Title III

Buffalo State’s Title III grant is designed around two primary components linked by a predictive analytics framework to inform timely, efficient, and scalable services to students.

• Strengthening Student Services 

Buffalo State seeks to enhance the initial student experience in three ways.  First, a newly designed Online Summer Engagement Program provides tailored comprehensive programming to peer-matched cohorts, facilitated by professionally trained completion coaches. Second, the completion coaches will continue to work with their cohort of students throughout the first year.  Upon arrival on campus, students will have developed community ties prior to beginning their work with the Bengal Experience and Transition Team (BEAT) peer mentors. Our completion coaches will be trained by InsideTrack in their Foundational Coaching Model and BEAT Team peer mentors will be trained to provide support throughout the first year.  Third, completion coaches will utilize results from Noel Levitz College Student Inventory (CSI) to develop personalized student success plans to assist students in the transition to college life and respond to early alerts from the Retention Management System (Starfish).

• Strengthening Academic Services

Buffalo State seeks to enhance academic support services in three ways. First, the development of digital supplemental instruction modules (DSIM) will be designed for introductory gateway courses with high D-E-W rates. Second, an intrusive academic advising model will be designed to augment and complement the professional coaching and peer mentoring initiatives. Third, targeted tutoring will help to improve the efficiency and scalability of existing tutoring services by coordinating schedules for individual and group tutoring. All of these services will be informed by a newly developed predictive analytics framework and the retention management system (Starfish). Students will receive messages through this system guiding them to needed services.

See First-Year Student Support Network (PDF)

See Enhanced First-Year Student Support Network (PDF)

Progress Update

The Title III Task Force and Design Teams worked on developing and implementing various grant activities.  

Here is an overview of the Title III Activities:

- Year 2 implemented (2019-2020)

• _{Digital Supplement Instruction Modules (DSIM) for selected high D, F, W, gateway courses}
• _{Online Summer Engagement Program (Countdown to College!) for selected first year students}
• _{Foundational Coach Training for Buffalo State Professional Advisers, Completion Coaches, Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Counselors, Say Yes Counselors, and Faculty}
• _{Noel Levitz College Student Inventory Training for Buffalo State Professional Advisers, Completion Coaches, Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Counselors, Say Yes Counselors on how to analyze individual results and create student success plans for first year students}

- Year 3 implemented (2020-2021)

• _{Refine Online Summer Engagement Program (Countdown to College!) for all first-year students}
• _{Refine Noel Levitz College Student Inventory} 
• _{Pilot of First Year Intrusive Academic Advising Plan that consists of minimum of three comprehensive academic advising interactions}
• _{Pilot of First Year Engagement Program (ROAR to Success!) that consists of regular interaction with Completion Coaches and BEAT Peer Mentors during students’ first year at Buffalo State}
• _{Design of Targeted Tutoring plan to pilot during year 4 of the grant}
• _{Developed digital repository to share Digital Supplement Instruction Modules with faculty}

- Year 4 focus (2021-2022)

• _{Implement Online Summer Engagement Program (Countdown to College!) for all first-year students}
• _{Implement Noel Levitz College Student Inventory} 
• _{Refine First Year Intrusive Academic Advising Plan that consists of minimum of three comprehensive academic advising interactions}
• _{Refine First Year Engagement Program (ROAR to Success!) that consists of regular interaction with Completion Coaches and BEAT Peer Mentors during students’ first year at Buffalo State}
• _{Pilot Targeted Tutoring plan to pilot during year 4 of the grantPilot two cohorts of Digital Supplement Instruction Modules (DSIM) for selected high D, F, W, gateway coursesPilot digital repository to share Digital Supplement Instruction Modules with facultyContinue work on the Predictive Analytics Framework}

We thank the Title III Task Force and Design Teams members for their work and commitment to the design and implementation of the grant activities. Please review detailed plans for each activity.

All questions regarding the Title III grant can be directed to Agnes Zak-Moskal, Title III Activity Director at: zakmosad@buffalostate.edu