1. NOELLE MORELAND VANESSA CORREA NORTHERN VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE Right to Fail and Student Success: Working with Students Facing Academic Difficulties

2. Outline of Presentation Right to Fail - 10/6/15 2 Right to Fail Journey Research – right to fail and intrusive advising Our model Failure – what does it look like for me? For our students? Probation intervention – then and now Success stories References

3. Right to Fail Journey Right to Fail - 10/6/15 3 J.K Rowling  Used during SDV 100 course Began research  Mortified at what we found – “sink or swim”  Little to no institutional support

4. Right to Fail Right to Fail - 10/6/15 4 Sullivan (1963)  Conservative (prevention of failure) versus Creative (right to fail) Zinsser  Lunacy Bloom, among other books  Failure a good thing; Failure isn't fatal J.K. Rowling

5. Right to Fail – Higher Education Right to Fail - 10/6/15 5 McGrail (2009) – Lane Community College  Not required to be advised to register  Very few courses have pre-reqs or minimum placement scores  Academic intervention once GPA falls below certain level Students who are motivated, most prepared benefit from this (McGrail, 2009)

6. Tinto and Right to Fail Right to Fail - 10/6/15 6 Tinto (1975) - Students stay in school when are socially and academically involved (“integrated”)  Institutional commitment  Versus sink or swim Kirk-Kuwaye and Nishida (2001) - high involvement advising = improved academic success

7. Intrusive Advising Right to Fail - 10/6/15 7 Earl (1988) – “deliberate structured student intervention at the first indication of academic difficulty in order to motivate a student to seek help” (pg. 28) Varney (2007) – “Intrusive Advising involves intentional contact with students with the goal of developing a caring and beneficial relationship that leads to increased academic motivation and persistence.”

8. Pathway to the Baccalaureate at a Glance Right to Fail - 10/6/15 8 Partnership between community college, local university and school districts  Students who need a little extra support:  first generation, disability (learning, physical), low income Senior year  Application, FAFSA, placement test Community College  Mandated College Success Skills class (with Pathway teacher)  Check in for every semester  Mid Semester Progress Report  Advising  Transfer assistance Counselor at local university  Point person

9. Our Model: Holistic Advising Right to Fail - 10/6/15 9 Work on all aspects of academics  Academic planning, financial aid, transfer How life affects academics  Work vs school, study skills Offer wraparound services  Referrals to outside counseling, food resources

10. Our Model: Intrusive Advising Right to Fail - 10/6/15 10 Intrusive  Orientation (Varney 2007)  Mid semester progress reports (Varney 2007)  Regular contact with staff (Schreiner et. all, 2011)  Registration hold  SDV 100 – learning community  Phone calls for those students who haven't yet registered

11. Right to Fail – Pathway Version Right to Fail - 10/6/15 11 Holistic Advising in college  Academics, family, work, finances, study skills, time management, etc. The high school experience  Students are not allowed to fail  Graduation rate Given opportunity for extra help, but up to the student to take advantage

12. Failure Right to Fail - 10/6/15 12 What does failure look like for me? What does failure look like for our students?

13. Pathway Probation Students Right to Fail - 10/6/15 13 Most afraid to ask for help  Feel like they need to do it all themselves External sense of control Tend to have difficulties with family/work Quit when things get hard  About mid-semester

14. Advising Session Right to Fail - 10/6/15 14 Academically stable student  Student meet to discuss schedule, transfer school, transfer process, career counseling, etc Probation/warning student  Discussion around what happened that semester, things to be changed, targeted advising (specific courses, etc)  Everything else

15. Previous probation program Right to Fail - 10/6/15 15 Send email to probation students  Should be sent at least 2 times Contract signed with advisor Minimum of 6 meetings per semester  Mid semester progress report  Advising  Career/major exploration  Discuss study skills for current classes

16. Restrictions for Probation Right to Fail - 10/6/15 16 Limit of 8 credits per semester  Used to be 7 Hold on account to prevent self registration

17. Revamped Probation Right to Fail - 10/6/15 17 Based on college-wide revamping for probation students Maintains holistic advising  Hybrid of intrusive and right to fail

18. Revamped Probation Right to Fail - 10/6/15 18 Blackboard class  Answer series of questions  Reflective as well as informational  Appointment with advisor  Mid-semester progress report and advising  Hold is removed  Credit limit is placed  Hold for the following semester is placed

19. Success Stories Right to Fail - 10/6/15 19

20. References Right to Fail - 10/6/15 20 Kirk-Kuwaye, M., & Nishida, D. (2001). Effect of Low and High Advisor Involvement on the Academic Performance of Probation Students. NACADA Journal, 21, 40-45 McGrail, A. (2009). A New Direction: From “Freedom to Fail” to “Right to Succeed.” Retrieved from https://www.lanecc.edu/sites/default/files/lc/ccmomentrighttosucceed.doc Schreiner, L.A., Noel, P., Anderson, E., & Cantwell, L. (2011). The Impact of Faculty and Staff on High-Risk College Student Persistence. Journal of College Student Development, 52, 321-338 Sullivan, A.J. (1963). The Right to Fail: Creativity versus Conservatism. The Journal of Higher Education, 34,191-195 Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from Higher Education: A Theoretical Synthesis of Recent Research. Review of Educational Research, 45, 89-125 Varney, J (2007). Intrusive Advising. Academic Advising Today, 30(3). Retreved from https://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Intrusive-Advising.aspx Walter R. Earl (1988). Intrusive Advising of Freshmen in Academic Difficulty. NACADA Journal, 8, 27-33. Zinsser (no date). The Right to Fail. Retrieved from http://columbian.tiffin.k12.oh.us/subsites/Jennifer- Musgrave/documents/AP%20Language%20and%20Composition/TheRightToFail.pdf