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STRATEGIES FOR STUDENT RETENTION
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Welcome!Alice Camuti, Ph.D.
Director, Career ServicesTennessee Technological University
Agenda
Student Retention – Why It’s Important Strategies That Influence Retention Results of National Survey TTU Retention Efforts
TTU Retention Experiment Making a Difference in Your Programs Developing Campus Partnerships
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Why Care?
Governing Agencies are moving from enrollment based to outcomes based formula’s
States are pushing for higher college graduation rates of their constituents
It’s the right thing to do
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Points About Student Retention
Student departure has little to do with flunking out (only 10-15%)
Social isolation is primary cause for departure
75% of most students leave within the first two years of college
Source: Tinto, 1987, 2007
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Retention and Graduation
What percentage of first-time freshmen in Fall return for their . . .
. . . spring semester TTU: 91% UTK: 86.2%
. . . second year TTU: 73% UTK: 71.7%
What percentage of students graduate……within five years? TTU: 41% UTK: 58.5%…within six years? TTU: 48% UTK: 60.5%
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Tennessee Change in Focus
Moving to a productivity-driven funding formula
Graduation rates Degree production Student Retention
“Complete College Tennessee Act”
National Survey Results
Of 220 respondents…
49% Did not know if they had a graduation requirement goal
49% Did not know if they had a retention rate requirement goal
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April 2012 – National Survey Population: 2800 Career Services
Directors 220 respondents 7.9% response rate www.SurveyMonkey
84% Centralized 53.8% public 65.2% 0-10,000 FTE …….13.4% >
25,000 FTE
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Retention Strategies
Predictors of persistence include: Coordinated Studies Program
(first-year seminar) College GPA Hours studied per week Perceptions of faculty Involvement with other students
(Tinto, 1997)
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Effective Practices Identified in the
Literature Honors programs for academically advanced students
Academic support program or services
Programs designed specifically for at-risk students
Mandatory advising, one-on-one and face-to-face between faculty and students
Programs designed specifically for first-year students
Source: Noel-Levitz 2011
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Programs/Practices Across the U.S.
Retention Program % Utilizing
First Year Seminar – Mandatory 49%
First Year Seminar – Not Mandatory
31%
Freshman Orientation – Required
72%
Freshman Orientation – Not required
24%
Early Warning System 81.4%
Career Exploration Course 48.2%
Student Mentor Programs 42.7%
Faculty Mentor Program 13.6%
Living and Learning Communities
50%
Learning Commons Area 24.1%
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Career Services Participation
Program Percent Participation
CS Representative on Retention Committee
26.5%
Coordinate/facilitate Career Assessments for first year students
62.7%
Present career programs in first year seminar courses
73.5%
Participates in Parents Association programming
18.1%
Participate in Week of Welcome or new first year student social activities
70.6%
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TTU Campus Retention Initiatives
Retention Committee
First-year Connections 1 hr. Seminar
Freshmen Mentors – 2 semesters
Freshmen “Majors” fair; Engineering majors fair, Business majors and clubs fair
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TTU Initiatives (continued) Communication with “at risk”
students Contact during the summer: non-
enrollees Learning Commons in Library Living/Learning Villages
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TTU Retention Committee Experiment
28 freshmen class sections/587 students
Psychosocial teaching method = 14 Academic skill-building method = 14
Fall of 2009 implemented, Fall of 2010 results
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Which Cohort had the Higher Retention Rates? Cohort A – psychosocial
Cohort B – academic skills
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Psychosocial
Sorry, You are Wrong
Link Back
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Academic Skill-Building
Yes, you are correct
Link Back
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Experiment Results
Probability that a student will LEAVE within Three (3) semesters:
Psychosocial 27%
Academic 21%
Logistical Regression, p=.0371, 95% significance
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Academic Skill-Building
Time management Study Skills Career Plan Career Assessment ‘Structured’ classroom environment
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Where Do We Fit In
Skill building workshops focusing on freshmen
Resume for freshmen Co-op /internship exposure Career assessment Assist with majors fairs
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Become a Retention Champion Campus Retention Initiatives
Week of welcome, fall semester activities Not always related
Develop Partnerships with on-campus departments involved in student success i.e. first-year seminar classes
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First Year Seminars
Invite freshmen classes in for tours
Offer to come to the freshmen classes with “deal or no deal” interactive trivia game
Create career content/career components for first year seminars
Instructor newsletter:events/workshops/pre-packaged PowerPoint presentations
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YOUR IDEASQuestions…Discussion…
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REFERENCES Derby, D. & Smith, T.(2004). An orientation course and community college
retention. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 28, 763-773. Glass, J. (1995). Student participation in college orientation course, retention,
and gpa. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 19, 117-132. Kuth, G. (2006). Student Success in College. Jossey-Base. Noel-Levitz (2011). 2011 Student retention practices at four-year and two-year
institutions. Retrieved January 10, 2012 from www.noellevitz.com Swail, W. (2006). Seven guiding questions for student retention. Student
Success, January 2006. Retrieved from www.educationalpolicy.org Tinto, V. (2006/2007). Research and practice of student retention: what next?
Journal College Student Retention, 8(1), 1-19. Tinto, V. (1987). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student
attrition. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago. Tinto, V. (Nov/Dec 1997). Classrooms as communities: Exploring the
educational characteristics of student persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 68, 599-623.
Tinto, V. (July/August 1988). Stages of student departure: reflections on the longitudinal character of student leaving. Journal of Higher Education, 59(4), 438-455.
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