Colleges and universities are complex organizations, requiring many different divisions to work together to maximize operations and outcomes. In addition to good people, sound processes are needed to ensure success.
I was introduced to the power of process in the 1990s while working at a Burger King restaurant in Stuart, FL. There were processes for everything: opening the store, taking orders, preparing food, and closing the store. These processes ensured the complex work of running a fast-food chain was routinely accomplished by relatively inexperienced and lower-skilled workers like teenagers. People may have done the work, but processes powered the operation. Success is much easier and more certain when the proper process is in place. A process is a set of actions designed to achieve a desired result. Processes are especially needed when layers of complexity exist between an organization’s current reality and their desired end outcome. A well-designed process clarifies the steps between the present and the future, lighting a clear pathway to the end result. Complex organizations such as colleges and universities routinely rely on processes to meet their goals. From establishing a funnel that transports prospective students to enrolled students to matriculating newly enrolled students through to graduates, processes allow critical operations to run consistently each semester and academic year. In this current era, in which many institutions are financially strained, they can use a simple process that inextricably links student academic success and institutional financial success. Such a process would enable colleges and universities to align their academic standards with their core operating goals of increasing retention, academic yearly progress, and graduation rates. I have used a particular sequence to help institutions simultaneously increase academic standards and student success while exceeding their operating goals. Here are the sequentially linked four steps:
Step 1: Build Students’ Academic Work Competence High school graduates bring over 16,000 hours of academic work experience to college. However, many new students discover that the skills that got them into college won’t sustain them there. Colleges that understand the specific competencies students need to do quality academic work can help them avoid the three types of transition traps revealed in my newly released book, How to Successfully Transition Students into College: From Traps to Triumph. This resource shows how institutions can fortify students against failure within the first few weeks of a course. When students avoid transition traps, educators enjoy richer class discourses, waste less time reteaching material, and students perform better throughout their courses.
Step 2: Decrease DFW Rates Properly fortifying new students with the right academic competencies decreases the number of students who fail the first round of exams, typically in weeks 3-5. With a higher percentage of students performing well early on, you can dramatically reduce the D, F, W rates across all courses by weeks 7-10. Here’s a short video of professors sharing how the first two steps played out on their campuses.
Step 3: Increase Academic Success Retention Despite what students report on exit exams, only 31 percent leave college for financial reasons. Many students transfer or quit because they are performing lower than expected in their classes. After interviewing several students, I found that those citing financial, family, and personal reasons for leaving school often use these as polite excuses to avoid confrontation. In 2019, I helped an institution test my theory by offering to cover the financial gap for students who claimed financial reasons for withdrawing. As suspected, 96 percent declined the support and did not return. An analysis showed most of these students (87 percent) were falling behind academically. So, we instituted an academic-based program that led to a 35% increase in student retention! This case study exemplifies how prioritizing academic competence builds a better academic culture and financial stability.
Step 4: Increase the Graduation Rate Many institutions focus on retention rates, which can lead to deleterious compromises. Retention rooted in academic competence helps more students excel in upper-level courses, directly increasing the academic yearly progress rate and the overall graduation rate. In my book, I share a story of a large state institution that needed to improve its retention and graduation rates. Leaders invested heavily in getting students to work harder, but I proposed building students’ academic competence. Later, I learned that the initiative failed to improve retention and graduation rates, and the entire leadership team was let go. I was sad for them but not surprised. Higher education operates on a triple-bottom-line principle.
- Operationally: We must attract enough students to keep the doors open.
- Academically: We must maintain high academic standards while also retaining a high number of students.
- Societally: We must ensure graduates have employable competencies.
Misalignment of these goals causes many frustrations and failures in higher education. By adopting a structured process focused on building academic competence, institutions can achieve balance and success in all three areas. The key to a successful process is simplicity. At Burger King, the processes were simple enough to be followed by teenagers yet effective enough to ensure operational success. Similarly, the process outlined here simplifies the complexity of higher education and aligns the core three bottom lines, making our work both more manageable and more effective. The path to success is clear—it’s time to follow it. If you’d like to learn more about this topic, you can reach me at: learning@thelearnwellprojects.com
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