# First in the World:  FY 2015 Validation Project Abstracts

## P116X150015 

## Georgia State University

## Atlanta, Georgia  

**Partner Institutions and Agencies:**Arizona State University,  Iowa State University, Michigan State University, The Ohio State University, Oregon State University, Purdue University, University of California Riverside, University of Central Florida, University of Kansas, and University of Texas at Austin

**Project Title:**MAAPS: Monitoring Advising Analytics to Promote Success: A Validation Study Proposed by the University Innovation Alliance

**Project director:**Timothy Renick, Ph.D., Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success and Vice Provost, Georgia State University, Box 3961, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302-3961, trenick@gsu.edu

**Evaluator:**Martin Kurzweil, J.D., Director of Ithaka S+R’s Educational Transformation Program, 2 Rector St, New York, NY. 10006, Martin.Kurzweil@ithaka.org

**Abstract:**MAAPS (Monitoring Advising Analytics to Promote Success) is a multi- institutional project from the eleven-member University Innovation Alliance dedicated to validating the effectiveness of proactive advisement in increasing retention, progression and graduation rates for low-income and other high-need students.  Addressing documented obstacles to college completion that disproportionately impact at-risk populations, the four-year study will track cohorts of low- income and first-generation students who are enrolled at the eleven large public universities that constitute the University Innovation Alliance. Students at each of these universities selected by random assignment will receive, in addition to advising services typically offered by the campus, (a) a menu of intensive, proactive advisement to help them navigate key academic choices and to establish individualized academic maps, (b) real-time alerts when they go off path prompted by a system of analytics-based tracking, and (c) timely, targeted advising interventions to get them back on the appropriate academic path. By means of the quantitative and qualitative analysis comparing contextualized results across campuses, the study will suggest scalable best practices for the nationwide implementation of such approaches. These best practices will be discussed and disseminated by means of peer-reviewed articles, two national conferences, and published proceedings.

**Absolute priority:**Improving Student Support Services

**Total number of students in the project:**10,000

**Supporting study:**Bettinger, Eric and Baker, Rachel B. (2014) The Effects of Student Coaching:  An Evaluation of a Randomized Experiment in Student Advising, *Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis*, 2014, 36:3, online version found at http://epa.sagepub.com/content/36/13

## P116X150010

## Central Carolina Community College

## Sanford, North Carolina 

**Partner Institutions and Agencies:**

Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute; Carteret Community College; Cleveland Community College; College of the Albemarle; Isothermal Community College; Pamlico Community College; Randolph Community College; Roanoke Chowan Community College; Southwestern Community College  

**Project Title:**A Statewide Model to Improve Persistence and Completion Using an Individualized Success Coaching Program 

**Project Director:**Brian S. Merritt, Ph.D., Vice President of Student Learning; bmerritt@cccc.edu

**Evaluator:**Derek Price, Ph.D., President, DVP-Praxis; derek@dvp-praxis.org

**Abstract:**The primary goal of the *Carolina Works*project is to increase student persistence across ten North Carolina community colleges.  Modeled after Bettinger & Baker (2011), the intervention to be evaluated is proactive success coaching. The objective is to provide proactive and individualized support services through high-need student caseloads informed by an early alert/advising system powered by predictive analytics.  The total number of students to receive coaching will be 8,224 with a total of 16,449 students included in both the treatment and control groups.  The focus of the project is on high-need students such as adult learners, part-time, low-income, and students of color.  The project design is a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) study to meet the WWC Design Standards without reservations. Project activities include success coaches to provide proactive intervention, partnership trainings, and professional development opportunities.  Consultations will also take place with an expert national advisor, Jobs for the Future.  Anticipated results include improvements in persistence and completion along with project deliverables to maximize future implementation in a variety of settings by tracking cost per student and cost per outcome and the dissemination of replication and sustainability strategies. 

**Absolute Priority:**Improving Student Support Services 

**Total number of students in the project:**16,449 

**Supporting Study**: Bettinger, E. P., & Baker, R. (2011). The effects of student coaching in college:  An evaluation of a randomized experiment in student mentoring.  Reviewed in U.S. Department of Education, What Works Clearinghouse, August 2012.