Christopher L' Tokpah

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Retention of Under-prepared College students-Some
practical solutions.

• Christopher L. Tokpah
• May 14, 2007.

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HOW DO STUDENTS LEAVE?

• Leave and tell
• Leave without telling
• Required to leave
• Take a break but intend to return
• Move from one institution to another

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WHY DO STUDENTS LEAVE?

• Academic Reasons
• Inadequate preparation
• Boredom with delivery
• Motivation
• Low commitment to college
• Perceived irrelevance

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WHY DO STUDENTS LEAVE?

• Psychosocial Reasons
• Social factors
• Emotional factors
• Financial Reasons
• Inability (perceived) to pay for college
• Perception that cost exceeds benefits
• (Coseo, Marymount College)

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COLLEGE READINESS
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College Readiness

• Students have different levels of academic
  preparation when they graduate from high school.
• Academic preparation is a function of school
  district
• Only about 50 of the teachers in schools with at
  least 90 minority enrollment meet their states
  minimum requirements to teach

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Percentage of Teachers without Major/Minor in
Field
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College Readiness

• Only 32 of students who graduate from secondary
  school are prepared for college level courses
• Only 20 Blacks and 16 Hispanics leave high
  school college-ready (Green and Forster, 2003)

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Graduating Class of 2005

• 2005 High School Transcript Study
• Sample of 26,000 graduates
• 640 Public and 80 Private Schools

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College Readiness
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College Readiness
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Graduating Class of 2005
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College Readiness

• The level of achievement required for students
  to have a high probability of success (a 75
  percent chance of earning a course grade of C or
  better) in such credit-bearing college courses
  as English, Algebra, and Biology (ACT)

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Graduating Class of 2006

• Total sample1,206,455
• College Readiness Scores on the ACT
• English18
• Science24
• Math22
• Reading21

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Graduating Class of 2006
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Graduating Class of 2006
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Graduating Class of 2006
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Graduating Class of 2006
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Graduating Class of 2006
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KSU College Readiness
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KSU College Readiness
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KSU College Readiness
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Comparative Institutional Research Program (CIRP)

• CIRP is the largest and oldest source empirical
  study of higher education data.
• Started in 1966, CIRP has data on 1,800
  institutions and over 11 million students.
• Surveys gt425,000 freshmen annually

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College Readiness
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College Readiness
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College Readiness
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College Readiness

• About 75 of students enter some form of
  postsecondary education within two years of
  graduation from high school
• 2 out of every 3 students attend either a
  four-year public institution or a two-year public
  institution
• Approximately 50 of students require some form
  of remediation

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Retention Issues
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THE COST
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The Cost

• Decline in Wages
• Taxes to Govt
• Personal satisfaction
• Unpaid student loan
• 1 increase in 1st year retention rate500,000
  additional revenue by the time students graduate
  (Nicol Sutton)-University of St. Louis

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Some Suggested Remedies
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Retention Approach

• Comprehensive
• Approached like a grant (Dr. Padak)
• Needs Assessment
• Goals Objectives
• Plan of Operation
• Budget
• Evaluation

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Some Key Retention Focus Points
PLACEMENT
ADMISSION
RETENTION
TEACHING
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
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Admission

• Recruit better students???
• Develop an academic profile of key feeder school
  districts
• Communicate with district heads about
  successes/challenges
• Collaborate with high schools to help develop
  students college-readiness

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Placement

• Comprehensive and periodic review of placement
  system
• Initial Placement and sequencing should be based
  on prerequisite and co-requisite
• Encourage students to consider teaching habits of
  faculty members

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Teaching

• Put best faculty members in freshmen courses
• Close collaboration between faculty and academic
  support services
• Interactive and experiential learning
• Reward faculty members who foster retention

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Academic Support

• Tutoring
• Time management
• Study Test-taking skills
• Consider embedding tutoring in courses.

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Students on Academic Probation
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Top 10 Reasons

• Lack of Potential
• Inadequate conception of the work involved
• Importance of other activities over school
• Interference from psychological problems
• Failure to assume responsibility for own learning

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Top 10 Reasons

• Poor language (reading/writing)
• Lack of understanding of standards of high
  quality performance
• Selection of inappropriate major
• Vagueness of long-term goals
• Selection of the wrong college

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Students on Academic Probation

• Intrusive Programs
• Students will not seek help on their own or
  accept it when offered
• Non-intrusive Programs
• Students self-select to attend

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Students on Academic Probation

• Program begins between semesters
• Students attend orientation workshop
• Students meet academic advisor
• Students sign a contract
• Students leave program when they achieve good
  standing

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Parting Comments

• Institutions should not passively accept
  attrition
• Attrition should be addressed at the institution
  level
• Administrative buy-in is crucial

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Sources

• ACT(2006). College readiness and the impact of
  course rigor. Retrieved online from www.act.org
• Coseo(unpublished), The BIG PICTURE Key Causes
  of Student Attrition Key Components of a
  Comprehensive Student Retention Plan
• Damashek (2003) Support programs for students on
  academic probation, Eric doc 475 374

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Sources

• Greene, J. Forster, G. (2003) Public High
  School Graduation and College Readiness rates in
  the United States, Retrieved from
  www.texaseducation review.com
• Haycock, K., (2001). Closing the achievement gap,
  Educational Leadership, 58, 6-12

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Contact Information

• Emailcltokpah_at_kent.edu
• Phone [phone]

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QUESTIONS/COMMENTS