NMSU Global Integrates LMS and SIS Data to Identify Students at Risk
About
NMSU Global Campus offers flexible, career-relevant online education, empowering students through over 70 degree and certificate programs, microlearning courses, and career and talent development. Over the last three years, NMSU Global has seen more than 35% yearover-year enrollment growth.
The Challenge
Robbie Grant, Director of Academic Technology, explains that the team at NMSU Global Campus is "passionate about the student experience. We want our online students to feel part of a community that supports their success." The challenge was identifying and supporting "at-risk" students who were struggling in their courses or considering leaving before graduation. Grant's team proactively identified these students and collaborated with Student Mentors, who provided personal outreach to meet their needs.
To offer this level of support, the Academic Technology division needed a way to efficiently identify struggling students. However, accessing historical data from the learning management system (LMS) was difficult, requiring time-consuming queries and reports, some of which took up to a year to complete.
The Strategy
NMSU aimed to do more than just identify struggling students; they sought to use data to provide a comprehensive view of student progress. The first phase involved integrating data from Canvas LMS, Ellucian Banner (SIS), and Zoom to track student engagement from enrollment through graduation.
After exploring several options, the Academic Technology team selected the learning analytics platform lntelliBoard. In collaboration with lntelliBoard, NMSU Global developed reports and dashboards to analyze Canvas data, providing deeper insights into which students were at risk of falling behind.
With improved access to data, NMSU Global launched an initiative to identify and engage struggling students, helping them stay on track from semester to semester. This program is now in place for NMSU Global students and may expand to the main and branch campuses.
The Outcomes
NMSU customized lntelliBoard's pre-built reports to aggregate Canvas data on inactive learners, last activity, and attendance, creating a powerful At-Risk Report with an easy-to-read dashboard. The initial report flagged 217 students who hadn't logged into Canvas or shown any activity in the last seven days. This information was passed to the Student Success team, which quickly contacted and supported these students.
Two weeks later, only 13 students remained at risk, showing that 94% of the identified students had been successfully re-engaged. "Getting 204 students back into active learning in just two weeks was a phenomenal result for us," said Grant.
Looking ahead, the program will focus on aggregating additional data to enhance predictive analytics. This will allow NMSU Global to model student outcomes and aim for a retention rate of 90-95%. Additionally, the Academic Technology team plans to publish a report on using a peer review tool in Canvas to further understand student progress in online learning environments.
