Absence of conflict of interest
Citation
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of the enhanced Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS) program on education outcomes. This profile focuses on the California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) site. The authors investigated similar research questions for other contrasts, the profiles of which can be found here.
- The study was a randomized controlled trial at Fresno State. Eligible students were randomly assigned to either the treatment or control groups. Using college records, the authors conducted statistical models to compare outcomes between the groups.
- The study did not find significant differences between enhanced iPASS participants and control participants on credit attainment or degrees earned.
- This study receives a high evidence rating. This means we would be confident that the estimated effects were attributable to the enhanced Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS) program, and not to other factors. However, the study did not find any statistically significant effects.
Intervention Examined
Enhanced Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS)
Features of the Intervention
The Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS) initiative was designed to help colleges infuse technology into their advising practices to improve the student experience. Using iPASS, advisors can identify early indicators of both academic and non-academic difficulties and take appropriate action. The program was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 45 colleges had received iPASS grants. The enhanced iPASS program aimed to increase informational communication, improve the process for identifying struggling students, and redesign advising sessions. The first enhancement offered the iPASS program to more students. At Fresno State, the program targeted students who were at risk of poor academic performance or dropping out and who were not previously required to meet with their advisors. The second enhancement was a toolkit to guide advising sessions. The toolkit included learning objectives, open-ended question sets, and suggested discussion topics.
Features of the Study
The study was a randomized controlled trial at Fresno State. Of the 1,219 eligible students, 610 were randomly assigned to the treatment group and 609 were randomly assigned to the control group. Participants in the treatment group received the enhanced iPASS program services for two semesters while the control group received original iPASS services. The sample was primarily Hispanic (62.5%), female (61.7%), between the ages of 19-24 (89.5%) with an average of 44 credits earned at the time of study enrollment. Using college transcripts, the authors conducted statistical models to compare the outcomes of treatment and control group participants.
Findings
Education and skills gains
- The study did not find any statistically significant effects of enhanced iPASS participation on credit attainment or degrees earned.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we would be confident that the estimated effects were attributable to the enhanced iPASS program, and not to other factors. However, the study did not find statistically significant effects.