How New York Tech tailors programs to students and their unique needs
According to a Strada-Gallup Alumni Survey, nearly 90 percent of college graduates across the country report they’ve had a mentor—an on-campus resource who gave them career and life advice and prepared them for a lifetime of success.
To fully support its diverse community of learners, New York Institute of Technology (New York Tech) has developed a variety of mentorship programs offered throughout a student’s career and informed by real-time data in order to offer support and increase engagement—both markers that align with lifelong success.
For graduating architecture student Ezekiel Cambara, two professors led him on the path to graduation when he transferred to New York Tech, influencing his perception and goals in the design field. He notes that one professor “was always a great voice of reason and always pushed us past our limitations. He is one of the major reasons I wanted to work on giving back through design and sustainability.” He says another faculty member “singlehandedly changed my perception of what it meant to be a good designer. His views on design paired with his crazy ways of solving design problems helped me find meaning between the lines drawn.”
Meeting Students Where They Are
While faculty often make up a large portion of college mentoring relationships, everyone and every situation is different. New York Tech’s large percentage of first-generation and underrepresented minority students also value friends, family members, and staff who’ve worked to support their journey.
“Through the right kind of mentoring relationships, we can expand our ideas of what different people need and how to best help them succeed.”
“We recognize that every member of our community has unique talents, interests, and life experiences that should be acknowledged and celebrated,” says Tiffani Blake, assistant provost student engagement and development. “We take the time to train all our mentors in how to engage with different demographics, personalities, and characteristics. We want to encourage mentors to be openminded to understand students’ distinct needs and where they want to go in life.”
New York Tech has a diverse student body and nearly 25 percent of students identify as first-generation. In recognition of this diversity, administrators are both nimble and creative when envisioning programs targeted to help unique populations, from a suite of first-gen programming to the Students First initiative that helps make students aware of on-campus resources to benefit them academically, socially, and personally.
“Some of our students might be the primary breadwinner of their household, or working a full-time job while earning a degree, or even taking care of family members in another country,” says Felipe Henao, Ed.D, dean of students. “They might not know how to take action when they need help, but through the right kind of mentoring relationships, we can expand our ideas of what different people need and how to best help them succeed.”
Especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and civic unrest in the U.S. and abroad, New York Tech has actively improved various programs to support students in their times of need and in response to their input. For example, a Student Emergency Fund was established to aid those impacted by unforeseen financial circumstances. During the pandemic, the Bear Bytes initiative—which helps provide free, healthy food to students and their families—began offering food packages for timed pickup instead of closing the food pantry, keeping students and volunteers safe while also continuing their much-needed support.
“COVID exacerbated the needs of students and changed the dynamic of how to get them their resources,” says Blake. “If we continue to keep the student voice at the center of all of our decisions, we can help give students the support they really need when and how they need it to help ensure their academic success.”
Using Data to Improve Student Engagement
Data collection and analysis also play an important role in ensuring that New York Tech administrators not only offer the right programs, but also continue to improve them based on measurable feedback.
For example, ongoing data analytics conducted by Research, Assessment and Decision Support (RADS) is helping to ensure that three complementary programs developed for undergraduates on the New York campuses are having their intended impact.
Launched last year, the First-Year GUIDE Program was created to offer students starting college during the pandemic an opportunity to engage with the university and to make new friends. Incoming first-year students are linked with Peer Success Guides—upperclassmen who are trained to interact with their own small group of students, offering them guidance, fielding newcomer questions, and organizing social events.
“The experience of COVID amplified our understanding that students need to feel connected in order to thrive,” says Monika Rohde, senior associate dean of undergraduate student success and advising. “Adding a Peer Success Guide to their support team gives them the chance to connect with a peer who they may feel more relaxed with and who are trained to answer those small (but important) questions.”
The First-Year GUIDE program matched more than 700 mentees with mentors this past year. Next year, administrators will use the data gleaned to improve the program’s delivery and content, ensuring even stronger participation and engagement.
Next, the iAchieve program helps second-semester freshmen whose grades have dropped below a certain level, followed by the Achieving Collegiate Excellence (ACE) program, which provides holistic support to sophomores and juniors who did not meet the GPA required to renew their scholarship.
ACE was borne out of a 2017 initiative to analyze first-year student data to find factors that were contributing to a drop in the six-year first-time freshmen graduation rate. The data revealed that every year, a large cohort of first-year students who did not meet their scholarship GPA requirements were dropping out at a very high rate due to financial stress.
In both ACE and iAchieve, students complete success modules developed by the academic success and enrichment team to help them build and finesse skills such as time management and metacognitive study techniques. But most impactful is the relationship with their assigned faculty or staff academic coach, who they connect with regularly throughout the semester.
“In addition to the emphasis on early support and academic assistance, academic coaches will spend the time getting to know the students and their challenges, which allows us to understand each student’s unique situation and offer them tailored solutions,” says Rohde.
Ongoing data analytics by RADS shows that both programs are doing a world of good. ACE, for example, is helping to reduce or eliminate retention gaps in certain demographic populations, as well as improving New York Tech’s four-year graduation rate—a figure that had been at a standstill for several years.
The Future Looks Bright
This impressive achievement started with a commitment to data-informed decision making, and the ongoing success of the program is guided by a college-wide commitment to use data as a resource to help put students first.
Today, New York Tech is in the top 2 percent of U.S. colleges and first in Long Island for return on investment (ROI) for low-income students. The institution is also in the top 10% of U.S. colleges for return on investment over 20, 30, and 40 years, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW).
“Access to education is a key determinant of social mobility. That’s why we’re proud to not only offer one of the lowest private college tuitions in New York State, but also a high-quality education that graduates students into good-paying jobs,” said New York Tech President Henry C. Foley, Ph.D. “Outcompeting many of the nation’s public institutions, our ranking bucks conventional wisdom and demonstrates that a degree from a private institution can indeed yield high earnings for low-income students.”
