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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Could also be TO and weaker admissions standards for “prestige” universities. It’s not just the pandemic. [/quote]

TO has nothing to do with weather a student is prepared for college.

I would say I have not seen a major change.  If anything,  students seem better prepared overall.  There are still a few that I was would have been required to talk a basic writing class. The one area I do see a difference is the extent to which students want to turn in work late. There doesn't seem to be the same priority for deadlines. [/quote]

+1 My colleagues at T20 schools, SLACS, and public R1 universities report the same behavior I have observed since the pandemic. The majority of students are academically prepared; however, there has been an increase in the number of students who can't meet deadlines, ask to redo assignments, struggle with mental health, and chronically skip class.

[b]I'm at a public R1, and our DRW rates have slightly increased since the pandemic; there is some evidence that some TO students are struggling in gateway math courses and had to repeat a course or switch majors. However, this is not a significant number of students compared to pre-TO data. Retention rates amongst TO students haven't decreased, and they are on track to graduate and not negatively impact our 4- or 6-year graduate rates.[/b] [/quote]

How do you know this?  My husband and I both faculty at universities and neither of us are privy to any of this.  [/quote]

Chair of the department and serve on the faculty senate executive committee.[/quote]

Are you supposed to be sharing this info?
My spouse is also similarly involved and has been told explicitly not to share info based on limited data or speculate about it. [/quote]

The information is not public but wasn't told explicitly to not share the info. However, I didn't name the school, and this is an anonymous forum. I'll take my chances![/quote]

OP - sorry I had no idea this could place anyone at any professional risk. I am just a mom of a HS student whom we hope to launch into college life successfully in a few years.

Thank you very much for replying.

It is actually encouraging that students seems to be relatively well prepared overall.

We do plan to encourage DC to work on writing skills, being on time and handing in assignments on time, per suggestions.

However, it is great that college graduation rates have not changed much since TO.[/quote]

OP, student preparedness for college goes beyond academic knowledge. It refers to the degree to which a student is ready to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally in college. This encompasses a range of factors beyond academic knowledge and skills, such as study habits, time management, self-advocacy, emotional/mental resilience, and the ability to navigate and adapt to the college environment and its associated responsibilities.

Therefore, most colleges, especially selective/highly selective institutions, are investing a lot of resources into student success initiatives to improve student retention and graduation rates. This shift pre-dates the pandemic, however, the last few years have exacerbated this issue of student preparedness. For example, during the last 6-8 years, my institution reorganized separate student-centered programs and resources under a larger academic success program and increasingly uses enrollment/student success management systems (aka algorithms) to boost student success rates by determining financial aid, predicting and identifying students in danger of failing a class or dropping out, and to support students during their college, i.e., from enrollment to graduation. [/quote]

OP - thanks and I agree that college preparedness is multi layered. Your college/ Uni sounds extremely proactive, which is super!

May I ask what you think parents should encourage or pay attention to foster different layers of preparedness for college success?

It feels like college expectations and life are so different from when I was young.

I had never heard of “student success management systems (aka algorithms) to boost student success rates by determining financial aid, predicting and identifying students in danger of failing a class or dropping out, and to support students during their college, i.e., from enrollment to graduation.”

Do the algorithms weed out students with learning differences or other graduation risk factors  at the enrollment level :/ or are they intended to find ways to better support them during the college experience?

I am also interested in what types of writing skills need work - is it basic writing skills or ability to structure arguments in academic  ways ?

Thanks again for your thoughtful reply. 
[/quote]

In observing my own child's journey toward higher education, I've come to recognize firsthand the challenges associated with student preparedness for college. While they excel in certain academic areas (high PSAT/ACT scores, 8 AP classes to date), there are other crucial aspects of readiness, such as time management, learning to study effectively, and self-advocacy, where I see room for growth. For example, his GPA could be higher (currently 3.8 unweighted) but my son has some Bs because of poor time management and ineffective study skills. I believe that many parents, myself included, might underestimate the comprehensive nature of college readiness, focusing predominantly on academic achievements. I am taking the time to directly teach appropriate study skills for history vs a math class. As mentioned by another poster, I believe it is crucial to teach our children the importance of advocating for themselves, including sending emails to their teachers, creating a system to organize their schoolwork, using a calendar effectively, planning ahead to avoid procrastination, etc.

Regarding the use of student success algorithms, I don't see any evidence of their use to weed out students with learning differences. Their use is not without controversy. However, I have seen students benefit from the ability to identify students who are struggling early in their college careers. [/quote]

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