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Navigating life as a student – from academics to registering for classes, staying on track for graduation, and applying for financial aid – is challenging for many. This is especially the case for first-generation college students unable to draw on their parents’ experiences in these areas. In recent years, Salem State has expanded intrusive advising as part its efforts to ensure that students from a variety of backgrounds are given the opportunity to succeed.

Intrusive advising is a model in which students who are at-risk – whether academically or in regards to their enrollment status – are proactively contacted and offered guidance for overcoming roadblocks to success. This high-touch approach relies on one-on-one contact between students and mentors. The below examples illustrate how intrusive advising has been put into practice at Salem State.

College Completion Coaches

In spring 2018, Salem State’s Student Navigation Center – the university’s one-stop shop for matters related to the business of being a student – piloted a coaching model aimed at increasing retention. The intrusive advising approach assigns students a college completion coach who can guide them in areas such as applying for financial aid, registering for classes, and addressing challenges such as food insecurity. The coach serves as a contact as students are confronted with challenges that could interfere with their success.

The 2018 pilot program included sophomores who identified through early alert system surveys that they were moderately comfortable with their ability to pay for college. Results showed that retention rates for two subsets of the sophomore student population were higher than the general student body and higher than sophomores specifically in recent years (final retention results were not available at the time of this report). Of the 106 students who participated in the coaching pilot, 89 percent registered for fall classes and 82 percent registered for spring classes. As a result of these promising findings, all incoming new students for fall 2018 were assigned a college completion coach through the start of classes. The university will continue to measure the impact of this individualized approach.

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 reached out to offer appropriate assistance and intervention. Not only has this system helped the university identify at-risk students and maximize human resources for outreach and intervention, but this approach has rallied the campus around the important issues of student success and retention.  

Summer Bridge Academy

Housed in the university’s Center for Academic Excellence, the Summer Bridge Academy (SBA) offers admissions to students who, based on their academic profile, would not have been admitted through the traditional process. In addition to taking part in group meetings and workshops, SBA places a strong emphasis on intrusive advising. Each student is assigned a designated student development counselor with whom they meet regularly throughout the summer and academic year. These meetings allow counselors to monitor the academic progress of each student and to address any problems that may arise.

Ongoing study

Intrusive advising assists students on an individual basis, allowing their unique needs to be addressed. It also relies heavily on one-on-one relationships. Due to the high-touch nature of this approach, staffing resources are required to maintain and build on its positive outcomes. Research on the outcomes of intrusive advising models that Salem State has adopted will help the university ensure that limited resources are focused on programs that are most effective in driving student success.