scholarships for fewer credit hours?
Take a closer look at the appeals process (3)
 Appeals approvals may just be throwing money at a problem, not fixing the root
cause (are they unprepared? Etc)
 Appeals process is not a new process. Maybe email notification is not the right
method? Is "appeal" a scary, legal sounding term? We want to stress the gravity
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of the situation but not stop them from applying. Almost everyone who does gets
their scholarship back!
Should the appeals process be communicated to parents if they are the ones
paying? Loop them in early and have the difficult conversations when you can
still fix the problem
Develop good data to inform the plan (2)
 Benchmarking: How do other universities manage/structure scholarships?
 Inform the plan by identifying the key attrition points (between first two years, for
example)
Expand work-study opportunities (2)
 How can we expand the work-study programs? Why do some departments have
money for work-studies and others donʼt? Why do some of them run out when I
really liked working there?
 How many CAP students don't complete their hourly work requirements and are
financially penalized at the end of the term?; why can't we make it a true work
study program, offer not just room and board
Help build students' financial awareness, sophistication (2)
 Continue to assess financial literacy of parents and students: how much have
you borrowed to date? What is your interest rate, etc?
 Financial aid awareness counseling: SAP appeals require it to those who have
already lost money; why not do an online info/quiz personalized to each students'
debt/loans?
Make the process more user-friendly, straightforward, and accessible (2)
 Orientation days should be created specific to demographic groups (first gen
college, etc)
 Take students' perspectives and engage them as well as the parents
Shorter degree programs - pros and cons (2)
 BA/MA combo could help overall cost to students
 Don't push for three year programs, there are trade offs
Miscellaneous (8)
 15 hours is too much for STEM students to take at one time
 Getting involved in non-paying campus activities takes away from my ability to
earn needed money
 Is EMU making a profit?
 STEM students' academic demands prohibits/limits ability to add a minor
 Transfer students are ineligible for certain scholarships
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Why are tuition rates so high, requiring so much financial aid? Then again, if we
lower it we can affect our perceived value
Explore the role of community college preparation. Maybe this is more helpful to
ensure people graduate once at EMU, so they are prepared academically and
save some $ in the early years to help them pay for EMU (MACRAO plan to
complete gen ed courses and equivalencies)
Cross train advising staff for all student needs: payments, registration, overrides,
financial aid
Financial Aid: Online Feedback
Faculty
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The elephant in the room is athletics. How many students are we paying to
"study" here in order to perform for our sports teams? How much money from
the general fund goes to support athletics and athletes? That money could go to
students with academic potential. Yes, I know, no one is going to touch that
problem. Still, we all know it.
The plans sound good, if they're doable. Does EMU have the resources to
gather the data that is needed to understand the situation? My anecdotal
experience with many Pell grant recipients is that it is wasted money. The
students are nowhere near ready to be successful in college. Similarly, students
are given huge loans with which they pay for all kinds of things besides tuition
and books and, given their academic prowess, haven't a prayer of getting a
degree and a job and paying the money back. It may not be as bad as the
housing crisis, but it's similar. Everyone doesn't get to be a homeowner in the
same way that everyone doesn't get to go to college. It is, by its very nature, a
selective process and only pays off by very hard work and consistent sacrifice. In
my day (I'm old), students worked all summer to save money to pay for college
for fall and winter. That model may not exactly work anymore, and it sounds like
there are plenty of places from which to get money, but the bottom line is that the
students have to understand the incredible opportunity that a college degree can
provide and they have to VALUE that.
Staff
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Other ideas: GPA or completion discounts for returning students. 5% reduced
rater for sophomores with >2.5, 8% discount for juniors, 10% discount for
seniors.
Conducting exit interviews for students dropping out (phone
interviews if necessary) to get a better picture of why students drop or stop out.
Address the ballooning costs of textbooks, coursepacks, etc.
Students
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Child care subsidy like University of Michigan
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Do not take away a student's grant money if they receive a scholarship.
Even as a highly committed and prompt student who pays out-of-pocket for
tuition, I have experienced a good deal of trouble and confusion with the financial
aid office here at EMU. I have not been able to get answers to important financial
questions and have had many experiences where responsibilities of the office
were neglected and I had to pick-up the slack. I have no doubt that this issue
deters student graduation often. There needs to be more knowledgeable, helpful
staff and an easier way to deal with financial matters.
Excellent ideas, but how are they being implemented? Will new jobs be created?
I feel like it is discouraging to have to fight to get your financial side back and stay
enrolled every semester until you're odd probation. I haven't attended this
college since 2009 and since this has happened and my completion rate want
where they THINK it should be my financial aid was cancelled
It'd be nice if students knew more about scholarships offered.
The financial aid program is unorganized and I get frustrated when multiple
people in the program tell me various conflicting things.
The more aid students receive the more classes they can take at a time and the
quicker they can graduate.
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Appendix E: Preparedness
Student Preparedness (Focus Groups): What Works Well
Acknowledgement of different access points for students to become engaged with the
University (5)
 Individual initiative is required to connect with resources; discovering the
resources exist is first step, then you have to decide to connect with them; make
the discovery/connection activity based
 Openness, welcoming student groups like DCI, Vision are good opportunities
 Transition from HS or a small community college to university is overwhelming;
EMU is a large setting; need help dealing with our own identity, gender, race, and
relating to others and their identities; language, communication, and awareness
all need guidance to develop
 UNIV- reaches many students (700+)
 Use orientation as a platform to connect with resources
Specific suggestions, ideas (4)
 Co-curricular transcript to document and reinforce support/benefits of doing all of
these activities and demands; recognition of that: deans list? Letter from EMU?
Name listed in Eastern Echo?
 GPS program for at risk students
 Incentives: credits
 Sociological/humanities requirement in first year: students may not have been
exposed to humanities in high school
Appreciate the holistic, data-driven approach (3)
 4 year transition support
 Assessment is data driven decision making (x2)
 Integrated university approach, working together with individual champions (x2);
holistic approach, not just academic; programs for students, also institutional
support and infrastructure
Miscellaneous (2)
 Foundation classes (English, speech, math) are needed but hated by students;
workshop setting would be shorter, more intense, smaller; foundation classes are
educational but not fun
 Option to complete developmental courses before they begin; don't take up a
semester of time; curriculum takes 4 years without developmental courses
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Student Preparedness (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested
Improvements
Improve internal engagement, coordination (7)
 Staging: civic engagement in the third year?
 Centralized marketing support with coordination at the level of the Provost's office
to maintain autonomy
 Plug this into a larger vision; integration at the departmental level is critical; help
students avoid "the EMU shuffle" of advice; consider Jasmina as consultant to
departments
 Faculty were not involved in developing this proposal; loss of faculty expertise
and experience
 Have resources and have them be known, accessible, and clear; have someone
in charge coordinating information for students. Articulate a path with a system in
place to connect to needed resources. This can be done online, plus in person to
improve responsiveness
 Infrastructure is missing an integrated system to see what's happening with
students
 Need to share data and processes/decision making - loop back to contributors
Information needs to be clear and accessible (7)
 Create a central directory/inventory of existing supports
 Email everyone to notify them who their advisor is
 Financial aid is confusing. There is a disconnect between government financial
aid and EMU; we need clarity on the charges, when to pay what, how much
things cost. Explain what you are asking an then tell us why
 Generally need more clarity and communication up front about graduation
requirements
 Need to increase visibility and student awareness of resources; coordinated
package (but not one size fits all) to rely on disciplinary expertise; possibly a
student support center portal?
 We need a process for confirming the graduation process; a graduation audit; it
took me four months to hear a reply and everything was different by that time
(didn't include my last semester info); portfolio review in art department
 What is the role of the ombudsman? Needs clarification and communication
Pay more attention to existing resources/supports; acknowledge previous efforts (7)
 Academic supports are critical, these need resources and evaluation
 APC is the only facility for one on one tech help. Why doesn't IT do end user
support?
 Existing resources are not acknowledged: University writing center, math
resource center, and a dozen more; APC is a pilot to target classes that students
fail, one on one help is ideal; once these are established, we need more support,
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resources and infrastructure to sustain, enhance and document success; also
need to adjust the hours, for example the APC is open only from 11-5 which does
not need students' needs
Funding directed at existing resources to expand availability
The proposal has an incomplete inventory of supports that exist on campus:
Holman math lab, Faculty Development Center, Writing Center (strong model);
faculty involvement and collaboration is necessary
We have done and should acknowledge work to align and improve previous
problems (advising, etc)
What is the role of peer mentoring? Holman had some element of this. It is
compelling and good messaging when coming from peers, helps students
connect to resources
Use data to understand what is happening with regard to preparedness and design
effective interventions (5)
 Challenge assumptions based on data; are students coming from structured
programs?; where are our students coming from?
 Draw from what's working well at other institutions; best practice focus (x2)
 Make this data driven
 Most students in Nursing are doing practica in first year (not third); avoid one size
fits all solutions
 Where is the data? (x3); assess current offerings, don't expand before
evaluating; conflicting campus opinions re: preparedness in certain areas; ID
where attrition occurs, what courses students fail, etc. where there's trouble to
design interventions
Consider how best to serve students who may need help (3)
 Nature of advising: academic success coach - specialization? Team approach?;
tech tools to help students access these supports; need back-end structure for
advising; need department specific advisors
 Need early alert system to prompt interventions (x3); systemic approach to
evaluation of success; simple changes like grades before date of withdrawal;
routine reports, instructions; faculty should respond to data, parse data in a
meaningful way
 UNIV is taught by grad students, not best practice or desirable - why?; least
experienced are teaching the most vulnerable; faculty taught courses would
improve educational continuity and make valuable connections for students
The role of advising has enormous potential (3)
 Advising: inconsistent information based on source/department regarding
courses needed, etc; very little communication in advising, department advisors,
and general ed advisors; 90% of people have some last minute requirement they
were unaware of; once a semester students should visit with a gen ed advisor to
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make sure they're not missing something to avoid a costly, frustrating, time
consuming mistake; good connection is necessary to have a good advising
relationship; need some tool to increase visibility of requirements, etc (single
portal); who is the ultimate arbiter of whether you've completed your
requirements?; learning beyond the classroom- need awareness here: credits for
activities is a good idea, but at the same time make sure people actually
participate and are not just signing in and leaving once they get the credit for
attendance
One on one support helps build student confidence, it is relational, supportive,
helps them discover their strengths
Require a connection with advisors; must be good, accurate, useful to be
valuable; recognize the time demand associated with this
Use a strengths-based approach - EMU students have tremendous savvy (3)
 Acknowledge existing strengths and activities, publicize that to students and
employers
 Co-curricular activities: capture existing strengths and the "grit" of EMU students;
credit bearing to avoid co-curricular transcripts being a burden and to document it
along the way
 Tone of proposal assigns responsibility to students, making it daunting instead of
helpful; ground it instead in the philosophy of serving our students; students have
lots of social aptitude, actually, capture their strengths, who they are, be
respectful of their multiple demands (x2)
Addressing preparedness requires early intervention (2)
 Fast Track should return to spotlighting academic departments before registration
to expose students to the possibilities, especially in general ed; spark interest
and energy; find your niche early; have the opportunity to interact with someone
 Focus on orientation: it should be more academically focused: student affairs is
important but the orientation piece needs to be about college as an end unto
itself (learning to learn), not just getting a job; gear it towards parents as much as
students
Campus life is an important access point for students (2)
 Socialization should be the first year students' access point for involvement and
finding meaning in the academic experience
 Students need more immersion, spend more time on campus during the
weekends
Transfer students have different needs than first-year students (2)
 Focuses on first year vs. transfer (which is the majority of our students)
 Transfers vs. First years: transfers are better prepared, know more about the
difficulties of university life (driving to school, buying books), first years do more
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partying and have more social demands. This is particularly true if you are living
on campus rather than commuting
Miscellaneous (3)
 Ambitious endeavor
 Are we biting off more than we can chew? Should we pick a smaller, focused
target?
 We need to find the right balance between entitlement and empowerment
Student Preparedness: Online Feedback
Faculty
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As a university, particularly with such an important (and historical) role in teacher
preparation, we should be determining why high school graduates in Michigan
are applying to and getting accepted to colleges (most particularly EMU) when
they are underprepared, especially in English and Math, for crying out loud. If a
student can't read with comprehension and retention, can't write literately and
can't do simple math, then how/why are they applying to go to university?
Basic support with writing and communication is not only about investigating the
possibility of remedial classes. Much is contributed by the one to one help
offered by writing consultants and librarians, both in the APC and the University
Writing Center. We have provided help with both the basic speech and English
121 through the APC, and also through directly working with the course
instructors, which is key to student success. Unfortunately, despite the critical
role we play, we have never been able to expand our hours of service, or
regularize new additions like communication consulting, which helped students
with one of the most failed gen ed courses, the basic speech course, due to lack
of funding. This lack of funding remains, even after the Academic Projects Center
was rated as one of top 10 improvements on campus in 2012. It is incredibly
problematic that faculty were not involved in developing these reports, as they
are most familiar with students' academic performance, and the challenges they
face. Additionally, the faculty librarians on campus have provided a key role in
student preparedness to successfully complete college level work, and this is
also missing from these reports.
First, the proposal looks like it was just some random thoughts put on sticky
notes. Where is the research and methodical planning that should occur before
these ideas are thrown around? EMU has suffered for years from the problem of
new administrators coming in and assuming that everything already tried must be
thrown away in favor of quick fixes imposed from above as quickly as possible.
This approach simply repeats the cycle. Second, this proposal ignores many
other student preparedness programs already offered around the campus,
including all the programs offered by Holman, UWC, APC, Library, ESL program,
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and Developmental Math, and probably other non-academic ones I don't know
about (athletics? residential life programs?). Third, EMU should have a
campus-wide discussion of our commitment to developmental, i.e., pre-college
education. We have wavered on this topic over the decades. Some provosts
have argued that community colleges do this best, and that we should focus on
what we do best, which is to teach in our disciplines. If this is the approach, then
we should be working with the CCs to make stronger ties and flows so that our
potential students may be directed to their developmental courses and
encouraged to move smoothly into our college-level courses. If we are going to
move strongly in the direction of supporting pre-college education, then we must
consider how that shift in resources will affect support for graduate programs,
research, etc. - we all know that we can't do everything for everyone. "Strategic"
means making a plan that addresses the entire environment, not just leaping at
one problem at a time, ignoring the affect on everything else.
I'm not sure what is envisioned in reviewing the need for developmental courses,
but in our department we have found it very useful not only to examine various
measurements of the students' math skills prior to their taking a course, but also
to do a detailed analysis comparing student success in our courses to their prior
mathematical preparation. If students have satisfied the math requirements and
still can't succeed in a course that requires their use, then we need to look at
whether we really have given them enough math skills to succeed. I know
some of my colleagues think that a large portion of our student population is
under-prepared. In that regard, I think I have a different perspective in that
during my 2+decades here, I do not think there has been a significant decrease
in the overall preparation of students I am working with. Preparedness includes
both math, reading and writing skills and also developing a healthy attitude
towards studying and a realistic picture of the time it takes to succeed in a
course. I'd speculate that half of the students who do not succeed in my classes
could have succeeded if they had put more time into it. They may not have had
the time available, and that is where they need to learn to be realistic about how
many credits to sign up for.
It's unclear to me whether all students are required to take UNIV 101L, or just
students who might need academic help? I think the recommendations here are
sound. Also, how would "at risk" students be
My work at the university is tightly tied to academic preparedness during the first
year, and the mention in this proposal of assessing the success of "academically
based first-year seminars" leads me to question what this might refer to.
Certainly ongoing assessment is necessary and warranted, but the resources for
assessment are spare. For instance, the First-year Writing Program does not
have any budget for ongoing assessment. The program's new director seems to
be working on this issue, but because assessment has not been well supported
in the past, it may be difficult to establish. The First-year Writing Program is in
certain respects at a disadvantage for the way it is positioned in a large
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department that doesn't always consider its needs a priority relative to the needs
of other programs in the department. The four-year career readiness idea reads
as interesting but also as grandiose. It seems to make such broad sweeps that it
raises (more than answers) questions about the rationale for these focuses in
relationship to career readiness. This section also reads as being at crosspurposes with the proposal on Curriculum Structure and Delivery. Career
preparation is difficult to address in a generalized way detached from the specific
disciplines. Perhaps, though, something could be implemented similar to WAC
(Writing Across the Curriculum). For instance, there could be a Career Focus
(CF) designation that could be attached to at least one upper division (300- or
400-level course) in every major. CF courses would devote time and attention to
career preparation (i.e., considering the genres typical for applications,
assembling portfolios, etc.). Many programs already have courses like this, but
taking a more systematic approach would ensure the emphasis is more clearly in
place across the institution. Yet another consideration would be to look closely at
a required professional writing class that would focus on the kinds of documents
crucial when searching for a job, e.g., cover letters, resumes, etc. EMU already
has a course like this, but its footprint is surprisingly small--much smaller than at
many other universities and, it seems, beneath the view of many academic
programs and the students who would be well served by such a course,
especially when the course is in the hands of someone whose training and
backgrounds accords well with professional writing. At mention of "making a
skill based intervention a mandatory part of the General Education Program," my
first thought is that such an intervention would require much care because of the
potential consequences. That is, if it is mandatory, it could negatively impact
normal progress toward degree. Another important consideration with this line in
the proposal is that skill-based interventions should be customizable (rather than
purchased from a testing company and implemented out of the box, so to speak).
I would like to see EMU gather information from sister institutions where this kind
of thing is in place before moving in this direction. As for reviewing the need for
developmental math and writing, yes, we should review this need. Many
institutions have a required two-course sequence for first-year writing, but EMU
requires just one class, ENGL121. It would be a good idea to consult with a
basic writing exert (i.e., someone who has done research about and also taught
in a program offering basic writing courses) as part of this review. The new
directors of the First-year Writing Program would be good choices for involving in
the refinement of this proposal.
Skills-based placements and crunching the numbers are not going to prepare
students for academic life. Instead, interviewing students and involving them in
the process of preparedness would be much more effective. Skills-based kinds
of evaluations tell us very little about how to best prepare students. Students and
teachers need to be directly involved in this effort.
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Thank you for providing the opportunity to provide feedback about the Degree
Completion & Retention Plan. I've read through all of the proposals and while I
appreciate the general direction proposed within the plan, I have a particular
concern that I would like to share with you. I am concerned that the University
Writing Center (UWC) appears not to be included within the plans to move
forward. I am a faculty member in Biology. Dr. Kristi Judd and I have been
involved with the development and teaching of writing intensive (WI) courses
within Biology (BIO306W and BIO311W). These Biology WI courses co-align with
a number of issues noted in two areas of the Degree Completion & Retention
Plan. Especially noteworthy is that learning outcomes of these BIO-WI courses
directly address a number of the Plan's concerns, and these courses provide
students many opportunities to develop and improve communication and other
soft skills. The UWC has been a valuable partner throughout the development,
iterative improvement, and delivery of these WI courses in Biology (and I am
aware of partnerships between the UWC and other programs). From my
perspective, the UWC plays a central role of great value within the educational
experience of EMU students in many different programs. Additionally, the UWC
aids course/curriculum development by EMU faculty of courses/curricula that can
address issues identified within the Plan. Below, I describe some specific
issues identified within the Degree Completion and Retention plan and provide
information about how the UWC addresses some of the issues (in the context of
the UWC-BIO collaboration): 1) Academic and student preparedness - within
the "Creation of a co-curricular transcript" section, the final sentence reads that
"Students and graduates need strong analytical and writing skills to be successful
in college and in their careers." Writing courses are mandated within Area I
(Effective Communication) of the General Education program, at the Introductory
level (ENGL121) and as a writing intensive course within the major (e.g.,
BIO306W/BIO311W in Biology). The UWC provides invaluable support that is
needed to enable students in these courses (and in other courses, in which
writing is used) to develop and to improve analytical and writing skills. For
example, collaboration between the UWC and BIO faculty who develop and
teach BIO306W/BIO311W (myself, and Kristi Judd) has led to the development
of a series of workshops that focus on information literacy (the ability to identify,
access, and effectively use information), writing and revision strategies, effective
teamwork, and scientific presentation/communication skills. Additionally, one-toone consultations are available to BIO306W/BIO311W students to receive
assistance with particular scientific communication assignments. BIO-UWC
consultants deliver ~20-25 hours per week of these workshops and
consultations, and many BIO306W/BIO311W students benefit from these
services. During the Fall 2012 and Winter 2013 semesters, there were 474
attendances at these UWC-BIO Writing workshops, and an additional 57 student
consultation sessions. Further underscoring the heavy use of these resources, in
BIO306W during the Winter 2013 semester, approximately 76% of the student
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population attended at least one of these workshops, and most students attended
multiple workshops (average of 5 per student). 2) Curriculum structure and
service delivery - within the "Preparing students for transition to the work force:
professional development institute" section, a talent mismatch is noted as
impacting workforce development. Among the top ten skills desired by employers
(according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers) I noticed at
least six such talents that the UWC supports: - verbal communication - ability to
work in teams - ability to plan, organize and prioritize - ability to obtain and
process information - ability to write and edit written reports - sell and influence
others Again, the UWC has been instrumental in supporting writing intensive
courses, such as BIO306W/BIO311W (and in other departments and programs)
that help students develop and hone these valuable skills. Without the UWC,
these support services would be unavailable, causing many BIO306W/BIO311W
students to encounter much more difficulty in these required, core BIO courses,
and thereby negatively impacting retention/persistence of BIO students. As
planning and execution of the Degree Completion and Retention Plan
progresses, I hope that the UWC will have a place at the table and that adequate
resources will be allocated to continue to support the essential efforts of the
UWC. Thank you for considering my concerns.
The four themed-years for career readiness sound like an excellent approach to
providing structure to students' experience during their undergraduate program
and helping them think about (and prepare for) post-graduation.
There is a wide variance in abilities students bring with them to college. I have
observed a general decline in student writing skills over the past several years.
Within the last four to five years student preparedness has dropped to new,
frightening lows. They cannot, and will not, read. They write like middle school
students and they can do very little arithmetic and virtually no mathematics. The
entrance requirement for the Honors Program is a 25 on the ACT, which is
ridiculous -- students in this percentile are just barely able to successfully
complete their freshman year much less graduate. If we continue to accept
students into our programs at EMU who need extensive remedial work then we
need to provide more classes that are not counted toward graduation to prepare
them for collegiate work.
Staff
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I am unsure how students will be prepared to graduate in four years if they arrive
to the university lacking skills necessary for college-level courses, specifically
math. Developmental math courses are sequential and based on the depth of
need, may require numerous semesters of remediation before achieving a level
of being deemed "college-ready". Even more time is required if an upper-level
course is required for their major. Here at Eastern, placement in college-level
math courses depend on scores from the SAT, ACT or a placement test, usually
acquired shortly before enrollment in courses at the university. Further
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exploration of strategies should be undertaken to determine a ideal way to
approach this lack of preparedness in a student's transition from high school to
college or others that require remediation.
I like the idea of a four-year career readiness plan. It will help students move
more quickly to discovering their potential both academically and professionally.
It is proactive and much needed. I wonder whether we can't move career
exploration up in the process. Job shadowing and internships are very useful.
Internships and service learning could start in the second year (or even earlier)
and continue throughout the u.g. period. I like the co-curricular transcript idea,
particularly if it has a good structure and students get the guidance needed.
Readiness for college/university is a K-16 issue. A "graduate in four" initiative
needs to start creating this mentality at the latest in middle school through high
school. Remediation at the college level is too late, setting EMU up for failure.
Michigan needs to require Master's degrees for professional advancement of K12 teachers as is happening across the nation. I agree that UNIV courses should
be required and, for the student enrolled in 15 cr hours UNIV 101 could be "free"
We need to expect more from our students. We need to be able to raise our
standards. Our success as a University may not mean accepting everyone who
knocks on our door and it should not be based on credit hours. Not everyone
belongs here and thatʼs okay! Also- We need a first year experience program
that ALL first year students are required to participate in. We need a sophomore
year experience that all sophomores and transfers participate in.
Students
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Advertising more on these activities would help further, as I am not sure that
many students on campus are aware of them.
Course content should be adapted to give students real-world training
experience.
I do not think that anyone reads that.
I don't think that most students understand the amount of work that's it takes to
succeed and graduate. I have been I several classes where other students
complain about the workload of the class. I have always expected 3-4 hours of
homework per credit hour and some students think that they can sort of walk
through programs
I have not read the student preparedness proposal. This is a fundamental issue
with EMU: you presume students know where to find information and have
proactively read it.
I think a major issue is that EMU is a school for commuters, who may be several
years out of high school, and this plan does not account for adult learners.
Another seeming oversight is that EMU routinely accepts students with belowaverage standardized test scores. I know this because several of my friends
fared poorly on the ACT and were accepted into EMU despite the fact they did
not complete any math classes beyond geometry at their high school. If you are
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accepting students who are underprepared mathematically because of their precollege education, they need to be remediated immediately, and it should not
come as a surprise to the school. The math testing procedures and testing
availability could be made more explicit, and should probably be a requirement of
admission so students can be placed appropriately.
I'm not sure I understand the definition of STUDENT PREPAREDNESS?
This plan does not consider the rights of disabled students nor does it consider
the rights of the individual students who wish to be more prepared in their
education or their chosen occupation. This plan boxes in students in a "nice little
package" that does not consider those who do not fit nicely into this box you have
created. What happens to the student that has to change their major two or more
times? Will the still be able to graduate prepared enough or be able to graduate
at all. I believe the Office of the Provost wasted their time in creating a plan that
should be left in the hands of academic advisors and department advisors. I see
no purpose in this policy and the Provost Office should be ashamed at even
considering this plan.
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Appendix F: Males of Color
Males of Color (Focus Groups): What Works Well
Welcome the University's recognition that better support is needed for men of color (2)
 Acknowledges we need more specific help for MoC
 Awareness is the beginning of change; acknowledging that this issue exists and
making it a priority
Miscellaneous (2)
 Inventory of resources is helpful
 This separates current vs. future needs
Males of Color (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements
Leverage existing resources, assets; tailor to the needs of men of color (9)
 BLACK is offering a program on African-American experience in a "white
educational system": forums and speakers; based on an article "Blacks on
Campus and Pervasive Racism"
 Black staff/faculty organization should be a go-to resource
 Can we expand Holman to include a multicultural academic support
system/office?
 Inventory is inaccurate, needs updating
 Need resources and funding to support student organizations
 Tap the black alumni chapter for local mentoring, event attendance/promotion,
etc
 UNIV should be mandatory for all students
 Use existing networks within organizations (Black Student Organization, etc.) to
get the word out about different resources, activities
 What about the Ombudsman and the new role there? Where do the advocates
reside? Ombudsman is an impartial place to go to review a closed process. How
do we help them during the process? Is this the Dean of Students' role? How
does the Ombudsman help students? We need to revisit this concept.
Engage with and support men of color as early as possible (8)
 Freshman seminar course in UNIV for African-American "campus leaders"; ID
mentors/peer advisors in their first year, optional class offered at Fast Track,
attach an LBC or General Studies credit to the class
 Get more freshmen involved right away, talk to them at the freshmen center
 Keep black men busy to keep them out of trouble: early internships, especially
between freshman and sophomore year
 Offer a freshman seminar course opportunity
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Strengthen the link to middle and high schools (x4), increase exposure to college
experience; it is too late to start when students arrive; fear factor/intimidation
leads to drop outs and "one semester wonders"
We need summer intervention: help students with FAFSA, scholarships,
advocacy
Need mandatory measures to make sure students are supported in general ed
classes and throughout the university
Put something in place to address the black students who are actually failing right
now, not just how to prevent them from getting there
Use good data, best practices to inform the implementation measures we select (7)
 Data needs: are there majors/minors that are particularly successful for people of
color?
 Do a deeper dive on financial aid needs - intersection with advising and decision
making; every required book needs to be at the library; what about book
scholarships?
 Look at gen ed courses where failure rate is so high! What is the root cause?
What formal support is needed here?
 Look at what works, what has helped African-American students graduate in the
past? (x3) Focus on strengths, not failures
 Positive correlation with exposure to African American studies early in academic
career and higher graduation rates; this is not the only avenue; could incorporate
African-American studies into a package for retaining students at risk; incorporate
diversity studies for all students/academic areas, especially business and
technology; there is deep competition about who gets to take these courses
currently
 Talk to IRIM about key attrition points
 Where is the data? How is this retention data calculated? What is the sample
size? Where are the attrition points?
Higher representation of people of color in faculty/staff is sorely needed; adequate
diversity is noticeably lacking (6)
 A PhD is difficult to connect with if I'm trying to learn basic arithmetic in math
97/98 and other similar courses
 EMU hiring process needs to focus on diversity in campus leadership; people
notice; we also need black math professors
 LGBT of color need a safe space - why don't we have a staff person in this
demographic??
 Student Affairs and other retired staff of color need to be replaced with more
diverse staff. Who are my go-to references for students?
 We have very little diversity among faculty and staff - what are the numbers?
Accessibility and presence is important; raise visibility of staff as a resource
 We need more Reggies! Hire people we can connect with.
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Men of color do not feel safe, welcome on campus; negative perception is pervasive
and damaging (6)
 Help African-American males feel welcome: programs and events focused on
uplifting and geared toward African-American males
 Judicial standpoint, it is easier to stay if you know they want you to
 Organizational culture of "guilty until proven innocent"; leadership accountability;
evaluate, assess decisions about rules and regulations; residence hall power;
men of color respond defensively to rules
 Psychological effects of timely warnings need to be examined, they are almost all
allegedly young black males, this reinforces fear and bias on campus
 Students of color have higher suspension rates, they are targeted; their behavior
is misunderstood, there is a false bravado; help conduct/dress at hearings; need
advocacy sooner
 Timely warnings have a problem with perception and require education
Attend to balance between student life (a useful access point, connection for students of
color) and academic demands (challenging) (5)
 Activism and student organization involvement is a huge nexus for students of
color, but does it risk interfering with academics?
 Book requests at the library, all classes should have them available on loan
 Funding for housing and tuition, especially the first two years
 Recommended actions: acknowledge financial barriers; EMU certified resources,
knowing your debt, financial aid package, etc; help access resources (they are
invisible), assets are accidentally discovered
 Students have demand on their time, working and academics (x2); financial
support would eliminate the need to have multiple jobs to survive; what is the
impact on enrollment when financial aid decreases?; evaluate the financial needs
of these students
Create a culture of shared accountability for the academic success of men of color (5)
 Black men entering university: some lack the internal goal of graduation, we need
programs to support goal setting, track progress, and plan: academic advising is
not helpful (x all), they need specific training dedicated to these issues
 Class workshops about accountability; conflict resolution, safe space to talk;
balance between accountability, understanding, and flexibility; guidance
counselor concept
 If we go to college in order to get a job, if I get a job before graduation I'll quit
school; older students can help mentor people in this situation and navigate the
culture shift
 Lack of vision for post-grad identity and place
 Make expectations and academic requirements clear: you have to participate in
class and attendance correlates to academic success
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Reach out directly to men of color to learn from their experiences; design supports that
will be most useful (5)
 Are these suggestions actually useful to students? Look at this from a position
of strength, not a deficit. Multicultural affairs center is a good idea but it has to
come from students' needs
 Can we talk to African-American male grads? Poll them? What about the
black fraternity?
 Do students of color feel safe on campus?
 Focus group with recent grads, or phone interviews: what made you
successful? What would you change? Same thing with drop outs
 Talk to students who dropped out and ask them why
Beware the risks of unintentionally creating a segregated experience (4)
 Consider our veteran population's experience: they did not want block courses,
they didn't want to be singled out (x4). Be sure we are offering things that
students actually want (x2)
 How to incorporate white men into the solution? There is mutual intimidation and
fear, but they have the shared experience of being young and male
 Question: what comprises the block courses? Need to articulate content; watch
the risk of creating a segregated experience
 Student center is "white by day, black by night" according to students
Find the right balance between inclusivity ("students of color") and really addressing the
unique needs of subpopulations ("black men") (4)
 African-Americans are the key demographic, there is no Latino representation on
campus, Asian students are normally successful and have a different
experience/stigma if they are failing
 Don't broaden the term MoC so much that it becomes too diffuse to be
applicable. MoC doesn't equate to "black men"
 How do we define "students of color?"; international students have a different
experience; Latinos vs. black men
 Programmatic and academic focus is needed at DCI or other offices, diversity in
general not just MoC should be addressed
Bold, focused, committed leadership will be required to make significant changes in the
success rate and perception of men of color on campus (3)
 All of these ideas require resources and communication
 Question: how does administration fit into these efforts?
 What is the % goal of student retention? If we give it a number then we can
measure progress and increase attention to and pressure on the issue.
Cultural competency training for faculty/staff is needed (3)
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Faculty and staff need training on working with first generation college students
Need training for staff/faculty to raise awareness of these issues and increase
capacity to serve students. Soft and hard measures are necessary
Raise cultural awareness at the staff/faculty level
Consider EMU's diversity as a strength; would help to visibly celebrate our men of color
(2)
 Graduation ceremonies specific to students of color promote it as a celebratory
event, separate from campus wide graduation
 More visibility/marketing materials for EMU with young black men (not just
Matthews)
Enhance and coordinate existing internal resources and supports (2)
 UPOD program offered a bus for students from Detroit, first semester trial period
had an 89% retention rate. Funded through the McGregor foundation for two
years, now out of funding. How can we keep it going?
 We need better coordination between programs
Formal, informal mentoring is a crucial support; to work well, the mentor needs to be
able to connect with the student from a foundation of shared experience (2)
 Mentoring: need to establish a connection to student to make this useful, they
need to be credible and real (not just advising students because it's their job);
acknowledge "the struggle" of making it through college, mentoring is not just
about academics, it's about life's challenges
 Mentorship helps the academic experience, seeing the path, offering a sense of
community that may be lacking
Miscellaneous (5)
 Theoretically it is a good idea to outreach to communities for student
enrollment, however, if we are enrolling underprepared students it is equal to
predatory lending, this is the institution's responsibility/obligation to manage
 Less theory, more practice, degrees are less important than experience
 Attend to the issues of masculinity and sexuality: false bravado, MoC LGBT
support
 African American males in higher education should be a part of our curriculum
 Need an office building dedicated to students of color, making it centralized,
welcoming, safe, and offering a sense of community
Males of Color: Online Feedback
Faculty
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Good luck with this. It's a problem. All of the attempts haven't done enough
because the problem isn't really in the university, but what happens to these
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students in the 18 years prior. That is a huge tide to turn and the student has to
want to do it and realize that the enormous effort is going to be worth it. And as
with all of these retention efforts, EMU has to find the funds and resources
(skilled personnel) to implement them.
This is one of the best proposals in the set, because it is actually based on some
solid research. The other plans could be much improved by following this model.
I am in support of most of the suggestions here, with a few caveats: 1. let's
please not stigmatize men of color at EMU by creating too many special
programs for them, but work to imagine instead that they might make up part of
the central core of who we are, and consider how we are failing to do this. 2. let's
focus one segment of the excellent "Dialogue EMU" program to encourage
faculty and staff to find a safe environment to face up to their fears and
prejudices regarding men of color. 3. let's expand the faculty seminar, "Teaching
in Context" which addresses the social context from which our students come,
the men of color and also the other students who may come with fears and
expectations that slow their progress and stymy interpersonal relations on
campus in a way that further limits the success of men of color. 4. let's address
and re-address and re-address racism on our campus and in our society over
and over, each semester, in programs, film series, Provosts' conversations, etc.,
so that each semester, each month, it is in our awareness. 5. let's consider
supporting faculty/staff of color too. I really like this program:
http://www.facultydiversity.org/ Could EMU join and make it available to our
people?
Staff
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Greater emphasis should be placed on minimizing financial barriers to success
and degree attainment. EMU should engage in the seeking of funding for men of
color from private foundations and the business community through the creation
of scholarships and grants. There should be a university-wide initiative to hire
more Black/Latino/Native American male faculty to serve as (formal and informal)
mentors from the various departments to create a greater climate of diversity.
We should also reach out to alumni to encourage their active engagement with
the various student social / academic organizations that support men of color.
They can collaborate to develop retention related programming. Work can also
be done with alumni to offer career exploration seminars for men of color which
would allow for interaction with motivating speakers of color.
Wow, that's a lot. If anyone can do this, EMU can. We will need a few more staff
positions to handle a lot of these new initiatives, and perhaps alumni involvement
as mentors. Good luck!
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Students
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Before you can address the problem you need to define Men of Color. Maybe do
a better job on preparing the students for college life. Maybe match a high
achiever with an at risk student in dorm placement?
I think it singles them out unnecessarily and denotes to them a preference not
provided for a minority such as myself.
This would and should be apart of freshman orientation and learning beyond the
classroom. this would be vital to retention and graduation.
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Appendix G: Single Parents
Single Parents (Focus Groups): What Works Well
Child-care support is a huge need (5)
 Acknowledges high/intense challenge of child care costs: grants and
scholarships are not enough
 Child care scholarship program; tuition is already high, getting more funds is a
barrier; this is motivating, and would help students focus on school
 Child care specific financial assistance
 Drop in day care
 Expanded services within the childrenʼs institute; drop in, evening availability (this
is a barrier for evening class attendance)
Support for specific aspects of proposal (4)
 Children's Institute is a good infrastructure
 Community building element/peer supports
 Internships for student coaches/mentors; good fit: cost effective and professional
experience for students
 Keys to degrees (x2); very specific population
Creating a community of peers is valuable (3)
 Mentoring support and student organizations; it is so important to be a part of a
community on campus; one on one relationships are very beneficial
 Mentoring/workshops: providing day care or including kids makes social activities
more realistic/accessible
 Residential plan is a good idea
Miscellaneous (4)
 Addresses a larger problem
 Focus on really helping students succeed
 Stigma/recognition
 Need more info on EMU's single parents (x7)
Single Parents (Focus Groups): Concerns/Suggested Improvements
Connect students with children with needed resources (on- and off-campus) (12)
 Connect students with community and campus resources: dietetics, social work,
health care, public benefits, etc; have a resource list and a contact person to help
navigate it all
 Connect students with public assistance benefits
 Do we offer tutoring, for student parents and for their children?
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EMU's United Way campaign could be used to benefit these students. What
about connecting the Elderquest program to single parents?
Have a community sponsor, like the international students' program; they could
offer emergency babysitting, money, housing
How to market/advertise these services? Low awareness of scholarships, is this
a role for advising?; need to reach single parents, especially commuter students
who may be especially disconnected living off campus
Link students with existing resources: offer transportation to Perry school, they
have a head start program with a social work component and family support and
engagement, this might be more appropriate for some families than the
Childrenʼs Institute
Monthly speakers from community resources at workshops
Provide services for low cost apartment search, food closet, hygiene products,
holiday dinner baskets with cooking classes
Summer incentive program: tailor, expand to single parents as a summer bridge
program with wrap around benefits
There is a high need for more awareness of what help is currently available
Transportation, clothing, basic needs must be addressed
Improved data are needed (6)
 How do we ID single parents?
 How do we ID single parents?; FASFA is the only way to pull a file for info if
someone lists a dependent, not necessarily comprehensive or accurate
 Need data: what is the point of diminishing return? Is 8-10 years to get an
undergrad degree valuable?; six years to graduate with a child is still "timely"; ID
an early warning time for intervention to keep people motivated; what's the
graduation rate for single parents? What is reasonable and desirable regarding
graduation times for them? What about other non-traditional students?
 Need more recent survey data
 Survey students to ask about times of care, terminology, etc
 This proposal is based on old data. Did the recession rebound increase the
number of student moms?
Align internal systems to help support students with children; make resources more
accessible, visible (5)
 Child care grants mean more paperwork which could be another barrier
 Create a campus-wide absence policy if you have a sick child who can't go to
daycare (look at the University of Minnesota's policy)
 Create a single parent resource packet to distribute at registration, orientation,
and family housing
 Do the other straw men proposals contradict these ideas? This needs to be a
cohesive retention plan.
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Engage graduate students and upper level undergrads (x2); faculty/dean are
good contacts; create a capstone course and learn from this population; use
single parents as a research source
Preparedness is a real issue; consider examples from other institutions regarding how
best to support students with children (5)
 "Keys to degrees" still does not address basic understanding of college
experience
 Acknowledge the major challenges of academic preparedness and parenting
skills.
 Engage with youth at an earlier age to begin college prep; what kind of support
systems exist for mothers? Look at AA Tech for data on readiness and
completion; find the right predictive metric, look at EMU schools of social work
and education for data
 These students need openness, kindness, and non-judgmental support. WCC is
a good example
 Washtenaw Middle Tech, Early college alliance - create seamless transitions,
look at these programs for helping young moms
Academic offerings need to be made more accessible for students with children (4)
 Academic advising and course registration need an increase in sensitivity to
single parent students' needs (x4); look at the whole person not just the student
side
 Offer priority registration to single parents, especially for upper level (less
frequently offered) classes
 Online classes could be beneficial for this population, or recorded lectures of
actual classes
 We need to address night/weekend childcare needs: working during the day
means taking classes at night; this also has implications for group project
participation/meeting times
Enthusiasm for, and suggestions regarding, the Family Resource Center (4)
 Family Resource Center could also connect parents to state/federal assistance
and information
 Family Resource center could make advising/mentoring possible, it could be colocated with family housing, child care space, computer room, etc; make a hub
for all non-traditional students
 Single place to go for assistance
 The location of the Family Resource Center is critical; must be on-campus. Who
will manage the interconnection of all services? Parking is also a big issue, you
can't drag kids across campus at all hours/weather
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Financial support to help defray child-care costs is needed; can take different forms (4)
 Can we fund childcare costs for student parents who are interested in
internships? Employers expect students to intern during the summer but those
internships are usually unpaid and therefore out of reach to parents. Could we
access the alumni network to create a scholarship program and/or corporate
sponsorship?
 Child care grant instead of CI with a list of qualified providers (this could be done
in the family resource center)
 Child care trades/barter system
 EMU foundation should sponsor a scholarship for single parents covering tuition
and childcare (x3)
Improve flexibility of options with regard to child-care (4)
 Drop in day care at convenient, short-duration locations (library, study areas);
has to be a variety of times/days; co-op model? (Look at Oregon State's
program); what about a family homework night with tutors for children and EMU
student parents?
 Offer an alternative to the Children's Institute
 Peer support/barter system for child care among single parent students
 Practicum/requirement for early childhood majors/students: volunteer baby sitters
(pre-qualified), portal specific to EMU single parents, held in a safe setting with
appropriate structure
Comments, suggestions relative to the Children's Institute (3)
 Children's institute is too expensive to a lot of students
 Children's Institute: transportation is a barrier; it needs to be on campus or have
a shuttle; there is an 18mo age limit which can be a constraint, we need an infant
program - what if you get pregnant while in school?
 Expand involvement of education students at the child care institute
Many different subpopulations exist within "single parents;" be sure to tailor supports to
specific needs (3)
 Include ALL parents: two parent families have similar barriers; veterans' families
have a non-military parent at home during deployments; what about single dads?
 "Single Parents" is too broad; understand each separate group with different
circumstances and needs: background, preparation, family support; many
different sub populations exist
 There is no one size fits all solution (x7)
Provide enhanced linkages to other supports needed by single parent students (3)
 EMU should run shuttles to get moms to affordable food stores (campus food
stores are too expensive/limited) and to farmers' market
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Evaluate Health Center and services available for uninsured. Collaborate with
Corner Health, RAHS, Snow center?
How do we connect students to these resources? Try using the radio to
advertise.
Attend to terminology (2)
 Change the language: "parenting students" or "students with children" Ask the
students themselves what term they like
 Language and approach of this proposal is a deficit model: maybe these students
are actually more prepared and success driven. Re-frame the issue.
Include mentoring as a component of the plan (2)
 Add a mentorship component: match EMU staff/faculty/alumni/upperclassmen
who have been through similar struggles to current struggling students
 Require and/or encourage mentoring (pay it forward)
Provide residential options geared toward students with children (2)
 Pair residential idea with food distribution; explore co-living environment: pair with
HHS, nutrition students, reading resources, supported living environments. Try
with a small cohort and measure success
 Single parent on-campus housing & co-housing; especially if subsidized; special
programming, supportive environment, empowering, community setting
Miscellaneous (6)
 Attend to balance between institution and personal responsibility
 Donʼt over-extend the university and start a bunch of programs you can't afford to
support/continue
 Will professors treat students differently if they know they are parents?
 Create "survival programs" and deepen relationships with community colleges to
help students prepare for a 4 year degree; pair that with good advising and basic
skills assessments
 Carefully select an advisor for single parent student groups, separate from single
parent academic advisor(s)
 Need parenting classes on how to manage challenges
Single Parents: Online Feedback
Faculty
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Could help. The fact is that single parents are doing too much. If they could take
one class at a time and then build up to two classes some terms and then back
to one during spring and summer, they'd be more successful in the long run, but
it would be a long run. I know that's not practical. Most students -- not just single
parents -- are doing too much. This seems to be a cultural trend and problem
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with our society. We're afraid to be alone or unscheduled for any part of any day
(well, I'm not, but most people seem to be).
Yes!! This is a seriously under recognized need. EMU could be a national
leader here.
Students
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I am not aware of any incentives for single parents. I am a single mom of a
freshman student, and I am also in the graduate program at EMU. I would love
to take advantage of any incentive programs but I don't know what they are.
I think that providing child care and additional grants will help single parents to
not only stay in school but to complete their degree. I myself being a single
parent who dropped out of EMU to take care of my son, I have no resources to
help me stay in school. My son who is 17 years of age now and a senior in high
school, I'm only now able to complete my degree. I struggled academically and
financially once I became a parent.
Masters (graduate level) classes always run into the night, and no childcare
facility is open beyond 6pm. Please offer morning/online and 3-5pm classes as
an option because 8pm is just too late!
My other thought is to have some type of classroom policy in place that supports
parents. I say this because my MA classes, offered only at night, significantly
impacted my parenting schedule. I missed curriculum nights at my children's
school because of needing to be in class. Online classes significantly benefit
single parents, and I hope the university continues to cultivate more of this
learning platform to help this type of student.
Technically I am not a single parent because I raise my child with his biological
father and we are engaged. When we get married, I would not be considered a
single parent. Would parents in my position still receive funding for school and
childcare? I would still have the same needs as a student-parent, but it would
appear to financial aid that I am not a single parent, which it seems by the
language in the initiative is the only group that would receive aid. Could family
housing be included in the initiative for families like mine?
The availability of affordable daycare, especially during public school breaks
would empower single parents to complete degrees necessary to support their
families. Single parents also have significant difficulty attending early and late
classes due to childcare hours. Faculty should be required to keep mandatory
class participation within hours posted at registration. If online courses require
scheduled meetings at evening or weekend times, this should also be clear in the
course registration process. Daycare costs and hours can not be adjusted for
isolated single parents who are probably also working.
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