MAP-Works was developed through a partnership between Ball State University and Educational Benchmarking (EBI). The result is the web-enabled next generation of Ball State's innovative program, Making Achievement Possible. MAP-Works is an innovative approach to improving student's transition to the college environment and is now available for all institutions.

• Academic Success: Improve students' ability to succeed academically by realigning behavior with grade expectations and focusing on elements of academic success.
• Retention: Minimize percentage of capable students who drop out due to issues that could have been addressed by self awareness or timely intervention by professional staff.
• Student Development: Facilitate the establishment of relationships, address homesickness, identify residence hall living issues.
• Student Involvement: Connect students with campus resources to facilitate involvement with student organizations and campus programming.

Data Transfer: Student-level profile information (i.e. Gender, SAT/ACT scores, Race/Ethnicity) and institution-level profile information (i.e. Percentage of students that graduate within 5 years) are uploaded to the MAP-Works database. Transition Survey: First-year students are surveyed regarding their high school behaviors and expectations of college life. Survey content centers around 4 major concepts: Learning (expected grades, grades earned in the past, basic study skills, maximization of study skills) Connections (student activities and residence hall life) Making Healthy Choices (time management, eating healthy) Knowing Yourself (academic abilities and self-management) First-Year Student Reporting: Survey results are reported back to each student in an easy-to-understand online report. Results are benchmarked against their first-year cohort to help them better understand their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, institution-specific information is embedded in these reports to provide students information regarding on-campus resources like learning centers and student activities functions. Faculty/Staff Reporting: Student survey results are also reported to faculty/staff who serve as academic advisors, first-year course instructors, and/or hall directors. These faculty/staff members will receive results for their students only. They will have opportunities to intervene if students are reporting risky behaviors (i.e. poor study skills, poor support system, not adapting to college life, etc.). Institution Reporting: In addition, MAP-Works customers receive access to the complete set of aggregated survey results that are offered for other EBI assessments. These reports allow administrators to support global first-year program improvements.

Figure 1: The MAP-Works Process

• MAP-Works uniquely empowers your Students and Faculty/Staff:
• Students are...
• Educated about critical issues to success in higher education.
• Presented with information allowing them to identify discrepencies between expectations and behavior.
• Linked with campus resources at critical times that will assist in addressing weaknesses and capitalize on opportunities for learning and leadership.
• Faculty/Staff are...
• Provided with timely information about student transition status allowing for 1) intervention at the most critical times within the semester, and 2) more effective use of time in consultation with students.
• MAP-Works gathers, analyzes, and distributes information in quick, visually-formatted, and easy-to-understand reports.
• Faculty/staff are empowered to do what they do best - spend time solving rather than diagnosing potential problems with students.
• No technical expertise is necessary.
• Dedicated training/support from EBI.