Student Retention Analysis
Retention. It is one of the most tossed around buzz-words within the confines of the American University system. Student retention is defined as “Students persisting to completion of their educational goals” (Noel-Levits Retention Codification, 2008, paragraph 1). Frequently, this includes students remaining at a specific location from admission through graduation. Liberty University currently has a freshman retention rate of 69%, which is below the national average of 70.9%, according to one report (College Factual, n.d.):
While this is not necessarily indicative of a problem in and of itself, it does show a lower than optimal retention rate. What are some methods by which Liberty can improve its retention, especially in its overwhelming online …show more content…
student body? After all, if it’s Christian, it ought to be better.
Admissions
Admissions is the first department that many online students interact with at Liberty University. More often than not, a new student will either receive a call from or place a call to the admissions team, a sub-section of Liberty University Online Enrollment Management. The admissions consultant will discuss the admissions requirements for a student’s program, assist them in making decisions regarding their program choice, aid them in retrieving their requirements, and be their point of contact between application and matriculation. This makes them the university’s front lines when it comes to retention and establishing correct expectations.
Increased Training
One of the most important aspects of an admissions counselor is that of a consigliere. Many incoming students are unaware of what they are getting themselves into. This places the admissions team in a unique situation. One practice to increase student retention is having “procedures to identify at-risk students early on” and subsequently “early intervention for at-risk students” (Gragg, n.d., paragraph 3). According to a paper by Marlene Schommer and Kierstyen Walker, “Identifying predictors of attitudes toward school is of interest to college admissions and retention committees since there is evidence to indicate that attitude toward school in the high school years serves to predict academic success in college” (Epistemological Beliefs and Valuing School: Considerations for College Admissions and Retention, 1997, pp. 173-174).
According to an article in The News & Advance, the average age of the 82,000 member online student body was 35 in 2012 (Barry, 2012). For many, this means that it has been fifteen years or longer since they experienced an academic setting. This can make the transition from the pedagogical approaches taken by their high school teachers years to the somewhat laissez-faire andragogy a bit more difficult if that difference is not stressed at the time of admission. Providing more information, as well as obtaining more information, will properly arm the student, and the counselor, to be the most proactive they can be in identifying possible risks and eliminating them before they lead to drop-out. Proper training in these methods can lead to a better experience for all involved.
Direct Toward the Center
Properly setting the expectations that an incoming student may face is the key to student retention and increased graduation rates. While it is important to identify those most at risk of drop-out, it is equally important to ensure that retention focuses are placed on the average student, as well.
Noel-Levitz’ study noted the following:
It has been noted that the field’s “obsession with outliers” has led to many institutions placing almost exclusive attention on students who are most at risk of dropping out rather than on students who are in the “center of the curve,” which may account for the inability of these colleges to make substantial gains in their overall retention indicators (page 6).
If admissions directs their initiatives toward the few outliers that exist, the center of the curve will continue to fall and the retention rate could slink even further, if it doesn’t stagnate.
Academic Advising
Academic advising is in a unique situation. They are expected to be a “Jack of All Trades” within the university’s enrollment department. Students contact advisors with every situation from being accused of plagiarism to a death in the family. The questions that an advisor fields can be overwhelming, at times. Yet they are in a position to be the single most influential point of contact for an online student. Their training should reflect deeply in this remarkable resource.
Individual Advising
“Ideally, advising is first a means of exploring careers and majors and then a method for selecting courses and arranging schedules” (Frost, 1991, p.
7). Having spent two years as an academic advisor with Liberty, rest assured that this is a detrimental understatement. Approximately eighteen months ago, Liberty introduced program-wide individual academic advising. Each advisor was assigned a caseload of 700 – 1500 students depending on program. Advisors were prompted to become an expert in their field. As with any corporation, some held tight to this new responsibility while others simply floated on existing. Over the past few months, there has been a change. Liberty has begun pulling away from this model. This is perhaps the single most injurious action against retention that could have been …show more content…
taken.
Individual advisors provide a consistent point of contact from matriculation through graduation. They offer advice, counseling, mentoring, consolation, prayer, and, in many cases, the single most reliable resource an online student may have. If correctly implemented, it is highly plausible that an individual advisor can both prevent, and even reverse, the hurdles that distance learning presents. Reducing student access to this resource is a decision that must be reversed in order to improve retention.
Increased Autonomy
One of the most futile feelings that an individual can experience is knowing how to solve a problem and not having the means to do so. Dr. David Rock explains the importance of autonomy in the workplace as follows, “employees tend to limit their commitment and engagement if they feel undervalued” (Chevrie, 2015). Autonomous employees feel empowered. At the core, an advisor is still an employee. When they feel empowered to help a situation, solutions will often become more prevalent leading to a better consumer experience and, by extension, a rise in retention. Allow advisors the ability to answer a question without having to defer to another department at every turn. If the issue is a lack of training, then invest in the staff, train them, and give them the resources to assist a student from start to finish in one single phone call wherever possible!
Communication
There can be no more important aspect to being a customer, whether it’s a student or a retail customer, than having clear communication. Knowing what is expected, and knowing what to expect, is paramount to a good experience. There should be no double speak, there should be no ambiguity, there should be no mixed messages when it comes to communication with one’s university. Liberty excels in its communication methods. However, this does not mean there is no room for improvement. Text messaging is the single most widespread method of communication among college age students, yet Liberty has no texting service in place for its enrollment team. Twitter©, Imgur©, and other social media outlets use a 140 character communication method for a reason: It works! Modern students are more likely to quickly glance at a fifteen word sentence than they are to read a page long email.
Professor Communications
If a list of hurdles unique to the online student were published, professor communication would be at the top.
Liberty University holds a policy that all professors must reply within 48 business hours. Professors should be held to the same standards that are requested of students. While it is true that many professors do adhere to this; professional communication, timely communication, and Godly communication, there is no policy to hold them to it. Multiple students withdraw from courses each semester due to a lack of clear professor communication. Most frequently, this is found with adjunct professors.
If a professor’s communication is not within the allotted time frame, the only alternative that the student has is to wait. While they can send the communication chain to their advisor, who will then forward it to the department’s Faculty Support Coordinator, no timeline for resolution is provided. Often times, students cannot proceed in their course, or make an informed decision about a dilemma, without this contact back from the
professor.
It is also rare to have comprehensive feedback from an online professor. A residential student has the opportunity to visit a professor before and after class, during office hours, or by setting up a face to face appointment. Online students, however, are often left to fend for themselves, frequently in the name of pedagogy. Therefore, it is recommended that each professor reach out to every student in their class, individually, at least once per term. This would break down communication barriers that are consistently felt by online students.
Conclusion
Retention is important. It is often the defining characteristic for a university that aids a student in deciding which university to attend. By teaching admissions counselors to learn more about incoming students and ensure that students know what to expect, retention can be improved on the intake front. Returning to more individual advising and allowing advisors the ability to completely help a student will lead to students feeling less like a number and more like an individual, something that comes more naturally in brick and mortar attendance. Combining these four changes among two major bottlenecks will encourage students to continue in their education. The coup de grace, professional, timely, and personal communication from all professors, may be the straw that breaks the back of the retention camel and leads Liberty University to become a leader in retention. After all, if it’s Christian, it ought to be better.
While this is not necessarily indicative of a problem in and of itself, it does show a lower than optimal retention rate. What are some methods by which Liberty can improve its retention, especially in its overwhelming online …show more content…
student body? After all, if it’s Christian, it ought to be better.
Admissions
Admissions is the first department that many online students interact with at Liberty University. More often than not, a new student will either receive a call from or place a call to the admissions team, a sub-section of Liberty University Online Enrollment Management. The admissions consultant will discuss the admissions requirements for a student’s program, assist them in making decisions regarding their program choice, aid them in retrieving their requirements, and be their point of contact between application and matriculation. This makes them the university’s front lines when it comes to retention and establishing correct expectations.
Increased Training
One of the most important aspects of an admissions counselor is that of a consigliere. Many incoming students are unaware of what they are getting themselves into. This places the admissions team in a unique situation. One practice to increase student retention is having “procedures to identify at-risk students early on” and subsequently “early intervention for at-risk students” (Gragg, n.d., paragraph 3). According to a paper by Marlene Schommer and Kierstyen Walker, “Identifying predictors of attitudes toward school is of interest to college admissions and retention committees since there is evidence to indicate that attitude toward school in the high school years serves to predict academic success in college” (Epistemological Beliefs and Valuing School: Considerations for College Admissions and Retention, 1997, pp. 173-174).
According to an article in The News & Advance, the average age of the 82,000 member online student body was 35 in 2012 (Barry, 2012). For many, this means that it has been fifteen years or longer since they experienced an academic setting. This can make the transition from the pedagogical approaches taken by their high school teachers years to the somewhat laissez-faire andragogy a bit more difficult if that difference is not stressed at the time of admission. Providing more information, as well as obtaining more information, will properly arm the student, and the counselor, to be the most proactive they can be in identifying possible risks and eliminating them before they lead to drop-out. Proper training in these methods can lead to a better experience for all involved.
Direct Toward the Center
Properly setting the expectations that an incoming student may face is the key to student retention and increased graduation rates. While it is important to identify those most at risk of drop-out, it is equally important to ensure that retention focuses are placed on the average student, as well.
Noel-Levitz’ study noted the following:
It has been noted that the field’s “obsession with outliers” has led to many institutions placing almost exclusive attention on students who are most at risk of dropping out rather than on students who are in the “center of the curve,” which may account for the inability of these colleges to make substantial gains in their overall retention indicators (page 6).
If admissions directs their initiatives toward the few outliers that exist, the center of the curve will continue to fall and the retention rate could slink even further, if it doesn’t stagnate.
Academic Advising
Academic advising is in a unique situation. They are expected to be a “Jack of All Trades” within the university’s enrollment department. Students contact advisors with every situation from being accused of plagiarism to a death in the family. The questions that an advisor fields can be overwhelming, at times. Yet they are in a position to be the single most influential point of contact for an online student. Their training should reflect deeply in this remarkable resource.
Individual Advising
“Ideally, advising is first a means of exploring careers and majors and then a method for selecting courses and arranging schedules” (Frost, 1991, p.
7). Having spent two years as an academic advisor with Liberty, rest assured that this is a detrimental understatement. Approximately eighteen months ago, Liberty introduced program-wide individual academic advising. Each advisor was assigned a caseload of 700 – 1500 students depending on program. Advisors were prompted to become an expert in their field. As with any corporation, some held tight to this new responsibility while others simply floated on existing. Over the past few months, there has been a change. Liberty has begun pulling away from this model. This is perhaps the single most injurious action against retention that could have been …show more content…
taken.
Individual advisors provide a consistent point of contact from matriculation through graduation. They offer advice, counseling, mentoring, consolation, prayer, and, in many cases, the single most reliable resource an online student may have. If correctly implemented, it is highly plausible that an individual advisor can both prevent, and even reverse, the hurdles that distance learning presents. Reducing student access to this resource is a decision that must be reversed in order to improve retention.
Increased Autonomy
One of the most futile feelings that an individual can experience is knowing how to solve a problem and not having the means to do so. Dr. David Rock explains the importance of autonomy in the workplace as follows, “employees tend to limit their commitment and engagement if they feel undervalued” (Chevrie, 2015). Autonomous employees feel empowered. At the core, an advisor is still an employee. When they feel empowered to help a situation, solutions will often become more prevalent leading to a better consumer experience and, by extension, a rise in retention. Allow advisors the ability to answer a question without having to defer to another department at every turn. If the issue is a lack of training, then invest in the staff, train them, and give them the resources to assist a student from start to finish in one single phone call wherever possible!
Communication
There can be no more important aspect to being a customer, whether it’s a student or a retail customer, than having clear communication. Knowing what is expected, and knowing what to expect, is paramount to a good experience. There should be no double speak, there should be no ambiguity, there should be no mixed messages when it comes to communication with one’s university. Liberty excels in its communication methods. However, this does not mean there is no room for improvement. Text messaging is the single most widespread method of communication among college age students, yet Liberty has no texting service in place for its enrollment team. Twitter©, Imgur©, and other social media outlets use a 140 character communication method for a reason: It works! Modern students are more likely to quickly glance at a fifteen word sentence than they are to read a page long email.
Professor Communications
If a list of hurdles unique to the online student were published, professor communication would be at the top.
Liberty University holds a policy that all professors must reply within 48 business hours. Professors should be held to the same standards that are requested of students. While it is true that many professors do adhere to this; professional communication, timely communication, and Godly communication, there is no policy to hold them to it. Multiple students withdraw from courses each semester due to a lack of clear professor communication. Most frequently, this is found with adjunct professors.
If a professor’s communication is not within the allotted time frame, the only alternative that the student has is to wait. While they can send the communication chain to their advisor, who will then forward it to the department’s Faculty Support Coordinator, no timeline for resolution is provided. Often times, students cannot proceed in their course, or make an informed decision about a dilemma, without this contact back from the
professor.
It is also rare to have comprehensive feedback from an online professor. A residential student has the opportunity to visit a professor before and after class, during office hours, or by setting up a face to face appointment. Online students, however, are often left to fend for themselves, frequently in the name of pedagogy. Therefore, it is recommended that each professor reach out to every student in their class, individually, at least once per term. This would break down communication barriers that are consistently felt by online students.
Conclusion
Retention is important. It is often the defining characteristic for a university that aids a student in deciding which university to attend. By teaching admissions counselors to learn more about incoming students and ensure that students know what to expect, retention can be improved on the intake front. Returning to more individual advising and allowing advisors the ability to completely help a student will lead to students feeling less like a number and more like an individual, something that comes more naturally in brick and mortar attendance. Combining these four changes among two major bottlenecks will encourage students to continue in their education. The coup de grace, professional, timely, and personal communication from all professors, may be the straw that breaks the back of the retention camel and leads Liberty University to become a leader in retention. After all, if it’s Christian, it ought to be better.