November 24, 2015
State System’s ‘Student Success Network’ lives up to its name
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
Harrisburg – Nothing should matter more to a college or university than ensuring its students
succeed—academically and in their lives.
Virtually every institution offers an array of programs and services designed to help
students achieve that success, including summer learning programs, first-year experiences,
early warning systems to identify students who might be struggling—academically and
socially—with the transition to college, tutoring centers and peer mentoring.
The programs, while available to all students, often are geared toward underrepresented
minority students and those from low-income backgrounds—frequently first-generation
college students whose families have no prior collegiate experience.
There’s more to it, though, than just making the programs and services available.
“It’s not just a program; it’s a personal connection you have to have with students,”
said Daniel Engstrom, associate provost and associate vice president of academic success
at California University of Pennsylvania.
Engstrom is co-chair of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s Student
Success Network, a coordinated effort to develop and implement initiatives designed
to improve students’ chances of success. The network was assembled more than a year
ago by the Office of the Chancellor and comprises campus leaders who are responsible
for their university’s student retention efforts.
State System universities have been working individually for years to boost both retention
and graduation rates—two of the standards typically used to measure student success.
Despite the progress made, the stark reality remains: there is a significant gap between
graduation rates of both minority students and those with low socio-economic status
and their peers.
“By creating the Student Success Network, the State System is taking a broad-based
approach in its efforts to shrink that gap, acknowledging that in order for students
to have the best opportunity to succeed, not only must they have access to a strong
network of academic support services, they also must be surrounded by a supportive
and inclusive campus community,” said Chancellor Frank T. Brogan.
The network is a natural outgrowth and expansion of earlier efforts to promote “diversity,
inclusiveness and multiculturalism” across the System. It is focused on programs that
have delivered results in first-year retention, four-year progress/persistence and
graduation rates, especially for underrepresented minorities and students with low
socio-economic status.
The network brings together campus officials who are responsible for student retention
so they can share what works best at their universities, combine their resources and
develop even more effective strategies and services for students.
The campus representatives are relying, in part, on the State System’s previously
completed “Equity Scorecard” that was developed in partnership with the University
of Southern California several years ago to measure key areas related to student success,
according to Victoria Sanders, State System assistant vice chancellor, who helps oversee
the group. The scorecard also helped the System to identify specific areas of concern
that need to be addressed, Sanders said.
The equity scorecard demonstrated the importance of breaking down data and using it
to determine how effective—or ineffective—a program really is, according to Engstrom.
For example, Cal U. has offered a successful peer mentoring program for years, but
it was not until the scorecard was developed that the university could quantify how
important the program could be to student retention, especially within certain student
groups.
“We found out that about 55 percent of our African-American students participated
in the program,” Engstrom said. “Those students had an 85 percent retention rate;
for those who didn’t participate in the program, the retention rate was 65 percent.
That’s huge. We know now that we need to do a better job of recruiting African-American
students into the program. We would have never known that without the scorecard.”
The scorecard will continue to be used by the universities as they move forward in
areas where work remains to be done, especially in closing the gaps in access, retention
and graduation.
Meanwhile, other network members shared some of their campuses’ ongoing efforts while
attending a recent meeting in Harrisburg.
Fai Howard from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania discussed an early warning program
that quickly identifies and provides assistance to students who are having academic
difficulties. William Redmond of Millersville University of Pennsylvania talked about
separate programs designed to help primarily African-American and Latino men and women
successfully make the transition from high school to college.
Perhaps the students who participate in the programs themselves are the best spokespersons
for them, according to Sarah Stokely from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.
Many of those students describe their experience with activities such as those provided
through the university’s summer bridge program as “transformative,” Stokely said.
Several members talked about the importance of involving the entire campus community
in the effort, regardless of the nature of the program or their specific job responsibility.
“The message that we share is that everyone has to be involved in student success,
every single day; there are no days off,” said Warren Anderson, associate provost
for student success at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. “
Diversity initiatives are integral to the State System’s strategic plan. Adopted by
the Board of Governors in January 2014, the plan includes goals designed specifically
to ensure low-income and underrepresented minority students have greater access to
higher education and that more of them succeed—through graduation—once they enroll.
Along with student retention and graduation rates, student, faculty and staff diversity
have been among the key metrics the State System has measured as part of its more
than decade-old, nationally recognized performance funding program that encourages
and rewards the universities for meeting specific standards.
One example of how the State System universities are seeking for foster greater diversity
among their faculty is their participation in the Southern Regional Education Board’s
Doctoral Scholars Program, which works to recruit and help develop minority Ph.D.
students who are seeking careers as faculty on college campuses.
The program provides multiple layers of support, including financial assistance, academic/research
funding, career counseling, a scholar directory for networking and recruiting and
continued early career support. A number of current State System faculty were recruited
through this program.
“We now have three former scholars in permanent faculty positions,” said Irvin Wright
from Bloomsburg University. “It’s working out very well.”
Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher
education in the Commonwealth, with about 107,000 degree-seeking students and thousands
more who are enrolled in certificate and other career-development programs. Collectively,
the 14 universities that comprise the State System offer more than 2,300 degree and
certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas. Nearly 520,000 State System
university alumni live in Pennsylvania.
The State System universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg,
Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery
Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The universities also operate
branch campuses in Oil City (Clarion), Freeport and Punxsutawney (IUP), and Clearfield
(Lock Haven), and offer classes and programs at several regional centers, including
the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and in Center City in Philadelphia.