Mind Mapping for Student Retention

Challenge

One challenge at my institution is the inability to retain and graduate as many students as we

believe we should.  We are an open access institution serving students who attend on mainly a  part-time basis (79%), the majority of our student population are minoritized students from low  socioeconomic statuses.  In addition, our average student age is 24 years old.  We are a public  two-year institution providing students with the opportunity to complete a small selection of four- year degrees.  Our credential offerings span from post-secondary adult vocational certificates to  baccalaureate degrees.  Our fall-to-fall retention rates have hovered around 53% over the past  five years.  As a public institution, we are limited by legislation in our state as it relates to  program offerings and the composition of these offerings, the amount of tuition and fees we  may charge students, the amount of dollars we are permitted to maintain on hand to serve  students, and the jurisdiction from which we are to focus on recruiting students.

Tool Selection

I have chosen the mind mapping tool, which is used as a visual representation of all the data

collection that took place throughout the “what is” phase.  The mind map was set up as a virtual  gallery to be “walked through,” so stakeholders across the college could explore the quantitative  and qualitative data collected.  The format of a virtual gallery was used due to the pandemic, at  our institution we are no longer able to physically congregate.  We chose to represent our data  in a gallery format so each person walking through the gallery would experience a closer  connection to our students and the individuals directly serving them as well as to ensure we had  a common understanding of the problem we were trying to overcome.  These ideas for the  presentation of data and the virtual gallery were informed by the video from lesson three that  Professor Moore discussed in the course.

Application

Our team identified 25 stakeholders to invite to a gallery walk through, which was hosted on

the same day for everyone.  Participants were able to mill through each’ “room” as they wanted  within an hour and a half time period.  Each stakeholder was asked to take notes while  reviewing each artifact because these notes would be used later in our discussion session.  In  the virtual gallery, we had graphs and charts setting the stage with quantitative data related to  three student cohorts, one that started at our college in the fall of 2016, another in the fall of  2017, and the final cohort which started in the fall of 2018.  In addition, we included qualitative  data we were able to collect while working with students, staff, and faculty.  We had a total of  three students provide visual presentations of their experience and depict what impacted their  inability to be retained.  We had an additional seven students provide journal reflections  recounting difficulties they faced and how they managed to stay in college.  Finally, we had  faculty and advisors describe in either words through reflections or pictures through visual  presentations what helps and what hinders them while trying to best serve students and  understand their needs.

After the virtual walk through, the 25 stakeholders were asked to take 15 minutes to group

their own notes into themes or groupings.  Once each person had an opportunity to organize  their own notes, they were randomly broken into five groups of five, each group was facilitated  by a member of the design team that was facilitating the day.  This person captured the themes  on a shared document so everyone was able to see the clusters of themes the group had  identified.  The facilitator then pushed each of the groups further to try to uncover insights

beyond the obvious.  Facilitators were taught to ask so what to dig deeper into the reasoning  behind why these patterns and themes are important and really shine light on what they were  uncovering.  This was quite hard for some of the groups to push beyond the obvious findings  and to stop themselves from focusing on identifying solutions.

The use of the mind mapping gallery was definitely beneficial for the entire group to

experience, however; the desire for almost everyone to jump to the solution finding process was  something we will have to continue to work on.  Taking action and moving forward quickly is  deeply engrained in our culture and making sure we take time to really internalize “what is”  before we try to move to “what wows” is a continued work in progress.

Insight

The use of the gallery for mind mapping really opened my mind to the need to tell a story

through a variety of formats. I tend to be focused on facts rather than emotions, but by hosting a  gallery walk through using a variety of visual formats I was able to help myself and others to  empathetically connect to our users.  In addition, the facilitated smaller group conversations  were beneficial to help push stakeholders beyond stating the obvious while trying to keep  people in the space of what is before jumping to solutions.  Another great insight that surfaced  from this process was the importance of going beyond the “usual suspects” for stakeholder  input and feedback.  We have a lot of employees at our institution and frequently the same  people are called upon to engage in discussion, the gallery process allowed us to pull from a  wider variety of areas at the college to uncover and spend time in the “what is” portion of the  overall process.

Approach

The gallery walk through was a great format to help get a broader group of stakeholders on

the same page regarding the problem at hand.  We tend to work in siloed approaches to  overcome problems, which leads to duplication of efforts as well as individual areas identifying  different interpretations of the same problem and then moving forward with solutions to the  problem they’ve individually identified.  I plan on using this format for future problems we  identify while trying to positively impact student success at our college.  As a publicly funded  institution of higher education, we have limited resources and getting as many stakeholders  across the college on the same page in regards to the problem at the onset will benefit both our  institutional culture as well as our use of resources both human and financial and we continue  to innovate and focus on continuous improvement.


Mind Mapping for Student Retention Challenge One challenge at my institution is the inability to retain and graduate as many students as we believe we should . We are an open access institution serving students who attend on mainly a part - time basis ( 79 % ) , the majority of our student population are minoritized students from low socioeconomic statuses . In addition , our average student age is 24 years old . We are a public two - year institution providing students with the opportunity to complete a small selection of four- year degrees . Our credential offerings span from post - secondary adult vocational certificates to baccalaureate degrees . Our fall - to - fall retention rates have hovered around 53 % over the past five years . As a public institution , we are limited by legislation in our state as it relates to program offerings and the composition of these offerings , the amount of tuition and fees we may charge students , the amount of dollars we are permitted to maintain on hand to serve students , and the jurisdiction from which we are to focus on recruiting students . Tool Selection I have chosen the mind mapping tool , which is used as a visual representation of all the data collection that took place throughout the “ what is ” phase . The mind map was set up as a virtual gallery to be “ walked through , ” so stakeholders across the college could explore the quantitative and qualitative data collected . The format of a virtual gallery was used due to the pandemic , at our institution we are no longer able to physically congregate . We chose to represent our data in a gallery format so each person walking through the gallery would experience a closer connection to our students and the individuals directly serving them as well as to ensure we had a common understanding of the problem we were trying to overcome . These ideas for the presentation of data and the virtual gallery were informed by the video from lesson three that Professor Moore discussed in the course . Application Our team identified 25 stakeholders to invite to a gallery walk through , which was hosted on the same day for everyone . Participants were able to mill through each ’ “ room ” as they wanted within an hour and a half time period . Each stakeholder was asked to take notes while reviewing each artifact because these notes would be used later in our discussion session . In the virtual gallery , we had graphs and charts setting the stage with quantitative data related to three student cohorts , one that started at our college in the fall of 2016 , another in the fall of 2017 , and the final cohort which started in the fall of 2018 . In addition , we included qualitative data we were able to collect while working with students , staff , and faculty . We had a total of three students provide visual presentations of their experience and depict what impacted their inability to be retained . We had an additional seven students provide journal reflections recounting difficulties they faced and how they managed to stay in college . Finally , we had faculty and advisors describe in either words through reflections or pictures through visual presentations what helps and what hinders them while trying to best serve students and understand their needs . After the virtual walk through , the 25 stakeholders were asked to take 15 minutes to group their own notes into themes or groupings . Once each person had an opportunity to organize their own notes , they were randomly broken into five groups of five , each group was facilitated by a member of the design team that was facilitating the day . This person captured the themes on a shared document so everyone was able to see the clusters of themes the group had identified . The facilitator then pushed each of the groups further to try to uncover insights beyond the obvious . Facilitators were taught to ask so what to dig deeper into the reasoning behind why these patterns and themes are important and really shine light on what they were uncovering . This was quite hard for some of the groups to push beyond the obvious findings and to stop themselves from focusing on identifying solutions . The use of the mind mapping gallery was definitely beneficial for the entire group to experience , however ; the desire for almost everyone to jump to the solution finding process was something we will have to continue to work on . Taking action and moving forward quickly is deeply engrained in our culture and making sure we take time to really internalize “ what is ” before we try to move to “ what wows ” is a continued work in progress . Insight The use of the gallery for mind mapping really opened my mind to the need to tell a story through a variety of formats . I tend to be focused on facts rather than emotions , but by hosting a gallery walk through using a variety of visual formats I was able to help myself and others to empathetically connect to our users . In addition , the facilitated smaller group conversations were beneficial to help push stakeholders beyond stating the obvious while trying to keep people in the space of what is before jumping to solutions . Another great insight that surfaced from this process was the importance of going beyond the “ usual suspects ” for stakeholder input and feedback . We have a lot of employees at our institution and frequently the same people are called upon to engage in discussion , the gallery process allowed us to pull from a wider variety of areas at the college to uncover and spend time in the “ what is ” portion of the overall process . Approach The gallery walk through was a great format to help get a broader group of stakeholders on the same page regarding the problem at hand . We tend to work in siloed approaches to overcome problems , which leads to duplication of efforts as well as individual areas identifying different interpretations of the same problem and then moving forward with solutions to the problem they ’ve individually identified . I plan on using this format for future problems we identify while trying to positively impact student success at our college . As a publicly funded institution of higher education , we have limited resources and getting as many stakeholders across the college on the same page in regards to the problem at the onset will benefit both our institutional culture as well as our use of resources both human and financial and we continue to innovate and focus on continuous improvement .