Next Practices Civitas Learning

Today, we are joined by Dr. Steve Wilkerson and Dr. Tammy Wyatt of the University of Texas San Antonio. Dr. Wilkerson is the Associate Vice President and Chief Analytics Officer, and Dr. Wyatt is Vice Provost for Student Success. You can catch an earlier conversation with Dr. Wyatt in Episode 5. 
 
Today we’re talking about how the UTSA Student Success Team works closely together with Institutional Research to improve student outcomes. We talk about how they’ve deconstructed silos, how IR works together with campus partners to support proactive student success, and how regular evaluation of their student success initiatives allows the UTSA team to be responsive rather than reactive to student needs. 
 
Show Notes: [2:35] - Dr. Wilkerson and Dr. Wyatt share their background and current roles at UTSA.
[5:16] - Dr. Wyatt describes the way the Student Success team is structured at UTSA and the programs they offer.
[8:04] - As they saw continued success, the work became more refined. It’s less about the what and more about the how now.
[10:11] - When something is in place, things tend to plateau, but small gains add up.
[12:50] - What has driven Dr. Wilkerson is access to data and asking the right questions.
[14:37] - What does it look like to integrate and partner with IR?
[17:39] - All programs have been analyzed by the Impact tool in Civitas. This has helped UTSA be more efficient.
[19:14] - Conversations go now much differently from how things were a few years ago.
[21:03] - This helped the institution to deconstruct silos.
[22:19] - Supporting students from start to finish is the goal for everyone on campus.
[23:45] - How can we support sustainable student success?
[25:04] - Faculty has appreciated the data that shows how their support is a part of student success.
[27:47] - The data gives the information needed to decide how to approach student success.
[28:33] - Learn what Impact Analysis in Civitas Learning does.
[31:15] - Dr. Wilkerson shares what he likes about the tool and the benefits it has brought to the team.
[33:43] - They started working with IR around the start of Covid-19. It might be time to reassess and see the differences over time.
[36:01] - The data shows points that may be surprising and helps you understand the why.
[39:02] - How do we drive in the students that need help and aren’t coming?
[42:10] - We can reflect on our own educational journey and think of moments that changed our trajectory.
[44:33] - Most institutions are doing a lot of what, but are they really thinking about how?
 
Links and Resources: UTSA Achieves 16% Retention Lift with Data-Activated Student Support Ecosystem
Build a Data-Activated Campus Culture with Dr. Tammy Wyatt
Civitas Learning Student Impact Platform
 

Today on the show, I’m talking with Dr. Marissa Vernon White, Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Services at Lorain County Community College.
We begin by discussing Lorain County Community College’s use of data-informed collaboration and case management to understand the needs of its students and the broader community. We also talk about how they established data-informed practice not only across their leadership teams but at all levels of the institution, including departments and even individual advisors. 
One myth debunked in our conversation is that you need one platform to do everything. Instead, we explore why it's important to strategically connect all your systems, like student success analytics, case management systems, and student-centered scheduling to reduce tasks and make more room for developing students. 
Dr. Vernon White also shows how using student success analytics has allowed her team to deliver proactive and personalized support at a scale dramatically changing and shaping student outcomes. 
 
Show Notes: [3:01] - Dr. White shares her background and current role at Lorain County Community College.
[4:36] - There’s a difference between being a community college and being the community’s college.
[5:56] - LCCC has always strived to be student-centered, and the first priority is to know who their students are.
[6:52] - For them, it is important to have a rich data culture so they can zero in on the students they serve at a student-ready college.
[8:37] - From a data perspective, LCCC has gotten very sophisticated in its use of data and what they prioritize to lean into.
[10:24] - Student success has been a journey at LCCC, and Dr. Vernon White shares their experience and how they use data to generate dialogue.
[12:05] - Their Enrollment Planning Council at LCCC is using enrollment and persistence data generated by Civitas Learning to have conversations with students.
[13:24] - Data helps direct advisors to the students who need them the most and can help move the needle forward. Data helps shape the action.
[16:05] - What strategies at LCCC are the ones that are moving the needle forward?
[17:41] - Empowering everyone with the information, advisors can reach students in their own unique style to boost the student experience.
[19:41] - Having the macro picture can actually help bring it down to a micro level.
[22:48] - What are the tools and systems used at LCCC that make this work possible?
[24:11] - Your systems need to support your action.
[26:40] - Technology has evolved, and the systems available can make more time for the human to human conversations and guidance.
[28:32] - Another benefit to these systems is improved data literacy among faculty.
[30:19] - More things pop up in data, but keep the focus on the transformational pieces that drive action.
 
Links and Resources: Civitas Learning Student Impact Platform
How Lorain County Community College Uses Analytics to Reach Persistence and Graduation Goals
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In this episode, I’m talking with Allison Chase Padula, Assistant Provost for Student Success at Roger Williams University. Roger Williams University is a liberal arts college in Bristol, Rhode Island. 
We discuss how this liberal arts institution navigates the enrollment cliff, mental health crisis, and enduring impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. We also talk about their transition from a faculty advising model to a first-year professional advising model and how student success analytics and intelligent case management software enable faculty and staff to deliver proactive student support.
Their innovative approach ensures that all students are successful while also ensuring faculty aren't stretched too thin. To do this, faculty and professional advisors use actionable analytics to provide proactive support and create an environment where all students can be successful.
 
Show Notes: [2:10] - Allison shares her background in higher education and her current role at Roger Williams University. [3:47] - Roger Williams University is a Liberal Arts institution, but it offers something unique. [4:55] - There are demographic changes on the horizon, and they are trying to plan for it. [6:27] - The pandemic left institutions with many big questions. [8:02] - At about the same time as the pandemic, Roger Williams was working on their vision and strategic planning. [9:55] - Student success is a key component of their strategic planning and is prominent in their vision. [11:01] - Allison shares how each component in the strategic planning has aligned many other initiatives that are making a difference. [12:14] - Allison describes some of the services they offer for first-year students and the extra support they need. [13:39] - At Roger Williams, they offer seminars that help explain things to first-year students, and they have moved to a first-year professional advising model. [14:57] - Civitas gives staff the tools needed to advise these first-year students best. [16:27] - After their first year, students move to a different advisor that gives them the preparation for their later years in the institution and what comes next. [17:49] - Change management presents challenges but also opportunities. [19:00] - There is a lot of change happening at the same time at Roger Williams. It’s important to know how people react to change. [20:52] - With the new advising model for first-year students, advisors get the time and space to really connect with their students. [22:54] - What are the challenges in higher education that we don’t always do a good job of communicating? [25:00] - Proactively supporting students at scale can be tricky. Data is an important piece that helps. [27:38] - Allison shares the experience of showing faculty and staff how to use the Civitas learning tools that will change the way they reach students. [30:21] - Early outreach makes all the difference. [31:36] - How do we make the decisions institutionally that make us student-ready?   Links and Resources: Explore the Civitas Learning Platform

Today we have a panel of guests! Joining today is Landon Peterson, Director of Academic Advising at Snow College, Julia Carlo, Executive Director of Advising at Northeastern State University, and our own Rob Friedhoff, Vice President of Community Development at Civitas Learning. If you’d like to hear a previous episode with Rob Friedhoff, he spoke about boosting academic advising capacity in Season 1, Episode 7.
In our discussion today, we discuss how to use student success analytics to deliver the right support instead of the same one to every student. We share ways to diversify student outreach and intervention to better serve students and maximize limited resources. We discuss how to navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with change management. With the perspective of two institutions using the same tools, you can see the different approaches to the same goal and how this change in advising has impacted students in both.

 
Show Notes: [2:19] - Today, we’re focusing on tailoring support with shrinking resources.
[5:40] - Julia shares how her team is shifting from the same support model to finding the right support through Civitas Learning.
[7:54] - The bottom quartile students are typically not those who advocate for themselves and take advantage of open advising.
[9:56] - There’s “magic” in advising, especially when we are able to help the students who need it the most.
[11:27] - Landon describes the changes made at his institution that created a synergy between departments and advising and created more space for students.
[13:03] - The students that need to be seen the most are often the least engaged.
[14:59] - Change is hard and can be approached differently. Julia implemented change gradually, and she describes the growing pains.
[18:17] - There was 100% participation over time, and the institution saw the impact.
[19:45] - It’s not about ignoring the student's need, it’s prioritizing how much of a need we can meet.
[21:14] - Katy shares a story to help with peak registration periods.
[23:19] - The results have kept advisors motivated during busy periods of the year.
[25:01] - Civitas has data points for predictors of success that are specific to your institution.
[27:48] - Landon describes the outcomes and their impact on student retention.
[30:00] - Julia explains the impact and the data that shows it just by acknowledging a student once by an advisor.
[32:07] - Faculty and advisor relationships are powerful.
[34:35] - Leverage and celebrate those who are doing the work.
[37:22] - Find what works for students and help them get what they need. That’s the goal. Knowing the data is part of telling that story.
 
Links and Resources: Episode 7: Boost Academic Advising Capacity & Effectiveness with Rob Freidhoff
Utah State University Eases Academic Advisor Capacity Constraints
Civitas Learning Website
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In this episode, Dr. John Rindy covers a lot of ground when discussing proactive academic support. Dr. Rindy is the Assistant Vice President for Career and Academic Progress at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and has changed their strategies to be data informed action.
Dr. Rindy shares Slippery Rock’s initiatives on how to help all students succeed with increasing student need and shrinking resources. You’ll also learn how to use data analytics to tailor student success programs and initiatives to create capacity for proactive support and improve student outcomes as well as how to build a coalition and facilitate change management between faculty and student success support staff to ensure that institutions are delivering the most effective student success initiatives and strategies possible. Slippery Rock promises a lot and through the work of Dr. Rindy and his colleagues and the five pillars they focus on throughout a student’s higher education journey, they are able to deliver on the promise of student success.
 
Show Notes: [2:27] - Dr. Rindy shares his background in the corporate world and current role in higher education.
[3:35] - At Slippery Rock, enrollment is a big focus.
[5:22] - One part of the strategic plan is the promise that students will be successful and how they make sure they can be.
[6:46] - If it moves, they measure it and then use the measurements in daily decisions.
[8:02] - John gives an example of how they measured ending GPA and were able to identify students proactively who needed support.
[9:47] - One idea was to have first year students write a letter to themselves that is then sent back to them at the end of the year.
[11:41] - What predictors in data analytics can be used to tailor student success programs?
[13:42] - With strong participation in student success programs at Slippery Rock, the data can show the impact.
[16:07] - At many institutions, student success initiatives fall in the hands of academic advisors, but at Slippery Rock, it’s a little different.
[17:52] - Conveying information isn’t the goal. It’s provoking action.
[20:40] - Change management can be a struggle. John shares the work behind change management at Slippery Rock.
[22:00] - People are interested in retention but they truly don’t understand what their role is in regards to retention.
[24:17] - Retention is important but there are pieces of data that we can look at that can have a surprising impact on it.
[26:06] - What differences do they see at Slippery Rock since taking a data informed approach to student success?
[27:21] - Advocacy amplifies identity.
[29:02] - How do you move the needle once you hit these higher goals?
[30:58] - There are five pillars Slippery Rock focuses on from the beginning of admissions all the way through: goals, relationships, values, acting on values, and mindset.
 
Links and Resources: Civitas Learning Website
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Rethinking strategies can be a challenge, but with the many changes we are seeing in higher education post-Covid, redesigning systems could be the key to student success.
At SUNY Broome Community College, Dr. Penny Kelly explains that they’ve taken some new approaches to how they use data and technology. Dr. Kelly is the Vice President of Academic Affairs at SUNY Broome and with the collaboration of faculty and staff, the institution is now implementing guided pathways and transitioning to a caseload based academic advising model. According to Penny, these changes have not only helped with enrollment, but with retention as well, and these initiatives have boosted the student experience through relationship building.
 
Show Notes: [2:03] - Penny shares her background and current role at SUNY Broome Community College.
[4:34] - To remain sustainable post-Covid, SUNY Broome needed to take a data informed approach and rethink strategies.
[6:10] - The community surrounding the school has initiatives to get more students into the pipeline through community college.
[8:50] - One focus for SUNY Broome right now is implementing guiding pathways and revising the academic advising model.
[10:43] - It was hard to measure success during the pandemic, but we’re starting to see promising data after implementing a new advising model.
[12:39] - What data has been tracked or closely monitored over the last year?
[15:09] - The transition was a little tough, but the change has made a significant difference in relationship building with students.
[17:08] - The first step was getting the buy-in of faculty and staff and that might take some time.
[19:06] - These initiatives don’t only help enrollment, but also retention.
[22:06] - Penny compares what they used to do and what they do now in student outreach.
[24:16] - Data can really make you rethink how you communicate with students.
[26:45] - The new advising model has helped with streamlining the student experience.
[28:25] - It can be challenging to rethink things and change things up.
[29:28] - Spend more time with students and take your time. SUNY Broome’s approach has been to take the time with relationship building.
 
Links and Resources: Civitas Learning Website
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