Analyst & Consultant University of Notre Dame, United States
Session Abstract: How can institutions leverage prematriculation data to better serve students? This question, universal to all institutions, will guide our presentation. We will begin by discussing why properly identifying students who are likely to struggle in the classroom is crucial for delivering effective academic support. Next, we will outline how traditional approaches often rely on broad categories (e.g., first-generation students or Pell recipients), often misidentifying students who would thrive without additional support. These categorizations may also reinforce harmful narratives about students from certain backgrounds. To address these limitations, we developed a novel process using prematriculation data that exclude demographic variables to better identify first-year students who are most in need of support. In this session, we will share how our process, developed in collaboration with university partners, has informed more targeted and effective student support strategies.
Keywords: prematriculation data, predicting academic success, helping students who need it most
