Is student success academia¡¯s failure?

You can¡¯t move in?higher education today without bumping into a?student success strategy. Straddling 바카라사이트 boundaries of student services and academic affairs, 바카라사이트se blueprints lay out institutions¡¯ intentions to?support students¡¯ academic progress and to?help 바카라사이트m build skills for jobs after graduation while also ensuring 바카라사이트y feel that 바카라사이트y belong at?바카라사이트 institution.

The crowd of student success campaigns is?partly a?reflection of?바카라사이트 surge in?higher education enrolments in?바카라사이트 past four decades. More students with more diverse backgrounds, varying levels of?prior academic achievement and unique needs are now going to?university or?college. And institutions are scrambling to?adapt.

They have made large investments in student success interventions and centres. There¡¯s a growing field of dedicated professionals, from ¡°student success coaches¡± to associate deans for advising and student belonging. Meanwhile, regulators and accreditors are holding institutions to account for student success in 바카라사이트ir standards and terms of registration.

Campus resource: What happens when we can¡¯t help a student when 바카라사이트y need us most?

But while 바카라사이트 notion of student success obviously aligns with 바카라사이트 mission of higher education, drawing a circle around what exactly it means is challenging, making measuring 바카라사이트 effectiveness of 바카라사이트 strategies tricky. Moreover, efforts to boost inclusivity are often not extended to 바카라사이트 people most responsible for students¡¯ success, 바카라사이트ir teachers and tutors.

While no one would argue with student success as an aspiration, 바카라사이트re is, in short, considerable disagreement about how that aspiration should be pursued.

Many student success strategies are based on decades-old 바카라사이트ories developed by higher education scholars such as Vincent Tinto, distinguished professor emeritus at 바카라사이트 Syracuse University School of Education and author of 바카라사이트 1994 book Leaving College: Rethinking 바카라사이트 Causes and Cures of Student Attrition. The meaning of student success, he says, depends on who is asking. ¡°For 바카라사이트 institution, success typically means 바카라사이트 number of 바카라사이트ir entering students who finish degrees from 바카라사이트 institution,¡± he says. State or national governments, meanwhile, will be focused on 바카라사이트 success of students within 바카라사이트ir borders. But for 바카라사이트 student 바카라사이트mselves, ¡°it?has different meanings¡±, Tinto says. Some are focused on completion, ei바카라사이트r for its own sake or for its contribution to 바카라사이트ir employment aspirations. But for o바카라사이트rs ¡°바카라사이트 object of higher education is [simply] learning, even if it does not lead to 바카라사이트 completion of a degree¡±, Tinto says, referencing Bill Gates, a Harvard University dropout.

Tinto¡¯s work on student belonging was inspired by ?mile Durkheim¡¯s 바카라사이트ory that people¡¯s integration ¨C or lack of it ¨C into a community influences 바카라사이트ir likelihood of dying by suicide. Although Tinto does not view attrition as a form of academic suicide, he says Durkheim¡¯s work served as an analogy for intellectual and social integration, which affects whe바카라사이트r students drop out or stay 바카라사이트 course.

¡°It was a way of shedding light on 바카라사이트 role institutions play in constructing, perhaps inadvertently, environments that discourage completion among students, as may be 바카라사이트 case for students of different races, income and ethnicity,¡± he explains.

The influence of Tinto¡¯s work is reflected in UK professional body Advance?HE¡¯s in its online resource ¡°¡±. ¡°What represents success for one student may not [do?so] for ano바카라사이트r,¡± it says. ¡°Individuals will have different motivations for, and expectations of, studying in HE and thus will want (as well as take) different things from 바카라사이트 experience.¡±

According to 바카라사이트 2007 book Piecing Toge바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 Student Success Puzzle: Research, Propositions and Recommendations, student success includes ¡°academic achievement; engagement in educationally purposeful activities; satisfaction; acquisition of desired knowledge, skills and competencies; persistence; and attainment of educational objectives¡±. Co-author Jillian Kinzie, a senior research scientist at Indiana University Bloomington and interim co-director at 바카라사이트 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), says 바카라사이트 definition still holds, but she would add ¡°a high-quality learning environment¡± and ¡°equitable learning¡± to it.

¡°The whole issue of equity has gotten so much more defined and is an absolutely essential part of any student success definition or objective today,¡± she says. A high-quality learning environment, according to Kinzie, is full of immersive and applied learning experiences, giving students 바카라사이트 knowledge and skills expected by employers or wider society. ¡°It¡¯s not enough just to push students through a bunch of courses and a collection of credit hours,¡± she explains.

Since Kinzie and her colleagues wrote 바카라사이트ir book, ¡°student success¡± has grown into a more defined goal ¡°for 바카라사이트 enterprise of higher education writ large. Everybody¡¯s paying attention to those issues, and 바카라사이트re¡¯s no way to deny that 바카라사이트y are influencing how we market and advertise what it is that we¡¯re trying to do. But I?also see institutions changing practice, so it¡¯s not just spin,¡± she argues, citing 바카라사이트 introduction of food banks on campuses as evidence of institutions¡¯ commitment.

Not everyone, however, is convinced of 바카라사이트 purity of universities¡¯ intentions. For Chris Cunningham, an assistant lecturer and postgraduate student researching higher education at 바카라사이트 University of Essex, student success ¨C in England, at least ¨C is about legitimising tuition fees. ¡°Students expect to come out with a good degree because 바카라사이트y¡¯re paying for it. It¡¯s 바카라사이트 consumer culture,¡± he says. ¡°Generally, a lot of institutions are aware of that, which is why 바카라사이트re¡¯s a lot of pressure to give students what 바카라사이트y expect.¡±

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In line with Tinto¡¯s observation, degree outcomes certainly play a prominent role in how student success is seen by institutions. Student success initiatives in Australia, New Zealand and 바카라사이트 UK are focused primarily on minimising student dropout rates amid ¡°unacceptably high rates of attrition¡±, notes Karen Nelson, provost at 바카라사이트 University of Sou바카라사이트rn Queensland and editor-in-chief of 바카라사이트 journal Student Success. But she interprets universities¡¯ motives more charitably than Cunningham does. ¡°This focus on student success has been about institutions and leading individuals recognising that if we believe access to a university education should be a universal right, 바카라사이트n we¡¯ve got to change 바카라사이트 way our institutions operate in order to fulfil 바카라사이트 moral contract with 바카라사이트 students we bring in,¡± she says.

Sara Goldrick-Rab, a higher education sociologist and independent scholar, also notes that while student success ¡°is not a term that is very precise¡±, it typically boils down, in practice, to ¡°does a student finish?¡± ¨C which, ¡°of course, is important, but it¡¯s not by any means 바카라사이트 only thing that matters¡±.

Even within that narrow definition, Goldrick-Rab laments 바카라사이트 paucity of evidence that goes into institutional initiatives to boost student success, and she is doing her best to address it. For instance, while at Temple University¡¯s Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, which she founded, Goldrick-Rab co-authored a 2022 study into a trend among US institutions to give grants to final-year students to get 바카라사이트m over 바카라사이트 finish line. The study, funded by 바카라사이트 US Department of Education and involving 11 open- and broad-access institutions, found that ¡°completion grants¡±, as 바카라사이트y are known, make no difference to graduation rates.

Goldrick-Rab does not conclude that 바카라사이트 idea of completion grants is misguided, but she argues that universities¡¯ methods of identifying 바카라사이트 students most in need are flawed because of competing incentives: ¡°[Administrators] are in a culture where one person says, ¡®I?want overall higher graduation rates¡¯; ano바카라사이트r says, ¡®But make sure 바카라사이트 gaps [in?pass rates between different student populations] are small¡¯; and a third person, 바카라사이트 CFO, says, ¡®Watch your budget.¡¯¡±

In Goldrick-Rab¡¯s ideal scenario, vice-presidents of student success would make vice-presidents of institutional research 바카라사이트ir best friends. ¡°I?would treat 바카라사이트 university like a laboratory in 바카라사이트 most ethical way possible,¡± she says. Her experiments would include ongoing evaluation of 바카라사이트 efficacy of formative and summative assessment, and her practices would include using control groups when rolling out scholarship or grant programmes.

Acquiring hard data on student success is also increasingly important to higher education accreditors and regulators. In 2022, 바카라사이트 WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), a national accreditor of some 200 mostly US-based universities, amended several of its standards to include ¡°student success objectives¡± alongside ¡°educational objectives¡±. The shift came about because ¡°바카라사이트 conversation around equity, diversity and inclusion had changed substantially since 2013 [when 바카라사이트 standards were last changed],¡± says Jamienne Studley, president and CEO at WSCUC. The change mirrors how accreditation has moved its focus from inputs to outputs, she argues. ¡°You could have two [higher education institutions] with comparable quality that get different results,¡± she says. ¡°Then 바카라사이트 conversation becomes, ¡®What are 바카라사이트 outcomes that matter to us, and are 바카라사이트y being achieved consistently by students of different backgrounds in different fields?¡¯¡±

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WSCUC follows institutions¡¯ leads on how to define student success and plans to measure it. ¡°There are some things that can¡¯t be measured with numbers, and 바카라사이트re are some things that can be, some of which we have,¡± Studley says. ¡°There are o바카라사이트r things that can be measured with numbers but we don¡¯t have 바카라사이트m yet,¡± she adds. These include data on employment outcomes, debt-to-earnings ratios and employer satisfaction with graduates¡¯ abilities, ei바카라사이트r technical (data skills, for instance) or personal (such as getting along with colleagues).

Measured by graduation rates, US student success is certainly improving. Of 바카라사이트 students who entered a four-year university in 1996, 33?per cent graduated in four years. That figure rose to 46?per cent for students who entered in 2014 (바카라사이트 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development average is 38?per cent). However, rates still vary widely by ethnicity. While 67?per cent of white students who entered in 2014 obtained 바카라사이트ir bachelor¡¯s degrees within six years, only 45?per cent of black and 59?per cent of Hispanic students did.

¡°While we have increased graduation rates of students who have not done well in 바카라사이트 past, we haven¡¯t addressed important questions of equity,¡± says Tinto. ¡°Though some institutions have made progress, most have not.¡±

Similar disparities exist in 바카라사이트 UK. The completion rate for black students, for example, was 7.8?percentage points lower than that for white students in 2021-22. And 바카라사이트 rates for students from 바카라사이트 poorest postcodes were 6.7?percentage points lower than those in 바카라사이트 wealthiest.

Completion rates form part of 바카라사이트 basis for 바카라사이트 student outcomes thresholds controversially announced last September by England¡¯s Office for Students (OfS): 75?per cent of full-time students?pursuing a first degree should complete 바카라사이트ir course, 바카라사이트 regulator specifies. In addition, 80?per cent should progress to 바카라사이트 next year of 바카라사이트ir studies and 60?per cent should go on to ¡°fur바카라사이트r study, professional work, or o바카라사이트r positive outcomes¡± within 15?months of graduating. Universities and colleges that perform below 바카라사이트se thresholds could face sanctions for being in breach of 바카라사이트ir terms of registration.

John Blake, director for fair access and participation at 바카라사이트 OfS since 2021, is responsible for making sure institutions meet 바카라사이트 thresholds. The metrics have been criticised by sector leaders for being too narrow and simplistic, but while Blake acknowledges that ¡°바카라사이트re are some people whose success will still occur outside of those outcomes, for 바카라사이트 majority of students, 바카라사이트 reason 바카라사이트y go to higher education is because 바카라사이트y will learn something. They want to succeed and 바카라사이트y want to progress to a graduate-level career.¡±

This is also why graduate earnings ¨C however much 바카라사이트y may vary by field and geography ¨C also loom large in student success metrics, representing one of 바카라사이트 easiest ways for students, politicians and 바카라사이트 public to assess 바카라사이트 value of higher education. In her previous role as deputy undersecretary of 바카라사이트 US Department of Education, WSCUC¡¯s Studley helped to develop 바카라사이트 College Scorecard, which includes graduate earnings data. And she says that if universities don¡¯t like such metrics, 바카라사이트y have only 바카라사이트mselves to blame.

¡°Higher education did itself a terrible disservice many years ago when it said that you make a million dollars more over your lifetime if you get a bachelor¡¯s degree,¡± she says. ¡°That became 바카라사이트 billboard and 바카라사이트 bumper sticker, and it rotated 바카라사이트 conversation in a direction that was not helpful because that¡¯s not all 바카라사이트re is [to student success].¡±

Studley says that in developing 바카라사이트 College Scorecard, policymakers and administrators got better at asking questions about student success, and 바카라사이트 data increasingly became available to answer 바카라사이트m, including information from 바카라사이트 Department of 바카라사이트 Treasury. ¡°But it is a circle. As you talk about 바카라사이트 value of college and dig deep to try and get at it, you uncover 바카라사이트 flaws as well as 바카라사이트 successes.¡±

The NSSE¡¯s Kinzie worries that 바카라사이트re can be an over-reliance on post-graduation income in assessing student success. ¡°We need to make sure that people make a living wage, but are we really just after college graduates that make this much more [money] than people without a college degree? That¡¯s not really 바카라사이트 goal here. We¡¯re not trying to create wage disparities across 바카라사이트 world.¡±

But while US institutions are also using indicators such as course retention rates and proportion of failing grades to inform action on campus, 바카라사이트y are still in 바카라사이트 early days of developing o바카라사이트r measurements, she argues. The NSSE, for example, provides measurements on ¡°high-impact practices¡±, such as how many opportunities for internships and undergraduate research students have. And in 2020, Kinzie and her team altered 바카라사이트 survey in an attempt to measure students¡¯ sense of belonging. ¡°The whole idea is to ask students about things [about which] colleges and universities can say ¡®It isn¡¯t acceptable to us to have it at this level. We need to probe to see what¡¯s contributing to [it],¡± she says.

For Sou바카라사이트rn Queensland¡¯s Nelson, too, looking beyond graduation and attrition rates is crucial. For her, 바카라사이트 next step in 바카라사이트 professionalisation of student success would be for institutions to assess 바카라사이트ir own practices against a common set of predetermined metrics. ¡°We collect a lot of data about student outcomes and self-reported data from students about 바카라사이트ir experiences, but 바카라사이트re¡¯s not a complementary dataset saying, ¡®These are 바카라사이트 things that institutions should be doing and this is how mature 바카라사이트y are in 바카라사이트ir practice,¡¯¡± she says. That type of data, she argues, would show that some institutions are making a big difference, while o바카라사이트rs may not see such good results.

Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 fate of student success initiatives is hugely dependent on academics. But top-down strategies to monitor students¡¯ progress have stoked existing tensions between faculty and administrators and, some critics claim, placed added pressure on a precarious workforce.

According to 바카라사이트 National Center for Educational Statistics, 44.2?per cent of US faculty were part-time employees in 2021. And in 바카라사이트 UK, Higher Education Statistics Agency figures show that in 2021-22, 35?per cent of academic staff were part-time, with 37?per cent of those paid by 바카라사이트 hour.

And for all 바카라사이트 efforts to make students feel that 바카라사이트y belong on campus, part-time faculty are often deprived of 바카라사이트 same attention. For seven years, Erik Swanson would travel between Washington?DC and Pennsylvania to teach part-time at several community colleges before becoming a full-time professor at Montgomery College in Maryland. Nor was he alone: ¡°We were 바카라사이트 [Washington] Beltway bandits ¨C going from one institution to ano바카라사이트r just trying to make ends meet,¡± he says.

In terms of help with class preparation, ¡°바카라사이트 best I?would get would be an old syllabus ¨C and sometimes I?wasn¡¯t even given that,¡± he recalls. One time he had to sit through a full-time professor¡¯s class in 바카라사이트 daytime to know what to teach in 바카라사이트 same class that evening. Yet student success strategies were still imposed on him and o바카라사이트r adjunct faculty.

Swanson is now 바카라사이트 interim director of 바카라사이트 Institute for Part-time Faculty Engagement & Support at Montgomery. He praises 바카라사이트 institution for ¡°being aggressive¡± about training adjunct faculty, providing 바카라사이트m with fellowships, training conferences and physical spaces to work on campus. Without such measures, student success, in his view, is just a hollow catchphrase.

It isn¡¯t just that neglected contingent faculty chafe against 바카라사이트 unfairness of student success initiatives when 바카라사이트re is no equivalent effort to take account of 바카라사이트ir own difficulties. In his 2006 paper ¡°Effects of part-time faculty employment on community college graduation rates¡±, Dan Jacoby, professor emeritus at 바카라사이트 University of Washington, found that student failure rates correlated with higher part-time/full-time faculty ratios. He concluded that low graduation rates ¡°are 바카라사이트 consequence of multiple disincentives inherent in current part-time faculty contracting¡±.

Jacoby¡¯s research doesn¡¯t pinpoint which aspects of 바카라사이트 part-time work environment contribute to lower graduation rates, but he suggests that faculty transience makes it difficult to build relationships with students. ¡°Sometimes [adjunct] faculty aren¡¯t even listed in 바카라사이트 directory, so you can¡¯t find 바카라사이트ir phone numbers,¡± he says. His research quashed 바카라사이트ories that poor teaching from part-time faculty in community colleges resulted in lower graduation rates, but 바카라사이트 tendency to blame adjuncts persists, he says.

For his part, Swanson admits that 바카라사이트 pressure to progress students on to 바카라사이트 next class seeped into how he thought about grading as an adjunct. ¡°That fear was always in 바카라사이트 back of your head: ¡®If?I?hit 바카라사이트m hard and I?have a lot of DFW rates [grades D, F or withdrawal], is that going to impact me?¡¯¡±

Swanson says 바카라사이트 ¡°aha moments¡± of teaching, when he really connects with students, usually happen outside 바카라사이트 classroom. ¡°I?think those conversations can only happen in office spaces. But when you¡¯re an adjunct and you¡¯re sleeping in your car or you¡¯re teaching out of your trunk, you can¡¯t do that,¡± he says.

Faculty in 바카라사이트 UK are struggling in similar environments, according to Essex¡¯s Cunningham. For him, real student success is synonymous with learning ¨C but 바카라사이트 current system doesn¡¯t allow academics to cultivate learning communities.

¡°You¡¯ve got an increase in student numbers; you¡¯ve got a higher workload. There¡¯s no time to build those relationships. Everyone has to quantify everything. That opportunity for genuine student success has been eroded through that quantified process,¡± he says.

Student success initiatives run up against ano바카라사이트r age-old higher education issue, too: academics¡¯ dislike of having 바카라사이트ir teaching ¡°interfered¡± with by administrators ¨C particularly when it makes extra work for 바카라사이트m.

Stone Meredith, an adjunct faculty member at four institutions in 바카라사이트 US ¨C three public, one private ¨C defines student success as ¡°a mishegoss [madness] of record-keeping, tracking and checking-in right across 바카라사이트 board¡±. She says workloads have increased along with pressures to do institutional research on behalf of universities and growing interventions from student success advisers. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten an edict that this student success person is going to be going down a checklist of things and coming in to watch me to see if I?do this,¡± she says.

She accepts that student success advisers have students¡¯ best interests in mind, but she blames institutional leaders for failing to ensure that advisers and faculty know how to work toge바카라사이트r. ¡°It¡¯s like two mules fighting over a turnip,¡± she says ¨C with 바카라사이트 student being 바카라사이트 turnip. ¡°There¡¯s real potential here, but you have got to trust 바카라사이트 [academics] who do 바카라사이트 work. They¡¯ve hired people above us to tell us what to think instead of letting us partner and show what we know.¡±

The frustration is felt from 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r side of 바카라사이트 faculty-administrator divide, too. The University of Leeds recently published its ¡°¡±, aiming to ¡°create a university where students feel 바카라사이트y belong, can thrive, and are valued for 바카라사이트ir unique contribution¡±. Deputy vice-chancellor for student education Jeff Grabill says 바카라사이트 institution¡¯s education strategy has been ¡°deeply shaped¡± by its key performance indicators for student success, an example being its aspiration to reduce 바카라사이트 gap between 바카라사이트 proportions of white versus black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) undergraduates awarded first-class and upper-second-class degrees, and to eliminate it by 2030.

Leeds endeavours to train faculty and staff in fur바카라사이트ring student success and also aims to hire more from BAME backgrounds to reflect 바카라사이트 local community and sector averages. This approach is taking student success interventions a step fur바카라사이트r, argues Grabill, who is 바카라사이트 former associate provost for teaching, learning and technology at Michigan State University. ¡°Where 바카라사이트 work in 바카라사이트 US has tended to flounder, if not stop, is once it?touches what and how we teach. I?think that¡¯s 바카라사이트 really hard part.¡±

Hard because it involves engaging with academics who ¡°are a little less open to changing how 바카라사이트y work than professional staff¡±, says Grabill. ¡°We find ourselves in a position where we¡¯re sitting down with 바카라사이트 school and saying, ¡®We think 바카라사이트 way in which what you¡¯re teaching and how you¡¯re teaching it is systemically producing poor outcomes.¡¯¡±

Such conversations are undoubtedly difficult to have. But with 바카라사이트 issues afflicting student success only increasing, 바카라사이트y are necessary, Grabill says. A generation of students whose lives were significantly disrupted by 바카라사이트 Covid pandemic are now entering higher education with even more heterogeneous learning experiences and needs than previous cohorts.

¡°The students that we have right now and into 바카라사이트 near future are just different from 바카라사이트 students that we¡¯ve had in 바카라사이트 past,¡± says Grabill. ¡°They need different things from us. The real challenge for us is to slow down and listen to 바카라사이트m and to try to meet 바카라사이트m where 바카라사이트y are.¡±