Inaugural Models of Excellence Honorees 3-Tiered Model of Advising Miami Dade College (Fla.) Miami Dade overhauled advising when focus groups revealed the one-size-fits-all system wasn’t meeting students’ academic needs. The new three-tiered model for first-time college students entering directly from high school includes pre-college advisors, first-year advisors, and mentors who cover internship opportunities and workforce readiness. Read the full story. Navigation Advising State Fair Community College (Mo.) State Fair Community College sends staffers from its Navigation Advising program to high schools to discuss how to be a college student. These visits aren’t about recruitment, but a chance to explain the college application process, financial aid and advising, among other topics. Read the full story. Insight App University of San Diego (Calif.) Seeing an opportunity in the overwhelming prevalence of mobile devices on campus, the University of San Diego built Insight, an app that lets students organize coursework, extracurricular activities and personal tasks. Administrators collect data on usage and most popular features, and then correlate that data to academic performance. Read the full story. Academic Recovery Program Southeast Technical Institute (S.D.) Required for students placed on financial aid warning or academic probation for the first time, Southeast Technical Institute’s Academic Recovery Program consists of weekly labs and lectures. Attrition rates have fallen by about 15 percent, and the number of students who have returned to good standing or remained on warning has risen by about 20 percent. Read the full story. Unconquered Scholars Program Florida State University (Fla.) In addition to offering a pathway to college, the Unconquered Scholars Program provides students at Florida State with considerable academic support, life coaching, financial aid assistance, mental health counseling and volunteer opportunities. Since Unconquered Scholars was established, more than 90 percent of its students have been retained, with an average GPA of 3.01. Read the full story. Dual Degree Program Governors State University (Ill.) Research shows that students who earn associate’s degrees by attending two-year schools full-time earn their bachelor’s degrees at much higher rates. Full-time attendance is therefore a requirement of Governors State’s Dual Degree Program, a partnership with 17 community colleges in which advisors help community college students complete both degrees. Read the full story. 49er Finish UNC Charlotte (N.C.) Generating $400,000 in additional annual revenue, UNC Charlotte’s 49er Finish Program brings back stopouts who left in their senior year without getting a degree. Research defining stopouts’ typical barriers to graduation has been translated into personalized marketing materials, enabling the recruitment 850 of the 3,000 students contacted during the past 10 years. Read the full story. Exploration Plan Kent State University (Ohio) When data revealed that undecided students were less likely to graduate from Kent State University, leaders required all students to enroll in a degree-granting program by the time they had received 45 credit hours. As a result, the retention rate increased to 75 percent, and students declaring a major by the time they acquired 45 credit hours increased to 83 percent. Read the full story. Chart the Course Georgian Court University (N.J.) Georgian Court University administrators began offering free, three-credit courses during winter or summer breaks when they realized only a third of first-time freshmen were earning 30 credits their first year—a strong indicator of success. The retention rate for the 43 students in the trial program was 86 percent, which exceeds the university’s overall rate of 78 percent. Read the full story. Internship Program Endicott College (Mass.) Endicott College students must complete three internships. The college supports the students before, during and after those internships with initiatives designed to make the experience rewarding for students and employers. In 2014, the overall career outcome rate for Endicott’s May graduates was 99 percent, versus the national average of 80 percent. Read the full story. Peer Jacks Mentoring Program Northern Arizona University (Ariz.) To improve the chances that out-of-state, first-year students will return for a second year, officials at Northern Arizona created the Peer Jacks Mentoring program. About 700 students a year receive one-on-one mentoring from upperclassmen who also participated in the program. For 2013-14, retention rose 5 percent and participants had an average GPA that was .09 points higher. Read the full story. Student Development Outcomes for Student Employees University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (Minn.) The University of Minnesota offers the 5,000 students who work on campus additional skills to master while on the job. Focusing on seven development outcomes, students learn how to work with others effectively and other skills that will translate to any type of career. A 2014 survey found that student employees, compared to the rest of the university, scored up to 26 percent higher on all seven of the outcomes. Read the full story. WellsLink Leadership Program Syracuse University (N.Y.) Students of color don’t always qualify for Syracuse’s many academic success programs. The WellsLink Leadership Program is increasing retention by connecting these students with each other and to university resources through social, educational and motivational seminars and events. These students are further supported by peer leaders backed by academic consultants and university staff. Read the full story. Online Writing Lab (OWL) Excelsior College (N.Y.) Recognizing the importance of writing to professional success, Excelsior College leaders created The Online Writing Lab, which is available to students 24/7, at no cost. An independent study says students who used the lab scored an average 6.6 points higher on final grades. The lab has also replaced costly English 101 textbooks, saving students more than $150,000 a year. Read the full story. UMass Lowell 2020 University of Massachusetts Lowell (Mass.) When UMass Lowell found that retention and graduation rates for first-year undergraduate students were below national averages, university leaders created living and learning communities for students with common interests and affiliations. Eighty-four percent of students in these communities returned for a second year and graduation rates are now up 11 percent. Read the full story. LIFE (Learning, Improvement, Fun and Empowerment) NorthWest Arkansas Community College (Ark.) Recognizing that a significant percentage of Hispanic students from outside the area had little experience with higher education, NorthWest Arkansas Community College developed the LIFE Program to connect minority and underserved high school students with mentors from similar backgrounds. Of the 125 students who participated last summer, 123 planned to enroll at NorthWest Arkansas. Read the full story. The College Experience St. Petersburg College (Fla.) Aiming to increase the percentage of students completing core courses, St. Petersburg College’s “The College Experience” program focuses on five key areas known to impact success: academic support, integrated career and academic advising, early alerts, custom learning plans, and student orientation. In the first two years of the program, overall success rates rose more than 5 percent. Read the full story. This e-mail was sent to: [EMAIL]. One Click Unsubscribe | Manage My Subscriptions [COPYRIGHT] 35 Nutmeg Drive Suite 205, Trumbull, CT, 06611