WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- EAB, a division of The Advisory Board Company, announced today that it selected three universities to receive 2015 Student Success Collaborative™ Awards.  The Awards recognize institutions and leaders who embrace technology and implement innovative ideas that help more students persist and graduate.  The Awards were announced at the Student Success Collaborative's Annual Summit, CONNECTED™.

The award winners, Bowling Green State University, Middle Tennessee State University, and Slippery Rock University, participate in EAB's Student Success Collaborative – a membership that enables colleges and universities to leverage predictive and applied analytics, research, and consulting to improve student outcomes.

"Membership in the Student Success Collaborative quickly propelled us to use data to pay close attention to the students most in need and those we have the greatest capacity to support," said Andy Alt, Assistant Vice Provost, Academic Affairs at Bowling Green State University (BGSU).  "We're now approaching a 78 percent retention rate for first-time, full-time students – an increase of nearly two percentage points over last year, after having gained nearly six percentage points the previous year.  We now have our sights set on breaking the 80 percent mark."

The awardees are presenting their case studies and best practices at CONNECTED, which brings together over 300 leaders in student success on October 27-28 in Washington, DC.

• Bowling Green State University's Andy Alt accepted the Visionary Leadership Award.  Alt leads the university's membership in the Student Success Collaborative, which provides the university's advisors with a student success analytics platform to identify at-risk and off-path students.  The platform also gives advisors the tools they need to act on the data and provide exceptional support to BGSU's over 14,000 undergraduate students.  Alt encourages advisors to leverage the Student Success Collaborative's platform to help students make more informed choices on their path to a degree.  Alt also partnered with his EAB dedicated consultant to create a customized training plan that teaches advisors how to use the technology in a way that aligns with their personal advising styles. 
• Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) received the Data-Driven Impact Award for its exemplary service to nearly 23,000 students.  Through its work with the Student Success Collaborative, MTSU realized strong retention improvements.  From fall 2014 to fall 2015, MTSU increased freshmen retention by 3 percentage points, achieving the institution's highest level of (and the most significant growth rate in) retention in the past 15 years.  The retention rate for new transfer students increased by 2.6 percentage points, and sophomore retention increased by 1.5 percentage points.  MTSU also increased overall undergraduate retention by 1.3 percentage points, retaining an additional 263 students.  Based on EAB's analytics and data specific to MTSU, advisors at the school created campaigns to reach out to targeted groups of students and successfully put many students back on track to graduation. 
• Slippery Rock University (SRU) received the Collaborative Citizenship Award for sharing proven practices and innovative ideas with other members of the Student Success Collaborative.  One such practice was the creation of a digital resource hub for faculty advisors serving SRU's 7,500 undergraduate students.  Centralizing all training resources in a single user-friendly, easy-to-access portal encouraged faculty to use technology as a tool for enhanced advising. 

"These awards recognize schools big and small – and across a spectrum of advising structures – that are modeling what it means to drive impact from insight so more students are successful through graduation and beyond," said Scott Schirmeier, Executive Vice President at EAB.  "We are proud to honor these esteemed members with 2015 Student Success Collaborative Awards and showcase them at CONNECTED.  Through this event and other opportunities for knowledge sharing and networking, these schools and their peers in the Student Success Collaborative are setting the standard for a data-driven, campus-wide infrastructure that supports student success."

About Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, founded in 1910 as a normal school for teacher preparation, is a public research university located in Northwest Ohio.  Recognized for many years for its strong commitment to first-year programs, students from 50 states and 70 countries comprise a total enrollment of nearly 18,000 undergraduate and graduate students.  BGSU offers degrees at the master's and doctoral level and a range of nearly 200 undergraduate programs, many recognized nationally, through eight academic colleges.  Through a transformative learning community, BGSU builds a welcoming, safe and diverse environment where the creative ideas and achievements of all can benefit others throughout Ohio, the nation and the world.  Visit www.bgsu.edu for more information.

About Middle Tennessee State University
Founded in 1911 as one of three state normal schools for teacher training, MTSU is the oldest and largest undergraduate university in the Tennessee Board of Regents System.  With an enrollment of almost 23,000 students, MTSU remains committed to providing individualized service in an exciting and nurturing atmosphere where student success is the top priority.  MTSU features eight undergraduate colleges and the College of Graduate Studies, and more than 150 programs and departments including accounting, aerospace, Concrete Industry Management, music and recording industry.  Offering a wide variety of nationally recognized programs at the baccalaureate, master's and doctoral levels, MTSU takes pride in educating the best and the brightest students from Tennessee and around the world.  For more information, call 615-898-2300, visit http://mtsu.edu/ or follow on www.mtsunews.com or Twitter @MTSUNews.

About Slippery Rock University
Slippery Rock University is a comprehensive university offering a broad array of undergraduate and select graduate programs to more than 8,600 students.  A member of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education, the University is shaped by its normal school heritage and characterized by its commitment to intellectual development, leadership and civic responsibility.  SRU provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that will help them succeed in their lives, professional careers and be engaged citizens.

About EAB 
Launched in 2007, EAB is a division of The Advisory Board Company.  Through the firm's innovative membership model, EAB helps solve the most pressing problems of academic and administrative higher education leaders by drawing on insights from members spanning two-year and four-year schools.  For more information, visit www.eab.com.

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