Joseph Connell, Director of Student Success, and Tracey Bender, Student Success Coordinator at Ramapo College discussed implementation and execution of Starfish and how intentionality, collaboration, and closing the loop have increased student success. Learn specific examples of how student success metrics have improved as a result of Starfish implementation and examples of how student-focused offices have leveraged the technology to create ripple effects that extend campus-wide.

1. From Throwing Stones to Creating Ripples:
Ramapo’s Approach to Student Success
Tracey Bender, Student Success Coordinator
Joseph Connell, Assistant Vice President of Student Success
Ramapo College of New Jersey
October 2016

2.  Founded in 1969
 Approximately 6000 students
 ~5800 undergraduate students
 ~ 200 graduate students
 51% of students live on campus
 Designated by the State as “New Jersey’s Public Liberal Arts College”
 Fall 2014 First-Year Class:
 978 students
 Average SAT of 1162
 31% of class meet institutionally approved diversity metrics
Ramapo College of New Jersey

3.  Educational Opportunity Fund Program (EOF), Office of Specialized Services
and Athletics sent faculty members multiple surveys at different times of
the semester asking for student updates
 Faculty reported not as much “loop closing” if feedback was submitted
 Chance that if a student was both EOF and Athletics affiliated, faculty would
end up receiving two different surveys at two varying times for the same
student
 Surveys took significant amount of time either because of manual
student/course entry or continuous copy/paste
 These populations accounted for less than 30% of the incoming class
annually
 What about the other 70%?
Throwing Stones: The Old Model

4.  Increase first-year retention to 90%
 Increase retention rates of all populations
 Increase four-year graduation rate to 65% and the six-year graduation rate
to 75%
The Strategic Plan Effect

5. Increasestudentsuccessbygettingstudentswith
earlysignsofacademicproblemsthehelpthey
needearlierinthesemester.
Improve the old early alert system to make it easier for faculty to communicate with
the constituencies that provide help mid-semester and create a one-stop-shop that
will take less time each semester.

6. 5 Years
•Long-term goals
•Include extended planning horizon and longer term outcomes.
•Targets that if met, move College forward towards institutional goals.
3 Year
•Qualitative Data
•Trend Data to Inform/Support Initiative
•Targets that if met, support making it to five year targets.
1 year
•Small Wins
•Manageable and incremental targets that if met will encourage
support to make it to 3 year plan.

7. Student Success’ Web of Connection
Placement
Testing
First-Year
Experience
Institutional
and SEM
Initiatives
Academic
Advisement
• Progress through Basic Skills and
Foundational Courses
• Reclaim My Math
• Academic Advisement Council
• Academic Advisement Plan
• Advisement Case Management
Software (Starfish)
• FYE Board
• Orientation
• Welcome Week
• First Year Seminar and Peer Facilitators
• Strategic Plan
• SEM Plan
• SEM Retention Committee and Plan
• Early Alert & Student Success Team
Software (Starfish)

8.  Charged SEM Retention Early Alert Task Force: January 2013
 Task force objectives:
 Add Early Alert to increase academic engagement and student persistence as
aligned with the Strategic Plan.
 Improve campus-wide student case management by replacing AdvisorTrac, a
software solution used in the Center for Student Success and EOF for
caseload management, and other local office systems.
 Selection of Starfish for Early Alert and Connect: June 2013
Implementation of Starfish (i.e. Connect at Ramapo)

9. Changeworkneedstobesmallenoughtobe
manageable,butbigenoughtobemeaningful.
Celebrate small wins.

10.  Creation of Faculty Advisory Board – 1 faculty member per school
 Student Populations Targeted: Specialized populations and first-year
students
 Offices Using Starfish: Academic Advisement, Tutoring, EOF, OSS, Athletics
 Predictive Indicators: Academic progress survey flags
Implementation of Starfish (2013-2014)
Roll Out Plan

11.  Goal 1: Reduce the number of units
sending academic progress repor ts to
faculty
 Measure: Number of forms sent to
faculty
 Target: Reduce number of forms from
3 to 1
 Goal 2: Increase percentage of
academic progress repor ts submitted
by faculty
 Measure: Number of sur veys received
by units
 Target: Establish baseline of sur veys
received in 2013-2014; compare
baseline to numbers received by
units in 2012-2013
Connect Implementation Goals

12.  Goal 3: Provide earlier outreach to
academically at risk students as
identified by academic progress
repor ts, grades and other early aler ts
 Measure: Number of contacts with
at-risk first-year students on a
monthly basis
 Target: Establish baseline of contacts
made in 2013-2014; compare
baseline to numbers made by units in
2012-2013 (approximately 20%)
Connect Implementation Goals
20.00%
30.99%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
% of Students with 2 or more Meetings by
Registration Date
2013 2014

13.  Reduce the number of units sending academic progress reports to
faculty
 Finding: Number of units sending surveys was reduced from 3 to 1.
 Increase percentage of academic progress reports submitted by faculty
 Finding: 77% of faculty submitted academic progress reports during the 2013-
2014 Academic Year and over 56% of courses had surveys completed. (No unit
had previously achieved a 50% survey completion rate)
 Provide earlier outreach to academically at risk students as identified
by academic progress reports, grades and other early alerts.
 Finding: Percent of Academic Warning first-year students who met with their
advisor twice on or before 4/2/14 course registration date was 30.9%. (In 2012-
2013, CAAFYE met with less than 20% of first-year students on academic warning
two times in the spring semester)
Findings: 2013-2014

14. Intentionally Expanding the Ripples
Leveraging Success

15.  Faculty
 Requested the ability to comment on more students via progress surveys
 Requested there be less choices on the survey to minimize sideways scrolling
 Students
 Appreciated finding some of their resources in one place, but hoped for more
 Offices
 Began questioning what is Connect?
 How do we get involved?
Adjust Goals Based on Feedback

16. Connect Goals and Outcomes: 2014-2015
Expand student’s Success Network
Provide earlier outreach to academically at risk students as identified by
academic progress reports, grades and other early alerts
Increase percentage of academic progress reports submitted by faculty
Expand and streamline progress surveys to serve more students with more
targeted feedback.
1
2
3
4

17.  Student Populations Targeted: all of the above + sophomores and those on
academic warning
 Offices Using Starfish: all of the above + Career Development, Financial Aid,
Residence Life and International Office
 Predictive Indicators: all of the above + student actions captured within
Banner
Implementation of Starfish (2014-2015)

18. Connect Screenshot of a
Student’s Success Network
Goal 1: Expand the student’s success network.
• Year 1 Offices:
1. Center for Student Success
2. EOF
3. OSS
4. Athletics
5. Adult Degree Completion Program
Cumulative: 5 offices
• Year 2 Additional Offices:
1. Cahill Career Development Center
2. Financial Aid
3. Residence Life
4. Roukema Center for International Education
• Year 3 Additional Offices:
1. Student Affairs
2. Dean of Students
3. Teacher Education
Cumulative: 9 offices
Cumulative: 12 offices
Connect Goals

19. Additional Students. More Targeted Feedback.
2013-2015
Student Populations
2015-2016
Student Populations
First-Year Students First-Year Students
Sophomore Students Sophomore Students
Athletics Juniors
EOF Transfers
OSS Athletics
Academic Warning EOF
OSS
Academic Warning
2013-2015
Progress Survey Items
2015-2016
Progress Survey Items
Academically at Risk Academically at Risk
Attendance Concern Attendance/Participation
Concern
BIT Concern Center for Reading & Writing
Referral
Center for Reading & Writing
Referral
Good Work
Great Work Missing Assignments
Low Participation
Missing Assignments
Low Quiz/Test Scores
Showing Improvement Kudos

20.  Expand the student’s success network
 Finding: Number of professional staff in student’s success network increased by 50%.
 Increase percentage of academic progress repor ts submitted by faculty
 Finding: Percentage of academic progress reports submitted by faculty stabilized at 56%;
goal will shift for 2015-2016 to expand faculty usage in other areas of Starfish
 Provide earlier outreach to academically at risk students as identified by academic
progress repor ts, grades and other early aler ts.
 Finding: Number of first-year students on academic warning meeting with their academic
advisor twice prior to course registration in the Spring 2015 semester increased by 60%
from the Spring 2014 semester.
 Expand and streamline progress surveys to serve more students with more targeted
feedback.
 Finding: Survey items reduced from 11 to 5 and surveyed student populations increased to
include sophomores.
Findings: 2014-2015

21.  ¾ of the student body is about to be enrolled in Connect
 Shift from focusing on administrative outcomes to student outcomes
 Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Merges into One Division
 Starfish site visit to discuss future possibilities
Year 3: Reflecting on Ripples

22.  Student Populations Targeted: all of the above + juniors and transfers
 Offices Using Starfish: all of the above + student affairs offices
 Predictive Indicators: all of the above + implementation of predictive model
 Survey students on usage and responses to Connect
Implementation of Starfish (2015-2016)

23. Connect Quantitative Feedback
55%
22%
28%
16%
21%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Professor/Course Instructor
Tutor (Center for Reading and
Writing, Math or other)
Advisor (Athletics, CAAFYE, EOF,
OSS, Scholarship)
Service (CAAFYE, Center for
Reading and Writing)
I received messages and chose
not to act on them.
Question: As a result of the messages from connect@ramapo.edu that
indicated opportunities for improvement in your courses, please specify if you
followed up with any of the following campus resources; check all that apply.

24. Connect Quantitative Feedback
Question: You may have received messages from connect@ramapo.edu that
indicated positive performance in your courses. Check all that apply about
these messages.
48%
34%
32%
14%
18%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
They motivate me.
They gave me timely feedback.
They made a positive difference in the
amount of effort that I put in to the class.
They were not necessary.
I did not receive any of these messages from
connect@ramapo.edu.

25. 3YearFindings

26. Academic Progress Survey Comparison
(3 year trends)
Please note, an average of 2 surveys in 2014 and 2015 is listed. We switched
to administering 1 survey per semester in 2016.
Spring Semester 2014 Academic Progress
Survey 1 & 2
Spring Semester 2015
Academic Progress Survey 1 & 2
Spring Semester 2016 Academic
Progress Survey 1
 569 of 927 surveys completed
 61.38% completion
 453 of 884 surveys completed
 51.24% completion
 570 of 1067 surveys completed
 53.42% completion
 278 of 446 unique faculty
 62.33% completion
 217 of 392 unique faculty
 55.22% completion
 251 of 432 unique faculty
 58.10% completion
 1,083 unique students with items
raised
 1895 unique students with items
raised
 2540 unique students with items
raised
 479 unique students with academic
items (not including kudos or BIT)
 496 unique students with academic
items (not including kudos or BIT)
 939 unique students with academic
items (not including kudos or BIT)

27. Progress Item Statistics (3 Year Trends)
Progress Items
Spring 2014
Number
Submitted
Spring 2014
% of Total
Spring 2015
Number
Submitted
Spring 2015
% of Total
Spring 2016
Number
Submitted
Spring 2016
% of Total
Academically at Risk 230 9.33% 222 9.25% 675 16.18%
Attendance Concern 135 5.48% 146 6.09% 445 10.67%
BIT Concern 6 0.24% 8 0.33% NA NA
CRW Referral 111 4.50% 59 2.46% 102 2.45%
Good Work Kudos 979 39.72% 1437 59.90% 2584 61.95%
Low Participation 125 5.07% 129 5.38% NA NA
Missing Assignments 168 6.82% 206 8.59% 365 8.75%
Low Quiz/Test Scores 361 14.65% NA 0.00% NA NA
Showing Improvement
Kudos
350 14.20% 192 8.00% NA NA

28. Closing the Loop: First Year Students
44.06%
52.69%
92.94%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
Spring 2014 Spring 2015 Spring 2016

29. Student Meetings Regarding Academic Probation
20.00%
30.99%
61.73%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
% of Students with 2 or more Meetings by Registration Date
2013 2014 2015

30. Connect Qualitative Feedback
EOF Advisor Student Success Advisor
OSS Advisor Faculty Member
1
2
3
4
Working with Connect has made the advisement
process more interactive between the students and
myself. It really is a great central system that has
even more capabilities than we are currently doing.
I think the biggest relationship it has improved has
been between student and faculty member.
Students get flagged and once I have been able to
get in touch with them, a lot of them have already
spoken to their faculty member. It has given the
students a better sense of ownership in terms of
their progress.
I believe I am better informed about
how my students are doing in the
classroom. Connect has of ten prompted
me to reach out to a student that I
might have otherwise overlooked. When
students receive a Connect repor t from
a professor they respond more
proactively than an email just from me.
Connect identifies students who are
struggling or are having academic
dif ficulty, which is a benefit to the
student and me. We are able to
determine the suppor t mechanisms
needed.
As an adjunct last semester, Connect
managed to scare some of my students
into doing their missing assignments.
It was ef fective too because the
athletics depar tment inter vened in
response to my referral and told a
student he could not come to practice
until I said his work was turned in.

31.  Success Plans adopted as part of
the college academic standing
procedure for all students with less
than a 2.0
 Analyze impact of certain flags
on first year student retention
Looking Forward

32. CRM software not only allows us to connect
with students, but also to connect with
ourselves (i.e. across our silos)

33. Questions?
Joseph Connell
Assistant Vice President of Student Success
jconnell@ramapo.edu
Tracey Bender
Student Success Coordinator
tpastori@ramapo.edu