Although most colleges and universities offer scholarships to students, not all students are aware of or take advantage of these offerings. A July 2023 report from Tyton Partners found that while 93 percent of university staff indicated the availability of teaching and learning support resources, only 56 percent of students said they were aware of them.
Targeted and specific outreach to students who would benefit from services is one of the ways colleges increase access and use of support services. Pennsylvania State University is launching a pilot in 2023, using data and notifications from instructors to identify which students would benefit from tuition.
After the first semester, campus leaders have seen the majority of students who receive personalized help respond to or attend the tutoring program, and administrators plan to track the data to see the long-term impact of the program.
Background: Penn State adopted EAB’s Starfish platform in 2015, launching the institution’s new efforts to integrate technology into student support work.
“One of the strong things we’ve done here at Penn State is that the team that runs that site includes offices outside of just academic advising,” said David Smith, director of advising and senior director of graduate studies. . “When this small group talks about ways to make this tool connect students with resources, it allows for a discussion of ideas about where and how technology is used to connect students in the right way to the right resource at the right time.”
The university also has an overarching goal of reducing equity gaps in student achievement, and the use of technology is an important part of that, Smith explained.
How does this work: Twice a year, Penn State instructors complete a progress survey on Starfish that tracks factors including student performance and instructor recommendations for improvement. Performance categories range from “outstanding performance” to “meeting expectations” to “at risk of earning less than a C,” and related suggestions include “coming to work hours,” “consistently participating,” “seeking to teach” or “talking to your counselor. ”
Surveys typically take place between the third and seventh weeks of the semester, with early indicators allowing students to make quick changes throughout the semester to be successful and mid-semester evaluations helping them assess their progress in the course, including their ongoing enrollment.
Each flag and kudo raised generates an automated email to the student and their advisor, and students are expected to act on that alert. Scholars can also add comments, which are posted next to the default email alert.
If a student is selected for tuition, they receive an email with a link to the campus learning center and how to contact their student success network and remind them that there is no additional tuition fee.
The teaching and support center, Penn State Learning (PSL), launched a student testing program in the spring of 2023 for students who wrote courses that had been marked as seeking tuition, but PSL saw little reception of applications for assistance. In the fall of 2023, the office began reaching out to any flagged student seeking tutoring or academic support in math, science and writing.
Within the platform, staff can view all students tagged in certain classes to send a message to students within Starfish about how to get tutoring, said Neill Johnson, director of PSL.
A Critical Look at Teaching
Penn State Learning, where middle-class teaching is housed on the University Park campus, employs 185 undergraduate students as tutors and peer leaders and, in the 2023-24 academic year, engaged more than 14,000 students with a total engagement of more than -100,000.
In numbers: Of those students who received “tutoring to seek” practice, 59 percent participated in tutoring or a Guided Study Group (GSG).
Among students supported by GSG, 235 students in the fall of 2023 received a flag from their instructor to seek scholarship. PSL responded by sending these students a schedule of sessions, resulting in 41 percent attending GSG sessions or exam revision. When it was repeated in the spring of 2024, 1,267 students received a referral and 58 percent attended sessions or exam reviews.
Responses were higher for students in math courses and those with study groups associated with their class, which Johnson thinks is because students are getting more and more information about GSG’s availability, making it harder to miss.
GSG at Penn State
The Guided Study Group program is based on additional education models, including a peer leader focused on the subject through collaborative learning and weekly sessions. GSG is available for 24 courses in chemistry, economics, mathematics and statistics. In the 2023–24 academic year, 12,717 students participated in the GSG both in person and online. Students can also view recordings of sessions, which are especially useful for off-campus students, non-native English speakers or those studying for exams.
Penn State students are open to teaching, and there is no strong stigma about using resources because it is talked about often and continuously, Smith said. But this program helps to bring timely and personal communication between staff and students.
“My sense is that there is an impact,” said Smith. “We can see better results from students who receive flags. It creates a space where our counseling methods can be better.”
What’s next: The next iteration of the test will involve students marked for language courses.
Leaders hope to track student data through graduation to see how working with Penn State Learning has impacted their final or overall results compared to peers or demographic groups.
Another challenge for the future is to break down silos between Penn State’s departments and divisions at the University Park flagship in order to gain more intelligence by completing research progress. Across the commonwealth’s campuses, more faculty members are completing progress surveys and students are getting more recognition and recognition, Smith said. “There is work we have to do at University Park to really learn from our colleagues [other] compasses around how to bring down silos, how to be determined. ”
Another area of focus is identifying how to close the loop on student support flags; while the transaction may be considered resolved because access has been completed, it does not necessarily mean that the academic matter has been resolved with the student. “I think the thing we try to emphasize to the teachers is the flag, that to do, is to get someone’s attention, and that some action needs to happen because of their attention,” said Smith.
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