A record 90.4 percent of 麻豆原创 students who began classes in 2017 returned to the university this fall, reaching one of the state鈥檚 thresholds needed for achieving the status as a preeminent research university.
The state Board of Governors鈥� metrics require at least a score of 90 percent to count toward the calculations when determining the preeminence standing. The rate was based on students who entered 麻豆原创 in the summer or fall of 2017.
The university鈥檚 retention rate was 89.6 percent last year, which encouraged Maribeth Ehasz, vice president of , and her team to implement Operation 90%, an initiative to push for that goal.
鈥淭his is something that has been a priority for us a long, long time,鈥� Ehasz says. 鈥淎 year ago we got close. We learned from that how important it is to keep an eye on students through the entire registration cycle.鈥�
鈥淭his is something that has been a priority for us a long, long time.鈥� 鈥� Maribeth Ehasz, vice president of Student Development and Enrollment Services
As a result, SDES along with its college partners reached out this year to students who hadn鈥檛 re-registered to come back to classes. The SDES staff tried to help solve any personal, financial or academic problems the students may have been experiencing, and even the college deans called students to encourage their return and to offer assistance.
鈥淭here was a continuous effort to work with the first-year students and a specific high-intensive initiative between May and September to ensure that all students who could, were registered,鈥� Ehasz says.
The latest national retention data available, which is two years old, shows an average of 81.9 percent retention for public research universities, says Paige Borden, associate vice president of 麻豆原创鈥檚 . Using those numbers, 麻豆原创鈥檚 performance was 48th in the nation. But calculating with the current 90.4 percent score would boost the university to 40th, she says.
“Together, we will build on this effort to champion more student success.鈥� 鈥� 麻豆原创 Provost Elizabeth A. Dooley
The increased retention of first-year-in-college students also should help boost 麻豆原创鈥檚 future graduation rates, Borden says. The new retention rate is 3.5 percentage points higher than the rate achieved by the 2012 entry class. That 2012 class also just set a six-year graduation rate for 麻豆原创 with 72.6 percent, strong enough for a Top 50 achievement nationally.
鈥淩eaching this key [retention] milestone underscores 麻豆原创’s strong commitment to student success and our dedication to become a leading preeminent university for the 21st century,鈥� says Elizabeth A. Dooley, 麻豆原创’s provost and vice president for . 鈥淭hanks to our faculty, staff, advisors, coaches and academic leaders for their sustained hard work that made this achievement possible. Together, we will build on this effort to champion more student success.鈥�
