Coyote First STEP
California State University, San Bernardino (Calif.)
California State University, San Bernardino, developed a three-week summer program for incoming freshman needing extra help in math. As a result, 92 percent of students in the program jumped a level in math. Encouraged by that success, this summer the university is rolling out Coyote First Student Transition Enhancement Program, a program that requires all incoming freshmen with remedial math needs to live in on-campus for a month, receive math and English instruction, and participate in co-curricular programming meant to increase their chances of graduating on time. Read the full story.
Drop Rate Improvement Program
Odessa College (Texas)
Built around four best practices to decrease the dropout rate, The Drop Rate Improvement Program at Odessa College encourages faculty to learn students are by name, intervene when a student struggles, spend time getting to know each student, and provide a clear syllabus at the start of the course explaining exactly what students are expected to do and when. Some instructors had one in three students who had dropped their classes the previous semester, but after applying these four principles less than one in 20 would drop. Read the full story.
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Sam Houston Establishing Leadership In and Through Education
Sam Houston State University (Texas)
Graduation rates for African-American males and Hispanic males at Sam Houston State University were only slightly better than the national and state averages. So the university launched SH ELITE to close this achievement gap. Participants meet weekly in small groups run by peer mentors and cover such topics as study skills, resource management and networking. The program also includes guest speakers and social events. As a result, the university is engaging at-risk students as soon as they’re on campus. Read the full story.
Scholarship Universe
The University of Arizona (Ariz.)
To provide students with a financial-aid boost, The University of Arizona developed a database to match students with private scholarships for which they were eligible. Over the years, Scholarship Universe helped University of Arizona students earn more than $2.4 million in private scholarships this academic year, up from more than $2.3 million last year. The system also offers access to an additional $4 million in guaranteed internal awards. Page views are up, bounce rates are down and the site was recently redesigned to provide more content and greater usability for students. Read the full story.
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Passport to Success
Culver-Stockton College (Mo.)
Three years ago, Culver-Stockton College wanted to something new and unique to improve its freshman-to-sophomore retention rate, which was at 65 percent. A part of the First Year Experience course at Culver-Stockton College, The Passport to Success program requires freshmen to participate in several on-campus activities, such an academic lecture or fine arts event. Since the program’s implementation, the college has seen its freshman-to-sophomore retention rate increase by 11 percent. Read the full story.
Actionable Intelligence
Valdosta State University (Ga.)
In order to identify students at risk of not graduating, Valdosta State University created the Valdosta Student Portal, which can help students find support services more quickly. Similarly, faculty are provided with risk metrics indicating who is more likely to struggle. If a student does poorly on a test or skips class, the system alerts that student’s on-campus support system, including their adviser, the Student Success Center, the resident hall director and—if the student plays a sport— the athletic coordinator. Read the full story.
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