lectual conditions that prevail on most point out that our more successful global Carroll University is a private four-
American campuses. He believes easily competitors have legitimate vocational year school in Wisconsin with 2,600
obtainable financial aid has ruined high- options for students while we do not. full-time traditional undergrads. Four
er education and wants financial aid to “Why is it less noble to be an electri- years ago a new president challenged and
focus on academic merit. Failure to link cian instead of an engineer, a carpenter upended a “too little, too late” retention
aid and merit, he believes, creates a slip- instead of a historian or a plumber in- strategy that was triggered by student
pery slope that inevitably will cheapen stead of a biologist?” asks Clinton La- self-identification. Retention under En-
and devalue postsecondary degrees. nier, assistant Professor at New Mexico rollment VP Jim Wiseman became a con-
nected, campus-wide focus of activity. A
full-time retention director position was
created and filled. In partnership with
r
EtEntion praCtitionEr
Jenzabar, a retention model was devel-
oped and tested on first time freshmen
Kimberly Cline
using Carroll’s database to identify and
President, Mercy College
“cut off problems before there were no
good options left.” The first steps taken
by Carroll involved a discovery phase
that employed probability analysis to
identify and weigh 35 factors for every
freshman. Those 35 factors were sifted to
ten for the final model.
Carroll ’s Ten Retention Factors
1. High school record
2. Out-of-pocket dollars paid by family
3. Midterm grades
4. Term grades
5. Accessed late fees
6. Total hours per week student is em-
ployed
7. Open holds on student accounts
8. Student alert form (anyone can sub-
mit)
9. Freshman seminar survey
Connecting the dots, many observers Institute of Mining and technology. “We 10. English 170 survey
believe when admissions and academic desperately need people with these skills
standards slide, grade inflation ensues. in our country, just as much as we need The software runs the retention model
As a result, students who aren’t skilled students to stay in college and graduate. each night against every student. Based on
become degree holders. Such “retention” If we could fill both of these needs with the day’s results each student is tagged very
does not result in raising the student body a single strategy, why wouldn’t we want concerned, concerned or no concern. Sta-
up to the traditional standards and qual- to? Our global competitors—the ones tus changes are highlighted are reviewed
ity of the institution. Instead it results we keep comparing our students to—are the next day by the Director of Student
in “dumbing down” the school in order already taking this approach.” Success. Appropriate intervention occurs
to make the numbers. This promotes a quickly and as often as desirable. Wiseman
perception among employers that higher retention solution—private College says that top management supports reten-
education isn’t working. Private schools with predominantly “Joe tion with a well-publicized and central-
“That piece of paper no longer means College” students, have the highest re- ized Student Success Office and campus-
very much, and employers know it,” says tention rates in the U.S. Their graduation wide involvement. Wiseman is convinced
Marty Nemko, a career and education rates can be 85 percent or higher. But re- that “wait and see” doesn’t work. Today’s
expert. Other experienced voices in the tention is a hot-button issue even at four- students are too often beyond help when
small but vocal chorus of such naysayers year privates. they come forward on their own.
8 T
oday’s
C
ampus subscribe at no charge at www.todayscampus.com
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