Instituional Research & Assessment

An electronic publication for communication to the campus community about assessment and institutional effectiveness, the Newsletter is published by the Provost's Office.

RETENTION, particularly, among new freshmen, challenges institutions nationally. The cover story in the Chronicle of Higher Education, October 8, 1999, observed that the nation's strong economy and the mobility of students drive retention down while governing boards and legislatures want increased retention.

How to keep students is an issue for SUU. In 1998, SUU's fall-to-fall retention rate was 47 percent. Nationally, fall-to-all retention figures are 67-74%.

Research replicated time and again finds that students who are most successful, based on the highest GPAs, were more likely to exhibit adequate learning skills, good management of time and financial resources, and strong motivation to succeed. If right out of high school, the successful students typically lived on campus, were involved in campus activities, made new friends, and were comfortable with campus facilities. Their college experience was viewed as a positive one, and they viewed themselves as making progress toward their degree. Faculty contact was found to be crucial to students' success.

Those students who were least successful, based on the lowest GPAs at the end of fall semester or withdrawal, tended to be in two groups: those stopping out deliberately (for marriage, missions, or finances), and those living off campus and disengaged from the campus.

How the University interacts with new freshmen students is a matter of interest not only to the administration, but also to the departments that interact with and service the students. SUU continues its effort to understand what draws students to the campus, what things new students need or are confused about, where they need help, and why they drop out of college. These questions are an essential part of improving retention and assessing student satisfaction.

First, however, let us understand the trend. The following table documents the retention and graduation trend for new freshmen at the University since 1986:

For a number of years, the University offered a required course for first-time students in university orientation. The course began in 1984 and was discontinued in 1997 when orientation became a summer program sponsored by the Student Development Center. Since 1985, fall-to-fall retention has been averaged about 53%, and the year-by-year rates are instructive:

Based on its experience in orienting and retaining students, the staff of Student Services has implemented a number of programs to improve retention and the experience of first-time students, including:

• Organizing Presidential Ambassadors as peer mentors and counselors
• Concentrating on the first 12 days of the semester student activities for new students
• Strengthening involvement programs in the residence halls
• Focusing academic advisement through the Student Development Center
• Strengthening summer orientation programs for new students.

ASSESSMENT, its definition, process, and systematizing, is progressing at the University. Since the beginning of Fall semester, an ad hoc Assessment Committee has met weekly to discuss goals and objectives, what to measure and how to measure it. A draft of their work will soon be available for campus review. Members of the committee are:

With the outline of the Committees recommendations in place, the University's assessment goals for 1999 will be engaged. The process for fulfilling the goals will be well underway.