Strategies for student retention

1. SMART Strategies for student retention

2. Welcome! Alice Camuti, Ph.D. Director, Career Services Tennessee Technological University

3. SMART 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

4. SMART 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

5. SMART 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

6. SMART 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%

7. Tennessee Change in Focus • Moving to a productivity-driven funding formula • Graduation rates • Degree production • Student Retention • “Complete College Tennessee Act”

8. SMART 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

9. SMART 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

10. SMART 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)

11. SMART 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

12. SMART Programs/Practices Across the U.S.

13. SMART Career Services Participation

14. SMART 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

15. SMART TTU Initiatives (continued) • Communication with “at risk” students • Contact during the summer: non-enrollees • Learning Commons in Library • Living/Learning Villages

16. SMART 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

17. SMART Which Cohort had the Higher Retention Rates? • Cohort A – psychosocial • Cohort B – academic skills

18. SMART Psychosocial Sorry, You are Wrong Link Back

19. SMART Academic Skill-Building Yes, you are correct Link Back

20. SMART Experiment Results • Probability that a student will LEAVE within Three (3) semesters: • Psychosocial 27% • Academic 21% Logistical Regression, p=.0371, 95% significance

21. SMART Academic Skill-Building • Time management • Study Skills • Career Plan • Career Assessment • ‘Structured’ classroom environment

22. SMART Where Do We Fit In • Skill building workshops focusing on freshmen • Resume for freshmen • Co-op /internship exposure • Career assessment • Assist with majors fairs

23. SMART 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

24. SMART 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

25. SMART Questions…Discussion… Your Ideas

26. SMART Thank You! Alice Camuti acamuti@tntech.edu 931-372-3232

27. SMART 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.