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St. Cloud State University
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Changes to boost retention
By Lesley Christianson
Published:
Thursday, July 8, 2004
Media Credit: Ashley Preste
Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management Mahmoud Saffari speaks about the changes in orientation, course availability and recruitment in order to keep retention rates satisfactory.
With rising costs in tuition and falling numbers in enrollment, administrators at SCSU have been brainstorming for ideas on how to keep retention rates up while satisfying students currently attending the university.
Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management Mahmoud Saffari chairs the Enrollment Management Committee made up of 24 faculty members, staff and students. The committee meets regularly to discuss recruitment, retention and marketing strategies to keep SCSU among some of the most competing institutions in Minnesota.
Formed last January, the committee has developed changes and proposals in the recruitment process, orientation, course availability and methods in assessing student satisfaction. This fall will be the first semester to implement many of these changes.
One development the committee has worked toward is keeping SCSU an affordable institution to attend. A proposal was approved in June to allow transfer students from nearby states who earned an ACT score of 25 or higher and held an acceptable GPA to pay in-state tuition instead of the thousands of dollars more in out-of-state tuition.
"We hope that will have a positive impact on enrollment for the fall of 2005," Saffari said. "We were able to also put additional money in scholarships for the fall of 2004, and I hope we will be able to find additional money for scholarships in years to come because as tuition goes up, as the cost of education goes up, we need to find some other ways to help the students financially."
Another concern within the committee is to keep an acceptable rate of enrollment. Saffari said SCSU has worked toward strongly recruiting students of color and despite a continued decrease in general enrollment in the past two years, Saffari remains optimistic.
"The size of an institution does not determine its quality," Saffari said. "We have been working hard in bringing in a higher caliber freshman class."
Saffari said the incoming freshman class is the strongest academically that SCSU has had in three years with average ACT scores almost an entire point higher than previous classes.
Saffari said the Division of General Studies (DGS) has also seen an increase in academic progress compared to years past. The DGS is a program that allows about 250 prospective students who did not meet the minimum requirements of admissions to enter in a contract with the university and earn college credits based on a merit system. Students are required to take certain courses and earn acceptable grades in order to be eligible for admission.
"(DGS) is an intensive program that provides a great deal of one-on-one teaching with students," Saffari said. "Better quality students translate into higher retention rates. And one way to combat declining enrollment is to enhance retention."
Although retention is a concern among university officials, a comparison between SCSU and other MnSCU institutions shows SCSU at a 3 percent retention rate and others at a decline from 4 to 2 percent. Still, Saffari said SCSU administration would like to see retention at 5 to 6 percent in the next three years.
The committee has also modified orientation to focus more on academics and to make sure incoming students feel welcomed in a new environment. Students are given a SCSU backpack and are served breakfast and lunch instead of just lunch as it has been in previous years. They are also given an orientation handbook that outlines SCSU guidelines and what to expect from the college experience.
"The first step in a solid retention rate is to have a welcoming orientation," Saffari said. "Our focus is not only to bring on better quality students, but to also offer them better quality services and programs."
A faculty panel has been added to the orientation process to tell parents and students what will be expected from them in their time spent at SCSU. The panel consists of five faculty members, each representing one of the colleges in the university and a representative from the Miller Center to discuss technological opportunities on campus.
Part of the committee's attempt to provide better quality services to students is the additional 1,500 seats for general education courses. Saffari said these additional seats have so far been a success.
"Course availability has been a challenge for the university and we've had difficulty meeting the needs of our new entering freshmen and transfer students," Saffari said. "We're very excited because so far, all of the students who have attended the nine freshman orientations and five or six transfer orientations have been able to take the classes they've wanted. We've got seven orientations left and the university has provided us with the money to their faculty to meet the needs of the rest of our incoming students."
Saffari is also optimistic about the new Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Mark Nook.
"His job is basically bringing some of the fragmented services and programs under one roof," Saffari said.
Those programs include academic services, the advising center, DGS, the honors program and others.
While the committee has developed several strategies to combat declining enrollment and boost retention rates, Saffari said the success of these proposals will be determined on campus efforts as a whole.
"The success of an enrollment management office is very much dependent on close collaboration and partnership with each and every unit on campus," Saffari said. "The caring attitude of faculty and staff toward students is the single most important factor in student retention."
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