Temple joins national university group trying to graduate more students from low-income families

Temple University has joined a national organization of public universities aimed at finding innovations to improve learning and increase college attendance, retention, and graduation rates ― especially for low-income students ― then scaling those innovations across campuses.

The University Innovation Alliance, a small nonprofit sponsored through Arizona State University, was founded by 11 public research university presidents and chancellors in 2014 and keeps membership to one university per state.

The group has had its eye on Temple for a while and particularly likes the school’s Temple Promise program, a last-dollar scholarship program for students from families with an adjusted gross income of $65,000 or less that ensures free tuition and fees, said Bridget Burns, the organization’s CEO.

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“We were waiting for the right leader,” said Burns, who visited Temple last month and met with the board of trustees and leadership team. “John Fry is the right leader. … And all of our engagement with them thus far has been very confirming.”

Fry, who has a relationship with Michael M. Crow, Arizona State University’s longtime president and one of the alliance’s founding presidents, reached out to the alliance, she said. He didn’t know the school was already on the group’s radar.

Fry said that he had known Crow for more than 30 years and that they started presidencies simultaneously in 2002, Fry at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, and Crow at Arizona State.

“He has been a great mentor and adviser to me throughout these years,” Fry said. “I had heard about the UIA from Michael and a number of other colleagues, and was hopeful that when I joined Temple we would eventually be selected to join the group.”

The organization is particularly interested in high-level research universities that serve a large population of students from underrepresented groups and are aimed at working collaboratively to achieve improvements.

Temple becomes the organization’s 18th university member. Among the others are: Purdue University, Michigan State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Central Florida, and Oregon State University.

Over the last 11 years, the universities have scaled more than 10 data-driven innovations across campuses, such as “predictive analytics,” which look at what might cause students to fail ― for example, registering for the wrong classes ― based on decades of prior experience. That helps them intervene to assist students.

“One of the things we’re finding is a toxic combination of courses,” she said. “You shouldn’t be taking calculus while you’re taking like an advanced chemistry class. Turns out it’s very unlikely for you to do well at both.”

Alliance universities have also worked on “proactive advising” for students, how best to use chatbots to communicate with students when and how they need it, and ways to better assist students who get D’s or F’s or withdraw from classes.

“All of our work is based on the fundamental belief that higher education was not designed around students, but there is one part that actually kind of is, and it’s how we support student athletes, because they’re the most resourced,” she said. “If you watch how universities support student athletes, it is like a dream. So this is kind of scaling a support model from a really high-touch environment but trying to do it for, you know, thousands of low-income students.”

The universities now reach out to students who get D’s, F’s, or withdrawals and offer them the opportunity to retake the course for free, she said. They add coaching and supplemental instruction, too, she said.

“So already across 10 institutions we know this works,” she said.

When the alliance was formed, the group set a goal of producing 68,000 more graduates than its members were on target to produce, with at least half of them from low-income families, Burns said. In the first decade, the original colleges produced 164,000 more graduates than they were on track to graduate, increasing their low-income graduates by 43% and their graduates of color by 100%, Burns said.

The group shares what it learns with other colleges, Burns said, and other schools in Pennsylvania likely will benefit from Temple’s participation.

“At ASU, our involvement in the UIA has been transformative, allowing us to accelerate student success by learning from peers, scaling what works, and tackling national challenges collectively,” Crow said in a statement. “Temple will immediately benefit from access to a network of institutions that have already tested and refined solutions to improve student outcomes. In the first year, they’ll gain insights into their greatest opportunities for impact and begin implementing proven strategies.”

Crow described Fry as “a visionary who understands how to drive meaningful institutional change” and said Temple’s participation “will enrich the alliance.”

Temple is excited to have access to the group’s prior research, the opportunity to collaborate with universities across the country, and the ability to engage in new research projects, said Gregory N. Mandel, Temple’s provost.

“We attended their provost and president retreat several weeks ago,” Mandel said, referring to himself and Fry. “It was a very productive meeting and valuable to build those relationships. Many challenges we are facing are similar.”

Temple expects to make a small financial contribution annually to support the alliance, but much of the work is supported by research grants that the universities collaboratively secure, he said.

Burns said she raises funds for the work from national partners ― $44 million has been raised so far ― and universities match funds, raising money from local partners. Schools select alliance projects they want to pursue.

Temple will be hiring a fellow to monitor the work, and appointing two staff liaisons: Jose Aviles, vice provost for enrollment management, and Jodi Bailey Accavallo, vice president of student affairs. The alliance has found that nearly a dozen of those serving as liaisons have gone on to become university presidents, provosts, or chancellors, Burns said.

“It’s a talent pipeline,” she said. “They actually get incredible opportunities.”