Non-Registered in Upcoming Term

Academic advisors reach out to students who are eligible to return for the upcoming term but have not registered after the advisement period has passed. Advisors send nudges through email and text messages that seek to identify students’ barriers to registration.

Intended Outcomes

The goal of this initiative is to provide support to students who experience barriers to registration, increase retention and persistence, and identify reasons why students do not intend to return to USC-Columbia. Leveraging established relationships with their students, advisors seek to help students register for the upcoming term or identify why they have decided to not return.

Timeline for Intervention

Fall: Early December - Spring Add/Drop Date

Spring: Mid-May - Fall Add/Drop Date

The Approach

At the conclusion of the fall and spring semesters, the University Advising Center leads the advising community in targeted outreach and general support to students who arenot registered for the upcoming major semester. The UAC collects a list of traditional degree-seeking undergraduate students who are eligible to return (not graduating and in good academic standing) but are not yet enrolled in courses for the upcoming term; this is the 'at risk' list for this initiative.

Academic advisors are assigned cases in EAB Navigate for the non-registered students on their caseload. Advisors reach out to students with multiple nudges throughout the intervention to offer support and identify barriers to enrollment.

If advisors become aware that a student is not returning to USC, they share the Non-Returners Survey to collect more information about the student's decision.

Impact of the NRI

The graph below demonstrates the impact that advisor contact has on eligible students who are non-registered for the upcoming term.

NRI Report Data Bar Graph

23,119 students eligible to register as of May 10, 2024
Students Not Registered as of May 10, 2024: 1,288 (5.6%)
Students Not Registered as of September 5, 2024: 954 (4.1%)
25.93% Decrease in Students Not Registered for Fall 2024

27,236 students eligible to register as of December 11, 2023
Students Not Registered as of December 11, 2023: 1,123 (4.12%)
Students Not Registered as of January 22, 2024: 766 (2.81%)
31.79% Decrease in Students Not Registered for Spring 2024

Students Not Registered as of May 30, 2023: 1,388 (8.0%)
Students Not Registered as of September 6, 2023: 1,059 (6.1%)
23.70% Decrease in Students Not Registered for Fall 2023

*Note: Starting in Fall 2023, the UAC began conducting proactive enrollment campaigns to promote student registration ahead of the launch of the NRI.

Academic Advising