Retention programs help students succeed
When Jason Berve enrolled at The College of St. Scholastica in 2005, it was through the First Year Development Program that allows students who do not meet the admission requirements to enter the college on a conditional basis. One of the requirements was to enroll in the Student Support Services (SSS) program, which provided tutoring, mentoring and other kinds of assistance. Now a senior in pre-med with a 3.8 GPA, Berve credits the program with his success. "SSS has shaped me into a well-rounded student. I wouldn't be where I am without it."
Programs that support new and at-risk students and help them integrate into the campus community can make a big difference in whether or not the students continue in school. Findings in two ACT reports show that these “retention programs” can assist students in making the transition to college life and ultimately completing their degrees.
According to David Bauman, assistant dean of students for advisement and retention at St. Scholastica, first-year students are reviewed at the four- and eight-week marks, attend meetings where they can talk with faculty, and have ready access to “academic role models” who live in student housing. They also take Dignitas — a first-year seminar program with the theme, ‘The responsible self.’ “Dignitas has played a key role in our retention,” Bauman said.
All college students can benefit from efforts to make them feel a part of campus life, but it’s especially important for students who are at-risk — including students with low ACT scores, with borderline GPAs and without any family history of college-completion.
Student Support Services is one of several federally funded TRiO programs — educational outreach programs to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds. SSS serves first-generation, low-income and disabled college students who need extra academic support. Students receive one-on-one tutoring and counseling and attend special classes and workshops. At St. Scholastica, about 175 students participate each year (Carleton College, Augsburg College and St. Olaf College also have SSS programs, as do several public universities in the state).
St. Scholastica SSS students in the Loft hangout
Dory Pohl, who directs the St. Scholastica program, told of a recent graduate who had participated in SSS. “After being out of school for 15 years, technology was different and we helped her improve her computer skills,” Pohl said. “We also helped her brush up on math to prepare for a statistics course and since she was a single mother we even taped some lectures for her when she couldn’t get to class.” Pohl noted that the student had also developed a supportive network of peers at the SSS campus hangout, the ‘Loft.’
“We’ve been able to create a community that helps our SSS students feel connected,” Pohl said. “And we provide services that help them graduate.”
A fresh start
At Bethel University, Sam Mulberry directs the Fresh Start program, which is for provisionally-admitted students. “At the beginning, students are most anxious about just getting through their first semester,” he said. Although all students take a freshmen seminar, it’s a more intensive version for Fresh Start students. “After fall semester and the January term last year, 85 percent of our students were in good academic standing (GPA of 2.0 or better); I feel good about that number — it’s a good indicator,” Mulberry said.
Mulberry is one of three faculty who teach the freshmen seminar courses to Fresh Start participants. Each faculty member also serves as their students’ academic advisor. “I see my students multiple times a week and have a chance to build relationships with them,” Mulberry said.
There are two measures of success for Mulberry: students who stay at Bethel and finish their degree and students who transfer but do so with a GPA above 2.0. “I think we’re doing better with these students,” he said.
When he first started teaching four years ago, Mulberry feared that students would be resentful about being placed in Fresh Start. “Then in one of my first classes, a student said she viewed the program as ‘a door into the school I really wanted to go to.’”
Now that the first group of students Mulberry worked with are seniors, he admits to no longer worrying about them. “I see a level of growth with these students…they have real career plans, real ambition.”
Especially for parents
A student mother (left) meets with her Access and Success mentor
At the College of St. Catherine, the Access and Success program focuses on women who are mothers. “We’ve thought about the things that can get in the way of these students’ success,” director Joan Demeules said. Staffed by social workers, the program provides academic support but also helps with other issues. “We collaborate with CommonBond to make sure students have stable housing and we help them find childcare,” Demeules said. The program has expanded as new needs have been identified. Two computer labs now have adjacent children’s play areas, laptops can be borrowed, there are volunteer mentors, a lactation room and emergency loans. “Helping with car repairs is big,” said Demeules.
The goal is to retain students from one year to the next at the same rate as for the general student population. Retention rate for all St. Kate’s students is 79 percent; for the student parents it’s currently at 78 percent.
Demeules described a recent success story. “When this woman came to us, she had one failed attempt at college and two kids.” With extensive support from Access and Success (including having a staff member go with her to a parent-teacher conference), the student graduated in May. “For the first time in her life, she’s making a good salary,” Demeules said.
Demeules believes that there is a lot of energy and interest in women completing their education, especially those who face a lot of barriers. “We have the flexibility and skill to address the specific circumstances that women find themselves in — our program can help them succeed,” she said.
Retention programs need to be geared to the needs of the individual campus. At St. Scholastica they started by looking at students’ lives and what they face during their college year, Bauman said. “There’s so many things we’ve changed to address their needs.”