The three-year award to Guttman Community College supported the implementation of a technology-based student retention and engagement solution called Starfish, which is designed to increase student persistence rates for the entire student body. Starfish is a comprehensive Early Alert technology that is now being used to enhance and support Guttman’s model and systematize advising protocols. This project directly improved student persistence and success, and enabled the college to sustain its high-touch, high-impact advisement and academic support structure, as it continues to scale up to enroll and support thousands of students in the coming years.
The two-year award to Hostos Community College supported two initiatives designed to improve student retention rates, address students’ developmental needs, and bolster their success in more challenging courses. The first intervention, Supplemental Instruction, was an academic support model that uses weekly peer-led study sessions to improve student retention and success within targeted courses across disciplines that have historically had high rates of drop/fail/withdrawal. The project also included Small Group Tutorial Intervention, designed to assist students who have taken remedial courses multiple times in passing their developmental skills exams, through three-hour weekly tutorials, supplemented with online tutorials and other supports.
NYC Outward Bound Schools is a community-based nonprofit organization that was founded in 1987 and currently works in 10 schools across the five boroughs. The two-year award to NYC Outward Bound Schools supported an advisement intervention called CUNY Crew, a college-level advisory program for Outward Bound alumni who are entering a CUNY community college without being a part of another support program. Students in the crew met weekly with a counselor and participated in a series of technology-themed projects with applied, real-world value, specifically designed to help future Outward Bound alumni entering CUNY. This culminated in a series of videos on growth mindsets and success in college. The award also invested in three pilot technology interventions that supported more than 2,500 college freshman, and students who have graduated high school but have not yet enrolled in college, with the goal of dramatically increasing persistence rates for these young people.
CUNY Crew Videos
