Villa Julie College

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Villa Julie College

• Mobilizing the Campus Community to Support
  Student Success
  
• Concurrent Session 204
• 2007 NACADA National Conference

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Mobilizing the Campus Community to Support
Student Success

• Tom Hopkins
• Director of Academic Advising
• Christine Flax
• Director of PASS Program and the Academic Link
• Kia Kuresman
• Director of Transfer Student and 2nd Year
  Experiences
  
• Villa Julie College

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Villa Julie College Who Are We?

• Small private college with 23 undergraduate
  majors and four masters programs
  
• Over 2,500 full-time students
• Mission to combine liberal arts and sciences
  with strong focus on career preparation
  
• Located on two campuses in suburban Baltimore
• Residence halls since 2003
• Celebrating our 60th
• anniversary in 2007!

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Engagement and Academic Success Create Retention

• 2007 Noel-Levitz Survey Data Indicates that VJC
  Programs are Effective
  
• Statistically Significant Higher Satisfaction vs.
  Other Four-Year Private Institutions on the
  Following Noel-Levitz Items
  
• The institution shows concern for students as
  individuals
  
• The campus staff are caring and helpful
• There is a commitment to academic excellence on
  this campus

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VJC Growth and Retention
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How Did Villa Julie Get Good Results During a
Time of Rapid Growth? Step-by-Step

• 1996 PASS program starts
• 1998 Academic Link tutoring center comes under
  Office of Academic Support Services
  
• 1999 Senior Academic Advisor hired (colleges
  first designated general advisor position)
  
• 2001 Supplemental Instruction starts
• 2003 Director of Developmental Studies
• 2004 CORE Program starts
• 2005 Director Of First-Year Experience
• 2006 Director of Transfer Student and
  Second-Year Experiences, PASS celebrates 10
  years!

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Why Use the Wider Community to Help Provide
Student Support?

• Low cost efficient approach
• Easy to implement
• Proven effective
• Knits together the college community

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It Takes a Campus

• Partnerships and Student Success (PASS)
• Creating Opportunities for Resident Excellence
  (CORE)

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Designing a Young-Adult to Adult Mentoring Program

• An Immediate Connection with
• At-Risk College Freshmen
• (Winner of 2001 Noel-Levitz Award for Excellence
  in Retention)

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Tintos Major Causes of Attrition

• Academic Difficulty
• Adjustment
• Goals
• Uncertainty
• Commitment
• Finances
• Integration and Community Membership

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Tintos Two Systems of a College Environment
PASS Addresses Both
Academic
Social
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Philosophy of PASS

• The principle for helping at-risk students is
  that one does not wait until a problem arises but
  intervenes proactively beforehand or at least as
  soon as possible.

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WHO?

• Mentees
• Conditionally admitted freshmen
• Mentors
• Faculty, staff, and administration
• Program Director

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WHAT?

• Provides one-on-one mentoring
• Encourages use of student support services to
  help students attain at least a 2.0 GPA
  
• Inspires students to reach their fullest
  potential
  
• Eases the transition into college
• Creates instant social connection

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WHY?

• To create an immediate partnership between
  student and mentor and share a commitment to a
  common goal-the students success!
  
• To influence students social interaction so they
  feel connected and inspired to get involved in
  campus life
  
• To unify the college community in its efforts to
  support and retain students
  
• To integratenot isolatethe at-risk student

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HOW?

• Summer mentor-mentee contact
• Mandatory weekly meetings
• Early intervention
• Effective communication
• Feedback from faculty
• Referrals
• Networking of entire college campus

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Early Intervention /Frequent MonitoringA
strength of PASS is the connection right away
with an advocate to catch students who could fall
through the cracks. -T. Bolt, Registrar

• Referrals to Support Services
• Mentors made a difference in some of my students
  by detecting problems early and suggesting Math
  tutoringStudents really benefit from having a
  mentor! -V. Shearer, Math Professor

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Mentors Whats In It For Them?

• Commitment to meet student only 1x a week (fall
  semester only)
  
• Easy to follow manual
• Frequent reminders received
• Feel pulse of students you serve
• Investment in student success and retention
  efforts of the college
  
• Acknowledgement and satisfaction

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From Start to Finish!
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Fall to Spring Retention Rates
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PASS Formula?
Mentors provide a holistic view of the students
by networking among faculty, academic advisors,
tutors, personal counselors and other student
services staff members. This captures a clear
image of the at risk students performance, not
only in the classroom, but also of his/her
overall adjustment to college life.

• Motivation
• Community
• Strategic Means
• Success!

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Creating Opportunities for Resident Excellence
(CORE)

• Partnership between Academic Support Services and
  Residence Life
  
• Started in 2004
• Mission Provides academic support for
  residential students whose cumulative GPA falls
  below a 2.0
  
• Purpose Provides structure and guidance for
  students to take ownership over their learning,
  find their niche on campus, and explore career
  path options.

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Structure

• Student notified of CORE placement by email and
  mail, paired with a CORE Coach
  
• Student completes a detailed personal assessment
• Together the student and coach create an academic
  plan based on students needs using assessment as
  a guide and conversations between student and
  Coach
• CORE Coach support helps student connect to
  resources and implement academic strategies to
  meet his or her goals

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CORE Coaches

• Professional staff of Residence Life and the
  Office of Academic Support Services serve as CORE
  Coaches
  
• Training session held at the beginning of the
  year for Coaches
  
• Coaches trained in how to customize CORE
  contract for each student
  
• Academic Support Services professional serves as
  program coordinator with a Resident Director
  co-coordinating in partnership

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Examples of Items in Contract

• Communication with CORE Coach
• Chose weekly, bi-weekly, once a month or by
  email
  
• Time management strategies
• Seek guidance about major/career path
• Obtain a tutor or go to an SI session
• Meet with academic advisor
• Commitment to a weekly study routine
• Focus on class attendance and completing all
  assignments for the semester

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CORE is an Evolving Program

• New Coordinators in place are piloting new
  approach Fall 2007
  
• Creating binders for Coaches, to have all
  resources available to them in one place
  (test-taking strategies, time mgt. help, etc.)
  
• Residence Life professionals given students with
  higher GPAs Academic Support given students with
  lower GPAs (due to training and nature of jobs)
  
• Letters and information given to students before
  semester begins instead of during first or second
  week of classes

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CORE is an Evolving Program

• Coaches must keep a recorded log of
  conversations
  
• More formal evaluation of experience (students
  and Coachs) to help improve program
  
• Information from CORE sessions will be shared
  with the Academic Review Board and Housing Review
  Board if CORE students fail to gain the 2.0 GPA
  
• Participation level taken into account to
  determine students return to institution and/or
  housing

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CORE Results Spring 07

• 65 participated actively in CORE
• 49 GPA Up
• 1 GPA Unchanged
• 15 GPA Down
• 13 in CORE but didnt actively participate
• 5 GPA Up
• 2 GPA Unchanged
• 6 GPA Down

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Other Programs Worth a Mention

• First-Year Seminar
• Office of Academic Support Services has
  coordinated the use of faculty and staff to lead
  these classes, used to be student leaders only
  
• Second Year Success Program
• Partnership between Office of Academic Support
  Services and Career Services
  
• Learning Communities
• Partnership between Developmental Studies and
  Sociology Department

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We Want to Expand Our Use of this Approach

• Looking for more partnership programs with
• Athletic coaches and departmental staff
• Adjunct faculty
• Student activities staff
• Experiential learning staff
• Career Services
• Support program for probation students similar to
  CORE

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How to Make Partnership Programs WorkKeys to
Success

• Get support from
• college leaders
• Plan carefully
• Provide training and ongoing support
• Assess and improve
• Recognize and
• Celebrate!

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Q A? Please Contact Us Anytime

• Tom Hopkins
• Director of Academic Advising
• Christine Flax
• Director of PASS Program and the Academic Link
• Kia Kuresman
• Director of Transfer Student and 2nd Year
  Experiences