Helping a UCCS student decide to continue to his sophomore year could be as easy as saying \u201chello\u201d outside of class.<\/p>\n
Barbara Gaddis, executive director, Student Retention and First Year Experience, shared student comments about decisions to continue at UCCS during a Thursday forum. She was joined by Homer Wesley, vice chancellor, Student Success and Enrollment Management and Martin Wood, vice chancellor, University Advancement, for an overview of student recruitment, marketing and retention efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it\u2019s the little things,\u201d Gaddis said. \u201cI had a student tell me that it was the fact that his faculty member said hello to him outside of class that made him feel connected to UCCS. Retention is not the goal but the outcome of an excellent undergraduate experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gaddis complimented those who attended the forum as well as other faculty and staff for helping 71 percent of UCCS students continue from their freshman year to their sophomore year, a record. Some students enter UCCS with the goal of transferring to other colleges. And while Gaddis celebrated the success, she was clear that student decisions to stay at UCCS, transfer, or quit school are complicated.<\/p>\n
Gaddis highlighted various programs in place to help students succeed. They include an early warning system where faculty concerned about a student can alert the Office of First Year Experience and Transfer Student Connections, Freshman Seminar as well as the Centers for Academic Excellence and both formal and informal mentoring programs. Gaddis also cited a number of statistics that indicated which students are most likely to succeed. Academic preparation, the number of hours worked, the selection of an academic program, athletic participation, and even housing decisions contribute to student success.<\/p>\n
Wesley celebrated the record fall enrollment of 9,321 students and 107,582 credit hours as well as a more than 1,300 student freshman class. A large freshman class, combined with strong retention efforts, should provide stability for UCCS. He also called enrollment a campus-wide effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis success is not the result of a single year of efforts,\u201d Wesley said. \u201cThe work and planning that has taken place over at least the last three years \u2013 and maybe the work and planning that has taken place since 1965 \u2013 is what resulted in these positive numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Challenges ahead for UCCS include increasing student-borne costs for education, providing online courses for both traditional and non-traditional age students, flexible course times, additional out-of-state and international students, and students returning to college after careers in the military or private sectors.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur ability to meet the needs of our state and the needs of individual students require a very high level of responsiveness,\u201d Wesley said. \u201cIt requires that we begin to do work in different ways than we\u2019ve ever done before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wood provided an overview of student recruitment marketing efforts that include radio, television and newspaper advertisements and a six minute student recruitment video in addition to direct mail contacts of students and online advertising. From Nov. 15 through March 31, more than 3,180 television advertisements will be aired on Denver and Colorado Springs television stations.<\/p>\n
To see the recently completed student recruitment video, visit http:\/\/www.uccs.edu\/welcomevideo.html<\/a><\/p>\n — Photo by Tom Hutton<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"