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Finding the Steps to
Success: Support
Programs
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Andrew Grant |
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Assistant Dean,
Academic Affairs, Walsh University, North
Canton, OH
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Walsh
University’s focus on student support began with
its participation in the Policy Center on the
First Year of College’s “Foundations of
Excellence” (FOE) initiative in late 2003. FOE
participants completed an inventory and
self-evaluation designed to help them learn
about the first-year class and its connection to
the institution. One of the things we learned by
using the FOE self-study was that, after
admission, the weakest students were given
little added attention and support. They were
expected to enter college, navigate the system,
and succeed with no specific training or
academic assistance. Consequently, the
University developed, piloted, and is presently
operating two support programs for at-risk
first-year students.
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Walsh typically
accepts students with high school GPAs of 2.1
and ACT scores of 17. Students who are less
prepared often have low reading scores and test
into remedial English and Math classes. One
third of these students leave Walsh at the end
of fall semester, and half may leave by the
beginning of their second year. The loss of half
the at-risk students in a class of 300 (20-25%
of the class) by the end of the first year
signaled the need for change.
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In the past, the
University responded to the needs of at-risk
students by offering a special program for
students who did not meet the standard
admissions criteria. These students were
enrolled in a five-week summer bridge program on
campus, which included remedial English and math
courses and study skills training. None of the
course work was credit bearing. Students lived
on campus and attended daily counseling sessions
and classes. Activities were monitored, and
repeated infractions led to dismissal. If
students completed the program successfully,
they were admitted conditionally to the
University. The program enrolled 8 to 15
students each summer and ran for 10 summers.
Some 70% of the students in the program were
retained to the sophomore year and 50% reached
graduation. While successful, the program was
considered too costly given the numbers of
students it served and was discontinued.
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A new
administration, a reshuffling of mid-level
administrators, and the influence of the FOE
initiative led us to revisit the summer bridge
program. We believed a five-week bridge program
was too short for at-risk students to process
and internalize what was needed for success.
Thus, we created “The Structured Education
Program (SEP),” lengthened it to a full
semester, added a study-skills element, and made
it a three-credit course. As all courses at
Walsh need an academic home, and we do not have
a credit-bearing General Studies Program, the
course was attached to the English Department.
The study skills course meets twice a week for
one hour. A third one-hour period offers
tutoring in English and math. Like other
first-year students, students in this program
take 15 to 16 credit hours. Nine credit hours
are pre-determined (one course each of English,
math, and study skills). The rest of the
schedule includes courses in general education
and the major field.
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The English Department determined that
at-risk students would be more successful if
they took remedial English and regular
first-year English sequentially. Therefore,
students in this program take the remedial
course in the fall and move into the regular
first-year course in the spring. Students have
the same instructors and tutors for the entire
year, providing continuity. Most importantly,
students have shown marked improvement in
learning.
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The SEP was
piloted (in the fall of 2003) with 20 students,
who were placed into both remedial math and
English. At the end of the pilot, 18 students in
this program enrolled for spring semester, an
increase of 20% over previous years. Of this
same group, 14 students or 70% enrolled for the
fall semester (sophomore year)—another increase
of 20%. In the second year, 39 students enrolled
in SEP. The fall-to-spring enrollment for this
group was 92%, and the fall-to-fall retention
rate was 79%. In fall 2005, 63 students enrolled
in the program.
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| However, we did
not stop there. Historically, first-year
students with a GPA of less than 1.75 at
semester’s end are put on probation and offered
academic counseling. Of this group, 66% leave at
the end of spring semester. We decided because
of the success of the SEP that we also needed a
spring semester program to help first-year
students who were placed on academic probation
as a result of their fall grades. In spring
2005, a new program was piloted with 32
students. These students received the same study
skills course as the fall SEP students and
additional tutoring in areas identified by fall
course grades. For these students, the modified
program was made a condition of academic
probation. The goal was to retain half the
participants to the following fall. By the start
of the next fall semester, there was a return
rate of 63%, almost double the previous return
rate. |
Through the
first few semesters of this program, the results
have been promising. Many have referenced the
problems of transitioning to college. People
readily cite the statistic that 41% of incoming
first-year students take at least one remedial
course in their career. We are attempting to
fill the gap and promote student academic
success through this program. We are confident
that continued efforts in this area will enhance
the results shown in this report.
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| Contact: |
Andrew
Grant
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Assistant
Dean of Academic Affairs
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Walsh
University
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North
Canton, OH
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| Phone: (330)
490-7334 |
| E-mail: agrant@walsh.edu |
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| E-Source
for College Transitions |
| Vol. 3, No. 4, p. 7 |
| Copyright © February 2006 |
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National Resource Center for The
First-Year Experience and Students in
Transition, University of South
Carolina
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![National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition]() | |