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Nicole Giambusso
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Thanks to the hard work of faculty, staff, and most of all, students, Salem State University’s overall six-year graduation rate is on the rise. In 2016, the university announced that its six-year graduation rate for first, time-full time students surpassed 50 percent for the first time, to 52 percent. In 2018, that rate is 58 percent, with a 70 percent rate for transfer students. Over the past 11 years, the university’s graduation rate has risen 21 points. According the most recently available (2016) data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Salem State is among the top 7% of four-year institutions nationwide when it comes to graduation rate increases.
While Salem State works to increase graduation rates for the entire student body, the university also pays close attention to achievement gaps for students from underrepresented communities. Looking at this data allows Salem State to target programming to segments of the student population to help further drive student success.
One of the university’s priorities has been to close what was once an achievement gap between white and African American students. As recently as 2015, this gap was significant, with the 2009-2015 cohort showing a 51 percent graduation rate for white students and a 37 percent graduation rate for African American students. Since then, African American student graduation rates at Salem State have trended upward, surpassing that of white students in 2018. For the first-time full-time freshmen who started in fall 2012, graduation rates were 58 percent for white students and 63 percent for African American students. The above table shows data for the past five cohorts.
With various efforts aimed at increasing graduation rates, identifying which ones are most responsible for success can be difficult. Salem State attributes the increase in African American student graduation rates to programs and services that have increased the graduation rate for the entire student body, as well as efforts designed specifically to help African American students succeed.
Initiatives Designed to Increase Success Among African American Students
The two programs below have arguably made significant contributions to African American student success at Salem State.
Peer Mentoring
Two student organizations are designed to facilitate students building relationships with their peers and benefitting from faculty or staff mentors. Bold, Educated, Empowered Sisters (BEES) offers self-identified women of color an opportunity to gain skills and knowledge necessary to reach their personal and professional goals, with a focus on women’s empowerment and professional skill-building. The Brotherhood offers self-identified men of color resources and mentorship to reach academic and achievement goals. The Brotherhood aims to support academic persistence, and connect students directly to faculty/staff resources.
Summer Bridge Academy
While this number fluctuates, in recent years about 25 to 30 percent of African American students at Salem State entered the university through its Summer Bridge Academy (SBA). Housed in the university’s Center for Academic Excellence, SBA offers admissions to students who, based on their academic profile, would not have been admitted through the traditional process. Aimed at ensuring students’ academic success, SBA provides a designated counselor to each student to monitor their academic progress throughout the summer and academic year. SBA students also participate in a number of activities, such as group meetings and workshops, in an effort to develop the whole student.
Despite the fact that these students did not have the academic background to be traditionally admitted, African American students who participate in SBA have a six-year graduation rate of 72 percent. These numbers lead Salem State to believe that the Summer Bridge Academy has a significant impact when it comes to closing achievement gaps and attracting and graduating more students from underserved populations.
University-wide High-impact Practices
As Salem State works to increase graduation rates for its entire student population, high impact practices are believed to be additional drivers of success.
Student Navigation Center
In 2014, the university opened its Student Navigation Center, a one-stop-shop to assist with billing, financial aid, registration, and other matters related to the business of being a student. This centralized location not only aids students in working through the administrative hurdles that can often present significant barriers, but it gives students the tools to manage these items throughout their college careers.
Early Alert System
In 2012, Salem State began utilizing an early alert system to help identify academically at-risk students. The system relies on student surveys in addition to faculty and staff referrals to identify students in need of outreach. In fall of 2018, over 1600 students completed the transition survey administered during the third and fifth weeks of the semester, allowing the system to flag students who may be at risk. At the end of the fall 2018 semester, 174 faculty members utilized this early alert system to identify at-risk students, resulting in over 1800 submissions. For each student reported through this process, student support services personnel reach out to offer appropriate assistance and intervention. Not only is this system helping the university identify at-risk students and maximize its use of human resources for outreach and intervention, but this approach has rallied the campus around the important issues of student success and retention.
First Year Experience
Launched in 2012, Salem State’s first year experience office (FYE) works to ensure that first year students have access to the resources and support that students need to successfully navigate the transition from high school to university life.
New Initiatives
While the recent 63 percent graduation rate for African American students is promising, Salem State is well aware that further work must be done to maintain and grow this rate for future cohorts. Two new initiatives have recently been launched to continue driving success for African American students.
Learning community
Salem State has long found learning communities – in which students who share similar experiences or demographics take set courses as a cohort – to be an effective approach for enhancing the student experience. In fall 2017, the university launched its first learning community for Men of Color. The Men of Color Learning Community is made up of 18 first year students who choose to participate. The students took two classes as a cohort in fall 2017 (Foundations of Writing; Creating Positive Life Outcomes for Men of Color) and two more courses in spring 2018 (Oral Communication; Men’s Health). In fall 2018, a second Men of Color Learning Community was created. To assess effectiveness, the university has compared these students’ outcomes with a matched cohort of students that did not participate in the Learning Community. Preliminary data indicate that Men of Color Learning Community students had higher average GPAs, median GPAs, and retention rates.
100 Males to College
Salem State is proud to take part in the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education’s (DHE) 100 Males to College program. Created by DHE in 2015, 100 Males to College is designed to increase college access, enrollment, retention, and success for low-income students and students of color, to positively impact their prospects for success in college and career. The program leverages community and campus resources in a collective impact model so that public higher education institutions, school districts, community and business partners work together to provide additional targeted supports for these students. Salem State University partners with Salem Public Schools, Lynn Public Schools, North Shore Community College and Northern Essex Community College/Lawrence Public Schools. Cohorts of high school young men of color meet regularly with mentors to discuss issues of positive masculinity and academic success. Encouragement to participate in dual enrollment/early college opportunities with coursework at Salem State University is also a major component of the program.
Future Study – What is Working?
As shared earlier in this article, having a series of high impact practices can make it difficult to identify which are most effective in improving student success. As Salem State continues moving forward with these approaches, the university is also seeking to uncover what has been most effective for successful African American students and other students of color. In April 2019, the university will be organizing four focus groups made up of 10 students of color who have obtained junior or senior status with a cumulative GPA greater than 3.0. We plan to discuss what has led to the student’s success, which programming and activities have helped, challenges that were faced, who served as a mentor, and what advice these students would have for those coming behind them. Salem State is hopeful that this research will provide important insight to help guide the university in one of its four strategic plan goals: student success.