Tackling Student Persistence and Retention

Never before has the need to keep your students enrolled been more important and challenging. Most public institutions, particularly large organizations, are overwhelmed with the need to grow graduation rates and decrease the time it takes to complete a degree program. With funding formulas changing and increased pressure to get students through to graduation, institutions are focused on helping students at the earliest sign that something is going wrong. At the same time, competition is on the rise, with less expensive community college options available for a number of students.

How do you achieve your target student retention rates? And how do you know quickly which students need help and then ensure that they receive that help before it is too late?

Helping Students Connect

Your students are not only keeping up with demanding course work, but they are also actively involved in other campus activities while likely holding down a part-time job to support their finances. When they need help, they are looking for convenience and access. Starfish CONNECT gives students 24/7 access to see who can help them address their concerns - whether it be an advisor, an instructor, residence hall staff, or a financial aid counselor - and to book time with that person immediately over the Web, where students are most comfortable. At the same time, your advisors and other service personnel can efficiently keep track of their students and manage their efforts to help. See Features and Benefits of Starfish CONNECT.

Knowing Before It's Too Late

While many of your students are academically prepared, there are cohorts of students that you know you need to track closely. Whether they are first-generation students, student-athletes, or students enrolled in developmental courses, you know there are some who will fall behind. Starfish EARLY ALERT helps your instructors and advisors efficiently and securely share information about their students so they can together help a student overcome a potential barrier to success. Starfish makes it easy to get feedback from instructors to identify potentially at-risk students, route those concerns to the students' advisors and other support services, and then keep track of the efforts to intervene. See Features and Benefits of Starfish EARLY ALERT.

Outcomes You Can Measure

Starfish offers comprehensive reporting where you can evaluate potential trends within your student success initiatives to help guide your decision making. Through the use of Starfish, institutions are reporting measurable outcomes in a number of areas, including:

• Institutional accreditation or reaffirmation of accreditation support data
• Student persistence and retention measures
• Correlations between services provided and impact on student outcomes
• Referrals to support services (e.g., tutoring)
• Appointments scheduled with support services
• Active instructor participation in early alert process
• Evidence of students being helped through the number of cleared flags
• Number of students completing term in good academic standing
• Insight into challenge areas (e.g., courses, cohorts, demographics)