In the Fall of 2022, Student Success wanted to improve upon its AIM (Academic Intervention Management) program, a CCG initiative implemented in 2012, to work with first-year students who go on academic probation after their first semester. The AIM program is considered reactive and fails to provide the “just in time” support many of our students need. A pilot of the FLEX program was run during the fall 2022 and the fall 2023 semesters alongside the AIM program. The initial retention rate results of the FLEX program seem promising – showing a significant increase compared to the AIM program. FLEX was scaled from an average of 24 students in the pilots to 158 incoming first-year students for the Fall 2024 semester. The AIM program continues to run each spring semester to work with first-time students on academic probation.
During the pilot program, FLEX was for incoming first-year students below a 3.2 high school GPA (HSGPA). These identified students were invited to participate in the FLEX program. For Fall 2024, FLEX was open to all incoming first-year students with targeted outreach to those with a HSGPA below 3.2.
The FLEX program is a proactive approach focused on a productive academic mindset, identifying resources, and providing academic support. Students who participate work one-on-one with an Academic Support Counselor on a weekly, bi-weekly, or as-needed basis to meet students where they’re at, both academically and socially. FLEX essentially provides an individualized first-year experience course. The FLEX program is non-credit-bearing; thus, it is free, and students can opt in or out.
Measures of success include the percentage of students who participated in the FLEX program and continued into the next semester in good academic standing and those who returned the following fall semester (first-year retention).
KPIs:
- Number of participants per fall
- Percentage in good academic standing after the first semester
- Percentage retained (First-year retention)
- Average GPA of all participants
- Average GPA of those retained
| Participants | % Good Standing | % FY Retention | Avg GPA All | Avg GPA Retained | |
| Fall 2022 Pilot | 21 | 52% | 52% | 2.13 | 2.79 |
| Fall 2023 Pilot | 26 | 73% | 92% | 2.42 | 2.67 |
| Fall 2024 | 158 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
ABAC’s AIM program produced results and helped students return to good academic standing as long as they participated regularly in the program. The effectiveness is reduced when enrolled students who did not participate as expected are added in. Below is a glimpse of the five-year average for the AIM program for comparison to FLEX:
| 5 YR Avg | Avg Student Required | % Return to Good Standing | % FY Retention | Avg GPA All | Avg GPA Retained |
| AIM | 89 | 13% | 11% | below 2.0 | below 2.0 |
KPI goals
For students who participate in FLEX, ABAC would like to see the percentage of students in good standing and retained after their first year exceed the College’s first-year retention rate as described under the Institutional Profile section. Consistent percentages over 70% are the long-term goals of the FLEX program.
Initial results of the FLEX program indicate that a proactive approach may help ABAC in improving USG student outcomes of first-year retention and reducing the time to degree completion. Upon completion of the two pilots the following adjustments to FLEX have been made:
- Opening the program up to all first-year students
- Running FLEX in Fall and AIM in Spring
Combining a reactive program, AIM, with our proactive program, FLEX, can help provide continued academic support to help students with greater academic need be successful.
KPIs for the Fall 2024 program will be complied and analyzed by the end of Spring 2025, due to the measuring of the first-year retention rate.
The FLEX program is expected to run as planned for Fall 2025. Adjustments to meeting frequency and targeted outreach to participate in the program may be adjusted pending results/data from the Fall 2024 cohort.
Challenges: Sufficient qualified/credentialed personnel is the major challenge facing the FLEX program. Given other programs/initiatives and daily workflow, Academic Support will be challenged in providing adequate intervention if the numbers/demand continues to grow.
Supports: A review of programs and services provided by Academic Support in relation to its staffing to develop a plan that lays out a clear timeline to provide adequate staffing, which is balanced and considerate of budgeting challenges faced by the State College Sector of USG.
