EAB Honors Five Colleges that Improved Student Outcomes

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- EAB announced the winners of the 2017 Student Success Collaborative Awards today, honoring five colleges and universities that elevated the student experience and improved retention rates by as much as 20 percent by proactively managing student success.

"Providing a return on education—helping students graduate in less time, at lower cost, and with the best possible post-graduate outcomes—is the top priority at most schools," said Scott Schirmeier, executive vice president of EAB.  "The schools that are making the most progress enable students, faculty, advisors, administrators, career counselors, financial aid officers, and other professionals to work together with data and analytics toward their common goal of student success."

"The five schools we recognize this year exemplify the promise of a unified approach to student success," Schirmeier continued.  "Their impressive results are driven by best practice research, strong campus leadership, and an unrelenting commitment to helping more students reach their potential, as well as EAB Campus, our enterprise student success management system (SSMS)."

The winners of the 2017 Student Success Collaborative Awards are:

• University of South Alabama (Return on Education Award) gives faculty and professional advisors access to EAB Campus so they can closely monitor students' academic progress and attendance, and coordinate support.  For example, a group of high-risk upperclassmen were assigned to faculty members for academic coaching.  The coached students were more likely to complete courses, stay in school, and get better grades than students who did not receive intensive support.  First year advisors' use of technology to identify and assist non-registered students resulted in a two percentage point improvement in retention from fall 2016 to spring 2017, and a five percentage point increase in persistence to fall 2017. 
• Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) and Samford University (Collaborative Citizenship Awards) successfully engage faculty in student success.  ECSU in Elizabeth City, North Carolina nearly doubled the number of faculty participating in its campus-wide student success initiative; 91 percent of faculty submitted student progress reports, which contributed to an increase of six percentage points in first-year retention.  In fall 2016 at Samford in Homewood, Alabama, 83 percent of faculty shared input on their students' progress, which contributed to an increase of two percentage points in first-year retention.  Leaders at ECSU and Samford regularly work with EAB to share their faculty engagement best practices with their peers.
• Stacey Bradley, senior associate vice president for student affairs and academic support at the University of South Carolina (USC) (Visionary Leadership Award), leads the charge to improve advising, better coordinate student services, and enhance the student experience using EAB's enterprise technology, which enables all stakeholders to manage student success through one system.  Through Stacey's leadership and vision for the role of technology in improving the quality of student support, USC achieved impressive and widespread use of EAB Campus in less than one year.  Faculty and staff accessed the system more than 46,000 times and students visited the site nearly 16,000 times in spring 2017 alone.
• Mercy College (Technology Pioneer Award) professional mentors use EAB Campus every day to support students holistically, helping them choose classes, explore careers, and address financial barriers to completing college.  Mercy, located in Dobbs Ferry, New York, also provides students with direct access to EAB's mobile application, which simplifies school communications, helps students make more informed decisions on their own, and reminds students to take action at the right time.  By ensuring students have the assistance and technology they need, Mercy achieved a 20 percent increase in college-wide retention over the past seven years.

The awards were presented at the Student Success Collaborative's annual summit, CONNECTED, a two-day gathering of more than 500 of the country's most progressive student success leaders.

About EAB
EAB is a best practice firm dedicated to helping schools, colleges, and universities fulfill their missions and enable all students to succeed.  First, EAB forges and finds best practices to address education's top challenges with research forums for key academic and administrative leaders.  Then, EAB experts work alongside administrators, advisors, faculty, and students to hardwire those insights with technology and services, including the firm's student success management system and its enrollment division, Royall & Company. 

SOURCE EAB