White Paper on Student Success at UMBC
DRAFT
Text of paper follows this outline of audience/purpose.
“A white paper is an authoritative report. White papers are used to educate customers, collect
leads for a company or help people make decisions. They can also be a government report
outlining policy.”
Audience: Faculty and staff -- this is to be a public, campus-wide document.
Purposes:
 To make accessible the information we have about student success
 To make the case for guaranteed First-Year Experience (FYE)
 To make clear the uses of the matriculation fee funding
 To integrate immediate recommendations from working groups as they relate to FYE
 To acknowledge the existence and importance of student success efforts beyond FYE
 To inspire the campus community to participate in student success efforts
 To name additional student success efforts for future implementation.
Working Groups:
First-Year Experience
Co-Chairs: Phil Rous, Jill Randles
Transfer Students
Co-Chairs: Cynthia Hody, Ken Baron
Sophomore Experience
Co-Chairs: Michele Wolff, Anne Scholl-Fiedler
DRAFT 2/08
The First-Year Experience and Student Success at UMBC
While overwhelmingly capable high-achievers, new UMBC students nonetheless face significant
transition challenges. This is true whether the students arrive directly from high school or with other
college experience.1
As an Honors University in Maryland, UMBC intends to provide a distinctive undergraduate experience
to all students. Through high expectations by faculty and students, intentional small-group intellectual
experiences, and wide-ranging practical supports, UMBC seeks to facilitate a high level of success by
undergraduate students, measured in part by their retention and six-year graduation rate.
Student Success
Undergraduates attend UMBC to grow intellectually and to enhance their professional futures. For most
students, a personal definition of success includes completing their studies and graduating as highly
qualified candidates for employment, graduate school, or professional school. We expect to produce
graduates who know how to learn and carry with them a love of learning. They will be able to read, write,
and present effectively; engage in critical analysis and reasoning; manage their time; work as both leaders
and team members; and continually add to their own knowledge base as well as that of others. Developing
these attributes is also important for a successful undergraduate experience.
The nationally recognized measure of undergraduate student success is the six-year graduation rate, the
portion of first-time, full-time, fall undergraduates who complete their degree within the next six
academic years. There has been a steady increase in the six-year graduation rate at UMBC. Our internal
six-year graduation rate for the Fall 2001 cohort is 58.7%; meaning, of the 1,330 first-time, full-time,
fall freshmen in fall 2001, 781 graduated within six years. This is an increase of 8.4 percentage points
in the six-year graduation rate from the rate for the fall 1995 cohort.2 Our six-year graduation rate,
however, trails that of our peers, aspirational peers, and public research institutions. It is also below the
rate predicted for our mix of students.3
We have experienced a recent dramatic increase in the portion of new students who continue at UMBC
after their first fall and re-enroll for the spring semester, up from 91.9% to 94.2% of the fall freshman
class.4 In addition, UMBC’s one-year retention rate reached a 12-year high at 84.6% in fall 2006. Of
the 1,419 new first-time, full-time, fall freshmen in 2006, 1,200 returned in fall 2007.5 UMBC’s freshman
return the following fall at a rate comparable to institutional and funding peers, but at a rate lower than
aspirational peers and regional competitors.6
The Honors University Experience
The Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) and colleagues across campus are acting on
recommendations of the 2000 Honors University Taskforce, including those related to providing an
honors experience to our undergraduates.7 OUE provides leadership and coordination for university-wide
programs and initiatives designed to help students succeed during their academic journey at UMBc – and
afterwards. The Office works closely with academic and non-academic units as well as student
organizations to foster student success and retention, personal and social responsibility, and the kinds of
learning required for the complexities of the twenty-first century. It is necessarily involved with
developing policy, external relations, curricula, and programs oriented to providing all UMBC
undergraduates an honors experience.
The “Honors University Experience” engages students in the intellectual life of the university and
promotes academic excellence “by combining the traditions of the liberal arts academy, the creative
intensity of the research university, and the social responsibility of the public university” (UMBC Vision
statement). It includes a long-term (at least one semester) intellectual experience inside or outside the
classroom that brings students into close contact with faculty members in small-group settings. The
learning experience and faculty engagement serve to encourage and support the student’s intellectual
growth and academic success. The Honors University Experience, along with general education
requirements, writing intensive courses, and experiences designed for the exploratory years, contributes to
the distinctive undergraduate experience called for in the Strategic Plan for 2016.8
The First-Year Experience (FYE)
Through First-Year Experiences (FYE) we seek to bring an honors university experience to all incoming
students. FYEs are semester-long small-group intellectual experiences. The FYE also provides group
support and aids students with transition issues. It offers a strong foundation for new students, launching
them toward academic success, social engagement, and acquisition of the skills and habits for life-long
learning and professional career development. At present, resource limitations mean that less than 30
percent of new students participate in these structured year-long experiences. The first year,
however, is critical for our students. Nearly half those who leave UMBC do so within the first year.
Of these students, only six percent return to graduate within six years.9
At the time of the Honors University Taskforce report, 72 percent of accredited colleges and universities
provided a new-student success program such as UMBC’s Introduction to an Honors University seminars.
This number has now grown to 95 percent at America’s four-year colleges and universities.10 National
research relating to the impact of first-year seminars on retention indicates that students participating in
these types of experiences have higher retention rates than those who do not.11
The UMBC Office of Institutional Research conducts semester retention analyses for students
participating in First-Year Experiences, controlling for many college and pre-college student
characteristics. Analysis of nearly 10,000 UMBC students entering from 2000 to 2006 showed increased
odds of continuing UMBC for students who participated in any of the three formal FYEs described
below.12
First-Year Seminars (FYS) each feature a senior faculty member teaching a topic for which he or she has
a particular passion to a class of 20 or fewer students. The classes involve intensive reading, writing, and
discourse and prepare new students to engage fully in the intellectual life of the university.
Introduction to an Honors University (IHU) is a one-credit seminar designed to enhance academic skills
while addressing transition issues of incoming students, whether freshmen or transfer students. Class
sessions focus on study skills, library skills, time management, oral presentation experience, academic
integrity, ability to work in diverse teams, leadership experience, and knowledge of campus resources.
Students also identify career interests and future goals as personal motivators for current success. Three
required out-of-class group experiences facilitate student involvement in key areas such as career
identification and development, personal financial management (future offering), service learning, and
artistic, cultural, and athletic events.
Living-Learning Communities (LLC) place students with a shared intellectual passion in one residence
hall where they can pursue their common interests outside of the classroom. LLCs that could function as
FYEs include Exploratory (undeclared) Majors, Intercultural Living, and Women Involved in Learning
and Leadership (WILL).13 Enhanced contact and engagement with faculty members provides guidance
and mentoring to these students.
Summer Bridge is designed to offer incoming students the opportunity to accomplish the transition to
university life during summer before their freshman year. Starting in summer 2008, incoming students
may enroll during the summer session in a typical freshman mathematics or English course and receive
extensive orientation and support outside of the classroom. These students will meet faculty members,
adjust to the intellectual demands, learn their way around campus, and receive the coaching of an IHU
section, all before the official start of their freshman year.
Serving all Students
Deans, members of the UMBC Steering Committee, and Undergraduate Program Directors have helped
to build the consensus that a guaranteed First-Year Experience for all UMBC students is consistent with
our Honors University designation and needed to support student success.
The Guaranteed FYE: All incoming UMBC students will engage in a First-Year Experience.
Students may select the experience that best fits their needs. They may choose from among the
semester-long experiences approved by the Office of Undergraduate Education.
With a large and diverse student body, no one program can address the transition and adjustment issues of
all students. By allowing flexibility in how students complete this requirement we make it possible for
each student to determine what will support his or her UMBC transition, while creating a structure in
which the cost of such programming is shared across departments and divisions.
The elements of a guaranteed FYE already exist. Offerings will be expanded over a four-year period,
allowing time to build FYE markers into the Student Administration module of PeopleSoft, ramp up
resources, communicate policies, and adjust advising practices. The initial focus is to insure that
unaffiliated, full-time freshmen engage in a FYE. Programming will be developed specific to the needs of
transfer students before they are included in the mandate.
The cost of the FYE program is covered by the matriculation fee and, eventually, portions of the
increased tuition revenue. Year-by-year projections for the number of students served and related budget
materials are provided in chart form. In addition to the programs already described, students may be
supported through their UMBC transition through a variety of other FYEs either currently in place or in
the discussion/design phase.
Academic Departments. Certain departments have developed introductory courses that provide a
complete First-Year Experience for students in the major. As the FYE guarantee is phased in, academic
departments will be invited to identify the FYE experience offered to their students.
Academic Learning Communities. An academic learning community enrolls a group of students in a
series of thematically linked classes. The classes build on each other in content and academic demands
while the students form a supportive cohort with study groups and peer support for success.
Athletes. In addition to the mentoring and peer group membership inherent in a Division I sports team,
varsity athletes all participate in PHED 202. This course provides the content of an IHU expanded to
include the special needs and circumstances of student athletes.
Learning Resources Center. The courses LRC 99 (College Reading) and LRC 100 (College Study Skills)
are offered to new students for institutional credit. These courses could provide the cohort experience,
transition assistance, and mentoring expected of a first-year experience.
Scholars Programs. Students in formal scholars programs at UMBC often experience a “built-in” FYE.
These programs include the Center for Women and Information Technology, Honors College, Humanities
Scholars, Linehan Artist Scholars, Meyerhoff Scholars, Sherman Teacher Education Scholars, and
Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars. As the FYE guarantee is phased in, scholars programs will be invited
to identify the FYE experience offered to their students.
Service Learning/Applied Experience. As developing professionals students need the chance to apply
their knowledge to practical situations, whether through internship, laboratory research, community
service, or other connection between classroom learning and professional experience. While students are
more likely to engage in semester-long applied experiences in later years, elements of these experiences
are included in many other FYEs.
Transfer Students. Transfer students have always been welcome in the traditional FYEs and efforts are
underway to include in each experience more elements addressing the specific adjustment needs of
transfer students. New forms of these programs (such as a transfer-student-specific IHU) and new
programs designed for transfer students are envisioned in the full FYE plan. One key element of focus for
transfer students may be addressing their unique career development needs and assisting students with
making the connection between academic learning and how they will make their professional
contributions within the workforce and community.
Fiscal Impact of a Guaranteed First-Year Experience
It costs less to retain existing students than to recruit and enroll new students. Losing students in whom
we have invested recruitment time, orientation, freshman advising, and foundation teaching is expensive.
It is expensive, as well, for the students. Among the more than 40 percent of full-time undergraduates
who leave UMBC short of graduation, many count their leaving as a personal, educational, professional,
and financial loss. It is in everyone’s interest to increase student success and the related retention and
graduation rates.
Given UMBC’s typical first-time, full-time, fall entering cohort of around 1,400, a one percent increase in
the rate of students continuing to year two would be 14 students. These students, if retained at the typical
UMBC rate in future years, would increase overall UMBC enrollment for several semesters. The eventual
graduation of eight more students from the initial cohort would raise the graduation rate by more than half
a percentage point.
The presence of 14 additional students on campus for one to five more years would generate more than
$200,000 in tuition revenue. The success-enhancing first-year experiences, however, have associated
costs, as do the instruction and administrative services related to the 14 additional retained students.14
Assessment
Assessment will begin as soon as the Spring, 2008 semester begins, with a review of semester retention
and grades for those who did and did not participate in FYE. OIR has the protocols in place for ongoing
data gathering and analysis of FYE participants. They evaluate semester retention, year-to-year retention,
and two-, four-, and six-year graduation rates.
Both quantitative and qualitative measures can be applied to the components of the FYE as well as to the
overall program. Examples of existing tools include NSSE, course evaluations, and National Survey of
Living Learning Programs.
Our efforts to assess and improve support of student success have made significant progress recently. By
continuing to focus on “doing the right thing,” and building the infrastructure for student success, UMBC
will increasingly be the place where students successfully complete their undergraduate education.
1
http://www.umbc.edu/oir/retention&graduation%20rates.htm: OIR charts on year-to-year retention and graduation
for incoming freshmen and transfer students.
2
http://www.umbc.edu/oir/Databook%20Retention%20and%20Graduation%20Tables/Retention%20and%20Graduat
ion%20Rates%20of%20FT%20FT%20Freshmen.pdf
3
http://www.umbc.edu/undergrad_ed/retention/Comparative%20Data%20from%20IPEDS%20july%2007%20update
.xls
4
OIR analysis. The chart is not yet available on the web.
5
http://www.umbc.edu/oir/Databook%20Retention%20and%20Graduation%20Tables/Retention%20and%20Graduat
ion%20Rates%20of%20FT%20FT%20Freshmen.pdf
6
http://www.umbc.edu/undergrad_ed/retention/Comparative%20Data%20from%20IPEDS%20july%2007%20update
.xls
7
http://www.umbc.edu/provost/planning/honors.pdf Honors University Taskforce Report
“Establish an honors environment, which in addition to the elements of an honors university experience
involving the first-year experience and a distinctive honors university curriculum, includes:
• access to quality facilities and services, especially advising
• an institutional culture that encourages research
• the cultivation of intellect and character
• diversity
• the active engagement of faculty with undergraduates through teaching, research, service, and
community involvement.”
8
http://www.umbc.edu/provost/frameworkfinal.pdf
9
OIR information from retreat slide show http://umbc.edu/retreat/FinalStudentSuccess_2007.ppt
10
(Barefoot, 2002), full reference to be found in pages 400 – 403 of Pascarella, Ernest T. and Patrick T. Terenzini.
How College Affects Students. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 2005.
11
Schnell and Doetkott, 2003
12
http://www.umbc.edu/oir/Reports/FYE%20Presentation_web_072007.ppt
13
http://www.umbc.edu/reslife/communities/llc.html
14
Retaining one percent more of a fall freshman class…
Portion of
students
retained
after
year…
1%
increase
(a )
70% (b )
(c )
Year
Increment
in number
of students
continuing
to next
year
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
14
10
8
3
1
Total
36
Additional
FTEs this
year (g)
10.5
7.5
6
2.25
0.75
Graduation
Rate
(d)
Increment
in number
of students
graduating
at the end
of the year
34.5%
53.2%
58.7%
Increase
d tuition
revenue
for the
year (e )
5
2
1
$84,000
$60,000
$48,000
$18,000
$6,000
8
$216,000
Assumpti
ons
(a) First-time, full-time fall freshman class of 1,400. One percent of this is 14.
(b) Typically about 70% of fall freshmen remain after year two
(c) We don't have a rate for retention from year three to year four
We can, however, estimate the number based on graduation rates
(d) Graduation rates are those for fall 2001 cohort - the latest available
(e) $6,000 is weighted for in-state and out-of-state and includes typical discount rate
(g) Number of students retained in the prior year x .75 -- assuming retained students take 12 credits per semester