Not only are iClicker Insights' retention surveys effective - just check out how University of Missouri improved the timeliness of identifying and intervening with students who were experiencing obstacles to retention - the surveys are incredibly easy to deploy. Five clicks and you're on your way to understanding student retention risks. Check out the video below to see just how easy early identification of retention risks can be.      Visit https://www.iclicker.com/institutions/retention-surveys/ for more on iClicker Insights' retention surveys. ... View more

University of Houston's Department of Student Housing and Residence Life welcomed students back to their on-campus residences this fall with greet cheer and optimism, even though the on-campus experience is a bit different than before. They also announced that they will be using iClicker Insights surveys to keep in touch with how students are acclimating to the 'new normal' on campus. Check out the video below that they created explaining how easy it is to provide feedback on the transition back to campus life using iClicker Insights surveys.  ... View more

A shocking reality: 40% of first-time college students in the U.S. will not return to the same institution for their second year. See the attachment below for five easy-to-implement tips from First Year Experience and Retention and Curriculum expert, Vance Gray, PhD, that College Success/First Year Experience programs can utilize to support student engagement in ways that ultimately help improve student retention. ... View more

The University of Tennessee at Martin used data from the iClicker Insights COVID Intervention Needs Survey to identify and intervene with students who were a retention risk.  The survey helped identify student satisfaction risks like low sense of belonging, no plans to return in fall and financial concerns. The short survey made administration and intervention simple.   Want to see how micro-surveys for COVID-19 Interventions and Outcomes can help. Click here to join one of our recurring 'Office Hour' sessions.  ... View more

The University of Missouri set a priority goal to increase the retention rate of new students to 93% by 2023. The goal of increasing retention rates is to achieve higher four- and six-year graduation rates. View the attached case study to learn how iClicker Insights supports this initiative. ... View more

The University of Memphis is a public four-year research university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees. The institution serves over 22,000 students with one main campus in Memphis, Tennessee. Two administrators from the Student Academic Success department and seven instructors from various departments chose to participate in this study. View the attached case study to learn more. ... View more

The CARES Acts provided Department of Education assistance to higher education to respond to pressing student and institutional needs that have arisen due to the quick pivot from traditional classes to remote learning. Understandably, students have been academically impacted. However, almost every aspect of students’ college experiences have been impacted. Understanding intervention priorities, as well as the ultimate impact to student and institutional outcomes, is critical to colleges and universities.  This Spring iClicker Insights offered two free surveys to help administrators quickly move beyond anecdotes, to efficiently gather data on how their students are faring. Developed by Macmillan Learning’s Analytics and Research experts, these surveys were developed to identify students’ most pressing needs and inform both intervention planning and forecasting potential ramifications to student retention. So what’s the difference between the two?  Determining Most Pressing Intervention Needs The Intervention Needs survey identifies students who may be struggling in the online environment, as well as potential retention issues due to the quick transition to remote learning. Topics include: managing coursework, motivation, feelings of connectedness, as well as students’ plans to return. Assessing Impact to Student Retention:  The COVID-19 Student Outcomes survey evaluates how the quick transition to remote learning impacted students’ experience - and potential flags for student retention. Survey items include: satisfaction with academics and campus services; interactions with peers, faculty and staff; sense of belonging; overall perceptions of the institution; and plans to return.  Below are best practices from our Analytics & Research teams for using these two assessments:  Administer the Intervention Needs survey ASAP after the start of the term, or after a pivot to online classes. This survey will help identify which students are most in need - and focus interventions on the most pressing student needs.  Administer the Student Outcomes survey 1-2 weeks prior to the end of the term. This survey will help you to determine how  moving or being online impacted students' experiences.  Communicate to stakeholders in other departments your intentions to deploy the survey(s) so that students won’t receive multiple requests from different departments for the same survey Share your findings with internal stakeholders. Check out this webinar recording for ideas on how to visually present data for improved clarity and impact.  If you are interested in learning more about these COVID-19 student insights surveys or how the iClicker Insights analytics dashboard can help you identify and intervene as early as possible with the students who most need it, visit iclicker.com/insights or sign up for one of our 45-minute office hour sessions being held throughout July and August.  ... View more

The administrators at the University of Memphis planned to use iClicker Insights to identify students with troubling attendance patterns so that they could attempt to intervene before the student fell too far behind in their course(s). They also planned to review iClicker attendance data at the end of the semester to identify student attendance patterns associated with poor class performance and develop a plan to proactively address in future semesters.  View the attached case study to learn more. ... View more

With average attrition costs at nearly $10 million per institution, improving student retention rates, especially from the first to second year, can have a significant impact on institutional budgets and resource allocation. Unfortunately, those looking to combat the issue with data-informed interventions often quickly realize that while there may be lots of data, actionable insights are few and far between. Moreover, it can be difficult to know which data, when acted upon early, will most positively impact student retention and success.   In sum: Water, water everywhere!   If trying to make heads or tails of the gigs of data your students generate seems like a lost cause, fret not. Below, we've distilled our data collection philosophy to three simple strategies you can use to shape how your campus gathers and utilizes this info for maximum impact and minimum stress. The Key Three: Early, Easy, and Systematic   1. Early Data Collection It is currently common practice for many institutions to focus on mid-term grades and first-semester GPAs to trigger interventions with first-year students. However, changing the trajectory of the student experience after 8 or 15 weeks can be overwhelmingly difficult, especially when the issue is academic. Students establish academic habits and behaviors as well as social circles and involvement patterns during the first few weeks. They also experience challenges, including a tougher academic environment, homesickness, increased freedom, and more.   While the consequences of these foundational experiences and behaviors may not be seen right away, research (Woosley, 2003) has shown that students' initial college experiences, especially within the first few weeks, are linked to long-term outcomes. Therefore, the first step in improving the impact of our first-year student data is the development and use of targeted early indicators.   Like red flag systems of the past, early indicators signal issues may need to be addressed. Unlike those first systems, however, today's early indicators go beyond simply lighting flares to identifying patterns and behaviors that need to be addressed at both the class and individual levels. Done right and your early indicators prompt early interventions—giving your support resources time to make an impact within that crucial time frame before midterm reports.   2. Easy Data Collection Another common obstacle institutions face when it comes to first-year students is capturing full and complete data. You know what we mean—not all faculty submit midterm grades or attendance records. Not all courses use learning management systems. Not all students complete surveys. And no one appreciates new requirements and systems that create additional tasks to generate data.   To overcome this obstacle, we need to get creative and make data collection easy—and most importantly, part of the workflows already taking place. For instance, taking class or event attendance does not have to be a manual task. Tools that allow students to log into a course can take the load off of faculty. Or better yet, digital classroom engagement tools (e.g., polls, quiz questions, etc.) can be used to automatically record attendance. Surveys, too, can be streamlined or shortened, incorporated into first-year seminars, put into simple tools, and more. Additionally, survey data can be linked with other data sources so that questions don’t have to be repeated.   In sum: simplifications to data collection not only decrease the workload on data providers, they can also improve the quality of the data by standardizing data sources and removing opportunities for human error.   3. Systematic Data Collection Finally, our third strategy for improving the impact of first-year student data is to be systematic and strategic about the data collected and used. While conversations about big data push our desire for digits to ever growing heights, it is becoming increasingly apparent that not all data is equally useful. As T.S. Eliot laments in Choruses from the Rock, "Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" It's time to get that knowledge back.   Research has unearthed a plethora of key issues related to student success and retention in one way or another—issues like academic performance, social integration, financial means, motivation and class attendance, to name a few. A systematic approach requires thinking about these issues holistically—ensuring they are covered—but also simply—eliminating duplications. Some issues may be measured through easy tools (e.g., attendance through a classroom engagement system). But some issues, such as commitment and motivation, may need to come directly from the student on a survey. Once the data elements and sources are put in place, the data needs to be integrated so that individual elements are placed in a broader context. Class attendance issues may prompt different inventions when placed alongside other concerns such as finances or homesickness. Thus, to make an impact, an institution needs a systematic approach including a variety of tools to easily collect and integrate a set of focused data.     Overall, big data alone won’t solve the first-year student retention issue. To make an impact, data must be received early, gathered and analyzed easily, and acted upon in a systematic manner.   Looking for additional guidance on how these strategies can be implemented using the data your campus is currently working with? Check out iClicker Insights for more information on how we make it easy to gather and intervene on the most impactful early insights.   Visit iClicker Insights ... View more