When I started as Undergraduate Dean of John Jay College, our senior graduation rate was 54%. I knew we could do better for our students. To address this problem, we partnered with DataKind, a nonprofit that works to tackle the world’s toughest challenges using data science. For two years, we collaborated on a predictive Artificial Intelligence (AI) model to identify students most at risk of dropping out. We looked at indicators including years of enrollment, grades, and number of hours passed to create a risk score for every student, while controlling for bias. Students identified as high risk of dropping out received extra, proactive support from advisors such as one-on-one coaching. Hundreds of students benefited from this program, which ultimately drove the College’s senior graduation rate up to 86%.
