Beyond the Classroom:
A Comprehensive FYE Counseling Program
Mount Ida College
Newton, Massachusetts
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Mount Ida College
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Baccalaureate college
1400 students
8 miles from downtown Boston
Professional preparation with liberal arts
base
• Student:faculty ratio of 14:1
• Very low discount rate
Mount Ida College
• 25 majors in animal science, business,
arts and sciences, design, and funeral
service education
• From Potential to Achievement
• 538 new students in fall 2005
• 51% from Massachusetts
• 25% of students are varsity athletes
Premise
• Small college – very hands on approach
• Enrollment management and marketing
responsible for recruitment and retention
• Focus on “walking across the stage”
• Not about getting in – it is about getting
out
Enrollment Issues
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Academic readiness
Financial readiness
Financial ability (individual and institution)
Career direction and focus
Millennial Parents and Children
Transition from high school to college
FYE Counseling Model
• Enrollment Management and Marketing
– Admissions
– Financial Aid
• Student Affairs
– Residence Life
• Academic Affairs
– Academic Services
– Athletic Department
• Finance and Administration
– Bursar
FYE Counseling Model
Assessment
• Retention Audit
– Established need and model premise
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CIRP Survey
Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory
Noel Levitz Institutional Priorities Survey
Parent Survey (admitted/enrolled)
Financial Aid Leveraging Study
Admissions, Enrolling and
Financial Planning
36 Month Plan
• Process Oriented Information
• Affordability
• Student and Alumni Success Stories
• “Walking Across the Stage”
Messaging
• Tailor messages to various audiences
• Repeat messaging utilizing dynamic
method of delivery:
– Publication Collatoral
– Technology (i.e. e-mails, MySpace, website)
– Counseling
What Works!
• Success Academy (EMM)
• First-year Experience Counseling (EMM)
• STAR Days (summer orientation)
(campus)
• Freshman Book Experience (campus)
• MySpace (EMM)
• CC101/Freshman seminar (AA)
• Wadsworth Lecture Series (SA/EMM)
Counseling
• FYE Counseling begins at time of
application
• FYE Counseling ends with enrollment in
sophomore class
Series of Counselors and Advisors
• Admissions counselor
– Goals are to accept, enroll and have student
be financially clearable
• Financial aid counselor
– Makes award, works with admissions
counselor and does intrusive financial
counseling for enrolled first years –goal enroll
student in sophomore class
Series of Counselors and Advisors
• Peer advising from upper class students
– Orientation Leaders
– Resident Assistants
– The Learning Circle
– Balfour Peer Leaders
• Academic advisors are assigned during
first semester
• Financial aid counselors are assigned for
period of enrollment (4 years)
It Impacts Retention…
• Athletics
• Mount Ida College Newsletter and Inside
Mount Ida
• The Learning Circle/TRIO
• Community Interactions
It’s Not About Whether the
Students Get In
• Admissions and financial counseling
focuses on “right fit” and potential for
achievement
• Admissions Counselors are first point of
contact and remain with student
throughout enrollment process
• Collaborative “case management”
• Maintain contact for four years
After the first six weeks of
enrollment pass off to Academic
Affairs
The Early Alert Program
Early Alert Is Designed To…
• Identify first-year students early in the
semester who are having difficulty in the
classroom
• Coordinate a supportive community
response to address the student’s
challenges
• Increase retention and promote academic
success for all students
How Early Alert Works
• Faculty member meets with student to
discuss challenges
• Faculty member completes and submits form
on College website
• Form is automatically sent to several predetermined key staff
• Any contact made with the student is
reported back to the Early Alert Coordinator
• Follow-up by Coordinator when necessary
The Early
Alert Form
• On line and interactive
Who Uses The Form?
• First Year Seminar Faculty
• Adjunct Faculty
• Faculty Teaching
Developmental Courses
Early Alert Can be Initiated by any
community member
• Enrollment Management Committee
meeting
• E-mail to VPEMM
Who Receives the Form?
• Representatives from:
– Academic Services (Program
Directors)
– Financial Aid Office
– Residence Life
– Counseling Center
– Athletic Department
Statistics
• 6% of first-year
student names were
been submitted to
the program
between 9/12/06 and
10/15/06
• 80% of the issues
were resolved
(successfully made
contact)
Conclusions
• Program is most successful when the
form is submitted within the first five
weeks of the semester
• Quick action and feedback are key to
faculty involvement
• Explanation of the Early Alert Program
should be included in the syllabi of the
professors who use the program
• Explained at parent orientation
Results thus far . . .
• Retention increased 5 points
– 63% to 68%
– Goals was to reach 68% retention by fall 2007
• Comprehensive Program assessment in
2006-2007 using Stufflebeam Program
Assessment model.
Mount Ida College
• www.mountida.edu