Principles

The retention of every Utah State University student is of vital importance to the mission of the University in our goal to help students develop as Citizen Scholars. Our ultimate goal is to assist students in obtaining their degrees while empowering them to become productive citizens of Utah, the nation, and the world.

The University Retention Committee represents retention efforts throughout the entire campus in their commitment to student success. This commitment reflects the understanding that student success is largely dependent on how the student perceives his or her experiences at Utah State University.

All initiatives, goals, and efforts should be based upon the following principles:

  • The establishment of quantitative goals for retention and graduation rates must be based upon the mission and goals of the University, the educational goals of our students, and the constraints our students face in pursuing those goals.
  • The factors affecting retention and time-to-degree-completion are complex. Therefore, improving our retention and graduation rates must involve a collaborative effort between Academic Affairs and Student Services, as well as other departments and services affecting student success.
  • Complexity precludes a single approach to the problem and requires a variety of programs designed to meet student needs in areas such as faculty interaction, academic advising, involvement in campus life, personal development, peer relations, etc. Faculty and staff members within University units should be mindful that data from retention research indicates greater success when students are the prime focus of all initiatives and programs.
  • Throughout the University, we must encourage innovative approaches to student success, as well as improvement of retention and graduation rates, and be able to integrate these approaches into existing programs.
  • Ongoing planning and evaluation directed toward the improvement of all programs and services enhances the University's development. The Office of Retention and First-Year-Experience provides support for these efforts by analyzing collected data and helping departments to recognize important trends in student behavior.
  • Based on the mission statement and principles 1-5, a University Retention committee, which consists of administrators, faculty, and staff, was created to develop and share best practices to support the success of all USU students from their first semester through graduation.

Programs

The following programs provide students and families with information on Utah State University, support through the transition process and throughout the first year. The Change of Enrollment information allows for students to explore other opportunities outside the university for a period of time.

Planning

The design and development of effective Retention efforts include the work of many departments and individuals, clear goals, and an indepth analysis, and assessment of the intiative.

  • Data Analysis The Retention and First-Year Experience Office encourages departments and programs to include collecting relevant data as part of their initiative development. The Retention Office will support the departments efforts to analyze the data to discover important trends, challenges, and opportunities for future planning. Examples of these efforts include the Honors Program and the Psych 1730 course.
  • Institutional Research The information supplied by the Office of Analysis, Assessment, and Accreditation (http://aaa.usu.edu/) provides data on student characteristics, survey data on student involvement, NSSE, BSSE, and CIRP data. This information allows the Retention/FYE office to better understand attrition and retention predictors and calls attention to retetention predictors that may influence policy.
  • University Retention Committee The University Retention Committee supports the mission and goals of Utah State University by providing student-centered, campus-wide leadership to develop, implement, and advocate student retention practices that facilitate the success of all students from their first semester through graduation from USU. http://www.usu.edu/urc/
  • Departmental Collaborations Retention efforts to collaborate on the design and development of retention initiatives to support student success are strongly encouraged. An excellent example of this is the Merrill-Cazier library collaboration with the English 1010 and English 2010 writing programs or the research project with faculty members outside of course or program requirements. (http://www.usu.edu/urc/secondyear/pdf/library.pdf)
  • University Retention Symposium

Partnerships

The following departments and programs share a common vision for student success at Utah State University. To achieve desired results, departments are willing to combine resources whether it is staff support, financial support, or visibly supporting efforts to gain "buy-in" from other constituents.

  • Academic Departments
  • Analysis, Assessment, & Accreditation
  • Budget Office
  • Division of Student Services
  • Honors Program
  • Housing and Residence Life
  • International Students & Scholars
  • Office of the Provost
  • Regional Campuses
  • Student Athlete Services
  • Undergraduate Research
  • University Advancement & Alumni

Progress...

Departments and units work continuously to create intentional policies, practices, and initiatives designed to improve the first-year of college for students at Utah State University.

  • Undergraduate research partnerships more
  • Theme housing fostering community and learning outside the classroom more
  • Designated sections of Connections for Honors Students and Research Fellows Honors Scholars Forum & Honors Breadth Class, Honors Inquiry more
  • Notification of Financial Aid and Student Employment Opportunities more
  • Library: Integration of information literacy instruction into the English 1010 and English 2010 curriculum more