Leading Retention, Persistence, and Completion

 

Leading Retention, Persistence, and Completion

Student success is a primary focus of our University and reflects our core commitment: We expect every student who comes to our campuses to graduate in a timely manner. Improvement of student retention, persistence, and completion of degrees also allows us to fully realize the return on our increasingly significant pre-enrollment investment in recruitment and yield efforts.

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Basic Needs

  • Served over 400 students, with an average of five visits each, during fall semester through the Cats’ Cupboard food pantry.
  • Pivoted to by-appointment food pantry pick-up with pre-ordered items, feeding over 140 total students; 75 of which used the pantry on a regular basis. Students received an average of 50 lbs. of food every two weeks.
  • Transitioned all mental health services to Telehealth virtual correspondence with student clients promptly following coronavirus changes to campus life.
  • Tracked more than 100 additional survivors of sexual assault interactions compared to the previous year, serving the highest number of new and unique clients of any semester since established in 2016.
  • Initiated a swipe donation program for students to give from their bank of on-campus meals to food insecure students.
  • Donated campus dining food to the campus food pantry regularly.
  • Expanded recreation referral partnership programs to include Campus Care and the Psychological and Social Work Clinic in addition to Counseling and Psychological Services. This referral program is intended to provide additional student support and resources aimed to increase campus involvement and relieve stress through physical activity.
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Targeted Programs

  • Tracked 90.6% retention and 62.3% graduation rates for student participating in the Margaret Boyd Scholars Program, compared to OHIO averages of 79-81% and 48-51%, respectively. 
  • Tracked 95% customer satisfaction ratings for dining atmosphere, 93% for customer service, and for 85% quality of food.
  • Engaged under-represented student populations in Welcome Week activities specifically planned for them to make early and unique connections to OHIO.
  • Executed a variety of high-impact programs for on-campus residents targeting the first seven weeks of classes in support of retention efforts.
  • Adapted recreation programs to incorporate elements of well-being into group fitness, competitive sports, club sports, outdoor pursuits, student employee development and department new hires.
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Employment Experience

  • Employed over 3,000 students during the 2019-20 academic year.
  • Enforced conference and events employee GPA checks and supervisor discussions when was a drastic change in GPA.
  • Created a student employee advisory committee made up of recreation employees to collaborate and advocate for change to enhance employment experience.
  • Hosted a leadership summit for recreation student employee leaders that focused on Diversity and Inclusion.
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Academic Success

  • Reached out to each on-campus student individually over the course of the first four weeks of the semester to assist with concerns that could impact their retention.
  • Tracked GPA data from 22 residence halls with an average GPA of 3.0 or higher during the fall 2019 semester. 62% of all residence hall students achieved a 3.0 or higher during the fall 2019.
  • Successfully executed the Fall 2019 Commencement ceremony, celebrating the graduation of over 900 Graduate and Undergraduate students. 
  • Contributed a total of $8.12 million from housing and dining revenue toward scholarship funds for current students.