2015 EASFAA Conference

Transcription

1 2015 EASFAA Conference SUNY Approach A Campus Adaptable NSLDS Data Approach To Student Retention

2 Presenters SUNY Approach Patricia Thompson, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Student Financial Aid Services State University of New York (SUNY) System Administration James Trimboli, Director of Financial Aid SUNY Niagara County Community College (NCCC) Michael Williams-Project Manager SUNY System Administration, Student Engagement Project

3 Session Objective SUNY Approach Review step by step process for replicating a campus adaptable, student engagement retention model using integrated day to day NSLDS data and an in house delivery platform

4 Session Objective SUNY Approach Let s put this in perspective

5 SUNY is The nation s largest comprehensive system of public higher education 64 institutions: including research universities, acad. med centers, liberal arts colleges, cc s, agric. + tech. institutions and a growing online learning network 465,000 students and 2.4 mil alumni worldwide 88,000 faculty + staff

6 NCCC is A traditional community college located between Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, New York- two of the poorest cities in America The first SUNY CC to participate in the Smart Track Student Engagement Project Note: and don t let Jim forget to share NCCC s projected FY year CDR at the end of the session!

7 Project Concept SUNY Award Letter Initial project concept developed after Dept. of Education (ED) announced move to 3 year CDR Format ED anticipated nationwide rise in CDRs: wider net of possible defaults

8 Project Observations According to federal data and research studies: Student Success is equated to Completion Default is directly related to student success, not necessarily student loan debt Most defaulters borrow only $5,000 and withdraw during their 1 st semester

9 Project Observations (cont d.) According to federal data and research studies: Students who attend community colleges default at substantially higher numbers Community college students do not over borrow A large majority of defaulters are not contacted during their grace period and delinquency periods

10 Project Considerations All students attending a SUNY campus should have the same level of guidance in making important financing choices No campus should have to deal with the issue of student delinquency and default on their own

11 Project Considerations (cont d.) Attack the campus-wide issue as a System, using campus expertise and support VERY IMPORTANT Develop an Intrusive Counseling Early Intervention-Retention Model by reaching out to students while they are still enrolled

12 Project Considerations (cont d.) Campus expertise is invaluable/also ensures buy in and interest Campus involvement must be organized and consistent Support from System Administration needed to organize the statewide effort; but project will also be self-supporting

13 Project Considerations (cont d.) System staff boosted to offer expertise and support for campuses Extensive external and internal research still ongoingincluding the development of SUNY specific characteristics of default (Campus Default Profile) and CDR relationship to student debt

14 Project Development 14 Steps to Success!

15 Project Development Step 1 STEP 1: Obtain System Support Accomplished by: SUNY Board Of Trustees Resolution enacted SUNY Smart Track To make sure that our students and their families make the right choices by providing the right tools and guidance throughout their time at any of our campuses Standard Award Letters, financial literacy and on-going student engagement is the formula for SUNY students to achieve success!

16 Project Development Step 2 STEP 2: Obtain Campus Support Accomplished by: Established SUNY-wide default prevention taskforce, and financial literacy sub-committee, of FA administrators and other campus offices

17 Project Development Step 3 STEP 3: Seek Guidance from Senior Campus Administrators and Dept. of Education (ED) Accomplished by: Taskforce Meeting at SUNY System Administration with ED FSA Deputy Director Sue O Flaherty. ED supported SUNY s multi-tiered approach to prevent/reduce defaults Developed Smart Track Standard Award Letter that is mandatory for all campuses

18 Project Development Step 3 (cont d.) STEP 3: Seek Guidance from Senior Campus Administrators and Dept. of Education (ED) Accomplished by: Identify at-risk students and offer early engagement services for enrolled students Provide financial literacy services Support traditional back end delinquency resolution services

19 Project Development Step 4 STEP 4: Discuss, Finalize and Set Project Priorities/Timetable Taskforce agreed to first: Develop and implement Smart Track Standard Award Letter. Adopted the concept of the fed Shopping Sheet while allowing campus customization Develop SUNY-wide financial literacy procurement 61 campuses on-boarded early 2014

20 Project Development Step 5 STEP 5: Identify at-risk students Taskforce and SUNY System project staff agreed to use NSLDS demographic data to identify 1 st -time, freshman DL borrowersthose most likely to withdraw and later default

21 Project Development Step 6 STEP 6: Identify/test data source for identification of enrolled, at-risk borrowers (freshman 1 st time DL borrowers) Project team tested various NSLDS data parameters from the following 2 NSLDS reports: School Portfolio Report (SCHPR1), and Borrower Demographic Report (SCHBR1)

22 Project Development Step 7 STEP 7: Identify statistical accuracy probabilities, using NSLDS data elements Data includes demographic, loan and loan repayment data fields from the SCHPR1 and SCHBR1 Note: Since SUNY System does not have authorized access to campus NSLDS data, SUNY project campuses must order Fixedwidth/Extract Format files and then upload them to SUNY System using encryption and decryption software where data filtering is completed

23 Project Development Step 8 STEP 8: Review data accuracy by comparing NSLDS output data to the college s freshman, 1 st time applicant DL certification file Note: the accuracy for the 10 participating campuses has ranged from 78-92%. Notable reasons for missing data include: late loan certifications, late admits or general NSLDS reporting delays

24 Project Development Step 9 STEP 9: Develop student engagement communications in collaboration with other campus offices Short, text-like communications will reinforce industry known student withdrawal and default risk factors including available on-campus academic and other student support services including free financial literacy services, personal/crisis counseling and ongoing campus events and social media links

25 Project Development Step 10 STEP 10: Generate according to pre-determined delivery timeframes that mirrors the college s academic calendar (e.g. send academic assistance just prior to final exams week!) Send to known NLDS address of record AND if known, a 2 nd personal address of record. Keep in mind that most students will most likely stop using a college provided address upon separation from campus Note: a campus will lose continuity of communications if campus elects to send future in-grace or delinquent communications AFTER a former student stops using campus assigned address

26 Project Development Step 11 STEP 11: Notify affected campus office PRIOR to sending student engagement so staff will be prepared for hopeful increase of foot traffic and/or student inquires

27 Project Development Step 12 STEP 12: Attempt to track and resolve undeliverable sdiscuss process for campus collaboration on this follow-up project action item Report updates to NSLDS-new demographic data will be reflected in subsequent file uploads Note: To date, SUNY has experienced very few undeliverable s

28 Project Development Step 13 STEP 13: Re-group project taskforce at the end of initial semester and review collective feedback Based on personal office observations and the # of increased student inquiries, attempt to determine what student engagement communications were most successful or not successful? Recommendation: Create a mechanism (e.g. intake form, survey, etc.) to identify why the student came to a respective campus office. Did the communication drive them there?

29 Project Development Step 14 Step 14: Develop project evaluation criteria-still in process at SUNY SUNY is looking at student retention/persistence rates in the semester following sent communications and/or web trend analytics of links accessed by students

30 Examples of Communications Links to NCCC Pages as well as NCCC social media

31 Examples SUNY Smart of Track Financial Literacy Website Communications Be CREDIT SMART. CCC offers FREE Financial Wellness Services! Stay Connected: Add us to your Address Book to prevent s from being flagged as Spam

32 Answer to NCCC CDR Quiz NCCC s default rate dropped 6.5% in the last four years In 2012 NCCC s 3-yr, FY 2009 CDR was 20.4% In 2013 NCCC s 3-yr, FY 2010 CDR dropped to 19.5% In 2014 NCCC s 3-yr, FY 2011 CDR fell again to 15.6 % For 2015, NCCC s projected 3-yr FY 2012 CDR is 13.9% The average community college default rate is 20.6%!

33 2015 EASFAA Conference SUNY Approach Questions?

34 2015 EASFAA Conference SUNY Approach Thank You For Attending Our Session Today

35 References Ruffalo Cody 2014 High School Students Perceptions and Preferences for Communicating with Colleges Noel-Levitz s Annual Student Retention Practices Report Noel-Levitz s Research Report: The attitudes of 2 nd -year College Students Noel Levitz 2 nd semester to 2 nd year Student Satisfaction Survey Report The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) 2010 The Completion Agenda -A Call to Action Report The Center for Community College Engagement (CCCE) National Retention Practices Report, A Matter of Degrees: Promising Practices for Community College Student Success The Power of SUNY (