Ohio University expands Nudge to the Finish Line program to help students to graduation

Ohio University is taking the lead in applying the latest behavioral science research to increasing student success and completion.

The University is piloting a pair of programs based on text-messaging prompts to encourage students to finish their college degrees. Both are aimed at populations considered at risk of dropping out of college, with the goal of ensuring they have the proper support in place to complete their degrees.

“Ohio University is committed not only to attracting top students to the University, but to ensuring that they have every opportunity to thrive and graduate so they can maximize their impact on the world,” Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis said. “This cutting-edge research will help establish OHIO as a national leader in using new science, research and actions to help our students achieve their goals.”

OHIO is among nine universities participating in the Nudge to the Finish Line project, a five-year Institute for Education Science grant awarded to the University of Virginia. Nudge to the Finish Line focuses on students who are more than halfway through their college credits. Studies have shown that about 40 percent of students who drop out do so after that point, particularly as they get away from the support systems more prevalent for first-year students.

The Nudge to the Finish Line program sends well-timed text messages to students with reminders and prompts to take care of necessary tasks to move students toward graduation, including financial aid deadline reminders, study tips or other key information.

The pilot program, done in conjunction with eight other universities across the country, decreased the number of students who did not return from Fall 2016 to Spring 2017 semesters from 17.5 percent of control students who did not receive the nudges to 15 percent for the treatment group who did. Among the highest-risk students, those with a calculated 33 percent chance of dropping out, degree completion was increased by 38 percent over control figures, an increase of 6.1 percentage points. For the 250 OHIO students participating in the pilot, significant increases were found in grade point average and degree completion rates for students of color.

OHIO is also operating the Normalizing the College Transition program, which used a $100,000 Konneker Grant to launch a study based on behavioral science-based nudges to help first-generation students make a more successful transition to college. The goal is to help those students increase their engagement with the University and their academic success.

The 2017-18 pilot year was rolled out to 500 first-year, first generation students, and will be available to all new first-year first generation students in the 2018-19 academic year.

Research has shown that short-term nudges can help students in the long term, and this study focuses on a behavioral approach known as a lay theory intervention. People use lay theories to understand the cause and effect of challenges they encounter in their daily lives, often without being aware of those theories. By helping students develop a new lay theory of the transition to college by reframing the challenges and adverse experiences as a normal, common part of the college transition, they can experience improved coping and engagement behaviors, such as seeking help when needed. This research includes both an in-person educational experience as well as a year-long series of text-based messages designed to help support the student through their college transition.

Both projects are expanding in 2018 to reach more students.

“While these interventions are usually small and of short duration, because they target the psychological processes that we use to make decisions, they change the way we experience and overcome challenges, resulting in long-term benefits,” said Loralyn Taylor, Director of Analytics for University Student Success Initiatives in Academic Technologies. “These interactive text-based nudges support our students’ decision-making and help them make positive academic choices.”

The goal is to demonstrate to students that seeking help is a normal part of college, and thus helping them to feel like they fit in or belong in college. Social belonging is considered to be a primary predictor of student retention.

“Overall, Ohio University has shown steady gains in the retention of continuing generation students. However, our first-generation students have a lower rate of retention than our continuing generation students,” University College Dean and Interim Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Sayrs said. “With approximately one-third of OHIO students being first-generation, increasing their retention and academic success is a clear institutional priority. The success of this pilot demonstrates the need to expand its reach.”

Sayrs shared details of the program with the Ohio University Board of Trustees at the board’s meeting Jan. 19. The program complements and supports the work of other University programs focused on completion strategies, such as Learning Communities, OHIO First Scholars and more. The plan is to open the program to Athens new first-generation students, as well as pilot students on one or more regional campuses, in Academic Year 2018, and all new Ohio University undergraduate students by June 2019.