RETENTION THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS:

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RETENTIONTHROUGH RELATIONSHIPS

• Does Mandatory Advising Make a Difference?

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An Initiative in the College of Technology at
Bowling Green State University

• Presented by Linda Swaisgood, Director,
  Undergraduate Program Services,
• and Sally Johnson, Advisor/Recruiter

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THE PROFILE

• Bowling Green State University is a mid-sized
  University in NW Ohio with approximately 22,000
  students
• The College of Technology has an annual
  enrollment of approximately 1,400 students 80
  are men
• Majors in the College include aviation,
  architecture, construction, electronics/computer
  technology, mechanical design, technology
  education, visual communication
• The Program Services Office is staffed by one
  director, one advisor/recruiter, one full-time
  secretary and one student worker (10 hours per
  week)

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THE PROBLEM

• Retention of first-year students in the College
  from one fall to the next declined significantly
  for 3 consecutive years
• Of the Fall 2002 cohort, only 67 returned in
  Fall 2003, compared to 74 University-wide
  (female retention61)
• The College dean was under fire from the
  University President and Provost

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THE RESPONSE

• The 69 students who did not return in Fall 2003
  were surveyed by the College about their reasons
  for non-return survey results indicated that
  many had not connected with anyone at BGSU
• The College administration developed a retention
  plan with a goal of improving retention to 75
  for the Fall 2003 cohort
• One component of the plan was a change in the
  advising model for first-year students

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THE CHANGED MODEL

• PREVIOUS MODEL
• Students were assigned a faculty advisor in their
  declared major at Freshman Orientation
• Anecdotally, students reported that they seldom,
  if ever, saw their advisor
• Faculty advisors did not want to see students who
  were thinking about changing their major

• NEW MODEL
• Students were assigned a College professional
  advisor for the duration of their first year
• Students were invited to see their advisor
  during the fifth week of classes and required to
  see their advisor before registering for Spring
  Semester classes
• An advisor HOLD was placed on each students
  registration account the HOLD could be removed
  only by staff in the Undergraduate Program
  Services Office

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WHY THE CHANGE?

• A primary factor affecting retention is the
  quality of interaction a student has with a
  concerned person on campus (NACADA Monograph 10
  The status of academic advising Findings from
  the ACT sixth national survey, 2004)
• College advisors in the College of Technology
  embrace a combination developmental/prescriptive
  approach to advising faculty advisors admittedly
  embrace a prescriptive only approach
• 50 of college students nationwide change their
  major in BGSUs College of Technology faculty
  advisors say they are uncomfortable and
  ill-equipped to advise outside their major

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THE NUTS BOLTS OF IMPLEMENTATION

• Buy-in from faculty advisors (TRUST)
• Collaboration of staff in Registration Records
• Analyzing workflow and workload in the
  Undergraduate Program Services Office how can we
  minimize other tasks and provide more time for
  student interaction?
• Convincing the office secretary that it would
  work!

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WHAT DID WE CUT FROM OUR WORKLOAD?

• Paperwork!
• Phone conversations and unnecessary appointments
  (the secretary was trained and empowered to
  answer routine student and parent questions)
• Faculty traffic (we created electronic
  resources to assist them)
• Fixing advisor errors and handling complaints
  (this occurred over time)

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WHAT DID WE ADD TO THE WORKPLACE?

• Two faculty instructors were hired to assist with
  Summer Orientation Registration and retained in
  the office 40 hours PER SEMESTER throughout the
  academic year to continue with their case load.
  Total cost 6,000, paid by the Provost
• A new (not additional) secretary!

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The Process

• Each first-year student sees a College advisor at
  Summer Orientation and keeps that advisor until
  the end of the first year.
• After online drop/add concludes, Registration
  Records applies a mandatory advising HOLD to each
  students registration account.
• Students have an optional 5-week appointment with
  their College advisor and a mandatory
  pre-registration session.
• After the pre-registration session, the College
  advisor removes the HOLD.
• After 2 semesters of meeting with a College
  advisor, students are assigned a faculty
  mentor/advisor in their field of study.

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THE RESULTS

• Approximately 60 of the Fall 2003 cohort visited
  a College advisor for the non-mandatory five-week
  appointment
• 97 of the Fall 2003 cohort completed an
  individual advising session prior to registering
  for Spring 2004 classes
• RETENTION OF THE FALL 2003 COHORT TO FALL 2005
  WAS 84.1

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THE PATTERN REPEATED

• Practices were continued for the Fall 2004 cohort
  and retention of that cohort in Fall 2005 was 85.

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WHAT HAPPENED?

• In Fall 2005 BGSU adopted a policy of mandatory
  advising for ALL first-year students.
• The College of Technology followed previous
  practice
• Only 75 of the Fall 2005 cohort in the College
  of Technology returned to BGSU in Fall 2006 (74
  University-wide)

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First-year Student Retention, College of
TechnologyBGSU
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WHAT WE KNOW

• We had an early indication that the 2005 cohort
  was different
• Staff changes meant that we did not have the same
  consistency in advisor relationship as we did the
  two years prior
• As students exited in 2005-06, they TOLD us they
  were leaving and why
• We have documented reasons for nearly every
  students departure
• We are testing new initiatives for the Fall 2006
  cohort

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MANDATORY ADVISING CONTINUES

• We are convinced that we are doing the RIGHT
  thing relationships are key to retention
• We experienced more difficulty in 2005-06
  getting students to make the mandatory
  appointment
• We have implemented electronic appointment
  scheduling to facilitate the process (available
  24/7)

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THE PLUSSES AND PITFALLS

• PLUSSES
• Increased retention even with the most recent
  drop
• Better information about why students dont
  return and why they do
• We know our students, and they know and trust us!

• PITFALLS
• We work HARD and regularly put in more than 40
  hours per week
• Staff turnover
• Some students reluctant to move from a College
  advisor to a faculty mentor (the relationship is
  too strong!)

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Retention through Relationships Mandatory
Advising Makes a Difference

• Code 278
• 2006 NACADA National Conference
• Linda Swaisgood,
• lswaisg_at_bgnet.bgsu.edu
• Sally Johnson,
• Sally_at_bgnet.bgsu.edu