How UMass Global is strengthening student services to accomplish open access goals

IRVINE, Calif. (Sept. 27, 2022) – Those of us who work in and around higher education are keenly aware that national data affirms that people who earn bachelor’s degrees often earn much higher incomes than those who pause their educations before receiving a college diploma. Another important statistic, however, is more sobering – there are some 39 million people in the United States who started college but did not complete credentialing programs.

We at University of Massachusetts Global have spent considerable time and resources finding ways to help people who experienced disruptions along the path to a degree get back on track so they can gain advantages in their current workplace or the labor market. With a continued focused on college stop-outs, we are also mindful of those individuals who are relatively – or entirely – new to the college experience. In fact, UMass Global is ramping up its efforts to ensure its doors–and student support systems–are wide open to people who are just beginning their journey toward an undergraduate degree.

“It is time for us to open the door wider, give students an opportunity, and provide the supports to help them succeed,” School of Arts and Sciences Dean Jeremy Korr said.

Faculty and staff leaders dedicated more than one year’s worth of focus on finding ways to modernize the university’s support programs to facilitate greater open access, Korr said. He said the fact that these newly shaped efforts have thus far helped more than 100 students who are new to college enroll at UMass Global is encouraging but helping these and other students get into the university is only part of the task at hand.

“We’ve had triple digits, and we think that’s wonderful, but it’s about how many we retain,” Korr said.

Under this new approach, initiated at the start of the current fall term, we immediately take special action when a new enrollee has fewer than 12 college credits. We invite these students to virtual orientation sessions designed to acclimate them to college-level work and special advisors are assigned to get in touch weekly with these students. Thus far, new students have welcomed the opportunity to learn more about what it really means to be a university student.

“There is a different level of curiosity, excitement, and engagement,” said Donald B. Scott, director of advising and retention services.

These students who have little, or no, college experience can also expect regular contact from tutors and advisors. For example, Online Writing and Math Center tutors will now check in weekly with such students enrolled in a pair of first-year English courses, as well as the university’s applied mathematics course.

“It is our hope that students will take advantage of this proactive approach, particularly when working on essays or mathematics projects,” said Melanie Borrego, associate dean for undergraduate education.

New college-going students can also make progress toward their degrees while preparing for advanced coursework. We now require enrollees who are new to higher education to complete either a 3-credit Student Success Strategies course or, for students who opt for competency-based learning, a brand-new course that walks them through how to get the most out of UMass Global MyPath programs.

For students in other courses, our “Early Alert” system empowers faculty to use the university’s Blackboard learning management software to request an intervention whenever they perceive that a student may need additional support. Our modernization of its tutoring and advising practices aligns with UMass Global’s previous actions to make higher education more accessible to greater numbers of working people.

By strengthening our support for students who have never attended college, we believe our employer partners who provide free college as an employee benefit will benefit by our new policies and practices too. Many front-line employees have yet to begin college, so a strong commitment to open access policies – backed by meaningful student supports – promises to be a powerful strategy for helping as many students as possible.

ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS GLOBAL
Founded in 1958 and accredited by WSCUC, University of Massachusetts Global (UMass Global) is a nonprofit affiliate of the University of Massachusetts, committed to helping adult learners change their lives through education. We offer over 55 online programs tailored for workplace relevance — associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, along with teaching credentials, stackable certificates, and authorizations. All UMass Global coursework is 100 percent online, which meshes with the busy lives of our non-traditional students. We are known for attentive student support, accommodating transfer policies, high graduation rates, alumni satisfaction, and low student debt loan default rates. For more information, visit the university’s website.