Student RetentionFROM DATA TO SUPPORT

JORDI AUSTIN | DIRECTORSTUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

WHAT IS ATTRITION

› Cost to the student

› Cost to the University

› Traditional definitions of Attrition

› Early Attrition analysis

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THE MEANING OF ATTRITION

2011 EARLY ATTRITION RESULTS

› Patterns in risk profile

› Areas for attention

› RESULTS:

› TAFE entry

› Part time students

› Mature age students

› First in Family

› International Students

› ATAR 70 – 80’s

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TRACK AND CONNECT

› Innovative program to provide early identification, support and linkage for students at personal and academic risk

› From 2011 Early attrition data

› Combined with Faculty identified flags or academic barrier courses

› Pilot in 2012 semester 2

› Expansion to BLAS 2013

› Trigger points week 3,7, 13

› Upstream from Academic Risk and progression rules.

› Very positive outcomes to date

- Engineering – highest risk cohort at same pass rate as peers

- BLAS – 13% attrition (HECS census)to 8% this year.

- Non overlapping risk at time points

- Earlier linkage and identification with faculty and support services

- Real time data supported timely intervention

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TRACK AND CONNECT

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Figure 1: Withdrawal before HECS Census date as percentage of cohort

WHAT WORKED?

Connection with a person

Being able to ask “stupid” questions

Reminder and encouragement to seek help

- at both the faculty and central level

Personalised messaging

Just in time information

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TRACK AND CONNECT

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CHANGE FROM FAILURE TRAJECTORY

TO

SUCCESS TRAJECTORY

CHANGE IN SUCCESS PATTERNS

Figure 2: Outcome for all students across 4 units, percent

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Bigger Questions to answer

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Are we keeping the students we need to keep?

What happens to these students now? Are we just delaying the inevitable?

What is an ideal level of retention? How do we determine this?What data do we have available to make informed decisions about this?

Are we able to identify students who would like to remain at Uni but perhaps in a different course, and what options are available to them ?

THANK YOU

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Thanks to

Sandra Harrison and P & I teamFelicity Kiernan and Cassie Khamis (STAR)Student Track and Connect staffTim Wilkinson and Adam Bridgeman

Contact Us

Jordi Austinjordi.austin@sydney.edu.au