Intra-university partnerships improve student success in a first-year success and retention outreach initiative

Abstract

La Trobe University faces multiple challenges in responding to attrition and providing a positive student experience among an increasingly diverse first-year cohort. As in many institutions, La Trobe has developed a transition and academic outreach program, Succeed at La Trobe, to support retention, academic preparation and sense of belonging, using an appreciative advising theoretical framework. Although similar programs exist at other universities, these initiatives are often dissociated from day-to-day academic activities and curricula, outsourced to third parties, or focused on specific subjects. Succeed at La Trobe, however, takes an integrated, partnership-based approach, and in 2017 adopted two models of practice which are contrasted here. The established model, of partnerships with individual discipline academics, successfully improved retention rates and student outcomes, with student weighted average marks increased by 3.8 points. In a fully engaged partnership model with first-year Health Science staff and other student-focused areas of the university, a whole-of-student-experience approach was possible, including a more holistic approach to the identification and contact of at-risk students. Deeper engagement and integration with academic business resulted in several benefits, including an increase in contacted students’ weighted average marks of 8.5 points. This paper outlines the collaborative approach taken to develop the intervention and the resulting benefits and implications for practitioners that may apply to other institutions.

Improving Student Retention by Providing Targeted Support to University Students who do not Submit an Early Assessment Item

“…Accurate and up-to-date access to student enrolment status, student subject enrolments, learning management system (LMS) activity data, grade data from the LMS (grade centre), and the assignment submission software have allowed for automation of much of the work. Although the Retention Model itself was informed by years of practical teaching experience and the scholarly literature (Cox & Naylor, 2018;Nelson et al, 2009); since 2017 many hypotheses have been tested and refinements made in response to both quantitative and qualitative data. Ethics approval was received from the Charles Sturt Human Ethics Committee (HREC Protocol No H21170).…”

“…One simple model with promising results is to monitor the submission of early assessment items and offer targeted support to those who do not submit (Cox & Naylor, 2018;Linden & Webster, 2019;Nelson et al, 2009). Students frequently use assessment to define what is important in the curriculum (Kift, 2009).…”

“…Early assessment can help to engage students with the subject in the early weeks of the teaching semester and provides an opportunity for students to complete tasks that help transition from previous educational experiences into university. Early assessments can also help identify students who are not engaged and are thus at risk of failure or withdrawal (Cox & Naylor, 2018;Kift, 2009;Nelson et al, 2009), however to date, this has not been attempted at scale. This practice report will detail the results of the successful expansion of the Charles Sturt University Retention Team to monitor the submission of a pre-census, early assessment item of over 70% of commencing undergraduate students.…”

Pivoting to online learning—The future of learning and work

“…Canvas, BrightSpace and Blackboard LMS systems for example allow for instructors to send emails directly from the class (or class list) to currently enrolled students. Best practices recommend that outreach and connection messages are sent throughout the duration of the course directly to students to make an online connection, share instructions or coursework details or for retention outreach (Cox & Naylor, 2018).…”

Ghostbusters: Using Learning Analytics and Early Assessment Design to identify and support ghost students

“…Early assessments items, particularly when due before the census date, can engage students with the subject in the early weeks of the teaching session. For students who are not engaged in their studies, there is evidence to suggest that non-submission of early assessment can be used to identify and offer targeted support (Cox & Naylor, 2018;Linden & Webster, 2019;Nelson et al, 2009). However this has only ever been shown in small pilot studies.…”