This document discusses factors that impact student success, retention, and completion. It addresses understanding students, influencing them, and building trust. Key factors that affect retention include self-awareness, understanding student goals and backgrounds, and leveraging research data. Strategies discussed include targeted interventions, customized retention approaches, and creating a student success culture with engagement of faculty, staff, and students. The presentation emphasizes taking a learner-centered approach to address barriers and foster campus-wide collaboration around student retention.

1. Presented by Dr. Jim Black
President & CEO of SEMWorks
Fundamentals For Impacting
Student Success, Retention &
Completion

2. 2
Influencing Retention Behavior

3. 3
Key Factors
Retention Impact
Self-Awareness
Understanding Students
Influencing Students
Building Trust
What % of retention
impact is person vs.
program related?

4. 4
Self-Awareness:
Retention Advocates
Navigator
Coach/Mentor
Advisor (developmental & prescriptive)
Teacher

5. 5
Who Are Your #1 Retention Advocates
Faculty

6. 6
Understanding Student Persistence and
Attrition Factors
Motivators
Risk Factors
Barriers
Non-cognitive
Variables
Institutional
Loyalty
Educational,
Career, and
Life Goals
Commitment
Level
Success
Behaviors

7. 7
THE
COMMUNITY
INDUSTRY GOVERNMENT THE
INSTITUTION
FACULTY STUDENTS
Understanding Student Goals

8. 8
Student Backgrounds
Understanding Student Persistence
and Attrition Factors
Reslience
Academic Preparation
Physical, Emotional,
and Social Attributes
Culture
Values
Behaviors

9. 9

10. 10
Influencing Students
Personal Influence
Institutional Influence
External Influence
Program Influence

11. 11
Achievement
Sense of Belonging
Entitlement
Hard Work Pays
Off
Study Habits
Education
Will to Succeed
The Power of Persuasion

12. 12

13. 13
Build trust by…
Providing accurate information
Demonstrating competency
Displaying empathy
Looking out for their best interest
Delivering on promises
Treating them as individuals
Listening
Adding value to their experience

14. 14
Dimensions of Student Retention
Work,
Life,
School
Balance
Academic
Prepara-
tion
Academic
Ability
Learner
Habits
College
Satisfac-
tion
Program
Satisfac-
tion
Student
Engage-
ment
Coping
Skills
Personal
Finances
Intellectual
Social
Emotional
Physical
Financial

15. 15
Leveraging Research and Data

16. 16
Common Retention Research Questions
Why are students leaving early?
Why are students staying?
Who are the early leavers?
What are attributes of early leavers vs. persisters?
When are they leaving?
What are institutional experiences of early leavers?
What are the institutional experiences of persisters?
What can the institution do to influence students success,
retention, and completion?

17. 17
Generic Retention Strategies
Segment Targeted Retention Strategies
Customized Retention Strategies
Retention Strategy Impact

18. 18
Institutional Attrition Causation
Student Segment Attrition Causation
Individual Attrition Causation

19. 19
Customized Student Retention

20. 20
Retention Management Systems

21. Predictive analytics (risk scores with risk factors)
Individual and segment risk factors
Referral mechanism with feedback history
System triggers
Automated communications (independent, rule-driven, and provider-based)
Alerts to multiple providers
Student history with role-based privileges
Standard reports and customizable reporting capability
Retention Management System Features

22. 22
Retention Best Practices

23. 23
Stages of Student Retention

24. 24
Practical Retention Application
Enrollment
Lifecycle
Prevention Intervention Recovery
Pre-enrollment Assessment
Goal Setting
Career Exploration
Admissions Advising
Orientation
Completing the Enrollment Process
Applying for Financial Assistance
Overcoming Barriers to Enrollment
Next Term Application
Enrollment
Transition
Goal-based Milestones
Student Vision Statement
Academic and Career Planning
Connect Academic Requirements
with Goals and Vision
Early Risk Identification
Early Intervention
Academic Supports
Personal Supports
Financial Supports
First Year Student Success Plan
FYE Course
Mentoring
Career Connections
Early Risk Identification
Early Intervention
Revisit Student Success Plan
Review the Recovery Policy
Design a Recovery Plan
Academic Recovery Program
Second Year Mentoring
Goals and Milestones Progress
Checks
Career Coaching
Early Risk Identification
Early Intervention
Revisit Student Success Plan
Review the Recovery Policy
Design a Recovery Plan
Academic Recovery Program

25. Retention Management System Uses
Attrition Factors
(by category)
Prevention
(Pre-Enrollment and
Enrollment Stages)
Intervention
(Enrollment Stage)
Recovery
(Enrollment & Beyond)
Academic Pre-entry Assessment
Predictive Analytics
Individual Risk Factors
Customized Student Success Plan
Communications Stream
Early Alert System Triggers
Early Warning Faculty Referral
Process
Individual Risk Factors
Customized Student Success Plan
Communications Stream
Individual Risk Factors
Customized Student Success Plan
Student Contracts
Communications Stream
Financial
Personal
Social

26. 26
Retention
Planning
Planning
Considerations
Alignment with
Strategic Priorities
Evidence-based Approach
Engagement
Focus
Strategies
Implementation
Academic
Fiscal
Enrollment
Research and Data
Measurable Outcomes
Assessment Framework
Engage Faculty & Staff Early
Collaborative, Integrated Approach
Learner-centered
Define Purpose & Scope
Define Roles & Responsibilities
Antecedents for Success
Evaluate Strategies
Recalibrate Resources
Start Small (Pilots)
Maintain Momentum
Communications & Engagement Strategy
Convey Successes
Continuous Improvement
Execution Is Everything

27. 27
What We Have Learned From
Our Clients
Retention
Strategies
Intervention
Recovery
Prevention
Early Alert
Early Intervention
Mentoring
Bounce Back Programs
Peer Success Coaches
Success Contracts
Extended Orientation
First-year Seminars
Supplemental Instruction
Orientation
Summer Bridge
Remedial Coursework
Tutoring

28. 28
Targeted
interventions
and retention
strategies.
Remedial Students
At-risk Students
Special Populations
High Achievers

29. 29
An Integrated Student Success
Model
 Testing and Course
Placement
 Front-loaded Advising for
Program Fit
 Peer Mentoring
 Academic Plan
Orientation and Transition
 Risk Assessment
 Student Success Plan
 Early Intervention
 Peer Mentoring
 Peer Tutoring
 Supplemental Instruction
 FYE Course
 Extended Orientation
 Learning Communities
 Student Engagement
 Academic Recovery Program
 One-stop Services
 No-stop Services
 Any-stop Services
Non-Academic
Supports
 Disability Services
 Co-op and Career Services
 Counselling Services
 Wellness Services

30. 30
Student Success Communications
Relationship
Management
Student
Communications
Delivering on the
institution’s
promise
Deadlines, support services,
service tutorials, degree
completion
Connections with faculty,
staff, industry, and peers
Missed deadlines, early
interventions, policy
implications
Awareness of services
offered, service hours,
service benefits

31. 31
Student Messaging
Learner Attributes
Learner Needs
Audience-based
Messages
Calls to Action
Transactional
Learner
Engagement
Relationship
Management
Success
Building

32. 32
A Student Success Culture

33. 33
The
recruitment
courtship is
over.
What do your
students
experience
next?

34. 34
College-Centered
Learner-Centered

35. 35
What the Research Says...
Students are highly satisfied with:
 The quality of instruction
 The relevance of courses
 Interactions with faculty
 Preparation for careers or further study
 The overall quality of the educational experience

36. 36
Barriers to Engagement
What’s in
it for me?
Staff Scenario:
The number of students
and workload keep
growing, and you want
me to add one more
thing. There are only so
many hours in the day.
Faculty Scenario:
I’m teaching a full load,
involved on college
committees, and
providing service to the
community. What should
my priority be?

37. 37
Why College-wide Efforts Fail
Making a case for faculty and staff engagement based on
institutional urgency
Institutional failure to value faculty and staff contributions
to student success
Misunderstanding resistance
Faulty mental maps
A lack of concrete opportunities for engagement
No feedback loop

38. 38
Overcoming Resistence to Retention
Engagement
Education and communication
Participation and investment
Facilitation and support
Rewards and recognition

39. 39
Information
Sharing
Communication
Collaboration
Fusion
Integration
Creating a
student
success
culture is an
evolutionary
process.

40. 40
Academic Culture Retention Objectives
Student Performance Student Retention
Discipline-focused Systems-focused
Unit-oriented Integration
Faculty-centered Learner-centered
Cognitive dissonance Buy-in
Natural Tensions

41. 41
Fostering Campus Engagement
A shared definition of student success
An awareness and engagement campaign
Concrete opportunities to engage
Systematic efforts toward creating a cohesive,
transformational student experience
Professional development and information sharing

42. 42

43. 43
Q&A