“With the University Innovation Alliance, OSU has the potential to change the face of higher education,” says Julie Greenwood, Associate Dean of Academic and Student Affairs for the College of Science. This unique collaboration among 11 public research universities across the country seeks to produce 68,000 additional college graduates and a total of 860,000 graduates by 2025.
Greenwood represents the College on OSU’s “Travel Team,” a group of faculty and advisors that visits campuses with successful metrics in retention and graduation rates. Many of the universities use the predictive analytics software by Education Advisory Board, called Student Success Collaborative, to measure student success.
Within the next year, OSU will implement the software that will crunch performance data from 10 years of student information. The goals are timely degree completion and improved career placement. The strategy is to identify at-risk students earlier in their academic careers and to develop targeted support services for cohorts most in need.
To augment these efforts, OSU has launched programs to support student success through transformative experiences, such as peer mentorship, undergraduate researcher, educational and social events to foster a strong social community and participation at national conferences focused on scientific excellence and diversity.
“In the College we have seen good progress with our student success efforts,” says Greenwood.
“Last year we launched a student-led peer mentorship program across most science majors that pairs first-year and transfer students with an upperclass student to provide critical guidance and support on a student-to-student level.”
