The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) has named Georgia State a winner of its Most Visible Progress Trailblazer Award.
The APLU is a research, policy and advocacy organization representing 219 public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems and related organizations. The award rewards the efforts of universities throughout the United States for successfully retaining and graduating students while simultaneously creating a blueprint for other colleges.
Ten years ago, Georgia State’s institutional graduation rate stood at 30.5 percent as it struggled to properly serve its students. The University then decided change was needed and began doing research on the most important components of student success. It then properly used that data to refine its programs and implement a new system.
Georgia State’s institutional graduation rate has risen to 53 percent. Rates for African-Americans are up 28 points, 41 points for African-American males and 41 points for Latinos. The total number of degrees conferred annually has increased by 65 percent, and Georgia State now leads the nation among nonprofit universities in bachelor’s degrees conferred to African-Americans.
Georgia State, like other universities, has to accommodate students who lack the financial means to attend college. One third of Georgia State’s student body came from households earning $30,000 a year or less, and 70 percent of its incoming classes enrolled with the HOPE Scholarship. The issue was that once students lost their financial aid because of falling grades, most of them decided to drop out. Georgia State then decided to start a program called Keep HOPE Alive. This program provides former HOPE scholars with $500 for two semesters, during which they are required to attend financial literacy and study-skill workshops as well as meet with advisers.
“I am proud of the job Georgia State has done in the past 10 years and I hope the graduation rate continues to rise,” senior Karimah Ali said.
An important component of Georgia State’s success is the use of new technology to assist with keeping track of students and how they are performing in the classroom. The recording begins as soon as they take their first steps on campus and throughout their journey towards their anticipated graduation dates. Georgia State has a partnership with Student Success Collaborative that began in 2012. This partnership has allowed Georgia State to use 10 years’ worth of academic data, implement nightly systems to keep advisers aware of changes, analyze student success in every major and course and lastly provides dashboards to focus in on areas of graduation risk within specific majors. The technological assistance from Student Success Collaborative helps those students who have a hard time adjusting to the curriculum and directs them towards a more successful path.
The award also acknowledges Georgia State’s retention and completion rate increase for those students coming from low-income situations.
“Georgia State is one of the nation’s leaders in developing and implementing innovative programs aimed at ensuring student success,” President Mark Becker said. “This award is another example of how our work is gaining significant national recognition in the media, by policy makers and by our peers in higher education.”
Georgia State accompanied Florida International University and San Francisco State University as recipients of the award for outstanding work.
