May 14, 1999

Task force issues plan for retention

by Julia McSherry, Director of Publications

After gathering and examining information from numerous sources since September 1998, the 120 member University Task Force on Student Success and Retention has released its goals and action plans to the President’s Cabinet, University Planning Team, and the university community for review. The report was approved by the task force on May 4.

“The task force has proposed challenging, but achievable, retention goals,” according to Lydia Voigt who spearheaded the work of the group. “The financial impact of achieving these retention goals is significant, potentially exceeding one million dollars in additional revenue,” Voigt explains in the executive summary of the report.

The goals are as follows: (1) to achieve an annual freshman to sophomore persistence rate of 83 percent for students entering Loyola in the Fall of 1999; (2) to gradually increase the annual freshman to sophomore persistence rate for classes entering in the Fall of 2000 to 85 percent, in the Fall of 2001 to 87 percent, in the Fall of 2002 to 89 percent, and in the Fall of 2003 to 90 percent; (3) to achieve a cohort four-year graduation rate of 60 percent for students entering Loyola in Fall of 1999; (4) to achieve a cohort five-year graduation rate of 70 percent for students entering Loyola in Fall of 1999; and (5) to increase the mean satisfaction score of each scale in the Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI) by a minimum of 0.5 points by Spring 2000.

The task force, while initially focusing on retention theory, goal-setting and problem-solving, moved beyond theory and analysis to practice by developing specific action strategies designed to address the quality of student life and learning. This emphasis on improving the quality of student life and learning has been predicated on the assumption that, if we work together to assure an optimal learning community, improvement in retention will follow.

Ensuring student success begins by promoting student persistence through programs, services, and institutional strategies so that students remain in school, re-enroll, and eventually graduate. As the report states, the goal of simple persistence or retention however, is not enough. The reason students attend college is to realize their personal, intellectual, social, and spiritual aspirations and goals.

Retention experts and educators do not embrace student retention as a primary goal. The more important purposes of higher education are intellectual growth, learning substantive knowledge, developing academic skills, and personal development. If we focus on student success and improving the quality of student life and learning, retention will take care of itself.

After final approval of the action plans, the task force will develop an implementation timeline over the summer. Some of the recommendations can be implemented immediately or in the 1999­2000 academic year; some recommendations require funding approval. The task force will continue to meet to facilitate discussions as well as to assist in implementation and evaluation.

Priority action plans are itemized in the executive summary of the report. Voigt encourages faculty and staff to review the plan which is available on reserve in the Monroe Library. Comments can be sent to her at Box 91 or voigt@loyno.edu.