In a Monday session at the AACRAO Annual Meeting, presenters Jamie Brownlee, Sean Nemeth, and Don Scott of Brandman University discussed what it means for an institution to be “totally student centered.”
From 2007-08 to 2015-16, the university saw an increase in the average term-to-term persistence rate, from 74.41 percent to 77.96 percent. The university’s six-year graduation rate increased from 68.70 percent to 72.80 percent during the same time period. In addition, the student satisfaction rate (students’ satisfaction with academic advising) increased.
These changes are a result of Brandman’s ongoing efforts to improve its advising and customer service models.
Students’ educational needs are changing and enrollment growth is declining, making persistence and satisfaction more important than ever, Nemeth said.
Full-service advising
Brandman is a four-year, private non-profit with 27 campuses across California. It enrolls 11,000 students who are primarily working adults.
Over the last several years, Brandman moved away from an advising model that placed “program managers” charged with advising (as well as a multitude of other responsibilities) on campuses and instead developed 55 “networked” academic advisors, who are generalists with expertise, and retention officers to serve on each of its campuses.
“This was one of the key pieces in turning our institution into a student-centered university” said Scott. “Students are now getting full service as they go through entire program.”
One-stop shop
The university also implemented a one stop shop, providing customer service for admissions, financial aid, student accounts, the registrar, military services, and articulation and petitions. Students are now able to build a relationship with one service advisor throughout their academic career, rather than be bounced to multiple offices.
“This drastically has increased our student satisfaction,” Brownlee said. “People feel like they have someone now to go to.”
The university provides training and annual staff assessments to address any knowledge gaps. A student satisfaction survey is used to determine where the university needs to improve.
Brandman also launched virtual advising (which was a pilot for its one stop services), that includes “student facing” information sharing as well as events such as orientation and financial aid workshops.
Next, Brandman is considering a CRM and will determine whether some virtual services might be applied to on-campus students.
Download session handouts.