"Best Practices" in Student Support Services:
A Study of Five Exemplary Sites

Analysis and Highlights (1997)

This report examines effective approaches to the delivery of services in the Student Support Services Program (SSS) of TRIO. SSS provides supplemental tutoring, counseling, remediation and other support services to disadvantaged college students. The goal of the program is to increase rates of college retention and graduation among disadvantaged students.

The attached report is part of the "Follow-up Evaluation of the SSS Program" being conducted for the U.S. Department of Education by Westat, Inc. The Follow-up Study builds on the work of the National Study of Student Support Services (SSS) -- a longitudinal study of students in SSS that began in 1991. The Follow-up Study has two parts -- (1) a study of five projects that demonstrated positive, statistically significant effects for SSS students during the first year of the National Study, and (2) a follow-up analysis of all students in the SSS longitudinal study in order to examine the retention and graduation rates of students six years after college entrance.

The projects selected for inclusion in the Best Practices report were drawn from 30 projects in the National Study of Student Support Services (SSS). The five sites were selected because they showed positive, statistically significant individual effects on SSS participants' grade point averages (GPAs), year-to-year college retention, or both. The five sites in the "best practices" study range from a small, rural community college to one of the largest state universities in the nation. The sites include an historically black college and a small-town branch campus of a large public institution. The report is based on in-depth case studies of the five sites and describes some of the most important commonalities of practice across the sites as well as some of the most interesting dynamics of instructional and service approaches.

Commonalities Among Successful Projects:

• A structured freshman-year experience for most or all participants. Four of the five projects structure the initial educational experience of the students they serve. These projects act as the main point of entry for the students to the institution, and in some cases they play a role in admissions. The projects provide academic advising and heavily influence course selection. They provide ongoing course instruction, supplemental instruction (SI), study groups, tutoring, and generally help students adjust to the institution.

• An emphasis on academic success. All of the projects focus on services that are designed to give students the academic skills and confidence that are necessary for success in college. The bulk of their service hours are devoted to helping students learn subject matter through activities such as supplemental instruction, course instruction, computer-assisted instructional laboratories, study groups, and/or tutoring.

• Extensive student service contacts. Without spending more money, the five case study projects see their participants more often than does the typical SSS project. They maintain frequent contact with students by offering services to groups of students simultaneously and by making efficient use of staff time. For example, project directors deal with the management and policy issues that require interaction with institutional officials; the rest of project staff can devote all of their time to working directly with students. Contact hours between staff and students are also increased by employing on a part-time basis professionals who work full-time at the college or in other TRIO programs.

• "Targeted" participant recruitment and participation incentives. Part of the reason that some projects have higher levels of participant contact hours is that students are simply more engaged -- they show up for services more often. Four of the five case study projects use selection procedures and participation incentives in order to motivate students. For example, two of the projects play a role in determining college admission for some or all of their participants. They use this role to test the motivation of prospective students/participants. They may require additional written essays on why the students want to attend, or they may require additional achievement or aptitude testing. In addition, two of the projects maintain tremendous control over the continued enrollment status of special admission students. In some cases, failure to attend project activities and appointments on a regular basis can lead to dismissal from the institution.

  Projects have devised incentives for participants to attend SSS activities. For example, one project offers employment opportunities for students to work as office assistants, mentors, or tutors in the institution's Upward Bound project. One project has also arranged internships and externships for participants with outside organizations.

• Dedicated staff and directors with strong institutional attachments. When asked why these five SSS projects are successful, most participants, faculty, and administrators cite staff capabilities. Although diverse along many dimensions, one common feature is that all five projects have directors who have worked in TRIO or similar programs at the same institution for many years. One director had been working in TRIO at her campus for over 26 years, and three others had been working in TRIO or similar programs at the institution for at least 16 years.

  The tenure of project directors plays a major role in linking the projects to their institutions; the directors are well known and widely respected by senior institutional officials. Although the schools may not contribute large funds to the projects, the directors often play important roles in institutional policies affecting disadvantaged students. For example, a director at one of the projects was recently asked to coordinate all support services at the school.

• An important role on campus -- SSS as a "safety valve." All of the case study schools have either recently tightened entrance requirements or are anticipating tightening their entrance requirements. Only one of the five projects receives more than the national average level of institutional financial support for SSS projects. Despite this, institutional officials view SSS as offering instruction and services that enhance performance; they do not view SSS as increasing the costs associated with poorer prepared students. Thus, SSS projects at the case study institutions are viewed as a kind of "safety valve"; they allow institutions to continue to accept some students who are at risk while retaining confidence that these students will not depress institutional completion rates.

Interesting Aspects of the Dynamics of Service Delivery:

The report also discusses some of the specific instructional and service approaches that stand out among the case study sites. These approaches involve group learning, active counseling, and integrated services.

• Group Learning. Three main types of group learning were observed at the case study sites -- course instruction, supplemental instruction, and group tutoring. Each kind of group learning offers students a low-key and supportive educational environment for learning within the larger context of the college or university.

  • SSS Course instruction tends to be developmental at these sites; it is devoted to enabling participants to enhance basic skills needed to complete college-level work. SSS-sponsored courses are offered in diverse subject areas -- reading and writing, basic algebra, and study skills. However, the dynamics of the courses are similar. In most cases the courses are offered in lecture format along with supplemental small-group discussion sections. In addition, the classes are small, the instructors are very patient, and the prevailing message is that if a student does the necessary work, he or she will succeed. The class sessions also provide opportunities for staff to give noninstructional assistance such as information about deadlines and course requirements.

  • Supplemental instruction (SI) is offered in two of the case study sites and serves to reinforce course content. It consists of additional instructional hours that are guided by SSS staff and are attached to popular freshman courses that SSS participants have been encouraged to take. SI gives students a chance to review lectures, ask questions, hear expanded explanation of concepts, review homework, get a head start on materials for future classes, and prepare for exams and term papers.

  • Study groups are informal, voluntary groups of students from a particular course who work together under the direction of a leader ( or "group tutor"). The leader is either an upper-division student or a professional (a person with at least a bachelor's degree). One site offers study groups; these groups meet once or twice a week and may meet more often before exams.

• Active counseling. Four of the five case study sites conduct an intensive counseling component for freshmen participants; this is often called "intrusive academic advising." It includes several components beyond typical advising on courses and requirements. For example, it involves multiple meetings with students over a semester, mid-term evaluations by faculty, ongoing tracking of student performance by SSS advisors, advocacy and support for students, and referrals for non-SSS services.

• Integrated services or staff. There are three different kinds of integration that take place at the sites. Each method of integration involves services and/or staff. First, all five sites engage in a process of providing a mix of services for each participant based on his or her educational needs that is often described as "holistic." They work with students to determine what assistance they need, they encourage students to enroll in particular courses, they provide continual advice, they track students' progress, and they offer a tremendous amount of academic assistance.

  The second kind of integration is practiced at two of the five sites. These two projects integrate staff across the project offerings. (A third project is moving in this direction.) That is, the same people who teach the SI or supervise labs also provide student advising. They sometimes also provide tutoring. The lack of staff differentiation enables the staff to see participants more often. In addition, the multiple roles of the staff enhance their credibility in the eyes of students -- they see the advising staff as instructors as well. The approach makes efficient use of staff time. A student who approaches a staff member for help with a particular assignment can also receive advice on other issues during the same meeting.

  A third form of integration is practiced at one of the sites. This project integrates its SSS staff and participants with those of the other TRIO projects at the institution. Part-time SSS staff are also instructors in the Upward Bound project, and SSS participants serve as Upward Bound peer tutors and counselors. These relationships provide continuity among the projects and maximize staff time and student contacts.

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Text of Report (25K)
Appendix A Appendix B
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