One of President W. Taylor Reveley IV’s goals is to improve the graduation and retention rates at Longwood University. Already, faculty and staff are on the move to do so through the usage of data-mining techniques to compile student information to find out how to know what kinds of students are most at risk for not being retained or for graduating late. This collected data has been named, “big data.”
Dr. Tim Pierson, vice president for Academic Affairs described big data as “the data that makes a difference.”
Pierson further added that big data will help predict trends and behaviors in students who are most at risk for not being retained or not graduating within four years.
Dr. David Lehr, chair of the Faculty Senate and associate professor of Economics, has been in charge of analyzing the big data at Longwood University. He noted that Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management & Student Success Jennifer Green assembled the data from numerous sources, including the Registrar’s Office, Admissions and more.
Lehr said, “As a university, we collect all sorts of information on students, and the question is can you work with that information? Can you work with that data in a way to better improve the success of our students?”
Lehr said, “It’s taking many, many hours of work,” adding later “We don’t have this data properly collected.
He described the project as still “in the beginning stages.”
“We’re not sure what all of this is going to look like, but the purpose of this data-mining is let’s make better informed decisions on how to help students and therefore raise the success of Longwood students,” he said.
The big data being collected from students includes their high school grade point average, what high school they went to, whether or not they had dual- enrollment credit, how many credits the student takes while at Longwood, how many credits are withdrawn, whether the student completes credits over the summer, when General Education credits are being completed and if they are being completed successfully, honor board and conduct board issues, what major the student declares and how many times the student changes their major and much more.
Lehr estimated that the data mining work will be complete by the end of the fall 2013 semester. He expects the development of policies and strategies from the information to begin in the spring 2014 semester. He expects a report at the end of the fall 2013 semester with the outcomes of the data-mining.
Lehr stated that the kind of statistics that he has worked with in his career have been focused on statistical modeling, which tests causal stories as to why things are affected when something specific is changed. Lehr described that the techniques with this type of statistical work is called regression techniques.
Data-mining techniques focus less on causal stories and more on extracting as much information from the data as possible to classify it and generate accurate predictions, according to Lehr.
Since last year, Lehr said that he has been learning about data- mining, or big data techniques, while he’s been working on a different project dealing with SOL scores for third graders.
Reveley recently hired Victoria Kindon as Vice President for Strategic Operations, one of the three newest members in the President’s Office.
According to Reveley, Kindon will focus on connecting with alumni and prospective students with social media as well as focus on marketing Longwood University for bigger name recognition throughout the country.
Kindon has experience in non-profits by working with Public Interest Data, Inc., a database that supports non- profits with fundraising and membership development needs; and Network for Good, a website with access to tools for fundraising, volunteering and donating for charity. She also has experience in software and data analysis by working with SNL Financial, a financial information firm; NGP Software, a provider of fundraising and compliance
software for Democratic campaigns; and Blackboard, an enterprise technology company that develops education software.
Reveley said, "She is one of the country’s real experts in the application of ‘big data’ methodologies to the non-profit sector.”
Lehr commented that he has not yet started working with Kindon, but said, “She has just an absolute wealth of experience with applying data-mining techniques to institutions such as Longwood.”
Lehr has already begun communicating with Justin Pope, chief of staff and advisor to the president, another one of the three newest members in the President’s Office.
With Pope, Kindon, Green and Lehr assisting in the data-mining project, Lehr stated that he is still unsure as to what the role of each person will be, saying, “I’ll be honest with you, what the collaboration looks like I’m not entirely clear, and that’s a work in progress.”
Commenting on the retention and graduation rates at Longwood University, Pierson said, “Nationally, the rates [at Longwood University] are lower than they ought to be, but a place like Longwood – they can be higher.”
The Forbes website reported that Longwood University’s four-year graduation rate is 40 percent, while the six-year graduation rate is 60 percent. Additionally, Longwood University’sfirst-to-second retention rate is 79 percent for full-time students and 39 percent for part-time students.
The National Center for Education Statistics reported that the 2011 graduate rate for full- time, first-time undergraduate students who began their pursuit of a bachelor’s degree and completed the degree within six years was 59 percent. Additionally, the retention rate for full-time, first-time undergraduate students in a four-year institution was 79 percent, with a range of 62 percent at the least selective institutions to 95 percent at the most selective institutions.
Pierson said, “ I see us being just a little more what some folks might call a little more data-driven ... I think for us, assembling the best information to help really employ these resources in the most strategic and best way that we can, I think makes a lot of sense to me.”
Lehr added, “I think we are applying these techniques to an issue that is at the core of what Longwood does.”
