1) Ivy Tech Community College's East Central Region implemented an Early Alert program to identify students struggling academically and refer them to support services. 2) The program experienced challenges with follow-up due to limited staffing, but recently received Perkins Grant funding to hire a coordinator. 3) An evaluation of the program found it successfully identified at-risk students, though improvements could be made to data collection and faculty participation.

1. SOCIAL SERVICE DELIVERY
SYSTEM ANALYSIS:
IVY TECH COMMUNITY
COLLEGE & THE EARLY ALERT
PROGRAM
Elizabeth Schunn
Ball State University
Spring 2012

2. Mission:
Vision: Ivy Tech Community College prepares
Indiana residents to learn, live, and
Changin work in a diverse and globally
g Lives, competitive environment by delivering
Making professional, technical, transfer, and
Indiana lifelong education. Through its
Great affordable, open-access education
and training programs, the College
enhances the development of
Indiana’s citizens and communities
and strengthens its economy.

3. Accelerating Greatness
S
T
 Strategy 1: Ensure That Students
R
A
Achieve Their Educational Goals
T
E  Strategy 2: Ensure That Indiana
G
I
C
Citizens, Workforce, And Businesses Are
P
Globally Competitive
L
A  Strategy 3 Ensure Optimal Quality And
N
Efficiencies Statewide
2
0
1  Strategy 4: Ensure An Adequate And
3
Sustainable Resource Base

4. Ivy Tech Community College
In the 2010-11 school year…
in Indiana… East Central Region
 There were 174,806  There were 13,077
students. students.
 In 14 regions  Anderson, Muncie,
and Marion
 On 30 campuses
 New Castle &
 And more than 150 Portland smaller
programs and “sites” not
concentrations designated as
statewide campuses.

5. A Brief History…
 The East Central Region was commissioned in
April of 1968 and its first full-time programs began
in the fall of 1969 at a near downtown industrial
building. Running out of space, the college picked
up 15,000 acres of land and a 15,000 square foot
telephone company building in an industrial park
on Cowan Road in 1973 at a sheriff’s sale. The
Muncie campus has remained at the same site,
adding and expanding buildings and programs
along the way to keep pace with its growth. The
region expanded its operation to Anderson and
New Castle in 1976 and to Marion in 1978.
(Wingrove, 2012)

6. Commerc
State Board of e,
Trustees Agricultur
President of Ivy Tech e, Labor,
Regiona Education
l ,
Advisory Business,
Chancellor
Board and two
At Large
Vice Chancellor of Academic
Affairs
Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
Vice Vice
Chancellor Chancellor
Anderson Marion
Anderso Muncie
n Marion
Ivy Tech Community College Region 6

7. Vice Chancellor of Academic Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
Affairs
Public & *Registrar and Bursar’s
Social Offices
services, Deans of each Admissions , registration
Education, School and student records,
Business, multicultural affairs,
Technology career services,
… academic advising,
Department/ student life,
Human disability support
Program
Services, services, judicial affairs,
Chairs
Criminal retention/student
Justice, Advisors success, and counseling
Paralegal, Full and services.
Hospitality… Part Time
Faculty Unlike Academic Affairs, Student
affairs doesn’t have an easy to
understand flow chart. It is a list of
Student departments and programs under
Success their supervision.
Regional Vice Chancellors

8. Clients
 Your typical community college student is a
non-traditional student with a family. They
often work, though in the current economy
many do not. They are often single parents
and many in live poverty. As many as 70%
need remediation before they are ready for
college level courses (Indiana Commission for
Higher Education, 2008)

9. Trends… in financial aid
Changes in  No longer based on enrollment
financial aid
have had a  Limited number of course
tremendous
affect on withdraws
how the
faculty, staff,  Limited number of attempts to
and
administratio pass a class
n interact
with  Limited number of appeals
students.
Focused on goal setting, taking responsibility for education,
retention, and completion.
Looking at multiple ways of measuring success.

10. Student Success Interventions
 Mandatory New Student Orientation
 Cannot schedule first semester classes
without meeting with SSA Student Success
Assistant
 IVYT 101 & 120
 Required to meet with Advisor in the first
semester
 IAP~ Individual Academic Plan
 Early Alert
 Academic Support, Tutoring, the Writing
Center

11. Services
 Disability Services
 Documented within the last 3 years.
 Student responsible for requesting services
 Academic Support Center
 Technology help
 Proctored exams
 Tutoring Center
 Math, English, Science
 Tutoring workshops

12. Early Alert Clients
Students in danger of failing classes for various
academic and non academic reasons.
The current process…
Referred by instructor.
Information retrieved from source at regular
intervals.
Attempt to contact twice by phone.
When contact is made, information about
barriers to success is gathered and
referrals are made.

13. Funding
 The Early Alert Program was a side project for
several staff until recently when Perkins Grant
funds were allocated to hire a coordinator for
the project. The Perkins Grant is used by
colleges and universities primarily to fund
programs and initiatives geared at improving
student success.

14. Trends… in policy
 The economy has always had an impact on Ivy
Tech, as communities grow and new
businesses get started the college has been
the most affordable and efficient way to train
new employees.
 In the same way, factory closures create an
influx of displaced workers to be trained in a
variety of fields. Ivy Tech offers many courses
and degree programs, but they developed
those programs over time in response to the
needs of the community.

15. The role of community colleges
 Started out as a technical and vocational
training college.
 Manufacturing was thriving and skills not
education was the focus.
 Commission of Higher Education asked
Vincennes University to partner with Ivy Tech.
 Now recognized as a leader in the field and
asked to participate in the White House
Summit on Community Colleges in October of
2010.

16. Diversity
 While not necessarily diverse in the traditional
sense of the word Ivy Tech students are much
more representative of the diversity in the
communities they serve because they come to
the college for a variety of reasons.

17. Ivy Tech Community College
Strengths
 Once contact is made it is not difficult to
determine what the needs are and how to best
serve the student.
 The resources are there and not difficult to
access. It provides the opportunity for a
supportive working relationship.
 It is also good that the people making these
phone calls are in an advising role and already
knowledgeable about the services available.

18. Ivy Tech’s Student needs
 The needs that are unmet for the student body
as a whole are general mental health.
 Simple coping strategies and opportunities to
talk in small groups about common problems
would be helpful, especially for those whose
family/friends aren’t in school or haven’t been
for a long time.

19. Early Alert Evaluation
 Is a summary is about a page and a half and
includes: total responses, repeat students,
actual number of students reported, number of
students reported more than once, number of
students reported per course, top 3 courses
with the most reports, current status, and
observations which includes the top 3 reasons
for difficulties.

20. Outcomes…
 http://www.ivytech.edu/why-ivy-tech/student-
success.html

21. Early Alert Improvement
Strategy
 Set goals and objectives, measure and report
measurable outcomes.
 Faculty training on Early Alert so that more
instructors will make referrals.
 Include note in syllabus about program with
contact information so student can self refer and
access resources.
 First contact by email (and alternate email) with a
link for students to provide information.
 First follow up by phone and 2nd and 3rd by email
at the end of the semester and beginning of the
next.

22. References
 Abbot, G. ( February, 2012) Interview with Chef “Gooey” Early Alert & Student Success.
 Course Catalog 2011-2012. (p.60) http://wwwiivytech.edu/academics/11-12CourseDescriptions.pdf
 Chesterfield, G. (February 2012) Interview with the Chancellor: State and Region 6 Organizational
Structures.
 Center for Community College Student Engagement (2012) About the Center
http://www.ccsse.org/center/
 Indiana Commission for Higher Education. (2008). Reaching Higher: Strategic Initiatives for Higher
Education in Indiana. Indianapolis, In.

 Institutional Research. (2011). Ivy Tech Community College: Annual Unduplicated Headcount
Enrollment. [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.ivytech.edu/institutional-
research/enrollment/FINAL_10-11_headcount.pdf
 Institutional Research. (2011). 2011 ACT Student Opinion Survey: Diversity at Ivy Tech. (P. 35)
[Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.ivytech.edu/institutional-
research/survey/2011_ACT_Full_Report_Final.pdf
 McFalls, M. (February 2012). Interview with Academic Support Assistant: Needs of and Services
for the Student Population.
 Scott, L. (2012). Interview with Disability Services Coordinator: Services and Student Population
 Progress Report (January 2012) Progress toward Accelerating Greatness: Changing Lives,
Making Indiana Great http://www.ivytech.edu/acceleratinggreatness
 Reeder, E. (January 2012) Interview with the Chair of the Human Services Program: Student
Population, Attendance, and Human Services Program.