Beyond the Classroom: A Comprehensive FYE Counseling Program Mount - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Beyond the Classroom:

A Comprehensive FYE Counseling Program

Mount Ida College Newton, Massachusetts

1

Mount Ida College

• Baccalaureate college
• 1400 students
• 8 miles from downtown Boston
• Professional preparation with liberal arts

base

• Student:faculty ratio of 14:1
• Very low discount rate

Mount Ida College

• 25 majors in animal science, business,

arts and sciences, design, and funeral service education

• From Potential to Achievement
• 538 new students in fall 2005
• 51% from Massachusetts
• 25% of students are varsity athletes

Premise

• Small college – very hands on approach
• Enrollment management and marketing

responsible for recruitment and retention

• Focus on “walking across the stage”
• Not about getting in – it is about getting
• ut

Enrollment Issues

• Academic readiness
• Financial readiness
• Financial ability (individual and institution)
• Career direction and focus
• Millennial Parents and Children
• Transition from high school to college

FYE Counseling Model

• Enrollment Management and Marketing

– Admissions – Financial Aid

• Student Affairs

– Residence Life

• Academic Affairs

– Academic Services – Athletic Department

• Finance and Administration

– Bursar

FYE Counseling Model Assessment

• Retention Audit

– Established need and model premise

• CIRP Survey
• Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory
• Noel Levitz Institutional Priorities Survey
• Parent Survey (admitted/enrolled)
• Financial Aid Leveraging Study

Admissions, Enrolling and Financial Planning

36 Month Plan

• Process Oriented Information
• Affordability
• Student and Alumni Success Stories
• “Walking Across the Stage”

Messaging

• Tailor messages to various audiences
• Repeat messaging utilizing dynamic

method of delivery:

– Publication Collatoral – Technology (i.e. e-mails, MySpace, website) – Counseling

What Works!

• Success Academy (EMM)
• First-year Experience Counseling (EMM)
• STAR Days (summer orientation)

(campus)

• Freshman Book Experience (campus)
• MySpace (EMM)
• CC101/Freshman seminar (AA)
• Wadsworth Lecture Series (SA/EMM)

Counseling

• FYE Counseling begins at time of

application

• FYE Counseling ends with enrollment in

sophomore class

Series of Counselors and Advisors

• Admissions counselor

– Goals are to accept, enroll and have student be financially clearable

• Financial aid counselor

– Makes award, works with admissions counselor and does intrusive financial counseling for enrolled first years –goal enroll student in sophomore class

Series of Counselors and Advisors

• Peer advising from upper class students

– Orientation Leaders – Resident Assistants – The Learning Circle – Balfour Peer Leaders

• Academic advisors are assigned during

first semester

• Financial aid counselors are assigned for

period of enrollment (4 years)

It Impacts Retention…

• Athletics
• Mount Ida College Newsletter and Inside

Mount Ida

• The Learning Circle/TRIO
• Community Interactions

It’s Not About Whether the Students Get In

• Admissions and financial counseling

focuses on “right fit” and potential for achievement

• Admissions Counselors are first point of

contact and remain with student throughout enrollment process

• Collaborative “case management”
• Maintain contact for four years

After the first six weeks of enrollment pass off to Academic Affairs

The Early Alert Program

Early Alert Is Designed To…

• Identify first-year students early in the

semester who are having difficulty in the classroom

• Coordinate a supportive community

response to address the student’s challenges

• Increase retention and promote academic

success for all students

How Early Alert Works

• Faculty member meets with student to

discuss challenges

• Faculty member completes and submits form
• n College website
• Form is automatically sent to several pre-

determined key staff

• Any contact made with the student is

reported back to the Early Alert Coordinator

• Follow-up by Coordinator when necessary

The Early Alert Form

• On line and interactive

Who Uses The Form?

• First Year Seminar Faculty
• Adjunct Faculty
• Faculty Teaching

Developmental Courses

Early Alert Can be Initiated by any community member

• Enrollment Management Committee

meeting

• E-mail to VPEMM

Who Receives the Form?

• Representatives from:

–Academic Services (Program Directors) –Financial Aid Office –Residence Life –Counseling Center –Athletic Department

Statistics

• 6% of first-year

student names were been submitted to the program between 9/12/06 and 10/15/06

• 80% of the issues

were resolved (successfully made contact)

Conclusions

• Program is most successful when the

form is submitted within the first five weeks of the semester

• Quick action and feedback are key to

faculty involvement

• Explanation of the Early Alert Program

should be included in the syllabi of the professors who use the program

• Explained at parent orientation

Results thus far . . .

• Retention increased 5 points

– 63% to 68% – Goals was to reach 68% retention by fall 2007

• Comprehensive Program assessment in

2006-2007 using Stufflebeam Program Assessment model.

Mount Ida College

• www.mountida.edu