A concerted, organized effort has been made to consolidate and prioritize resources that produce the most efficient and effective outcomes for students. To do so, effective communication and data access tools are essential and improving on campus. AMSC has completed phase 1, implementing a customer relations management (CRM) system in the Admissions and Student Advising Offices. Phase 2 will expand the CRM system to faculty and other support units. PowerBI training and dashboards are being developed and will be utilized to improve data access and efficiency. All faculty and staff now have access to PowerBI tools.
Observations and Next Steps
What strategies and activities have been most successful?
The most effective strategies and activities have been those that involve faculty members. The faculty/student relationship established in the classroom results in trust and accountability that has proven very effective in effecting positive change with students.
Targeted activities and creative communication strategies that take into consideration time of day, contextualized messaging, and location of activities are important factors for project success.
What have been least effective?
Reaching students through campus email and through traditional methods are becoming less effective communication tools.
How has your institution made adjustments to completion activities over the previous year?
Completion activities have focused more on delivering targeted programs and services. For example, we have successfully instituted a new and dedicated orientation program specifically designed for adult learners. By targeting specific student demographics, the institution can more effectively address specific needs. While the targeted approach expends more resources, it has proven to have greater student impact.
Where would you want to see student success efforts shift in the coming year(s)?
In the coming years, we would like to implement student programs and services that employ academic cohorts and learning communities, each targeting specific student populations. The extent these extracurricular strategies integrate with high impact practices will empower the institution with effective and comprehensive approaches to better support student success.
