FutureSTATE 2015
A strategy for Mississippi State University to become
the region's most respected land-grant institution
FutureSTATE 2015 Progress Reports
Spring 2008
ENHANCE STUDENT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Initiative: Support efforts to intervene academically with students who are scheduled for suspension due to low GPAs by funding the Learning Skills Support Program, contributing to improved retention and graduation rates.
Achievements of the past year:
- President's Office provided recurring funding ($30,000) for the program on July 25, 2007
- Success Rates for 2007
Success Rates of LSSP Participants by Semester 2007 Semesters No. of LSSP Participants No. of LSSP students who were successful Percentage of successful students Spring 2007 100 73 73% Fall 2007 162 134 83% Total of 5 Semesters 501 375 75% - Retention Rates for 2007
Comparison of Retention -Semester Following LSSP or "Stay-out" Semester No. of LSSP Participants Retention of LSSP Students No. of Non-participants Retention of Non-participants Sprint 2007 100 72 (72%) 92 22 (24%) Fall 2007 162 121 (75%) 160 37 (23%) Totals 501 347 (69%) 546 138 (25%) - Graduations for 2007=20 LSSP graduates (1 was actually 2006)
- Added FERPA waiver to petition as a requirement to enter the LSSP
- 1st Place in Academics-IHL Best Practices Award, 2007
Goals for the next year:
- Change the course from-LSK 1023: College Reading and Study skills-which is offered to all students, to a course specifically designed for this target group of students; therefore if they have already had 1023 or wish to take it in the future, they will get credit for the LSSP course and LSK 1023. Furthermore the course will be more specific to their needs.
- Create a 1-hr. follow-up course in order to maintain contact and provide further support.
- Evaluate Campus ToolKit as a possible online component for this course.
- Improve the content for the course.
- Have a course fee attached to the course which will include the cost of a text to 1) to guarantee that students have a text and 2) allow reuse of the text over several semesters.
- Attempt to reduce the ratio of participant to instructor to an average of 60:1 instead of the current ratio which is 162:1
- Work more closely with the Registrar to make tracking easier.
- Hire GA with database management skills
Constraints to full implementation of this initiative:
- Lack of funding for (1) additional instructor if the ratio is kept to the original proposal; for database management personnel and statistician
- Lack of facilities/office space
Proposed modification of the initiative:
Put the LSSP petition on Provost's website; change the designated course to a special topic, then carry it through the proper channels to make it a full course.
Overall assessment of the status of the initiative or other comments:
The overall status of the initiative is good, with the exception of the two constraints.
Supplemental material:
- Success Rates* for each semester of the LSSP
-
Success Rates of LSSP Participants by Semester Semesters No. of LSSP Participants No. of LSSP students who were successful Percentage of successful students Fall 2005 60 36 60% Spring 2006 59 44 75% Fall 2006 120 88 73% Spring 2007 100 73 73% Fall 2007 162 134 83% Total of 5 Semesters 501 375 75% * Successful students are defined as those who met the above criteria for the LSSP and as a result were taken off of academic suspension.
- *Retention for all groups for one semester
Table 2: Comparison of Students Retained Semesters No. of LSSP Participants Percentage of LSSP Participants Retained No. of Non-participants Percentage of Non-participants Retained Cohort 1 - Spring 2006 60 52% (n=31) 89 19% (n=17) Cohort 2 - Fall 2006 59 69% (n=41) 54 35% (n=19) Cohort 3 - Spring 2007 120 68% (n=82) 151 28% (n=43) Cohort 4 - Fall 2007 100 72% (n=72) 92 24% (n=22) Cohort 5 - Spring 2008 162 75% (n=121) 160 23% (n=37) Means 67% 89 26% * Retention for this report is defined as being enrolled in the reported semester after the last date to withdraw from the University.
