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Student Success Drive-in Session
Information to Action: A Data Driven Plan for Student Retention

Friday, June 7, 2013
Noon - 2:00 pm
Harold Alfond Forum, 2nd Floor Conference Rooms 230/231
University of New England, Biddeford, ME
Registration Fee: $30, includes lunch

Presenters: Kim Whitney Sauerwein, Director of Student Success and Retention; Burton Kirkwood, Academic Dean; Kate Seamans, Assistant Director of Communications, Colby Sawyer College

Description: How do we use data to inform student retention practice? In this session, we will discuss specific measures for institutional and student success, methods of communicating this data, and strategies for turning this information into campus action plans. We will highlight Colby-Sawyer College's “first six weeks” initiative and how it fits into the annual Plan for Student Success and Retention.

To register: http://une.universitytickets.com/user_pages/event.asp?id=365.

Questions? Contact Diane Beaudoin: 207.602.2265; dbeaudoin-at-une.edu.

Directions to the University of New England can be found here. The Harold Alfond Forum is Building #32 on this map.

Parking: Participants may park at the new Harold Alfond Forum, no permit is required during the summer months. Upon entry to the building, proceed up the stairs to the 2nd floor. The conference rooms are straight ahead.

Detailed Session Outline

1. Participant Assessment --Who is here? What perspectives are represented?
2. Defining Student Success-- How do you define student success at your institution? How do you define institutional success? Are these definitions consistent across your institution or do different departments define success differently? --How do student success and institutional success overlap? When are they at odds and how does your institution resolve that tension?
3. Measuring success--What data are gathered to measure success at your institution? Who is responsible for measuring success? How is this communicated to internal constituents? External constituents?--What data are you collecting that aren’t being used? Why do you think it is being collected?--What data is your institution missing? What would you do if you had this information?
4. Data-driven decision making--Describe and share ways in which your institution is effectively using data to make decisions around student success programming.--Describe areas in which your institution is programming without data because “this is the way we’ve always done it.” What are some strategies for inserting assessment into program planning? How do we do this with limited time and resources?
5. Creating a data-driven action plan--What processes and programs does your institution have in place to support student success and retention in the first six weeks? --Now that you’ve heard the Colby-Sawyer first-six week initiative and what we’ve learned from our process and research, what is missing at your institution? How might you use data to determine what is missing?--How will your students benefit from creating a data-driven action plan for student success and retention? How will your department benefit? Your institution?
6. Conclusion and session evaluation (for future planning!)