Challenge
The USG will improve graduation and retention rates by institution and sector.
Action
Develop and implement programs strategically designed to improve the retention
and graduation rates in the USG.
Activities for Implementation
- Each academic department will have a plan for improving student retention
in the majors.
- All 34 institutions that serve freshmen will have first-year experience
programs.
- All 35 institutions will ensure adequate upper-division course availability.
- All 35 institutions will have student employment offices.
Baseline Measure
Retention rate for USG institutions by sector and
overall, including institutional average and Systemwide average,
from fall 2006 to fall 2007:
| Sector |
Institution-Specific Rate |
Systemwide Rate |
| Research Universities |
90.4 |
93.0 |
| Regional Universities |
75.8 |
85.5 |
| State Universities |
73.1 |
79.8 |
| State Colleges |
59.5 |
65.4 |
| Two-year Colleges |
58.1 |
65.3 |
| University System |
73.2 |
79.2 |
Graduation rate for 2001 cohort for baccalaureate degree programs
is 50.79% institution-specific and 57.79% Systemwide.
Graduation rate for 2004 cohort for associate degree programs
is 12.41% institution-specific and 12.82% Systemwide.
| 2008 Target | 2008 Actual |
| Inventory first-year experience programs. | Completed. |
| Conduct NSSE and CCSSE surveys. | Completed. |
| Indentify core courses with high failure rates. | Completed. |
| Departments to develop plan for improving retention. | Moved to 2009. |
| Evaluate RPG programs from five pilot institutions. | Moved to 2009. |
| Participate in National Student Clearinghouse to track students. | In process. |
| Establish new retention and graduation targets for each institution. | Completed. |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| Research universities | 90.4 | 93.0 |
| Regional universities | 76.9 | 85.8 |
| State universities | 74.4 | 80.8 |
| State colleges | 58.4 | 64.9 |
| Two-year colleges | 58.1 | 64.8 |
| University System | 73.0 | 78.9 |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| Research universities | 68.4 | 73.2 |
| Regional universities | 43.2 | 54.1 |
| State universities | 34.3 | 42.6 |
| State colleges | 11.5 | 17.7 |
| University System | 49.3 | 56.7 |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| State colleges | 12.88 | 13.14 |
| Two-year colleges | 9.61 | 9.78 |
| University System | 11.06 | 11.28 |
| 2009 Target | 2009 Actual |
| Departments develop a plan for improving retention and graduation rates. | Plans to be presented winter and spring 2010. |
| Participate in National Student Clearinghouse to track students. | Data match completed. See 2010 target for completion. Participation in NSC continues. |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| Research universities | 90.8 | 93.7 |
| Regional universities | 77.5 | 86.2 |
| State universities | 73.3 | 80.4 |
| State colleges | 59.9 | 67.0 |
| Two-year colleges | 58.0 | 64.3 |
| University System | 72.7 | 78.9 |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| Research universities | 72.9 | 77.0 |
| Regional universities | 45.6 | 55.7 |
| State universities | 35.8 | 44.6 |
| State colleges | 16.2 | 25.7 |
| University System | 51.6 | 58.9 |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| State colleges | 11.5 | 11.7 |
| Two-year colleges | 9.1 | 9.5 |
| University System | 10.3 | 10.5 |
| 2010 Target | 2010 Actual |
| Analyze NSSE and CCSSE surveys and write report. | In progress. Analysis begun. |
| Departments to develop a plan for improving retention. | Institutions developed three-year plans to improve retention and graduation and presented them to Regents' Task Force on Graduation. |
| Evaluate RPG programs from five pilot institutions. | Evaluations conducted by institutions. Results pending. |
| Use information from participation in National Student Clearinghouse to track students. | Ongoing. Assisted many institutions with National Student Clearinghouse matches so they can track their own students. System-level analysis in progress. |
| Evaluate progress towards 2014 retention and graduation targets. | Retention and graduation data available for Fall 2009, Fall 2004, and Fall 2007 cohorts available beginning August/September 2010. |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| Research universities | 91.2 | 93.9 |
| Regional universities | 74.9 | 84.9 |
| State universities | 72.7 | 79.7 |
| State colleges | 58.1 | 64.1 |
| Two-year colleges | 55.1 | 60.6 |
| University System | 71.0 | 77.0 |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| Research universities | 72.0 | 76.3 |
| Regional universities | 43.3 | 54.6 |
| State universities | 37.2 | 46.2 |
| State colleges | 13.9 | 20.4 |
| University System | 51.6 | 59.2 |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| State colleges | 10.7 | 11.0 |
| Two-year colleges | 9.9 | 10.3 |
| University System | 10.2 | 10.5 |
| 2011 Target | 2011 Actual |
| Conduct NSSE and CCSSE surveys to stay on 3-year rotation. | |
| Analyze patterns of courses with high failure rates. | |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| Research universities | | |
| Regional universities | | |
| State universities | | |
| State colleges | | |
| Two-year colleges | | |
| University System | | |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| Research universities | | |
| Regional universities | | |
| State universities | | |
| State colleges | | |
| University System | | |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| State colleges | | |
| Two-year colleges | | |
| University System | |
| 2012 Target | 2012 Actual |
| Evaluate institutional progress on improving retention and graduation rates. | |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| Research universities | | |
| Regional universities | | |
| State universities | | |
| State colleges | | |
| Two-year colleges | | |
| University System | | |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| Research universities | | |
| Regional universities | | |
| State universities | | |
| State colleges | | |
| University System | |
| Sector | Institution-Specific Rate | Systemwide Rate |
| State colleges | | |
| Two-year colleges | | |
| University System | | |
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