First in the World

First in the World

The Ohio State University, as a member of the University Innovation Alliance (UIA), is participating in a four-year, 11-institution study to evaluate the effectiveness of advising in increasing retention, progression and graduation rates for low-income and first-generation students. The U.S. Department of Education named UIA as one of the winners in its First in the World competition to encourage innovation among institutions of higher education.

The project will study 10,000 students who are exposed to an intensive menu of proactive, analytics-based advising interventions at the UIA universities. Through quantitative and qualitative research and analysis, the study will examine the benefits, especially for at-risk students, of introducing systematic, proactive advising.

As part of the study, students at each of the 11 universities are selected by random assignment and receive, in addition to advising services typically offered, (a) intensive, proactive advisement to help them establish individualized academic maps, (b) real-time alerts prompted by a system of analytics-based tracking when they may be struggling, and (c) timely, targeted advising interventions to get them back on the appropriate academic path.

University Innovation Alliance

Founded in 2014, the University Innovation Alliance is a coalition of eleven public research universities spanning the geographic, economic and social diversity of our country. We are committed to making quality college degrees accessible to a diverse body of students and consider this commitment a defining element of our public mission.

Because UIA member institutions serve large numbers of first generation, low-income students, we are at the forefront of America's efforts to regain its educational edge and increase economic opportunity and mobility. Many of our universities have been recognized for aggressively driving innovations to serve more students with quality programs at sustainable cost. Now, we are going to work together to leverage our strengths and maximize our impact.

University Innovation Alliance at Ohio State University Innovation Alliance