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Using technology to redesign college advising and student support: Findings and lessons from three colleges' efforts to build on the iPASS initiative [MCCC] (Miller et al., 2020)

Review Guidelines

Absence of conflict of interest

Citation

Miller, C., Cohen, B., Yang, E., & Pellegrino, L. (2020). Using technology to redesign college advising and student support: Findings and lessons from three colleges' efforts to build on the iPASS initiative. New York: MDRC. [MCCC]

Highlights

  • The study's objective was to examine the impact of the enhanced Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS) on education outcomes. This profile focuses on the Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) 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 MCCC. 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 MCCC, the program targeted continuing students who were not currently required to meet with an advisor and who had a low or moderate risk of maintaining enrollment based on a predictive data model. 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 MCCC. Of the 2,989 eligible students, 1,248 were randomly assigned to the treatment group and 1,741 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. Over half of the sample was White (56.2%) and female (59.2%), with an average of 38 credits earned at the time of study enrollment. The sample was primarily between the ages of 19-24 (54.9%) and 25 and over (40.7%). 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. 

Causal Evidence Rating

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. 

Additional Sources

Mayer, A. K., Kalamkarian, H. S., Cohen, B., Pellegrino, L., Boynton, M., & Yang, E. (2019). Integrating technology and advising: Studying enhancements to colleges’ iPASS practices. New York: MDRC.

Reviewed by CLEAR

May 2024