College of Liberal Arts Report on Advising and Retention February 20, 2013

College of Liberal Arts Report on Advising and Retention February 20, 2013

Where does CLA stand now on advising, retention, and graduation?

Advising 2011-2012 Graduating Senior Survey Results Q 65. Academic advising by faculty advisor Q 66. Academic advising by college academic advisor Q 68. Availability of faculty advisor Q 69. Availability of college academic advisor Q 70. Willingness of faculty advisor to help Q 71. Willingness of college academic advisor to help

Freshmen Retention, 2006-2012

Junior Retention/Persistence 2008 Cohort

Focus on Retention and Graduation Rates

Our retention efforts fall into four categories. • Advising • Curriculum • Teaching • Community Building

Advising • What We’re Doing • Faculty Advisors • College Advisors (2) • Graduation Coach • Graduation Analyst

Departmental Advising • Open advising times • Increase faculty office hours during peak advising season • Post online academic maps, forms, and other advising materials • Publish student handbooks • Nominate faculty for the college-wide Outstanding Advisor Award

College Advisors • Meet with probationary students 2-3 times per semester • Monitor assignment of students to faculty advisors • Contact purged and un-registered students • Hold training sessions for faculty advisors • Offer online tool 24-7 to schedule appointments

College Graduation Coach • (approved last year) • Meets all CLA majors when they’ve earned 75 to 90 hours of credit • Ensures students complete and submit upper division forms and works with them to identify the most efficient path to graduation • Monitors their progress and helps them overcome any roadblocks to graduation

College Graduation Analyst • Checks students’ progress toward degrees at beginning of the semester they are scheduled to graduate • Meets with students to discuss the results of the checks and to discuss final requirements (testing, graduation instructions) • Works with students to try to resolve any deficiencies

Ideas for Advising Improvement • Hold regular department-based advisor workshops • Implement holds on students’ registrations to ensure advising at critical points • Increase advising regarding graduate school options and career paths • Do some advising in the classroom in certain key courses in the major

Curriculum • What We’re Doing • Regularly assess curriculum and make adjustments as needed • Avoid curricular “bottlenecks” • Urge student participation in Study Abroad, EXL, internships, and other experiential activities • Make reasonable course substitutions

Selected Co-curricular Activities • In AY 2011-2012, CLA majors accounted for… • nearly 50% of all students who studied abroad • 5.2% of CLA majors • studied abroad, compared • to 1.7% of the overall student body • 41% of students who won URECA grants • 37% of all students completing Honors theses

Ideas for Curriculum Improvement • Consider strategic new degrees (e.g., B.A. in Art, B.A. in Music, concentration in Religious Studies, MALA) • Offer more “major only” course sections and/or capstone courses • Explore additional alternative course scheduling (e.g., more online/hybrid, accelerated)

Teaching • What We’re Doing • Offer relatively small classes • Students and peers regularly evaluate faculty teaching • Departmental mentoring keeps faculty advisors up-to-date • Faculty participate in LT&ITC teaching workshops

Ideas for Teaching Improvement • Increase internship and other experiential offerings • Increase interdisciplinary efforts (e.g., Raider Learning Communities, team teaching) • Require attendance at special events

Community Building • What We’re Doing • Joint faculty-student research • Student clubs and organizations, including honor societies and music ensembles • Intercollegiate competitions (e.g., Debate, Mock Trial, Model UN, Theatre) • Departmental newsletters

Ideas for Further Community Building • Increase use of social media for faculty-student communication and student-student communication • Host social events where students and faculty mingle • Offer field trips and other out-of-class activities • Hold a college Alumni Day (March 21)

Proposals Requiring Additional Resources Assess Academic Advising Implement systematic assessment of advising, preferably university-wide.

Supplemental Instruction Several departments are interested in offering or expanding tutoring services, especially to students in key courses. Estimated cost: $45,000 per year.

Mentoring Programs CLA is launching a pilot program to consider possibilities, which include faculty-to-faculty, faculty-to-student, and student peer mentoring/advising. Cost to be determined after completion of pilot.

Informal Gathering Space CLA is housed largely in older buildings that were not designed with informal gathering spaces in mind.

Departmental Discretionary Money for Retention Activities Current operating budgets make it difficult to host events or activities that foster student engagement with faculty and peers. Estimated cost: $5,000 to $10,000 per year.

The End

College of Liberal Arts Report on Advising and Retention February 20, 2013