CCSU Retention and Graduation Council

CCSU Retention and Graduation Council

INTRODUCTION

The Retention and Graduation Council (RGC) at Central Connecticut State University was established in April 2007 to gain a better understanding of why students leave CCSU and why so many fail to graduate in six years and to make recommendations for increasing student persistence and academic success. The Council, which is co-chaired by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Vice President for Student Affairs, is composed of representatives from units that have a direct impact on student retention and graduation, as well as faculty representatives from the four academic schools and representatives from the student body (see membership list below). The Council has held monthly meetings since April 2007. In its reaccreditation report, NEASC singled out the Retention and Graduation Council for its positive contributions.

The Council elected to approach its charge by organizing into subcommittees, each of which studied retention and graduation with reference to a particular subpopulation of students: residential, commuter, transfer, and part-time; in addition, a subcommittee of the Council has studied students who successfully completed CCSU degrees within six years; starting in fall 2009, subcommittees focused on freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. In spring 2010, a new subcommittee was formed to study university-wide approaches to communicating with students.

METHODOLOGY

Over the past three years, members of the RGC have analyzed the results of the Student Satisfaction Survey, the National Survey of Student Engagement, and the CIRP Freshman Survey, as well as numerous reports prepared by the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (OIRA) focusing on factors that influence student retention and graduation. Subcommittees of the RGC have also conducted focus groups of specific subpopulations of students.

FINDINGS

Based on its research, the RGC identified the following factors as influencing students’ persistence to graduation:

·  Students’ lack of preparation to succeed in college

·  Students’ indecision about academic and career goals

·  Unavailability of required courses

·  Limited availability of services (e.g., weekend and evening) and lack of coordination (“getting the runaround”)

·  Course scheduling conflicts

·  Lack of effective advising and guidance

·  Lack of connection to faculty and institution

·  Difficulty of communicating with students

·  Financial need

·  Too many outside obligations

ACTIONS TAKEN TO IMPROVE RETENTION AND GRADUATION

Although the RGC does not have any formal decision-making authority, it has played an influential role in recommending and initiating changes to overcome obstacles and to promote practices to enhance student retention and graduation rates. Over the past three years, the following initiatives have been undertaken at CCSU with strong support from the RGC to address specific impediments to student persistence and success. Some of the accomplishments itemized below were supported with small grants (up to $5,000) from Academic Affairs and Student Affairs.

Students’ lack of preparation to succeed in college

·  Initiated Early Academic Warning System for faculty to identify and intervene with students who are experiencing difficulties in their courses, especially first-semester freshmen

·  Instituted required academic intervention for students on academic probation

·  Reorganized First-year Experience (FYE), to specify learning outcomes, enroll all first-time full-time students in the program, and conduct program assessment.

Lack of effective advising and guidance; students’ indecision about academic and career goals

·  Implemented university-wide reorganization of academic advising, which included establishing a Center for Advising and Career exploration for all new CCSU students, identifying departmental liaisons to CACE, creating school-based advising centers, and establishing a standing Senate committee on academic advising

·  Required all first-time CCSU students to develop both an academic plan and a career goal through CACE

·  Instituted “Peer Leader” pilot to mentor FYE students

·  Instituted “Summer Advising and Registration” days

·  Offered peer advising in the residence halls

·  Developed “Financial Aid Satisfactory Progress” document inform students about the consequences of dropping below full-time status

·  Developed “Transfer Guide” for transfer students and instituted transfer student orientation

·  Posted all curriculum sheets on CCSU website

Unavailability of required courses; course scheduling conflicts

·  Developed new course scheduling grid to eliminate overlaps, nearly doubling classroom availability

·  Secured Senate approval to increase the number of online courses offered during the academic year

Limited availability of services (e.g., weekend and evening) and lack of coordination (“getting the runaround”)

·  Instituted Saturday advising

·  Instituted evening hours in several student support units

·  Created online payment plan

·  Integrated Registrar and Admissions Offices in a single location (with plans to integrate Financial Aid and Bursar as well)

·  Consolidation of Learning Center, CACE, Continuing Education, Transfer Student Office in progress

Lack of connection to faculty and institution

·  Integrated co-curricular component of FYE

·  Initiated university-wide emphasis on community engagement

·  Initiated “living-learning community” project for some residence hall students

RECOMMENDATIONS

In addition to supporting the initiatives above, the RGC has also made the following broad recommendations for improving student persistence and success, which will be the focus of actions in the coming year:

·  Address specific needs of students in their second, third, and fourth years

Sophomores

–  Focus on the number of sophomores who do not have a major yet, come in undeclared, drop out of their major, or do not get into their desired program of study and become undeclared

–  Explore ways of assisting students who are dismissed from their preferred program of study

–  Research offering a general studies degree at CCSU

Juniors

–  Focus on integration of juniors into co-op or study abroad programs. Students who take advantage of these opportunities appear to be connected with their studies and have a better sense of direction

–  Prepare students for transition to 300- or 400-level courses, which can be a culture shock for some students. The expectations are higher, and some students are not ready

–  Enlist student “ambassadors” within the major programs. The student “ambassadors” would be outstanding seniors in the majors that could help at risk juniors stay on track

Seniors

–  Better prepare students for upper-level courses

–  Consider impact of increased working hours

–  Assist seniors with job search

–  Plan for students who do not get into their professional program of choice

–  Provide Financial Literacy Training for seniors

·  Increase evening and weekend courses

·  Increase online courses and services; explore options and create protocols for online advising

·  Increase availability of student services during evening and weekend hours and during winter and summer

·  Increase availability of trained tutors and peer mentors

·  Adopt work-life balance policies and programs

·  Foster proactive customer service; ensure that all student workers are properly trained and supervised and that they perform their duties with appropriate professionalism

·  Promote connections between students and alumni

·  Update CCSU Web site to include virtual tour and “How To” podcasts.

·  Encourage faculty to require more reading and writing of students

·  Help students understand relevance and value of General Education curriculum (too often perceived as something to “get out of the way”)

·  Consider options and alternatives for students who switch majors in the middle of their undergraduate academic careers or who are unable to meet the entrance requirements for a program.

§  Consider offering a General Studies/Liberal Studies degree

·  Advise students about the implications of withdrawing from classes

·  Provide all students with a CD/flashdrive to include the catalog, academic affairs policies, general education presentation, etc.

·  Institute an exit interview for all students

·  Urge students’ major departments to schedule interviews when students request transcripts

·  Follow up with students who do not register for the next semester

·  Explore options for communicating more effectively with students

Recommendations for Commuter Students

·  Develop a Commuter Student Handbook

·  Continue the Commuter Coffees periodically during the semester

·  Compose a “Did You Know…” checklist for commuter students

·  Create Informational Boards

·  Institute a “Central Call Center,” staffed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.; callers reach a live person; each unit should appoint a “point person” to serve as information resource for the unit.

·  Explore establishing a commuter students’ organization

·  Explore options for additional space dedicated to commuter students

Recommendations for Residential Students

·  Conduct on-site peer/advising sessions directly in the halls during registration, similar to the project SGA did this past year

·  Explore expanding living-learning communities in the residence halls

Recommendations for Transfer Students

·  Identify and market the Office of Academic Articulations and Partnerships as the contact office for transfer services for internal and external communities

·  Create a tab on the Website for Transfer Students

·  Advise students promptly about course transfer and transfer credits

·  Hire faculty to advise students during summer and winter sessions

·  Create an on-line orientation program to supplement formal advising and orientation days

·  Address transfer student concerns about difficulty navigating Central Pipeline

·  Publish an electronic newsletter for transfer students; academic departments can communicate with students and include updates

·  Simplify course substitution process

·  Give chairs access to Brio Transcript Report

Recommendations for Part-Time Students

·  Initiate a chapter of Alpha Sigma Lambda, an honor society for non-traditional college students, during the spring 2008 semester (this recommendation was carried out in 2009)

·  Research the number of degree programs that may actually be completed on a part-time basis in the evening or on Saturdays.

·  Increase the availability of resources after 5 p.m. i.e., bursar, advising, admissions, financial aid

·  Increase the availability of online CCSU courses during the fall and spring semesters

·  Encourage extension of operating hours of the library and computer center during the summer and winter sessions. Currently there are no weekend hours of operation

·  Increase the number of full-time faculty who teach in the evening

·  Increase the number of evening and weekend classes

·  Offer day care and other services to address the needs of older/married students

Retention and Graduation Council Representation

Academic Affairs, Associate VP

Academic Affairs, VP

Academic Articulations/Partnerships

Admissions and Recruitment

Advising and Career Services

Bursar

Continuing Education and Community Engagement

Counseling/Wellness

Dean of Students

Financial Aid

Information Technology Services

Institutional Research/Assessment

Library

Learning Center

Marketing/Communications

Pre-Collegiate Access Services

Residence Life

Registrar

School of Arts and Sciences, Associate Dean

School of Business, Associate Dean

School of Education & Professional Studies, Associate Dean

School of Engineering and Technology, Associate Dean

Student Activities

Student Affairs, VP

Student Government Association (2 representatives)

Two faculty representatives from each academic school