Road Map provides updates on Learning Community

The Learning Community strategic priority committee presented updates and news about its goals and metrics at the Road Map steering committee meeting on Feb. 13.

The three major goals of the Learning Community priority include: creating opportunities for dynamic and transformative learning through high-impact practices; increasing the placement rate of graduates; and increasing the first-year student retention rate and four- and six-year graduation rates.

For Binghamton University’s Class of 2024, participation in at least one high-impact practice reached 89%, an increase from the 80% recorded by the Class of 2020. High-impact practices include study abroad, service learning, internships, research or a capstone honors or thesis project. The committee has recommended adding student employment as a high-impact practice for its role in developing critical job-related skills for students. If student employment for the Class of 2024 is considered, its rate of participation in at least one high-impact practice rises to 91%.

The placement rate for the Class of 2023 is 88%, which includes students who are employed and those who are continuing their education. This mark is close to the strategic priority’s goal of 90% and exceeds the national average of 84.7%. Binghamton’s knowledge rate of 81%, the number of graduates who reported their data back to the University, far exceeds the national average of 55.8%.

Binghamton has also seen improvements in its retention and graduation rates. Of the first-year students on campus in fall 2023, 89.5% returned this past fall, an improvement of 0.9% from the previous year. The committee has set a goal of a 93% retention rate by 2026. The University’s four-year graduation rate rose to 76.3%, an increase of 2.4% from the previous year. It is also the highest four-year graduation rate among SUNY’s university centers, topping second-place Stony Brook by 13.3%. Binghamton’s six-year graduation rate of 81.7% is likewise the best among SUNY’s university centers.

The committee also presented an update on the cross-divisional Student Success Committee, which has worked to bridge gaps between Student Affairs and Academic Affairs in developing proactive strategies for supporting retention, persistence and timely graduation. An early alert system for students struggling early in a semester has helped with academic success interventions. A first-year student advising pilot program in Harpur College selected 400 at-risk students and has shown promise in students who chose to participate. Students who worked with the advising pilot received regular check-ins and had better academic progress and retention rates than those who did not.

Stephen Ortiz, assistant vice provost for academic enrichment and executive director of University Scholars, reported on several successful research programs for undergraduate students. The First-Year Research Immersion (FRI) program and the Source Project together provide 625 spots for first-year students to engage in meaningful research with faculty in the sciences and humanities. The Binghamton University Projects for New Undergraduate Researchers (BUPNUR), launched in spring 2024 through Road Map funding, has led to opportunities for 167 undergraduates with no previous research experience over the past three semesters. The program targets especially those who have financial aid or are first-generation or transfer students. These programs have allowed the University to get 52% of undergraduates engaged in research, an improvement from the 24% who were doing so in 2012.

The meeting concluded with an exercise led by Learning Community Committee Co-chair James Pitarresi, vice provost and executive director of the Center for Learning and Teaching. Pitarresi asked attendees to discuss the challenges and opportunities of generative artificial intelligence in higher education and to think of easy-to-implement strategies for increasing student engagement.