Know Your Students

About Know Your Students

In higher education, disparities in retention rates persist among students, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to support student success. 

One of the goals outlined in New York Tech’s Strategic Action Plan is to optimize student success by improving retention and graduation rates. Know Your Students supports this goal by equipping faculty with data and resources to help all students thrive.

As students navigate academic and social systems within institutions, their backgrounds and experiences significantly influence their ability to succeed. To support a more holistic approach to student success, New York Tech launched the Know Your Students initiative. Know Your Students is designed to empower institutions to address retention disparities by leveraging data to inform inclusive practices. 

This collaborative initiative brings together various departments at New York Tech.

Know Your Students was inspired by successful programs at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. It is also rooted in Tinto’s Framework, which emphasizes the importance of academic and social integration in student retention and success. 

By fostering supportive environments tailored to student needs, Know Your Students embodies a commitment to equity, diversity, and excellence at New York Tech.

How Know Your Students Works

Know Your Students supports faculty in fostering inclusive learning environments in the following ways:

Dashboard Access and Data Insights 

Know Your Students gives faculty access to dashboards in PeopleSoft for each of their courses. These dashboards show summary data about current students, along with historical data from similar student groups in past semesters. There is a link to the Canvas course in PeopleSoft with helpful resources.

Please note: Faculty can access and use this information voluntarily. It will not be used for the purpose of faculty evaluation. 

Self-Guided Canvas Course – Resources 

Faculty will have access to a self-guided course in Canvas called “Know Your Students.” This course includes different sections that provide information on supporting various student populations focused on fostering a sense of belonging and enhancing student learning. 

Each Canvas section will include a mix of resources such as articles, videos, case studies, interactive activities, and discussions to engage faculty and deepen their understanding of the topics.

Topics Covered in the Canvas Course Include:

• Introduction: An introduction on how to review data to identify trends and patterns that tell a story about student performance and engagement. 
• Know Your Students: An overview and general information about the different types of students faculty may have in class.
• Effective Student Support: Explore what effective student support looks like for struggling students. It covers characteristics of effective support mechanisms and strategies for engaging and assisting students, including tutoring, academic skills workshops, time management, and advising.
• Student Engagement & Development: Encourages faculty to foster student involvement in various aspects of campus life, including organizations, events, leadership, community service, support services, cultural programs, student government, health initiatives, career development, and recreational activities. By understanding and promoting these areas, faculty can help enhance students’ engagement, well-being, and overall development.
• Center for Teaching and Learning: An overview of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at New York Tech, detailing its mission, professional development workshops, pedagogical strategies, technology integration, assessment and evaluation methods, faculty mentoring programs, inclusive teaching practices, research and scholarship support, faculty recognition and awards, collaborative projects, and the importance of feedback and reflection in teaching.
• Accessibility Resources and Disability Awareness: Learn more about accessibility and disability at New York Tech. Some disabilities are not visible, and this section offers quick tips, infographics, and resources to support all students. Explore the materials and reflect on current teaching methods to help create a more inclusive learning environment.

Communities of Practice (CoP) 

The Center for Teaching and Learning encourages faculty to participate in communities of practice that aim to deepen their understanding of how data can inform inclusive teaching practices. Communities of Practice (CoP) are small groups of trusted colleagues who share a passion for something they know how to do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better. These communities provide a platform for collaboration and professional development, furthering the objectives of Know Your Students.

Benefits of Know Your Students​

Engaging with Know Your Students helps faculty gain valuable insight into their students and improve classroom outcomes.

• Enhanced Understanding of Students: ​Access to detailed summary data helps faculty gain a clearer picture of their students’ backgrounds, challenges, and potential needs.​
• Informed Instructional Strategies:​ Data-driven insights enable faculty to tailor their teaching approaches to better support diverse student populations, leading to more effective and inclusive instruction.​ 
• Improved Student Engagement and Success:​ By adopting inclusive practices informed by student data, faculty can foster a stronger sense of belonging and engagement among students, contributing to improved academic outcomes.​
• Access to Tailored Resources:​ Customized resource pages linked to the dashboards provide faculty with practical tools and strategies for supporting various student populations, including many existing resources available at New York Tech.​
• Reflective Teaching Practices:​ Utilizing data encourages faculty to critically reflect on their teaching methods and adjust to better align with student needs and learning outcomes.​
• Alignment with Strategic Initiatives:​ Participation in Know Your Students supports New York Tech’s Strategic Action Plan, particularly the goal to optimize student success, as well as the university’s DEIB initiatives, First Generation Task Force, and overall retention efforts.