This activity expands the work ASU currently conducts within its University College.
Albany State University currently does not require students to have standardized test scores prior to admission. As such, it has been difficult to identify incoming students’ specific strengths nor areas that need improvement. Our student success supports are therefore often too general to directly address specific student-related deficiencies. To overcome this barrier to success, we are piloting a First Year Student Assessment Protocol (FYAP).
As the managing unit for ASU 1101 Pathways to College Success course, University College (home to ASU’s learning communities) mandates and assesses students’ participation in the mandatory Study Tables required by the University’s ASPIRE plan. Additionally, this course reinforces students help-seeking abilities and ensures their familiarity with various ASU units, services, and resources designed to support their overall success. Accordingly, ASU 1101 is the touch point within which the first-year assessment protocol is implemented. Fall 2025 is the first semester for implementation of this protocol. Our First Year Assessment Protocol (FYAP) pilot includes the following items:
- The Proficiency Profile assessment (a pre- / post-assessment designed to measure students’ proficiencies in reading, writing, math, and critical thinking) taken during students’ first two weeks of class of their first-year, incoming semester;
- USG Mindset Survey;
- UC Tiered Intervention Strategy (to be piloted during spring 2026); and
- Freshman Focus Groups (held semesterly).
This Protocol also includes implementation of a communication plan to share data generated from these sources with appropriate ASU units for student success planning and implementation.
Once data are generated using the assessments outlined above, University College Data Dives will be held each academic semester (with the pilot being f25) with the following structure and desired outcomes. First, the Dives will invite various campus units and stakeholders to participate in a three-phase session. The phases are: (1) to discuss ASU-specific framework(s) for student success data; (2) analyze and interrogate data generated by each instrument within the FYAP; and (3) collaboratively discuss improvement strategies and targeted interventions that can be employed to improve students’ retention, progression, and eventual graduation rates.
This project is being used to inform Study Table and other Academic Support initiatives which are parts of ASPIRE Priority number 1. The FYAP activity seeks to create more strategically designed and specifically targeted interventions to address students’ strengths and areas for improvement.
The Tiered Intervention Strategy portion of this plan will be piloted during spring 2026. University College students with an overall GPA of 2.4 or lower must check-in with their UC Coach at least twice per month and attend coach-identified student success workshops. Students with a GPA between 2.5 and 2.9 must check-in with their UC Coach at least once monthly and attend a minimum of five student support workshops/activities per semester. Students with a 3.0 or higher TPA will receive invitations to optional academic and success workshops based on their self-identified need.
Finally, the FYAP will also employ EdSights chatbot services to collect data regarding students’ needs and preferences during their first year. A communication plan has been designed for its launch. During November (f25), students and faculty will begin receiving messaging detailing the full implementation f the chatbot January 6, 2026.
Evaluation of the FYAP is two-fold. First, we measure students’ response rates and participation to assess students’ engagement. Second, we will use the data from each instrument to assess students’ performance and dispositions in order to target specific strategies for continuous improvement.
Because 2025-2026 serves as a pilot year, we are establishing baselines for student response rates. We are planning to implement the following KPIs and targets as elements within our assessment plan.
Targeted Response Rates:
- Proficiency Profile: 70% of incoming first-year students
- USG Mindset Survey: 70% of ASU 1101 students
- n=100 participants in student focus groups
There were a number of technical issues with Territorium (the vendor for the Proficiency Profile). We believe those issues prevented some students from taking and/or completing the assessment in a timely manner. Thus, as we move forward we will revamp our plan for proctoring as well as the communication plan used to communicate with students regarding the testing.
Academic Support Services and University College will continue to use data from the fall 2025 Proficiency Profile scores to design and deliver targeted interventions for students attending ASU, but will also design and seek funding to implement community-based workshops for middle and high school students that will supplement pre-college academic development of potential students.
The Tiered Coaching model of this assessment protocol cannot be piloted until spring 2026 when overall GPAs can be reviewed.
Generating buy-in and collaboration among units outside of Academic Affairs may be challenging if we are unable to report the data in ways easily digestible. It may also be difficult to work with incoming students who lack growth mindset dispositions.
In order to use data to target academic deficiencies elucidated by our assessment protocol, we may need additional funds to work with not only ASU students to improve their reading, writing, and critical thinking but we will also require additional funds outside of ASU to help us target similar deficiencies in middle and high school students. In this way, we can ensure that we address students’ success (and college) readiness as early as possible.
