Jackson College using new tool to help with student retention

JACKSON, Mich. (WILX) - A new tool at Jackson College is empowering faculty and staff to help students struggling with their workload. Using a team approach when improving student success.

"We're now reaching out to these students seeing, how can we help you first," said Tom Largent, Adjunct Administrator, Instructor and Seminar in Life Pathways with Jackson College.

The tool Dropout Detective helps faculty and staff monitor student progress.

Jamie Vandenburgh, Dean of Workforce, Technical, and Professional Education says it's a proactive approach keeping students enrolled and on a positive track to getting their degree or certification.

"Factors like not logging into Canvas , which is our LMS [learning management] system, if they are turning in assignments late, their grades in kind of factors all those things together and throughout the semester things change," Vandenburgh.

Over almost two years Dropout Detective has sent alerts when students experience trouble.

"The dashboard which organizes students into three different colors. So, red would be hey they're at risk of potentially failing your class. Yellow, you might want to check in on them and green, everything is looking good," said Vandenburgh.

Allowing what Largent calls allies from several departments to create healthy conversations in hopes of turning things around.

"Allies on campus can be like, hey I see this student is struggling I'm going to reach out to the instructor to see what I can do to help that student," said Largent.

"It allows us to communicate in a way that the student knows we are talking. The student knows that we're having those conversations. That we're making sure that they are valued and that they belong here," said Vandenburgh.

Vandenburgh says there isn't one way of keeping students enrolled but it remains a goal of any college.

"It's easier to retain a student that's already walked through the door and made the decision to attend plus we want them to be successful and complete," said Vandenburgh.

Dropout Detective is another way of uplifting students who fall behind.

During the 2023-24 school year , Jackson college saw a graduation rate of 17% and a transfer rate of 30%. School administrators hope to see more students complete their program of study.