Lessons Learned from an Academic Partnership to Review Pennsylvania Network for Student Assistance Services' Annual Survey

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Pennsylvania's Student Assistance Program (SAP) began in the mid-1980s to address student barriers to academic success. SAP teams, groups of trained school and community professionals, review referrals, and connect students to services. State leadership conducts an annual SAP team survey, but capacity to evaluate data and affect change is limited. In 2020, leadership partnered with [institution name] to collaboratively review the survey data. METHODS: Frequencies and percentages were calculated. Open responses were coded. Logistic regression models evaluated the association between SAP team size, team meeting frequency, and team maintenance. RESULTS: The 2019 to 2020 survey had 1003 respondents. Median number of SAP team members was 8 (range 1-21). The majority (54%) indicated their SAP team met once per week/cycle for 30 to 90+ minutes. Larger teams met more often. Annual team maintenance occurred for 38% of teams, and was more common for larger teams. SAP team members identified mental health (68%), trauma (44%), and parent engagement (36%) as top training needs. CONCLUSIONS: An academic partnership successfully provided the capacity to review SAP survey responses, and informed evidenced-based discussion of best practice guidelines and realignment of staff professional development opportunities.