The importance of retention

[Sarah Fowler]

With the current economy and pending budget cuts, it is more important than ever to focus on student success and retention. This article (given to me by Jack Wollens, Sr.) talks about the millions of dollars that the Gates Foundation is going to be putting towards retention of low-income, community/technical college students.

http://www.communitycollegetimes.com/article.cfm?ArticleId=1317

The Gates Foundation recognizes the high cost of attrition in the CTC system and presents some innovative strategies including financial aid incentive packages, performance based scholarships and strong college/employer partnerships. These components will help transform our system into one that focuses on student success rather than enrollments alone.

As we prepare to cut back on services and leave open positions at BTC, we have to help students get to the tipping point and beyond to graduation. This can be difficult work but it is worth it both for the sake of the students and the financial strength of the college. An inrease in retention will allow us to gain competitive funding opportunities and get more grants as well as stay true to our mission and truly be able to tranform the lives of our students.

If anything positive can be said about our current economic situation, I believe that this shift in energy around student success is one of them. Retaining students can only help the college and hopefully as we weather this budget crisis, we will also develop and sustain some good habits!

[Noreen Light]

I agree that the renewed focus on student retention is a collatoral benefit to this economic downturn. What ideas and practices could be shared across the state to increase the number of students who successfully transition from pre-college (Dev Ed, ABE) to college-level coursework?

[Lesley Ann Wallace]

You use the word “retention” a lot in your post. It is because many community college students do not end up finishing the programs they enter. Certainly the financial incentives mentioned in the article will affect the retention rate. But, retention is also the responsibility of effective teaching, and though this notion is subtly implied in the article, the over all emphasis was on the marginalized students with little really focused on the teaching part of the equation.

If we need more remediation at the community college level, then instructors need more training in remediation best practice and that will take a lot of professional development considering that many community college instructors are subject experts and of course use good teaching practices, but remediation instruction is a whole other ballgame. I hope the incentive funds that colleges’ gain are in part directed to this end of professional growth.

[Vicky Moyle]

When I hear the word "retention," the first thing I think of is a student's ability to retain the material--that is, whether or not he or she can remember concepts and actually use them. So much of education in our country is focused on the right delivery, the right teaching style, and making sure educators make themselves accessible to the students. While that is crucial, I think what is often missed in the current climate is that learning takes effort on the part of the students. We have created situations where students believe it is their right to be entertained, and enticed into education--forgetting that they need to come to the table with a true desire to learn. It seems to me that it's a two-way street.