Course Project Background: Analysis of Structure and Dynamics

Week 5 Application: Structure of Best Practices

Walden University

June 8, 2017

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for

EDUC - 6263- 2

Dr. Margaret Dam

1

Abstract

Student support services are required for students to succeed in higher education. Programs and support services are especially needed in the first year of college, when students are most likely to drop out of college. This paper looks at the changing structure of student support services, provides example of collaborative support programs for first-year students designed to address issues with transition into college and retention, and discusses gaps in student support services.

Background

Student support services have been demonstrated to be an essential component for student success in higher education (Bridges, 2008). This holds especially true for minorities, students who are financially disadvantaged, and first generation students (Savitz-Romer, Jager-Hyman, & Coles, 2009). There students are more likely to be under-prepared when they enter into higher education, and are more likely to drop out (Savitz-Romer, Jager-Hyman, & Coles, 2009). This paper looks at the traditional structure of student support services, provides example of collaborative support programs designed to address issues faced by first year students, and discusses gaps in student support services.

Structure of Support Services and Providers

Student support services and programs take many forms. According to Tinto & Pusser (2006), student success is encouraged by academic, social, and financial support. In terms of support for first-year students, some of the forms academic support may take include remedial education for under-prepared students, tutoring and additional help with coursework, and study groups (Tinto & Pusser, 2006). Social support for first-year students may be provided through counseling and advising, mentoring, and student centers for certain demographic groups and minority students (Tinto & Pusser, 2006). Financial support may be provided by institutional staff who assist students navigating through the available resources to apply for financial aid, scholarships, grants, or work-study programs.

Traditionally, different groups, as described above, have held the responsibility for providing student support services, and institutional staff provided support for students through academic, financial and career advising, and faculty and instructors took the lead in providing students with academic support (Laureate Education, 2011). However, research has indicated that successful institutions have instructors and staff, especially student affairs staff, which collaborate to provide students with sufficient support and support services (Kinze & Kuh, 2007).  In addition to collaborating and coordinating in regards to advising to provide students with more responsive and intensive support services, instructors and staff at successful institutions play dual roles in which faculty also serve as advisors (Kinze & Kuh, 2007).  This allows for more opportunities for interaction and observation of both academic and social progress and for more useful individualized advising (Kinze & Kuh, 2007). Support is most productive when it is not provided separately from the learning environment (Tinto & Pusser, 2006). There has been a shift away from the traditional delineation of who provides which support services, and we now see support service programs with more overlap in providers and more collaboration with faculty and staff and across institutional units (Kinze & Kuh, 2007).

Collaborative Programs and Services for First Year Students

Transition programs are important for first year-students (Hunter, 2006). For first-year students, entering into higher education is comparable to being thrust into a novel culture, where the rules, expectations, workings, environment, traditions, and language are different (Hunter, 2006). Student support services in the first year of college are crucial in order to retain students as this is when they are most likely to drop out (Tinto, 1988). Many economically disadvantaged students and students who are the first in their family to attend college use community college as an entry point into the higher education system (Whitmire & Esch, 2010). Unfortunately, for many of these students their experiences and circumstances do not lend themselves to achievement, as they face financial issues, conflicting work and family obligations, and find themselves underprepared for the academic expectations of the school (Whitmire & Esch, 2010). In order to address these issues, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) introduced a transition and retention program called Pathway to the Baccalaureate in order to provide students at risk of not enrolling or not persisting in college with support when entering into community college (Whitmire & Esch, 2010). High school students are recruited into the program and provided with intensive counseling services to help them navigate their entry into community college (Whitmire & Esch, 2010). Support services include information on financial resources, registration, assessment testing, and completing the necessary paperwork (Whitmire & Esch, 2010). Once students are enrolled, the retention aspect of the Pathways program is initiated and collaboration between faculty and student support staff plays an important role. There is an early alert system for students who are underperforming academically, learning communities, remedial skills classes, and a required class that teaches skills for college success (Whitmire & Esch, 2010). The focus is not only on academic support however, and required intensive counseling support continues following enrollment and includes transfer and career counseling (Whitmire & Esch, 2010). Students in the program not only have higher attainment rates, they also perform better academically than students not in the program (Whitmire & Esch, 2010). Collaboration is the key to the success of the program, between faculty and staff, between departments within the college (e.g., both financial and academic advising are provided by the same staff member), and between institutions, because the program would not be possible without the support of the high schools where students are recruited.

While retention is a part of the Pathways program, there are specific first-year services designed with retention in mind, such as learning communities. Learning communities are another type of first-year program dependent on the collaboration between faculty and student support staff (Tinto, 1999). According to Tinto (1998), the structure of these communities promotes collaboration and teamwork amongst instructors and support staff as they must meet frequently and work together as both supervise aspects of the learning communities. Learning communities consist of a group of students who move through the college experience together, enrolled in the same classes they form a cohort that can study, learn, and progress simultaneously, around a specific theme (Tinto, 1996; Tinto 1998). Learning communities can provide students with a unified first-year experience, allow for team learning, collaboration, and accountability, while providing academic and peer support systems (Tinto, 1996; Tinto 1999). Students in learning communities demonstrate higher retention in continuing into their sophomore year of college, even when confounding and demographic factors are considered (Kuh, Cruce, Shoup, Kinzie, & Gonyea, 2008). Learning communities are successful retention programs because higher involvement and interaction, both academically and socially, leads to persistence (Tinto, 1998).

At Kingsborough Community College, students may be placed in learning communities that last from two to five semesters (Kingsborough Community College, n.d). The learning communities for entering students include a first-year seminar. (Kingsborough Community College, n.d). The college has recently created other learning communities for students in their sophomore year and beyond (Kingsborough Community College, n.d). These communities are organized around themes such as career opportunities, or English as a second language (Kingsborough Community College, n.d). Regardless of which year the student is in, each semester requires students complete a collaborative assignment that integrates all they learned throughout the semester (Kingsborough Community College, n.d). Research has indicated the learning communities are successful in student retention (Kingsborough Community College, n.d). Kingsborough notes the success of its leaning communities are due to “college-wide collaborations involving administrators and staff from Academic Affairs; Student Affairs; the Office of the Registrar; the Office of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning; and the Center for Academic Writing Success, among others, as well as faculty across Academic Departments, including the Library” (Kingsborough Community College, n.d, p. 1).

Gaps in Services

While many higher education institutions offer student support services, there are some gaps and limitations to services. Students need to be aware of these services in order to benefit from them, and many are not cognizant of available services, or lack the time to utilize them (Weissman et al., 2009). Additionally, the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) indicated that there is a need for student support services that focus on responsibilities students face that are not academic (Weissman et al., 2009), such as family and work responsibilities, which often compete and conflict with school responsibilities. Available student services are also limited by numbers of available faculty and staff, which results in a high student to advisor ratio and impacts the quality and extent of individualized services students receive (Weissman et al., 2009).

Conclusion

Student support services are needed to help students achieve success in higher education (Bridges, 2008), especially for minority students, low-income students, and first generation students (Savitz-Romer, Jager-Hyman, & Coles, 2009). Programs and support services are especially needed in the first year of college, when students are most likely to drop out (Tinto, 1988). Collaborative support programs for students entering college are needed to assist students in the transition into higher education and provide continual support so they remain enrolled.

References

Bridges, B. K. (2008). Student Support Services: A Practice Brief Based On BEAMS Project Outcomes. Institute for Higher Education Policy.

Hunter, M. S. (2006). Fostering student learning and success through first-year programs. Peer Review, 8(3), 4.

Kuh, G. D., Cruce, T. M., Shoup, R., Kinzie, J., & Gonyea, R. M. (2008). Unmasking the effects of student engagement on first-year college grades and persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 79(5), 540-563.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive producer). (2011). Best practices for student success: Faculty and staff roles in student success. Baltimore, MD: Author.