Learning Outside the Classroom

Each semester, TRIO Student Support Services completes a community service project. It is a great opportunity for students to develop leadership skills, explore career options, add to professional networks, and build community. In my view, it is also a great opportunity to strengthen the student-staff relationship, which is integral to supporting student success.

Data-Based Advising

There are plenty of projects out there that use data to direct student advising, but I decided to develop my own for the TRIO SSS program here at CCD. For one, it is free to develop and use our own system. For two, it allowed me to create a system that fits our contingent situation.

It is quite simple (though its description is not conducive to a narrative). I select ten quantifiable variables that historically indicate problems with persistence and completion for our students: Term Grades, Term GPA, Cumulative GPA, Cumulative Completion Rate, Cumulative GPA Hours, Financial Aid Standing, Financial Aid Application Status, Hold Status, TRIO Meetings, and TRIO Activities. Then I operationalize the data for each variable, crunch the data, and end up with a Persistence Score for each student. The Persistence Score is like a golf score, the lower the better. The higher the score, the greater the risk of student stop out.

Then, in the following semester, I use the Persistent Report as a triage model for intentional advising. For students scoring low, I provide no additional services beyond standard TRIO activity. For students scoring medium, I enact one additional intervention. For students scoring high, I enact two additional interventions.

The Persistence Report is also helpful when meeting with students, as it provides plenty of important conversation points. As another project, I am currently creating a "flipped classroom" curriculum that uses a website to guide students through the data collection for themselves, and then connects them with student development advising and activities.

An important question is: Does data-based advising based on the Persistence Report make a difference in student persistence and completion? Anecdotally, I can say - at minimum - that it raises awareness of student trajectories and is a helpful tool for student advising. I have not yet completed a scientific evaluation, though I am currently working on another project to methodically evaluate TRIO, so perhaps I will include it there.

The Balancing Act

As a student advisor, I understand the importance of creating a welcoming, supportive environment for the students. As Vincent Tinto argues in his research on retention, relationship and a sense of community is key. "You want to go where everybody  knows your name," as the song goes. And if a student feels comfortable coming to us as they face obstacles and challenges, then we are positioned to utilize our skills and tools to strengthen and motivate.

On the other hand, I see it equally important to be an agitator. Sometimes a little "tough love" is needed, and it is our role to push and challenge the student. Carol Dweck makes a convincing argument for this view in her book  Mindset. To reach our full potential, we all need those people and  moments that nudge us beyond our comfort zone, that create disequilibrium and difficulty. It is through these experiences, too, that we grow stronger.

Sometimes a student needs a cookie, but other times the student needs to eat his vegetables.

To me, this leads to a balancing act between being friendly and empathetic, and being tough and challenging. Key to walking this line is trust. In my very first meeting with students, I make it clear: your success is my success, and you are capable of far more than you can imagine; I am here to support you and be with you every step of the way, but I am also here to push you and challenge you. And to live into this trust, I personally have to deeply take to heart what I say, and to do my best to reach this high standard each and every day that I come to work.