College of Liberal Arts
Report on Advising and
Retention
February 20, 2013
Where does CLA stand now on advising, retention, and graduation?
BAS BHS BUS ED LA MC UC MTSU0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%% of students answering "good" or "excellent"
Advising2011-2012 Graduating Senior Survey Results
Q 65. Academic advising by faculty advisorQ 66. Academic advising by college academic advisorQ 68. Availability of faculty advisor
Q 69. Availability of college academic advisorQ 70. Willingness of faculty advisor to helpQ 71. Willingness of college academic advisor to help
Freshmen Retention, 2006-2012
06-07 Freshman
07-08 Freshman
08-09 Freshman
09-10 Freshman
10-11 Freshman
11-12 Freshman
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
MTSUCLA
Junior Retention/Persistence2008 Cohort
08-09 Junior 08-10 Junior 08-11 Junior50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
MTSUCLA
Junior Retention/Persistence2009 Cohort
09-10 Junior 09-11 Junior 09-12 Junior50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
MTSUCLA
Junior Retention/Persistence2010 Cohort
10-11 Junior 10-12 Junior50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
MTSUCLA
Focus onRetention and Graduation
Rates
Our retention efforts fall into four categories.
1. Advising2. Curriculum3. Teaching4. Community
Building
AdvisingWhat We’re Doing
Faculty Advisors
College Advisors (2)
Graduation Coach
Graduation Analyst
Departmental Advising Open advising times Increase faculty office hours during
peak advising season Post online academic maps, forms,
and other advising materials Publish student handbooks Nominate faculty for the college-
wide Outstanding Advisor Award
College Advisors Meet with probationary students 2-3
times per semester Monitor assignment of students to
faculty advisors Contact purged and un-registered
students Hold training sessions for faculty
advisors Offer online tool 24-7 to schedule
appointments
College Graduation Coach
(approved last year)
Meets all CLA majors when they’ve earned 75 to 90 hours of credit
Ensures students complete and submit upper division forms and works with them to identify the most efficient path to graduation
Monitors their progress and helps them overcome any roadblocks to graduation
College Graduation Analyst
Checks students’ progress toward degrees at beginning of the semester they are scheduled to graduate
Meets with students to discuss the results of the checks and to discuss final requirements (testing, graduation instructions)
Works with students to try to resolve any deficiencies
Ideas for AdvisingImprovement
Hold regular department-based advisor workshops
Implement holds on students’ registrations to ensure advising at critical points
Increase advising regarding graduate school options and career paths
Do some advising in the classroom in certain key courses in the major
CurriculumWhat We’re Doing
Regularly assess curriculum and make adjustments as needed
Avoid curricular “bottlenecks”
Urge student participation in Study Abroad, EXL, internships, and other experiential activities
Make reasonable course substitutions
In AY 2011-2012, CLA majors accounted for…
nearly 50% of all students who studied abroad
5.2% of CLA majors studied abroad, compared to 1.7% of the overall student body
41% of students who won URECA grants
37% of all students completing Honors theses
Selected Co-curricular Activities
Ideas for CurriculumImprovement
Consider strategic new degrees (e.g., B.A. in Art, B.A. in Music, concentration in Religious Studies, MALA)
Offer more “major only” course sections and/or capstone courses
Explore additional alternative course scheduling (e.g., more online/hybrid, accelerated)
TeachingWhat We’re Doing
Offer relatively small classes
Students and peers regularly evaluate faculty teaching
Departmental mentoring keeps faculty advisors up-to-date
Faculty participate in LT&ITC teaching workshops
Ideas for TeachingImprovement
Increase internship and other experiential offerings
Increase interdisciplinary efforts (e.g., Raider Learning Communities, team teaching)
Require attendance at special events
Community BuildingWhat We’re Doing
Joint faculty-student research
Student clubs and organizations, including honor societies and music ensembles
Intercollegiate competitions (e.g., Debate, Mock Trial, Model UN, Theatre)
Departmental newsletters
Ideas for Further Community Building
Increase use of social media for faculty-student communication and student-student communication
Host social events where students and faculty mingle
Offer field trips and other out-of-class activities
Hold a college Alumni Day (March 21)
Proposals Requiring Additional Resources
Assess Academic Advising
Implement systematic assessment of advising, preferably university-wide.
Supplemental Instruction
Several departments are interested in offering or expanding tutoring services, especially to students in key courses.
Estimated cost: $45,000 per year.
Mentoring Programs
CLA is launching a pilot program to consider possibilities, which include faculty-to-faculty, faculty-to-student, and student peer mentoring/advising.
Cost to be determined after completion of pilot.
Informal Gathering Space
CLA is housed largely in older buildings that were not designed with informal gathering spaces in mind.
Departmental Discretionary Money for Retention Activities
Current operating budgets make it difficult to host events or activities that foster student engagement with faculty and peers.
Estimated cost: $5,000 to $10,000 per year.
The End
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