Learn how to use the Postsecondary Data Partnership Credit Accumulation Rate dashboard to identify the relationship between GPA and credit accumulation rate.
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In this tutorial, we demonstrate how to use the PDP Credit Accumulation Rate dashboard to identify the relationship between GPA and credit accumulation rate. The credit accumulation rate institution level dashboard reports the number of students who have successfully completed enough credits for satisfactory academic progress. It also helps clarify which students are or are not gaining academic momentum in their college career. Understanding which students are lagging in momentum will help determine which students need additional support.
Let's use this dashboard to answer this research question: is there a difference in the credit accumulation rate by academic performance?
First, navigate to the PDP credit accumulation rate dashboard. Let's leave the credit threshold filter set to 15 credits for part-time students and 30 credits for full-time students and let's leave the Academic Year filter set to one which denotes the first year. Our research question asks if there are any differences in the credit accumulation rate by academic performance. Because we want to find gaps, we need to apply a dimension, which will disaggregate our data. To do that, click on edit, which opens chart settings. Select GPA range from the dimension dropdown and click apply settings. Because there are 10 categories in the GPA range metric, it makes it challenging to read these charts. Let's filter out students with low GPA, students with moderate GPA and students whose GPA is unknown. To do that, click on edit, which opens chart settings. Select GPA range, deselect all and select 2.0 to 2.5 and 3.5 to 4.0 and click apply settings.
Now, we're ready to review the results. For the cohorts shown, a larger percentage of high performing, first-year students met the credit threshold compared to students with lower GPA. The gap between these student populations has stayed consistent except for the 2020-21 Academic Year when the higher performing students had a noticeable decline in their credit accumulation rate.
Now, let's determine the gap between these student populations using the 2021-22 Academic Year. Hovering over those data points, we see that 58.6% of students with a GPA of 3.5 and 4.0 met the credit threshold of 15 credits earned in an academic year for part-time students or 30 credits earned in an academic year for full-time students while only 88.8% of students with a GPA between 2.0 and 2.5 met that threshold. This is a 50 percentage point gap.
How does that gap change for part-time students? To focus on a specific student population, we need to apply a filter. To do that, click on edit, which opens chart settings. Click attendance and deselect all, select part-time, then click apply settings.
This is the credit accumulation rate for part-time first-time students with higher and lower GPA across the cohorts reported. The credit accumulation rate declined for both student populations. Hovering over the 2021-22 data points, we find that 70.5% of our high-performing, part-time students earned 15 or more credits in their first academic year compared to 35.6% of our lower performing part-time students. This is a 35 percentage point gap.
Now, let's explore if this gap continues for our part-time students second Academic Year. To change academic years, click the Academic Year filter and select two.
Now the students represented in this dashboard are higher and lower performing part-time students who completed 24 credits after their second Academic Year. Again, we see that the credit accumulation rate for both student populations declined between 2017-18 and 2022-23. Hovering over the 2021-2022 data point, we find that 28.9% of our high-performing, part-time students earned 24 or more credits after their second academic year compared to 14% of our lower performing part-time students. This is a 15 percentage point gap.
Let's summarize what we learned through this exploration. For first-time students, we found that a larger percentage of high performing first-time students met the credit threshold compared to students with lower GPA. We also found that regardless of GPA, credit accumulation rate declined for part-time students and part-time students with higher GPA were more likely to meet the credit threshold compared to part-time students with lower GPAs. For students in their second Academic Year, the credit accumulation rate declined for part-time students regardless of their GPA and we found that a larger percentage of high-performing, part-time students met the credit threshold compared to students with lower GPA.
How can this information be used? If you know the characteristics of low performing students who are less likely to meet credit thresholds, you can share that information with units like academic advising and tutoring services so they can better support this population of students. As you explore your institution's PDP dashboards, think about how the data can best be used to support your students.
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