2002-2003 Student Support Services
Assessment Report

Previous Assessments:

Student Support Services is a federally funded TRIO grant and as such is required to submit annual reports to the U. S. Department of Education on the objectives outlined in the funded grant application. These objectives in most instances are the same as the objectives listed in the Student Support Services Unit Plan. Throughout the lifecycle of the grant, those reports have been completed and submitted to the Department of Education. A summary of the results that have been submitted to the U. S. Department of Education is listed in the table below.

Student Support Services @ LSU
OBJECTIVE	1998-1999	1999-2000	2000-2001	2001-2002	2002-2003	2003-2004
To Serve 270 eligible students	Served 286 eligible students	Served 288 eligible students	Served 285 eligible students	Served 287 eligible students	Served 280 eligible students	Served 286 eligible students
To assure that 85% of freshmen will be retained	Retained 92% of 1998-99 freshmen	Retained 90% of 1999-2000 freshmen	Retained 94% of the 2000-2001 freshmen	Retained 95% of the 2001-2002 freshmen	Retained 77.2% of freshmen (**Serial Killer impact noted)	Retained 85.7% of 2003-2004 freshmen cohort.
To assure that 35% 5 year rate (97-2001) & 50% 6 year rate (2001-2003) graduate *	45% of the 1994-95 cohort graduated by August 1999	48% of the 1995-96 cohort graduated by August 2000	45.8% of the 1996-97 cohort graduated by August 2001	56.6% of the 1996-97 cohort graduated by August 2002	62.5% of the 1997-98 cohort graduated by August 2003	56.8% of the 1998-99 cohort graduated by August 2004
To ensure that 85% will be in good academic standing	89% finished the spring semester in good academic standing	90% finished the spring semester in good academic standing	86% finished the spring semester in good academic standing	90% finished the year in good academic standing	87.5% finished the year in good academic standing.(**)	91.6% finished the year in good academic standing
To assure that two-thirds (66%) of the participants are low-income & first generation or disabled	195 (68%) OF 286 participants were low-income & first generation or disabled	191 (66%) or 288 participants were low-income & first generation or disabled	192 (67.3%) of 285 participants were low-income & first generation or disabled	193 (67.2%) of 287 participants were low-income & first generation or disabled	197 (70.3%) of 280 participants were low-income & first generation or disabled	192 (67.1%) of 286 participants were low-income & first generation or disabled
To assure that at least one-third (33%) of the disabled students are also low-income	19 (33%) of 57 disabled students were also low-income	17 (34%) of 50 disabled students were also low-income	13 (33%) of 39 disabled students were also low-income	13 (35.1%) of 37 disabled students were also low-income	13 (33%) of 39 disabled students were also low-income.	13 (33%) of 33 disabled students were also low-income
To assure that 75% of students who attend weekly tutoring sessions make a passing grade in the courses for which they were tutored *	------------	------------	-----------	88.9% of the students receiving regular tutoring assistance made a passing grade in the courses for which they were tutored.	81% of the students receiving regular tutoring assistance made a passing grade in the courses for which they were tutored.	97.4% of the students receiving regular tutoring assistance made a passing grade in the courses for which they were tutored.

*Student Support Services operates on the lifecycle of the grant application as awarded. From 1997-2001, tutoring information was not reported in the annual reports as such and therefore, has not been noted here. In addition, in that grant cycle, the graduation rate was set for a five year rate. In the current grant, we have gone to the six rates in order to be consistent with the University.

** The serial killer in Baton Rouge had a significant impact on the student population at LSU during this academic year. Our students tell us that they were hesitate to get out and become involved and we know that several female students returned to institutions near to their homes for their sophomore year as a result. Most retention research indicates that student engagement plays a crucial part in the retention of students and when they are too afraid to become engaged, it is unlikely that we are going to retain them. It is our belief that the significant fallout seen in this academic year will not be repeated with the next cohort.

Methodology:
Objective: To serve 270 eligible students. To assure that two-thirds (66%) are low-income & first generation or disabled. To assure that at least one-third (33%) of the disabled students are also low-income. Each year prior to the fall semester, Student Support Services staff actively participates in summer orientation, sending out letters to incoming students who appear to meet the academic requirements for the program, participating in the Information Fair at each Orientation Session and meeting with incoming students to determine potential students for the available spots in the SSS program for the coming academic year. Students can complete an eligibility questionnaire on the SSS website and/or can complete the application for services. Once we have received applications, the staff evaluates whether they are eligible according to the Higher Education Act of 1965 Revised guidelines and accepts students in the following order: Student that are low-income and first generation or disabled and first generation are accepted first. After that students that are disabled are accepted up to the 2/3 (disabled) to 1/3 (disabled & low-income) requirements). Following that students that meet only one of the eligibility requirements are evaluated for interest and admitted to the program based on available space while staying within the required 2/3 low income & first generation or disabled levels. After the semester has begun, class roles are again evaluated to determine if all students returned as expected and any vacancies are filled. At the end of the academic year, the roles are reviewed to determine the number of students that actively participated in program activities and that number is reported to the U. S. Department of Education. Program participants who do not participate during an academic year are moved to an Prior Year Participants category and are tracked for success, but are not included in assessing program success with the exception of reporting cohort graduation rates.

To assure that 85% of freshmen with be retained. Each year a cohort of incoming students is selected and identified as the freshmen cohort for that year. They are enrolled in the Study Skills class, assigned a peer mentor, and receive Individualized Educational Plans from the SSS Counselors. At the beginning of the next academic year, the LSU database is checked to determine which of those students have returned to LSU for the second year. That total is then divided by the total number in the cohort to determine what percentage has returned to LSU for a second year.

To assure that 35% 5 year rate (97-2001) & 50% 6 year rate (2001-2003) graduate. We continue to track the same cohort that is identified and tracked as freshmen throughout their academic career. We calculate four, five and six year graduation rates for these students by dividing the number of students from the cohort that have graduated by that date by the total number of student in the cohort.

To ensure that 85% will be in good academic standing. At the end of each semester, grades and academic standing is checked for each student and then the total number of students in good standing is divided by the total number of program participants to determine what percentage has completed that semester in good academic standing.

To assure that 75% of the students who attend weekly tutoring sessions make a passing grade in the courses for which they were tutored. Each student that participates in tutoring is evaluated to determine: 1.) if they participated approximately one time each week during the semester; 2.) what grade they received in the class(es) in which they received tutoring. After that is determined, the total number of students receiving passing grades is divided by the total number of students receiving weekly tutoring.

Changes to the Student Support Services Program as a result of the Assessment Information:
At the end of the Fall 2002 semester, it became apparent that students were having increasing difficulty remaining in Good standing. At that time, we implemented a program called “College Success Program” to offer to students that were not in good standing. The program is a series a of workshops and individual meetings with the Counselor to address areas such as “Stress Management”, “Time Management”, “Career Development”, and “Test Taking”. The program is in the early stages of development and will be assessed and changed over the next two years to better meet the needs of the students on Warning/Probation.