Retention ideas
Before the departure of Dean of Students DEl Beatty, a retention committee was organized to be in line with other retention committees already organized at the eight other public institutions of high education in the state.
The committee included Shanny Wilson, Michelle Fleck, Tracie Noyes, Elaine Youngberg, Greg Benson, Barb Benson and Sharon Jones, plus the dean of students was to chair it.
Before the departure of Dean of Students DEl Beatty, a retention committee was organized to be in line with other retention committees already organized at the eight other public institutions of high education in the state.
The committee included Shanny Wilson, Michelle Fleck, Tracie Noyes, Elaine Youngberg, Greg Benson, Barb Benson and Sharon Jones, plus the dean of students was to chair it.
In a recent article in The Eagle, a retention article explained how CEU’s rate had decreased eight percent over the past five years. The article reported that 42.6 percent of students return to the college their sophomore year in 2008-09. In 2004-05, 50.8 percent came back for their sophomore year.
Beatty said the current figures did not take into account the number of students who opt to take two-years off of attending college to serve missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-Day Saints.
Thus, one of Beatty’s last assignments in September was to present to the Utah Board of Regents a detailed plan outlining CEU’s retention efforts.
He said the most recent retention records showed the first- to second-year retention rate of 76 percent for full-time students and 89 percent for part-time students.
He cited 20 programs and initiatives linked to the CEU retention effort including the establishment of a formal retention committee to regularly address retention issues, continued emphasis on small faculty/student ratios, engaging faculty as club advisers, maintaining a scholarship deferment program, adding the partnership with Utah State University for an academic adviser, strengthening the Student Assistance Program and continuing the development of the academic alert program.
He discussed the implementation of the auto pre-requisite screening through Banner to assist with course selection, encouragement of more timely engagement in academics through an adjusted withdrawal rate, contacting of all students who drop below 2.0 GPA, centralized advising for undecided majors, mandated first-semester advising for all freshmen, contracting with SACCO as food service provider and staging a residence hall welcoming program the first day of classes.
Other ideas he explained were generalized instructional methods with staff and faculty to strength engagement as well as assistance from the Student Support Services (TRiO), steam lining the new student orientation program including a parent-orientation track and increased student involvement in extra-curricular activities though a combined leadership-training program.
Lastly he said CEU offers free tutoring in math, science, accounting, computer literacy and English as well as departmental tutoring for graphic arts and drafting. He acknowledged the increased awareness of the disability center as well as counseling and psychology services helps in the retention process.
He told the regents that some of the new initiatives and on-going discussions CEU was addressing included requiring a college-success-skills class for all first-year students, requiring academic-adviser consultation before withdrawal is approved, secure funding for retention issues and finalizing a two-year course schedule to assist with advising and course selection.
