William Serrata, president of El Paso Community College and Christine Kerlin, former Everett Community College Vice President for Strategic Planning and current AACRAO Senior Consultant, hosted a roundtable discussion at the AACRAO SEM Conference on Retention, Completion and Student Success.
Audience members had the opportunity to voice concerns and ask questions about issues they face on their campus relating to student success and retention. Many attendees discussed the growing implementation of guided pathways on campuses and the importance of effective advising. Other discussions centered on the challenges practitioners face in gaining support for retention (in addition to recruitment) in terms of budget and resources.
Serrata and Kerlin recommended analyzing and presenting data differently to gain a fuller picture, and making a case with that information.
“There’s a lot of data that goes into the ‘why’ and ‘how’,” Kerlin said.
Other tips raised for making positive changes in student success included:
- Implement proactive advising
- Find a champion on the board of trustees
- Look within the organizational structure and identify a person who can bring retention efforts together to meet a goal
- Empower front-line staff to engage in student success initiatives
- Combine technical and logistical advising with faculty mentor advising
- Consider students’ completion goals at the front end of the higher education continuum