Many factors contribute to improved student retention, including effective advising and placement and an excellent instructional program.
ACT can help you go even further by supporting initiatives aimed specifically at bolstering student success and satisfaction at your school.
- Identifying at-risk students for early alert and intervention
- Improving the delivery of student services
- Connecting students to campus resources and activities
Identifying at-risk students for early alert and intervention
Early-alert efforts are among the most effective ways to boost student retention.
For early identification of at-risk students, you need information beyond what is usually contained in high school transcripts and applications for admission.
The ACT Information System provides comprehensive data to identify at-risk students before they enroll.
In particular, group data available through the Prediction Service Report and the Freshman Class Profile Service can call your attention to characteristics that may lead to academic failure or dropping out. Using individual score reports, you can then intervene on behalf of students who share these higher-risk characteristics.
ASSET® and COMPASS™ serve a similar function for institutions that rely on walk-in, entry-level assessment.
Improving the delivery of student services
To meet retention goals, your school must provide students with the appropriate academic, personal, and career services.
Using the Freshman Class Profile Service and the Prediction Service Report, you can gain a clear picture of what services your entering students want and need. Your school can use these data as a benchmark as you evaluate existing programs and services.
You can obtain additional information about student expectations from ESS needs assessment surveys such as the Adult Learner Needs Assessment Survey and the Entering Student Survey.
Other surveys, such as the Withdrawing/Non-Returning Student Survey and the Student Opinion Survey, will give you valuable feedback about perceived strengths and weaknesses in your existing programs.
All these surveys can be customized to address questions specific to your campus.
Connecting students to campus resources and activities
Research shows that students involved in campus organizations and activities are more likely to stay at your school than those who are not. The ACT® gives you a comprehensive profile of each student's involvement in high school activities and plans for college, which you can use to promote their involvement at your school.
The ACT also provides information about self-identified student needs. You can use this information to connect students with campus resources that address these needs, instead of just relying on the students to seek help on their own.
COMPASS and ASSET identify as many as 16 areas for which students might request assistance. These instruments also refer students to resources your school has recommended for help in these areas.