A group of 15 leading research universities is attempting to improve student performance in large, ... [+]
The University Innovation Alliance (UIA) has received a $3.5 million grant led by Ascendium to find solutions for the problem of high dropout and failure rates in college gateway courses.
Founded in 2014, UIA is a coalition of 15 public research universities that focuses on solving two persistent problems in higher education: 1) an insufficient number of college graduates across the socioeconomic spectrum to keep the U.S. economically competitive, and 2) a tendency for universities to work in isolation, resulting in a failure of many promising interventions to attain a reasonable scale.
Over the years, it has tested and scaled several interventions developed at member campuses designed to improve student success. UIA began by building a strong predictive analytics capability that used institutional data to identify key predictors of student outcomes. Building on those tools, it introduced intrusive advising practices, providing students with individualized academic maps and early, real-time alerts to keep them on track.
In 2017, the UIA began to test the impact of small completion grants - awards of less than $1,000 given to students who were closing in on graduation but who needed modest financial aid to complete their degree. Over the course of three academic years, UIA institutions provided completion grants to a total of nearly 5,000 students. More than 83% of the students who were at risk of dropping out remained enrolled or completed their degree within two terms. And during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, 1,116 students received completion grants to help them stay enrolled and on track. (As a guide for other institutions, UIA has introduced a Completion Grants Playbook.)
UIA has also launched an initiative to redesign career services to better support low-income students, first-generation students, and students of color. And in 2019, it launched a chatbots project, using AI-based technology to improve student access to information and reduce communication bottlenecks.
The Alliance’s 15 current members are Arizona State University, Georgia State University, Iowa State University, Michigan State University, North Carolina A&T State University, The Ohio State University, Oregon State University, Purdue University, University of California-Riverside, University of Central Florida, University of Colorado Denver, University of Illinois Chicago, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, University of Utah and Virginia Commonwealth University.
The newest project will focus on those college courses with high DFW rates - the percentage of students who receive grades of D or F, or withdraw from a course.
At most campuses, it’s usually large introductory courses that yield the highest number of DFWs. These “gateway courses,” are classes that are required for students to progress through their major, and they are often a major stumbling block to student retention and graduation.
The multi-campus project will test an approach developed by UIA founding member Georgia State University, which launched an Accelerator Academy in 2020 to address significant pandemic-driven increases in DFW rates. Plans call for at least 1,000 students at the member institutions to participate in the initial pilot study over the next two and a half years.
UIA will help their member institutions identify first-year gateway courses that have a high number of DFW grades. The universities will then invite currently enrolled students – and in some cases, work to re-enroll students that have dropped out – to retake courses at a subsidized cost. Students will receive supplemental instruction, group tutoring and academic coaches to help them succeed in their second attempt at a class.
Like other UIA projects, an open source “playbook” will be created to help other institutions identify and address DFW bottlenecks and develop scaleable interventions to help students stay on track after unsuccessful course experiences.
“Long before COVID-19 disrupted students’ education, we discovered students of color and those from low-income backgrounds are more likely to earn poor grades in or withdraw from courses required for progression toward their degrees. As our institutions seek to help students recover academically from the pandemic, we know we have to address this endemic barrier,” said Bridget Burns, CEO of the University Innovation Alliance. “With support from Ascendium and the Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, we will test and build scalable solutions across the nation’s largest research universities to ensure equitable course progression and degree outcomes for all students.”
Ascendium, which is funding the project, is a nonprofit founded in 1967, that supports initiatives designed to increase the number of students from low-income backgrounds who complete postsecondary degrees, certificates and workforce training programs, with an emphasis on first-generation students, incarcerated adults, rural community members, students of color and veterans.
“At Ascendium, our mission is to address inequities in postsecondary education outcomes by exploring, testing and scaling promising new solutions,” said Keith Witham, director of education grantmaking at Ascendium. “With their work around completion grants, proactive advising and predictive analytics, the UIA institutions have long been field leaders in proactively addressing barriers to improve student success. We are pleased to support the UIA’s latest initiative that could have promising and scalable impact across higher education.”
