A BluePrint for Success: Case Studies of Successful - Educational ...

Data-­‐Driven Practices
A Blueprint for Success
Bottom Line tracks students’ college persistence and graduation rates to understand how each student
is progressing towards his or her degree. Data is compared to local, state, and national graduation
rates to measure the success of the program services and to measure program outcome against
their goal of graduating at least 80 percent of Bottom Line students within six years. To assess each
student’s progress towards a degree, Bottom Line categorizes each student as “red,” “green,” or “yellow.”
These categories allow program staff to focus their time and attention on those who need it the
most. In order to obtain information from students in the College Success Program, Bottom Line
students must sign a FERPA waiver and another contract that allows the organization to contact
their institutions.
The College Access Program tracks information such as household income, high school grades,
standardized test scores, and other demographic data. These data elements are used to determine
students’ eligibility for the program and their general college readiness. Once students are committed
to the program, Bottom Line tracks their progress through every step of the college application process.
Every spring, college acceptance rates are measured, serving as the primary benchmarks for the
College Access Program.
In the College Success Program, staff members track grades, class schedules, intended and declared
majors, financial aid awards, enrollment, credits, employment, and the overall well being of students.
This information is collected for up to six years while the student is enrolled in college through oneon-one
meetings, phone calls, and emails. Counselors are expected to write an entry into the student
database after each interaction with a student. Frequent communication with the students allows the
counselors to continue to foster a strong relationship with the students, but also allows them to continue
to collect information from the students and check in on their general well being. Bottom Line
also uses the National Student Clearinghouse to track student progress of students who disengage
from the program.
Twice a year, Bottom Line conducts a formal diagnostic to resolve any problems students have in the
Degree, Employability, Aid, and Life (DEAL) categories of the College Success Program. Program
staff members identify which students are “red” or “yellow” (i.e. struggling) in any of the categories
and then intervene by determining the problem and guiding the student through the steps to overcome
the obstacle. After a problem is resolved (i.e. the student is removed from academic probation),
the student’s status returns to “green,” indicating that he/she remains on track to graduate. This
method allows the staff to provide proactive support to students and measure the effectiveness of
Bottom Line’s services.
To support these data-driven practices, Bottom Line uses a homegrown web-based database that was
designed with support from a local firm. The system was built specifically for the program needs and
helps track information such as when students apply online as high school juniors or seniors. The
Educational Policy Institute 5 www.educationalpolicy.org