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Show MyWeberMedia.com | April 18, 2019 11 80% 90 % 80 % 100% 80% 64% 77% 72% 70 % 73% 70% 74% 68% 60% 60% 65% 62% 55% 50% 38% 35% 40% 30% 40 % 71% 70% 49% 60 % 50 % FALL TO FALL RETENTION 20% 30 % 18% 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 20 % 10 % Above: PEDS fall-to-fall retention rate at Weber State University from 2007 to 2017 0% Left: Freshmen graduated in 6 years in 2017 at different Utah universities according to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Weber State University Utah State University Brigham Young University University of University Utah Valley University Dixie State University Southern Utah University ing to Weber’s Office of Academic Affairs, individuals under the extra burden of financial and familial obligations can often become discouraged in their studies, instead choosing to prioritize more urgent matters, like putting food on the table. “Students who come to us who are on a little less secure footing may find that they are more challenged, and it may be more difficult for them to stay in school,” Provost Madonne Miner said. This contributes to lower retention and graduation rates at universities like Weber with a higher number of first-generation, low-income students. “We are looking at, in part, for some students, a real culture clash in coming to college,” Associate Provost for Academic Programs and Assessment Eric Amsel said. Another major component in this relationship is the greater need for student remediation found in open-enrollment schools. Individuals like Huerta who come in as first-generation students often aren’t equipped with the necessary resources to succeed in college. “We’re just not really prepared. I think that’s what really disheartened me my first time coming,” Huerta said. “I was in a program made for first-generation college students, and they tried to prep me as best as they could, but when I came in and tried to take the test to see where I was going to be placed, I still needed remediation.” One of the academic areas at WSU often seeing the most students in developmental courses is mathematics. Kristi Sheffield — a 58-year-old criminal justice major — has been a student at WSU for the better part of eight years, with the majority of her time spent in preparatory math courses. After a falling-out with the head of the developmental math department, she enrolled in the Math 0990 course for a total of six times before she was able to advance on to 1010. During that time, she took a two-year hiatus from college after a hold was placed on her registration for failing the class too many times. “My experience here at Weber has been anything short of warm and fuzzy,” Sheffield said. “But I’m not a quitter. I’ve got a lot of money and time invested here. I started here, and I want to finish here.” Tyler Hall, another student with a prolonged college education, spent two years in remediation before he was able to earn credit to satisfy his general math requirement. “Once you clear that math hurdle, that is a good day,” Hall said. “The day I passed math I realized I can actually graduate now if I finish all this other stuff.” WSU officials have been working to solve the dilemma of student remediation — particularly in mathematics — for several years. After implementing the Real-world Explorations Active Learning Pre Algebra course in 2014, which provides a learning environment similar to the Pathway course for Math 950 students, the department saw a 6 percent increase in passing rates, according to the Utah System of Higher Education. With a heightened focus on improving student retention, Miner and her team in Academic Affairs are also looking to create programs that help students feel supported on campus. “It’s hard to feel a sense of belonging if you’re being told that you don’t belong in college,” Amsel said. “We are experimenting with all kinds of ways of supporting students in college-level classes without remediation.” One of the most notable potential solutions is Starfish. Embedded within student accounts on Canvas, officials believe Starfish will decrease the number of students falling through the cracks by using a series of notifications to alert faculty and advisors when a student is excessively absent or not performing well. The school is also encouraging professors and academic advisors to pay more attention to students who are struggling. Rather than only including those who show up to class, Miner stressed that it is equally as important to make sure the students who are floundering feel just as involved. “We are pushing our retention advisors to be more hands-on, just as Starfish is hands-on and touching students more frequently,” Miner said. “Having that human power really matters.” Despite the effort being made to increase student retention and graduation rates at Weber State, Miner and her team are not worried about the effects these numbers may have on state funding. “The Legislature pays attention to what our retention rates are, but they also recognize that each of the eight USHE institutions has a different mission,” Miner said. “We’re not Utah State University. We’re not University of Utah. We’re Weber State, and we’re doing pretty well.” Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com |