Using Benchmarking Data to Improvement Student Retention: What One College Did With The National Community College Benchmarking Project Data Terri M. Manning, Ed.D. Brad Bostian Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte, NC Withdrawals Have Been a Problem For years the College has believed that when it came to withdrawals, we weren’t that different from the national average”… but – there was no national average. When other colleges were contacted, withdrawals were not measured consistently which made it impossible to compare. When we were invited to join the pilot group for the Benchmarking study, I was a strong supporter for comparing withdrawal rates. Different Definitions Withdrawal rates based on registration would look at the total number withdraws based on the total number of grades given (A,B,C,D,F,I,W). If one student takes four courses and withdraws from one course she was retained in 75% of her courses. Withdrawal rates based on headcount would look at the number of students who withdraw from all their courses and completely exit the college. If a college has 25,000 students and 2,500 withdraw from all their courses and exit the college, they have an 90% retention rate. Many colleges are studying this 2nd group to determine what their “trigger” courses are… what courses were these students taking that term when they dropped all their courses and left the college… especially those who never come back. CPCC Students Who Withdraw from All Their Classes and Exited the College Total Headcount 25,000 Total Withdrawing All Together (all classes) 20,000 16,933 15,848 17,052 16,215 15,000 10,000 (14.6%) 5,000 2,306 (14.4%) 2,446 (14.6%) 2,368 (14.2%) 2,415 0 Spring 2003 Fall 2003 * Based on Unduplicated Headcount Spring 2004 Fall 2004 CPCC Registrations and Withdrawals Based on Grades for Courses Total Registrations Total Ws 55,000 45,710 45,000 47,062 43,084 41,675 35,000 25,000 (22.1%) 15,000 9,214 (21.9%) 10,028 (22.4%) 9,631 (22%) 10,374 5,000 -5,000 Spring 2003 Fall 2003 * Based on Total Registrations (seats) Spring 2004 Fall 2004 Issues with Student Withdrawals Community College’s Withdrawal Policies Usually more liberal than the university and can impact transfer success Facilitates an A,B,C, I, W culture (we had this grading scale until Fall 1990 – no Ds or Fs) Students don’t commit early – a “wait and see” philosophy Impacts retention rates, graduation rates and impacted by “cheap” tuition Impacted by systemic change (quarters to semesters, etc.) Is impacted by the culture (faculty, advisor and student attitudes and behaviors) CPCC Transfer Students at UNCC in 2000 (N=3,446) Grades at CPCC at UNCC A 3,708 (26.4%) 13,936 (22.8%) B 2,573 (18.3%) 16,000 (26.2%) C 1,435 (10.2%) 11,920 (19.5%) percent A-C 54.9% 68.5% _______________________________________________ D 340 (2.4%) 4,797 (7.9%) F 686 (4.9%) 6,722 (11.0%) Withdraw 4,357 (31%) 6,117 (10%) Do Withdrawals Really Impact Transfer Students? “..if 20% or more of all grades received (by community college students) were withdrawals and repeats, the probability of transfer decreases by 38.7%.” Sources: Moving Into Town and Moving On: The Community College in the Lives of Traditional-age Students, U.S. Department of Education, 2005, p. 85. Withdrawal Pattern from One Term Of the 39,946 Class Registrations 12000 10,459 10000 9,019 (26.2%) 8000 6,088 6000 4000 2,974 1,506 2000 1,026 95 0 end of drop/add census point week 4 week 8 week 12 week 16 final grades Withdrawal Rates at the College by Percent of College Level Courses 50,000 43,569 45,000 37,132 40,000 38,411 45,710 47,062 41,653 37,210 35,000 30,000 33,933 Total Registrations Total Withdrawals 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 35.4% 12,019 26.1% 9,704 27.5% 10,222 27.2% 10,459 23.4% 22.8% 21.9% 22% 9,726 10,028 10,374 9,919 5,000 0 Fall 97 Fall 98 Fall 99 Fall 00 Fall 01 Fall 02 Fall 03 Fall 04 A look at One Student Jane Doe (not her real name) entered CPCC in the Fall 2000. She had the following Accu-placer College Placement Test Scores: Test Score Placed Sentence Skills (Eng) 92 ENG 111 Reading (comprehension and vocabulary) 90 None (cut 79) Math Arithmetic 59 Algebra 50 MAT 060 HISTORY FILE DISPLAY S.S.NUM 000000000 TERM/YR JANE ANN DOE (this is a real student record) TRM COURSE TITLE FAL 00 RED090 IMPROVED COLL READ FAL 00 GEL120 PHYSICAL GEOLOGY FAL 00 HIS111 WORLD CIVIL I FAL 00 MAT070 INTRO ALGEBRA FAL 00 PSY150 GENERAL PSYC FALL 2000 TERM GPA: 1.27 HRS GRADE 4.0 C 4.0 F 3.0 C 4.0 W 3.0 W DATE PROGCODE 12/18/00 T90990 12/18/00 T90990 12/18/00 T90990 12/18/00 T90990 12/18/00 T90990 TRM COURSE TITLE SPR 01 MAT070 INTRO ALGEBRA SPR 01 MAT080 INTERMED ALGEBRA SPR 01 MAT080 INTERMED ALGEBRA SPR 01 SPA181 SPANISH LAB 1 SPR 01 ENG111 EXPOSITORY WRITING SPR 01 HIS112 WORLD CIVIL II SPR 01 SPA111 ELEM SPANISH I SPR 01 SOC210 INTRO TO SOCIOLOGY SPRING 2001 TERM GPA: 2.54 HRS GRADE 4.0 B 4.0 DRP 4.0 DRP 1.0 W 3.0 B 3.0 C 3.0 W 3.0 C DATE PROGCODE 03/13/01 T90990 01/03/01 T90990 03/07/01 T90990 05/08/01 T90990 05/08/01 T90990 05/08/01 T90990 05/08/01 T90990 05/08/01 T90990 TRM COURSE TITLE HRS GRADE SUM 01 MAT080 INTERMED ALGEBRA 4.0 B SUM 01 ENG113 LIT-BASED RESEARCH 3.0 C SUM 2001 TERM GPA: 2.57 DATE PROGCODE 07/03/01 T90990 07/31/01 T90990 TRM COURSE TITLE FAL 01 MAT161 COLL. ALG. FAL 01 REL211 INTRO TO OLD TEST FAL 01 SPA111 ELEM SPANISH I FAL 01 SPA181 SPANISH LAB 1 FAL 01 MUS110 MUSIC APPREC FAL 01 GEL120 PHYSICAL GEOLOGY FAL2001 TERM GPA: 2.40 HRS GRADE 3.0 W 3.0 C 3.0 B 1.0 B 3.0 C 4.0 W DATE PROGCODE 12/18/01 T90990 12/18/01 T90990 12/18/01 T90990 12/18/01 T90990 12/18/01 T90990 12/18/01 T90990 TRM COURSE TITLE SPR 02 ENG231 AMERICAN LIT I SPR 02 PSY150 GENERAL PSYC SPR 02 SPA182 SPANISH LAB 2 SPR 02 SPA112 ELEM SPANISH II SPR 02 COM231 PUBLIC SPEAKING SPR 02 MAT161 COLL. ALG. SPR2002 TERM GPA: 0.90 HRS GRADE 3.0 W 3.0 C 1.0 I/F 3.0 I/F 3.0 D 3.0 W DATE PROGCODE 05/15/02 T90990 05/15/02 T90990 01/31/03 T90990 01/31/03 T90990 05/15/02 T90990 05/15/02 T90990 TRM COURSE TITLE SUM 02 BIO110 PRINC OF BIOLOGY SUM 02 MAT161 COLL. ALG. HRS 4.0 3.0 TRM COURSE TITLE FAL 02 SPA112 ELEM SPANISH II FAL 02 SPA182 SPANISH LAB 2 FAL 02 ENG241 BRITISH LIT I FAL 02 PSY281 ABNORMAL PSYC FAL 02 HUM211 HUM I FAL 02 MAT140 SURVEY OF MATH FAL 02 CIS110 INTRO TO COMPUTERS FAL 02 COM231 PUBLIC SPEAKING FALL 02 ACADEMIC INTERVENTION HRS GRADE DATE PROGCODE 3.0 W 11/18/02 A10100 1.0 W 11/18/02 A10100 3.0 W 12/18/02 A10100 3.0 W 12/18/02 A10100 3.0 W 12/18/02 A10100 3.0 F 12/18/02 A10100 3.0 W 12/18/02 A10100 3.0 W 12/18/02 A10100 FALL 02 TERM GPA: 0.00 TRM COURSE TITLE HRS SPR 03 MAT140 SURVEY OF MATH 3.0 SPR 03 PED122 YOGA I 1.0 SPR 03 COM231 PUBLIC SPEAKING 3.0 SPR 03 SPA182 SPANISH LAB 2 1.0 SPR 03 SPA112 ELEM SPANISH II 3.0 SPR 03 PSY281 ABNORMAL PSYC 3.0 SPRING 2003 ACADEMIC INTERVENTION GRADE DATE PROGCODE W 07/29/02 A10100 W 07/29/02 A10100 GRADE W W W W W W DATE PROGCODE 05/19/03 A10100 05/19/03 A10100 05/19/03 A10100 05/19/03 A10100 05/19/03 A10100 05/19/03 A10100 TRM COURSE TITLE FAL 03 BIO110 PRINCIPLES OF BIOL FAL 03 COM110 INTRO TO COMMUN FAL 03 SOC213 SOC OF THE FAMILY FAL 03 ENG242 BRITISH LIT II FAL 03 CJC112 CRIMINOLOGY FALL 03 ACADEMIC SUSPENSION HRS GRADE DATE PROGCODE 4.0 W 11/16/03 A10100 3.0 W 11/16/03 A10100 3.0 W 11/16/03 A10100 3.0 B 12/15/03 A10100 3.0 DRP 07/31/03 A10100 FALL 2003 TERM GPA: 3.00 TRM COURSE TITLE SPR 04 CHM121 FOUND. OF CHEM SPR 04 CIS110 INTRO TO COMPUT SPR 04 CHM121A CHEM LAB SPR 04 MAT140 SURVEY OF MATH SPR 04 COM120 INTERPERS COMMUN SPRING 2004 ACADEMIC INTERVENTION HRS 3.0 3.0 1.0 3.0 3.0 GRADE W W W W W TRM COURSE TITLE SUM 04 BIO110 PRINCIPLES OF BIOL SUMMER 2004 TERM GPA: 3.00 HRS 4.0 GRADE DATE PROGCODE B 07/20/04 A10100 DATE PROGCODE 02/19/04 A10100 04/01/04 A10100 02/19/04 A10100 04/12/04 A10100 04/12/04 A10100 TRM COURSE TITLE FAL 04 PSY241 DEVEL PSYCHOLOGY FAL 04 GEL120 PHYSICAL GEOLOGY FAL 04 SOC213 SOC OF THE FAMILY FAL 04 PSY281 ABNOR PSYCHOLOGY FALL 2004 TERM GPA: 2.92 HRS 3.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 GRADE B C A B DATE PROGCODE 12/09/04 A10100 12/10/04 A10100 12/13/04 A10100 12/12/04 A10100 •This Student Enrolled in 58 courses in approximately four years. •She completed 20 (35.5%) of them with grades of A-D. •She flunked or withdrew from 38 (64.5%) courses. •She was allowed to change majors from undecided to the college transfer program code of Associate in Arts in the summer of 2002. •She was placed on academic probation/intervention four times and immediately allowed to reenroll the next term in a full load of classes. Then Along Came the NCCBP We decided to look at withdrawal rates as a percentage of: The grades in all college-level courses The grades in remedial courses The grades in certain college level courses (English Comp I & II, Speech and College Algebra) We all submitted our data and guess where CPCC was in the mix??? Data from the NCCBP Pilot Year –Grade Distribution for College Level Courses A B C D F Min. 26% 18% 6% 1% 2% Med. 33.4% 23.3% 13.9% 4% 4.9% Max. 45% 27% 17% 8% 15% CPCC 26.1% 21.1% 12.7% 3.5% 6.7% W 1% 16.2% 29.9% 29.9% Definitions were slightly changed the next year. Response of the College We were appalled We decided to study the subject and Do a pilot intervention project The English, Reading and Humanities Division volunteered to facilitate the project within their courses with their fulltime instructors Brad Bostian volunteered to lead the initiative The group began meeting in Fall 2004 The Intervention In the Spring of 2005 11 courses were selected by faculty participating in the study 11 control sections were carefully matched based on time of day, location and course title Faculty volunteers discussed elements of the intervention and agreed upon the following standards The Intervention Students must sign a release form Students in the selected sections would have “holds” put on their records - not allowing them to withdraw from pilot courses during Spring 05 without instructor permission If a student wanted to withdraw, the faculty attempted to work with them to keep them in the class as long as possible (offering assistance and additional help) Faculty agreed to do the following as part of regular classroom activities: The Intervention First Day Strategies: Provide a class orientation on the first day of class Student Info Sheets Documents, resources to assist with their success (writing center, tutors, librarians, etc.) A realistic discussion of the value of the skills to be learned in the course A syllabus with assignments and policies discussed A positive statement of your teaching philosophy and you belief in the student’s ultimate success in the course The Intervention Mini-communities Groups of 3-5 students who trade contact information, contact each other when someone is absent. Use these groups for peer-editing and group assignments and activities. Conferences Conference with each student in your office at least twice per term to discuss needs and progress. In between - provided continuous feedback about their progress. Contacting missing students Contact those who miss two consecutive class periods (besides the mini-communities) The Intervention Welcome back and reintegrate students who have been absent Treat tardies and early departures as absences – have an attendance policy Positive teaching Try to involve every student every week Structure assignments to ensure continual student success (quizzes to make them keep up, rewrite until it is excellent, etc.) Active Authentic Assignments Assignments where they learn by doing, work that reflects the real world What Happened? By the 16 week of the term (end of term but before grades were turned in): The Control Group The Intervention Group Entire Division Withdrawals for English Classes 7-W 46 15.0% 21 7.1% 977 13.60% 8 - Blank 209 68.3% 217 73.3% 4804 66.70% 9 - Drop 51 16.7% 58 19.6% 1087 15.10% Total 306 296 7207 Did it Impact Their Other Classes? The Control Group The Intervention Group Withdrawals from all their classes 1-A 6 0.40% 5 0.40% 2-B 4 0.30% 13 0.90% 3-C 5 0.30% 7 0.50% 4-D 1 0.10% 1 0.10% 5-F 3 0.20% 6 0.40% 7-W 232 15.40% 154 11.00% 8 - Blank 950 63.00% 947 67.60% 9 - Drop 307 20.40% 268 19.10% Total 1508 1401 Once Grades Were In….. English, Classes Unsuccessful Completions Control Group Intervention Group A 66 25.9% 58 24.4% B 73 28.6% 78 32.8% C 31 12.2% 32 13.4% D 2 .8% 5 2.1% F 17 6.7% 31 13.0% I 3 1.2% 0 0% W 63 24.7% 34 14.3% F, I, W 83 32.6% 65 27.3% There were 5.3% fewer W’s, I’s and F’s in the Intervention Group when compared to the Control Group What About “Walk-Aways?” Students Who Withdrew From All Classes - Spring 2005 Control Intervention Total Total in cohort 300 287 587 # who withdrew 30 21 51 % who withdrew 10.0% 7.3% 8.7% There were 2.7% fewer “walk-aways” in the intervention group as compared to the control group. Lessons Learned The Intervention strategies worked. If we could decrease W’s, I’s and F’s by 5.3% across the College, there would be approximately 2,450 additional successful completions per term. If we could reduce “walk-aways” by 2.7%, there would be 65 more students complete each term. We need to study and address “walk-aways.” Recommendations Policies Support Instruction Policies Earlier withdrawal deadlines Instructor permission required -orSet two W-methods, one early date for most W’s, with later withdrawals requiring instructor permission Recommendations (continued) Support Make support more systematic Advisement for all students, not just those in programs Interventions for perpetual W, F’s & Drops Better training and technology for faculty advisors If necessary hire more staff Recommendations (continued) Instruction Change faculty/administrative culture Understand need for educating all students See the successes that exist Use aggregate AND individual instructor and student data to measure outcomes Train faculty to teach differently Keep our instructors learning Ranges of Drops and Withdrawals – 2002-04 English, Reading & Humanities Best Worst Range W’s By Instructor 11% 29% 18% Drops By Instructor 3% 12% 9% Success By Instructor 76% 45% 31% Success Rates By Campus 69% (Cato) 61% (West) Success Rates By Course 77% 47% (REL 212) (HUM 160) 49% 8% (Virtual) 30% 20% One Instructor’s Learning Curve 90% 80% Successful Completions 70% 60% 84.0% 65.7% 65.1% 60.3% 56.9% 49.0% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Spring 2002 Fall 2002 Spring 2003 Successful Completions = A-C Grades Fall 2003 Spring 2004 Fall 2004 Different Instruction Engage students on the first day Meaningful, interesting, active work Use mostly active learning Let students seek and discover Force success Guide them through the steps like a coach Create a classroom community Collaborative learning, conferences, positive communication, involving every student For A Copy of This Presentation: http://www.cpcc.edu/planning Click on studies and reports Withdrawal pilot presentation