The ELITE Program- Provide A Sustainable, Quality Program That Addresses The Disparity In Retention And Graduation Rates For Minority Males.
The ELITE Program is a comprehensive initiative that supports the success and retention of Hispanic and African American males by providing weekly Mentoring Meetings, role models, study skills, academic accountability, career and networking skills, and social enrichment activities .
Objective
Increase ELITE Budget To $95,000 For 2014 - 2015 In Order To Serve 100 Freshmen And 30 Alumni.
The SHSU Elite program has been funded primarily through funds from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and local funds (i.e., Student Services).
To increase possible incentives and both maintain and/or increase the number of student participants, additional funding will be sought from the THECB, Student Services, and outside sources. Funding for the 2013 – 2014 academic year was approximately $56,000. In addition, there was a THECB grant balance from 2012-2013 of $20,000 for a total of $76,000. We will need to have approximately $95,000 to serve 100 new freshmen and 30 Alum in fiscal year 2014 – 2015.
KPI
Request Funding From The Student Services Committee, THECB, And Academic Affairs
$15,000 will be requested from the Student Services Committee. We are anticipating receiving $50,000 from the THECB, as this is an existing grant, but we hope to be granted more funds in order to serve 100 freshmen and 30 Alum. Otherwise, we anticipate receiving $65,000. We will also consult with Academic Affairs to request additional funding.
Result
Result Of The Request For Additional ELITE Funding
We were awarded no funds from the Student Services Committee.
As of this date, we have not signed a contract with the THECB or received the $50,000 grant from the THECB but anticipate receiving the funds by late October.
Academic Affairs agreed to fund us $13,500 so we could recruit 75 freshmen. We fell short of funding so were not able to meet our initial goal to recruit 100 freshmen.
Action
Plans For Obtaining Funding For The ELITE Program
Obtaining funding for the ELITE Program continues to be a challenge. The data collected from students at the end of each semester clearly indicates that the ELITE Program initiatives increase the retention and success of our students, however, we do not feel that the program is adequately funded. We went through a reorganization and were able to hire an ELITE Coordinator dedicated solely to running the program. We will continue to request funding in order to sustain the program at the current membership of 75 freshmen and 30 Alum.
Action
Reevaluate Funding Needed To Coordinate A Successful ELITE Program.
Although founding was not significantly increased for the 2013-2014 academic year, the ELITE students still saw statistically significant positive differences in their mean GPAs and number of credit hours successfully completed. As such, the desired results for the program were achieved.
The SHSU ELITE program switched departments during the 2013 – 2014 academic year and was without a coordinator until well into the Fall 2013 semester. This probably had an effect on the retention rate of the new freshmen. The main point of concern for the 2014-2015 academic year is increased funding to maintain the program and will be critical if the goal is still to increase the number of Freshman admitted each year. As of the date of this report, we have hired a FT coordinator, but were unable to obtain the funding needed to serve 100 freshmen, therefore, we accepted only 75 into the 2014-2015 ELITE Program.
Objective
The SHSU ELITE Program Will Provide Research Supported Initiatives Which Will Increase The GPA, Hours Completed, And Completion Rate Of Its Members
The ELITE Program will provide the neccessary support and initiatives to help our students excel including mentoring, role models, study skills, social activities, and career/networking skills. Data collected before, during, and after completion of the program will support the success of these program components.
KPI
SHSU ELITE Program Effectiveness
ELITE members will be compared to an equivalent Full Time Enrollment (FTE) population in respect to the following topics in the hopes of achieving statistically significant outcomes in favor of ELITE.
Hours attempted
Hours completed
Mean GPA
Completion Rate=Hours Completed/Hours attempted
Result
Statistical Data Supporting ELITE Program
ELITE members were compared to an equivalent Male First-Time Freshmen in respect to the following topics in the hopes of achieving statistically significant outcomes in favor of ELITE.
SH ELITE COMPARED TO MALE FIRST TIME FRESHMAN ELITE students attempted the same number of classes as Male First-Time Freshman. They successfully completed more classes with a statistically higher GPA than other incoming First-Time Male Freshmen. Information gathered from Sam Houston State University Institutional Research.
SH ELITE FRESHMAN COMPARED TO MATCHED SAMPLE CONTROL GROUP Participants in the SH ELITE program performed outstandingly well in comparison to the matched sample. ELITE members took more hours (this was not statistically significant). However, they successfully completed more hours with a statistically significant higher GPA.
MEAN GPA FOR PROVISONALLY ACCEPTED STUDENTS
Incoming admission scores - There was no statistically significant difference between the ELITE students and the FTE group in regards to ACT or SAT scores.
Mean GPA - The GPA of the ELITE students (2.74) was statistically significantly higher than that of the FTE group (2.29).
Number of credit hours successfully completed - The FTE attempted an average of 13.78 credit hours and completed 10.01 credit hours on average. The ELITE students attempted an average of 13.76 credit hours and completed 11.42 credit hours on average. Completion rate for ELITE students was .83 and .72 for FTE. There was a statistically difference between the number of credit hours the ELITE students completed versus that of the FTE group.
SEE ATTACHMENTS FOR DETAILED ELITE REPORTS
Action
Reevaluate Funding Needed To Coordinate A Successful ELITE Program.
Although founding was not significantly increased for the 2013-2014 academic year, the ELITE students still saw statistically significant positive differences in their mean GPAs and number of credit hours successfully completed. As such, the desired results for the program were achieved.
The SHSU ELITE program switched departments during the 2013 – 2014 academic year and was without a coordinator until well into the Fall 2013 semester. This probably had an effect on the retention rate of the new freshmen. The main point of concern for the 2014-2015 academic year is increased funding to maintain the program and will be critical if the goal is still to increase the number of Freshman admitted each year. As of the date of this report, we have hired a FT coordinator, but were unable to obtain the funding needed to serve 100 freshmen, therefore, we accepted only 75 into the 2014-2015 ELITE Program.