Measuring Student Success in Colleges: A Multifaceted Approach

Colleges and universities across the nation are dedicated to fostering student success. However, defining and measuring this success is no simple task. Each institution tailors its approach based on its unique mission, scope, and the students it serves. This article explores the various ways colleges measure student success, encompassing traditional metrics and emerging holistic approaches.

Defining Student Success: Common Themes

While the specific metrics may vary, several common themes underpin the concept of student success in postsecondary education:

Student Retention: This refers to students remaining enrolled, re-enrolling after a break, and continuing their undergraduate education. Retention rates, progression rates (the rate at which students move from one academic level to the next), and the number of credit hours accumulated towards a degree are all indicators of student progression.
Student Educational Attainment: This focuses on students persisting to completion and earning a certificate, diploma, or degree within a specific program or achieving their educational goals. Graduation rates, the number of degrees awarded per academic program, and licensure pass rates (for programs leading to licensed professions) are key measures of educational attainment.
Student Academic Achievement: This emphasizes the quality of educational instruction students receive and their success in academic coursework. Academic achievement can be measured by students' performance in courses, their success in subsequent courses, graduation from an accredited institution, and, where applicable, enrollment in accredited academic programs.
Student Advancement: This considers students' progress and success in subsequent educational and occupational endeavors for which their college degree or program was designed to prepare them. This can be gauged by the success of two-year college transfers to four-year institutions, the admission of undergraduates into graduate programs, and the employment rates of graduates.
Holistic Development: This acknowledges the role of colleges and universities in helping students develop as "whole persons." While not always captured in traditional accountability reports, this aspect encompasses the development of critical thinking skills, emotional maturity, social skills, ethical/spiritual growth, and physical wellness.

Factors Influencing Student Success

An institution's performance on student success measures is influenced by a multitude of factors. The institution's role, scope, and mission significantly impact the type of students enrolled and their levels of academic preparation and financial security. Institutions with less selective admissions criteria that serve low-income, working-class, and minority students may have lower retention and graduation rates compared to more selective institutions serving more academically prepared and affluent students. Additionally, many institutions serve as a starting point for students' educational journeys, with students later transferring to complete their studies elsewhere.

The Importance of College Completion

Earning a college degree is widely recognized as a pathway to career success and financial security. However, a significant number of students who begin college do not complete their programs. This has led to an increased focus on student completion in recent years. It is estimated that 40 million adults nationwide have earned some college credits but have not obtained a degree or credential.

National Initiatives and Data Collection

Several national initiatives and data collection systems play a crucial role in understanding and improving student success.

Postsecondary Student Success Grant (PSSG) Program: The Department of Education offers PSSG grants to institutions, nonprofits, and states in partnership with institutions. The application process includes required performance measures that align with recommendations from the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).
Toward Convergence: IHEP's 2016 report, "Toward Convergence: A Technical Guide for the Postsecondary Metrics Framework," provides detailed definitions and background information on metrics used to assess institutional performance related to student access, progression, completion, cost, and post-college outcomes. The report has informed efforts such as the Postsecondary Data Partnership.
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS): IPEDS is a crucial data source for understanding college completion rates at the institution level. It includes the Graduation Rates (GR) survey component, which collects completion statuses of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates at 100% and 150% of normal time to program completion. IPEDS also includes the Outcome Measures (OM) survey component, which captures academic outcome data for all degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, providing a more comprehensive view of student success.
Higher Learning Commission (HLC): HLC, a regional accreditor, evaluates institutions based on student success outcomes, including measures demonstrating the rate at which students achieve or make progress toward completion, educational intent, or other goals relevant to the institution's mission. HLC also considers peer institutions when assessing and working to improve student success outcomes.

Traditional vs. Holistic Metrics

Traditionally, colleges and universities have relied on outcome-based metrics like graduation rates, year-to-year retention, and post-graduation employment to define and measure student success. However, these traditional metrics often focus on a limited segment of the student population, primarily full-time, first-time, and degree/certificate-seeking students.

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need for more holistic measures of student success. Holistic metrics consider a broader range of factors that influence a student's experience and outcomes, including their basic needs, well-being, engagement, and sense of belonging.

Holistic Metrics: A Deeper Dive

Holistic metrics aim to capture the multifaceted nature of student success by considering factors beyond traditional academic measures. These metrics can include:

Basic Needs Security: Addressing students' access to food, housing, and safety. Food insecurity, for example, can be measured using the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food security modules.
Well-being: Assessing students' mental and physical health, stress levels, and overall quality of life.
Engagement: Measuring students' involvement in campus activities, clubs, organizations, and other forms of co-curricular engagement.
Belonging: Gauging students' sense of connection and community within their institution.
Development of Research and Social Skills: Recognizing the value of skills gained beyond the classroom.
Sense of Community, Security, and Accomplishment: Capturing students' overall feelings about their college experience.
Intrinsic Value of Knowledge: Acknowledging the importance of learning for its own sake, not just for career advancement.

The Role of Governing Boards

Governing boards play a crucial role in setting the strategic direction for colleges and universities, and student success should be a central focus of their work. Boards should regularly review key student success metrics, including retention rates, graduation rates, and post-graduation outcomes. They should also disaggregate these metrics to identify any performance gaps among different student populations, such as by race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.

Boards should also be aware of the potential for inequity in seemingly equitable procedures, such as first-come, first-served enrollment systems. They should also ensure that educational and extracurricular opportunities are universally available to all students.

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Examples of Innovative Approaches

Some institutions are implementing innovative approaches to improve student success and track progress more effectively.

Georgia State University: Georgia State has achieved remarkable success in increasing graduation rates, particularly among minority and low-income students. Their strategies include:
- Early Identification of At-Risk Students: Analyzing data to identify sub-metrics that can help measure progress towards graduation, such as the speed with which students determine their majors.
- Proactive Advising: Providing students with proactive advising and guidance to ensure they enroll in the right courses and stay on track for graduation.
- Micro-Grant Programs: Offering micro-grants to students who are close to graduating but have run out of financial aid eligibility.
- Personalized Attention at Scale: Using data analytics to identify students who need personalized support and dedicating resources to those students.
- AI-Powered Support: Utilizing AI chatbots to provide students with 24/7 support in challenging courses like economics.
Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE): Kentucky CPE has a strong performance funding model that focuses on closing the student success gap for low-income and underrepresented students.

Challenges and Considerations

Despite the growing emphasis on student success, there are several challenges and considerations to keep in mind:

Data Collection and Analysis: Collecting and analyzing comprehensive data on student success can be complex and resource-intensive.
Defining "Success": Defining student success can be subjective and may vary depending on the institution, program, and individual student goals.
Equity: It is crucial to ensure that student success initiatives are equitable and address the needs of all students, particularly those from historically underrepresented groups.
The Primacy of the Bachelor's Degree: While bachelor's degrees remain important, it's important to recognize and value other credentials, such as associate's degrees and industry-based certificates.
Program of Study: Recognizing that students with technical degrees tend to have greater earnings success and satisfaction than students in other degree programs.

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