The impacts of intrusive advising on the persistence of first-year science, technology, and mathematics students identified using a risk prediction instrument.

Abstract

Set in a large, urban, public university, this study explores the use of an institutionally specific risk instrument developed to identify students who had a high risk of attrition and the effectiveness of subsequent interventions deployed through advising. Though implemented throughout the institution, this study identified control and treatment groups in the University's College of Science and Technology in order to examine the impact of the risk instrument and advising interventions on first-year retention. The data were analyzed to determine the accuracy of the risk instrument in predicting risk of attrition for students, to identify alternative "tailored" models for assessing risk, and to examine an advising model employed to actively respond to the identified risk. Results are reported to inform institutions about the accuracy of the prediction instrument and the specifics of advising interventions. Special consideration is given to the social justice mission of the institution and the ethical considerations of how to respond to risk assessments.