First-Year Students and Counseling Services Prepared by Hannah Lawler for the First-Year Student Workgroup

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1 First-Year Students and Services Prepared by Hannah Lawler for the First-Year Student Workgroup services are critical in helping students at all levels achieve their educational goal. Academic counseling is particularly important for first-year students who need guidance in articulating or clarifying an educational goal and a course of study, developing an educational plan, and making progress towards a goal. The current research brief investigates the extent to which first-year students at Santa Monica College receive counseling services in their initial term. The data results will inform the planning and decision-making processes of the college s First-Year Student Workgroup. Four research questions were defined at the September 10, 2014 meeting of the First-Year Student Workgroup: 1) What percentage of first-time freshmen received individual academic counseling before their initial term? By the end of their initial term? 2) What percentage of reverse transfers received individual academic counseling before their initial term? By the end of their initial term? 3) Does the counseling contact rate differ by student demographic group? 4) Are first-time freshmen and reverse transfers who receive counseling more likely to persist to the subsequent spring term? More likely to persist to the subsequent fall term? Data was collected for students enrolled in fall Individual academic counseling was defined as any activity resulting in substantial contact with an academic counselor, including participation in a special program, one-on-one counseling in a general counseling center or online, and enrollment in the 20 course. Students enrolled in 20 were counted as having received counseling services as the course offers frequent and regularly scheduled contact with a counseling faculty member. For a list of special programs included in the analyses, please refer to Appendix A. Santa Monica College Page 1

2 Definitions Cohort Groups The following two cohorts of students were examined in the data analyses: 1) First-time freshmen: students enrolled in college for the first time after high school. Students who enrolled at Santa Monica College for the first time during summer 2013 intersession and subsequently enrolled during the fall 2013 semester were included in this group. 2) Reverse transfers: students enrolled at Santa Monica College for the first time in fall 2013 and who transferred from another institution of higher education. Contact Groups Data responding to research questions 1, 2, and 4 are disaggregated by counseling contact group which distinguishes between when students received individual counseling services: 1) Before enrollment (before): students who only received individual counseling services prior to the start of their initial term (fall 2013). 2) First term (first): students who only received individual counseling services during their initial term (fall 2013). 3) Both before and during first term (both): students who received individual counseling services prior to the start of and during their initial term (fall 2013). 4) Did not receive counseling services (none): students who did not receive individual counseling by the end of their initial term (fall 2013). Santa Monica College Page 2

3 Research Question 1: First-time Freshmen and Services This section describes the percentage of first-time freshmen who received individual counseling by counseling contact group. A large majority, approximately 87% 1, of first-time freshmen in fall 2013 receive individual counseling by the end of the fall term. Table 1 describes counseling contact by when students received counseling services. Table 1. Percentage of First-time Freshmen by Contact Group Contact Group Count Percent Before fall term only 1, % During fall term only % Both before and during fall term 2, % No counseling % Total (First-time Freshmen) 5, % The largest proportion of first-time freshmen had contact with an academic counselor both before and during their initial fall term (50%). About a quarter of first-time freshmen received individual counseling prior to enrolling in the fall term, however, did not access individual counseling once enrolled (26%). About one in ten first-time freshmen made contact with an academic counselor for the first time during the initial fall term (11%). The remaining 13% of first-time freshmen did not receive any counseling services by the end of the initial fall term; these students did not participate in a special program, visit a general counseling center, or enroll in the 20 course. 1 Out of 5843 first-time freshmen in fall 2013, 5087 or 87.1%, received individual counseling services by the end of the fall term. Santa Monica College Page 3

4 Research Question 2: Reverse Transfers and Services Table 2 descries the percentage of reverse transfer students by counseling contact group. The data indicate that like the first-time freshmen, a large majority (76%) 2 of reverse transfer students received individual counseling services by the end of their initial term. Table 2. Percentage of Reverse Transfer students by Contact Group Contact Group Count Percent Before fall term only % During fall term only % Both before and during fall term % No counseling % Total (Reverse Transfer Students) 1, % The largest proportions of students received counseling both before and during the initial fall term or only received counseling services prior to enrollment in the fall term. About a quarter (24%) of reverse transfers did not receive any counseling services by the end of the initial fall term. Figure 3. Contact by Cohort Group Reverse Transfers 31.9% 9.8% 33.9% 24.4% First-time Freshmen 26.2% 10.7% 50.2% 12.9% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Before First Both None Figure 3 describes the counseling contact groups by cohort (first-time freshmen vs. reverse transfer). The data reveal that disproportionately more first-time freshmen received individual counseling by the end of the initial fall term when compared to reverse transfer students (87.1% vs. 75.6%, respectively); however, a large majority of both groups had contact with a counselor. A larger percentage of first-time freshmen had a counseling contact both prior to and during the fall semester, however, more reverse transfers received counseling services before but not during the fall term. 2 Out of 1870 reverse transfer students in fall 2013, 1413 or 75.6%, received individual counseling services by the end of the fall term. Santa Monica College Page 4

5 Research Question 3: A Comparison of Students by Contact The current section describes the counseling contact rate (percentage of students in the cohort who received individual academic counseling by the end of the initial term) by student ethnicity/race, residency status, and basic skills status. Student Ethnicity/Race Table 4. Contact Rate by Ethnicity/Race and Cohort Group Total Firsttime Reverse Total Received Contact Rate Freshmen Transfers Received Contact Rate Asian/PI % % Black % % Hispanic , % % Native Am % % Multi-races % % White , % % Unreported % % Total , % 1,870 1, % The data reveal that among both the first-time freshmen and reverse transfer groups, Asian/Pacific Islander students and those who did not report an ethnicity/race group had contact with counselors at the highest rates. The counseling contact rates among the other ethnicity/race groups for both first-time freshmen and reverse transfers varied between approximately 5 to 7%. A large majority of all ethnicity/race groups for both cohorts made contact with a counselor by the end of the initial fall term. Student Residence Status Table 5. Contact Rate by Residence Status and Cohort Group Total Firsttime Reverse Total Received Contact Rate Freshmen Transfers Received Contact Rate Domestic 5,022 4, % 1,708 1, % International % % Total , % 1,870 1, % When compared to domestic students, disproportionately more international students received counseling contact by the end of the initial fall term. Santa Monica College Page 5

6 Basic Skills Status Table 6. Contact Rate by Basic Skills Status and Cohort Group Total Firsttime Reverse Total Received Contact Rate Freshmen Transfers Basic Skills English/ESL Only Received Contact Rate % % Basic Skills Math Only Basic Skills English/ESL and Math % % 2,744 2, % % College-Level 1,166 1, % % Total 5,692* 5, % 951* % *Total does not include students who did not take the math and/or English placement test at SMC Among first-time freshmen, students placed into basic skills English/ESL and college-level math made contact with a counselor at the highest rates (92%). Among reveres transfers, students placed into basic skill math and college-level English/ESL made contact with a counselor at the highest rates (88.2%). However, a large majority of all basic skills groups for both cohort groups met with a counselor before the end of the initial fall term. Santa Monica College Page 6

7 Research Question 4: Contact and Persistence The current section compares the fall-to-spring and fall-to-fall persistence rates between students who had contact with a counselor by the end of the initial fall term and those who did not. Figure 7. First-time Freshmen: Persistence Rate by Contact 100.0% 80.0% 60.0% 80.9% 60.3% 65.1% 46.8% 40.0% 20.0% 0.0% Persisted to Spring Term Yes - Persisted to Fall Term No - Figure 7 compares the fall-to-spring and fall-to-fall persistence rates by whether first-time freshmen received counseling services by the end of their initial term. The data reveal that firsttime freshmen who had contact with a counselor persisted to the spring and fall terms (80.9% and 65.1%, respectively) at statistically significant higher rates than their counterparts who did not meet with a counselor (65.1% and 46.8%, respectively). Meeting with a counselor by the end of the initial fall term increased the odds that a first-time freshman would persist to the spring and fall terms by 279% and 215%, respectively. Figure 8. Reverse Transfers: Persistence Rate by Contact 80.0% 69.1% 60.0% 40.0% 43.3% 48.5% 27.4% 20.0% 0.0% Persisted to Spring Term Yes - Persisted to Fall Term No - Santa Monica College Page 7

8 In general, first-time freshmen persisted to the spring and fall terms at higher rates than reverse transfer students. However, the data reveal that even among reverse transfers, meeting with a counselor has a positive impact on persistence. Reverse transfer students who had contact with a counselor persisted to the spring and fall terms (69.1% and 48.5%, respectively) at statistically significant higher rates than those who did not meet with a counselor (43.3% and 57.4%, respectively). Meeting with a counselor by the end of the initial fall term increased the odds that a reverse transfer student would persist to the spring and fall terms by 292% and 250%, respectively. Lastly, an analysis was conducted to evaluate whether the persistence rates differed significantly by counseling contact group (received counseling before the initial term only, during the initial term only, and both before and during the initial fall term). Among students (both first-time freshmen and reverse transfers) who met with a counselor, students who had contact with a counselor both before and during the initial fall term persisted to the spring and fall terms at the statistically significant higher rates than students who only met with a counselor before the term or during the term (see Figure 9). Figure 9. Persistence Rates by Contact Group 100.0% 80.0% 60.0% 67.7% 76.5% 85.0% 53.1% 58.1% 67.2% 40.0% 20.0% 0.0% Persisted to Spring Term Persisted to Fall Term Before Only During Only Both Before and During Santa Monica College Page 8

9 Key Findings A large majority of first-time freshmen (87%) and reverse transfers (76%) received counseling services by the end of their initial fall term. contact rate did not vary more than 4 to 7% by student ethnicity/race or basic skills status. For both the first-time freshmen and reverse transfer groups, disproportionately more international students met with a counselor when compared to domestic students. First-time freshmen and reverse transfer students increase their odds of persisting to the subsequent spring and fall terms by over 200% if they met with a counselor by the end of the initial fall term. The data suggest that meeting with a counselor both before and during the initial term is beneficial. Students who met with a counselor before and during the fall term persisted at significantly higher rates than students who only met with a counselor before or during the fall term. Santa Monica College Page 9

10 Appendix A: List of Special Programs The following list describes the special programs included in the analyses: Adelante/Latino Center Athletics Black Collegians CalWorks Disabled Students Programs & Services (DSPS) Equal Opportunity Programs & Services (EOPS) First Year Experience (FYE) Guardian Scholars Pico Promise Scholars Science and Research Initiative (STEM) Student Support Services (TRIO) Veteran s Center Santa Monica College Page 10