Running head: EVALUATION OF FIU CFAS AIP

Part One: An Evaluation of Florida International Universitys Center for Academic Success
Academic Improvement Program
Federico Lastra, Nancy Viera, and Melissa Zulueta
Florida International University

EVALUATION OF FIU CFAS AIP

Part One: An Evaluation of Florida International Universitys Center for Academic Success
Academic Improvement Program
Part One
1. What is the purpose of the evaluation?
The purpose of the evaluation is to determine whether the program works to improve the
students' academic standing, and improve the program itself.
2. Why is the program or policy being evaluated?
The program is being evaluated to find opportunities for improvement. We want to know
what is not working as well as what could be working better. Nationally, nearly 25% of all
college students will be on academic probation at some point in their college career. Roughly
50% of probationary students will voluntarily drop out. According to an academic advising
(2014), in a meeting with the Center for Academic Success (CfAS), FIU is not lagging behind
with about 28% on probation and an additional 10% on academic warning, this is down by two
to three percent from 2013. Furthermore, currently FIUs students: 26% of them are dropping out
in their first year, and only 46% graduating within 4 years. The AIP program is designed to
remove them from academic probation, and ensure they graduate; the time frame is irrelevant
(University Learning Center. Center for Academic Success [CfAS], 2014a; CfAS, 2014b;
University of Wisconsin [UW], 2014).
3. What is the structure and context of the program?

EVALUATION OF FIU CFAS AIP

Students who are not in good academic standing, those who have been issued
a warning or probation, are referred to the Center for Academic Success. Usually, these students
need to develop academic skills such as reading comprehension, grammar or math skills; but,
also skills such as time management, test taking skills, memorization techniques, note taking,
and study guide creation. Through the program, students will learn how to manage emotional or
personal issues and/or learning disabilities. The mission of this program at the CfAS is to help
the student create a healthy balance between the demands of higher education and those existing
in his/her personal life (CfAS, 2014a, 2014b).
The program is structured as a five week student intervention plan which follows the
subsequent benchmarks (CfAS, 2014a, 2014b):
a)

Identify students on Academic Warning/Probation: The reviewers focus on the students

who were on warning and probation on the previous semester, but whom have not
participated in the Academic Improvement Program (AIP). These benchmarks are
structured by the CfAS and academic advisors receive confirmation of completion.

b)

Administer Diagnostic based on classes with 'D' or 'F' grades: The subject matters where
the academic performance of the student is poor will determine the type of diagnostic test
given. If the student exhibits a poor performance in Math/Science, then the student will
take the Accuplacer Diagnostic in mathematics. On the other hand if the student
exhibits a poor performance in English/Humanities, then he/she will take the Reading
Plus Diagnostic. The tutor is tasked with administering the test to the students at
the CfAS.

EVALUATION OF FIU CFAS AIP

c)

Forum for Students: this is when the student meets with the assigned reading coach,
Vicenta Shepard, to discuss his/her academic performance. During this explorative
interview; students also provide their input as to why they think their academic
performance is lacking. Based on this interview, the coach will determine other areas for
intervention and services, and assign a tutor/mentor that best fits their needs. The
stakeholders involved in this benchmark include the university, reading
coach, tutor/mentor, student/tutee/mentee, faculty, and even parents.

d)

Create AIP for student: the AIP is created for each student on academic warning and
probation. It is individualized to each student, catering to his/her specific needs for
intervention. This is completed by the Academic Advisor and the reading coach after they
have compiled the introductory evaluator's information.

e)

AIP Mathematics: With the diagnostic test results at hand, the math coordinator and tutors
will schedule tutoring sessions in the areas of weakness identified by the test.

f)

AIP Reading and Learning: With the diagnostic test results at hand, the reading
coordinator and tutors will schedule tutoring sessions in the areas of weakness identified
by the test.

g)

AIP Everyone: The students will attend five hours of workshops, spread over five weeks,
one hour a week. The program is led by the reading coach and reading tutor over the fiveweek long program. During this time the students will learn skills that are applicable to
all academic areas such as study skills, note taking strategies, etc.

EVALUATION OF FIU CFAS AIP

h)

Progress Monitoring Appointments: The students will meet with the academic advisor
and the reading coach to discuss progress in AIP-targeted courses.

i)

Evaluation Appointment: The staff at the Office of Academic Success is required to keep
a record of the attendance and participation of the students they worked with. In this
record a distinction is made between students who have successfully or unsuccessfully
completed the program's tutoring sessions and assigned workshops.

4. What are the goals and the objectives of the program?

The ultimate goal of the program is to effectively identify those students that are on
academic probation and give them the assistance they need before they are dismissed from the
university. Once the student has been identified by the academic advisor and referred to
the CfAS, then it becomes the goal of the Reading Coordinator to interview and pair-up the
student with an assigned tutor that must accomplish a set of objectives. Objectives are tailored to
each student, dependent upon the initial interview which is conducted to explore where the
student may be experiencing the most difficulty. The objective is to establish a mentor type
relationship with the experienced tutor (Title V) and the student on probation. The tutor can then
identify if the problems the student is facing can be addressed by AIP program or whether
additional resources are needed, such as a referral to student mental services (CfAS, 2014a,
2014b).
The tutor then schedules a five-week-long course with the student (AIP Program) (CfAS,
2014b):

EVALUATION OF FIU CFAS AIP

a)

Session 0: Interview, Testing in Math and English, referral to subject specific tutoring.

b)

Session 1: Time Management, consisting of instruction in time management, back-up

system, test-taking strategies, and syllabi matrix.

c)

Session 2: Cornell notes, two-column notes, and vocabulary/context clues.

d)

Session 3: study tools and test-taking, consisting of PACE reading, graphic organizers,
and index cards.

e)

Session 4: lecture and conducting library research. In addition, dependent upon reading
test results the student may be enrolled in an online reading course, which the tutor can
monitor and address any specific reading issues.

f)

Session 5: Once the program is completed the student will fill out an evaluative
questionnaire to evaluate their experience in the program and the tutor will write up and
evaluation of the student and turn it in to the Reading Coordinator.

5. What do you want to accomplish with the evaluation?

The evaluation will be used as a tool, to build upon the great work of AIP and create more
efficiency within the program. This translates into higher rates of students who complete the AIP,
non-fallback into academic probation, and ultimately, higher graduation rates for the university
within the normative 4 years, as well as the extended 6 years for those students who attend
school on a part-time basis.

EVALUATION OF FIU CFAS AIP

References
University Learning Center. Center for Academic Success. (2014a). AIP workshop series and
resources. Retrieved from https://ugrad.fiu.edu/cas/learning/aip.html
University Learning Center. Center for Academic Success. (2014b). Welcome. The academic
improvement program. Retrieved from https://ugrad.fiu.edu/cas/learning/aip-home.html
University of Wisconsin. (2014). Academic Probation. Retrieved from
http://www.uwsp.edu/acadaff/Pages/academicProbation.aspx