Action Projects

Retention

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Institution: University of St. Francis

Submitted: February 16, 2004

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Planned project kickoff date:

Target completion date:

Actual completion date:

A Strategic Approach to Retention

Improve student retention through the development of a systematic approach and response to retention issues. The design will reflect a university-wide commitment to quality student life and learning, emphasize the importance of the individual student, and incorporate the consistent use of data.

Primary Category: Understanding Students' and Other Stakeholders' Needs

Though the university recognized the importance of retaining students, its past approach to retention involved trying strategies based on their success at other institutions, not based on data of our students' needs or desires. Neither the approach nor the data was coordinated. Responsibility was splintered and therefore, often not accepted or recognized.
The university's strategic plan includes the objective to improve retention within the “framework of a welcoming community.” To accomplish this objective, a retention approach based on good data is required. Ownership of the retention and strategies must be established. Finally, in order to be a welcoming community who retains students, the entire university must become involved in contributing to the importance of the individual student.

Every member of the university has a role in retention. This plan will establish a network structure that will bring in each area. The core areas involved will be Admissions and Enrollment, Academic Affairs including Academic support and Advising, Student Affairs including Resident Life and Student supports, Institutional Research and Business services.

Data collection and analysis--coordination of enrollment information and student information services with institutional research and retention.

Enrollment services –Prospective persistent student profile

Teaching & Learning—student academic success from courses, experiences, and supports

University Student Services--services for students throughout the university such as financial aid, registrar, housing, food, recreation, and health care

• Minutes of all meetings will be placed in a common drive on university computer system.
• Chair of the QSLL strategy committee will report each semester to the President's cabinet.
• Annually, a report will be presented to the Academic Assembly, the faculty's governance body.

Data collection and analysis—-Monitor and track persistence and persistence factors of undergraduate, transfer, degree-completion, and graduate cohorts. Administer Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Survey and NSSE. Identify students and populations at risk, and barriers to success. Create profile of a successful student.

Enrollment services—-Track persistence of students based on entering factors

Teaching & Learning--Monitor NSSE, Early Alerts and Mid-term Warnings, Probation Lists and D,F,W course rates. Use results of Freshmen LASSI and CIRP to identify potential risk students or behaviors.

University Student Services—-Student Satisfaction Survey and department customer service surveys

We will track: Student Satisfaction, Engagement, and Retention, as well as Employee Participation.

1. Retention rates of students from first semester to second, from first year to second year, and each year through year six.
2. Student graduation rates
3. Alumni surveys
4. Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Survey
5. NSSE
6. The number of employees who choose to be involved with retention activities.
7. Employee participation in FSSE and IPS.

– Establish baselines and system:

1. Establish a system of teams to deal with retention issues. This system will consist of a core strategy team, and three teams based a student cohorts of undergraduate, graduate, and degree completion students. A pool of consultants from throughout the university will also be employed.
2. Develop a process to respond to data and initiate strategies aimed at improving retention.
3. Develop a universal (university-wide) long –term goal and a short-term goal more narrowly targeted for addressing an issue that deals with retention.
4. Begin a profile of the successful traditional undergraduate
5. Administer NSSE and FSSE for a base line.
6. Complete retention data view for first-time undergraduate students– Create an environment with a focus on unity and team building

1. Create and begin to implement strategies to fulfill the goals.
2. Assign ownership of strategies and their segments
3. Complete retention data view for transfer undergraduate students
4. Identify second short-term goal
5. Improved satisfaction rates on Noel Levitz, decrease satisfaction gap where gap is greater than 1.0.
6. Increase employee participation rate in Noel Levitz by 5%
7. Increase of 1% in overall retention

1. Complete retention data view for graduate and degree completion students
2. Continue with second phase of strategies for long-term goal.
3. Identify third short-term goal and addressing strategies Begin profiles of other successful student types
4. Increase in student engagement.
5. Increase in faculty participation in FSSE.
6. Increase of 1% in overall retention

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Last Action Project Update: September 1, 2005

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Continuing to address short and long term goals the following accomplishments are the results of last year's work:

1. Faculty participation in early alert and midterm warning systems increased by 50% to 55% of full-time faculty through a publicity campaign and recognition of participation. Ownership of involved processes identified.
   
2. A service excellence program to improve student satisfaction was established. Phase one, improving office's service accessibility, was completed. Phase two, customer service training of all non-faculty employees is in process. Phase three will be an advanced training, and the fourth phase will hand responsibility to continue training for new employees to human services.
   
3. The Noel Levitz student satisfaction survey results were from 1051 students and 186 employees. The results were compared to data from recent NSSE, HERI, and CIRP, and shared with the campus for planning purposes. Adult student satisfaction was significantly higher than national benchmarks. Other consistent results concerning all students indicate strengths in academic excellence and advising, with weaknesses in diversity issues, student development and student intellectual/moral growth. Data indicated significantly improved satisfaction with financial aid issues, and reduced overall “satisfaction gaps” to below 1.0 in 59% of survey questions. Reports to the cabinet and colleges requested a reply with a dated action plan.
   
4. Retention of first to second year increased by .7% over previous year.

1. Teams made up of representatives from across the university created and prioritized the goals and projects, and developed the solutions and actions
   
2. The university president himself presented certificates of recognition to faculty participating in early alerts.
   
3. For the office service accessibility inventory, members of each office completed the predetermined audit (based on elements identified by the retention teams), and created their own action plan.
   
4. For service training, a group of employees from various ranks and departments were trained to be facilitators in training their peers. All non-faculty employees were asked to attend a set of training sessions. Sessions were endorsed by the president and vice-presidents, who also attended training.

1. To address retention of minorities and provide a sense of belonging, pilot a mentoring program for new students.
2. To increase faculty participation in academic warnings, create and implement an electronic version of alerts and warnings for students to supplement standard hard copy.
3. Establish factors of persistence for transfer students.
4. Incorporate assessment and recognition into customer service efforts.
5. Research and establish a plan to build community and a sense of belonging among all students in the university.
6. Through team-building activities, develop a sense of ownership among the members of the retention teams.
7. Administer the NSSE.

Utilizing and training employees of various positions from across the university to facilitate employee training resulted not only in good training sessions, but sessions where all employees were comfortable and willing to actively participate. The training was also an opportunity for leadership that many of these employees do not usually have. Finally, the training itself provided a wonderful by-product of congeniality, bringing people together who may not usually have that chance.

Perhaps the two biggest challenges at this point are keeping the enthusiasm for retention efforts going, and possible financial constraints. The team-building focus this year is to address the fact that the work can become stale if team members lose motivation. Additionally, though retention has financial implications, money to assist retention efforts is often seen as an extra making it low on the priorities.

 

University of St. Francis 500 Wilcox Street Joliet, Illinois 60435 (800) 735-7500 A Catholic, Franciscan University

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