Achieving a 100% Completion Rate for College Student Assessment at the University of Charleston

Seated in beautiful Charleston, West Virginia, the University of Charleston (UC) boasts “a unique opportunity for those who want an exceptional education in a smaller, private setting.” UC provides a unique student experience focused on retention and student success even before students arrive on campus.

Students are offered an opportunity to complete the College Student Inventory (CSI) online through a pre-orientation module. This initiative is reinforced through the student’s Success and Motivation first-year course. University instructors serve as mentors, utilizing the CSI results to capitalize on insights related to each individual student’s strengths and opportunities for success through individual review meetings and strategic support and skill building structured within this course.

After achieving a 7% increase in retention, Director of Student Success and First-Year Programs Debbie Bannister says administering the CSI each year is non-negotiable. Additionally, the campus has refocused on retention, emphasizing, “Everyone has to realize that they are part of retention, and they’re part of keeping every single student on our campus.”

UC has reinstated a Retention Committee that utilizes summary information from the CSI to understand the needs of its students. Of particular concern, UC notes that the transfer portal has created additional challenges with upperclassmen, so including a representative from the athletic department on the retention committee has been crucial.

Through this focus on retention and strong implementation strategy, UC achieves a 100% completion rate for the CSI for their first-year student cohort. Building off the scaffolding support from early support meetings related to the CSI insights, first-year instructors are able to refer back to reinforce articulated support strategies and goals throughout the first-year experience. The structure and progression through this course reiterates college preparation skills and resources building motivation and a growth mindset to persist through college.

Increase student success through early intervention

Join institutions such as the University of Charleston by using the College Student Inventory with your incoming students. More than 1,400 institutions have used the CSI, and it’s been taken by more than 2.6 million students nationwide. Learn more about how you can use it to intervene earlier with students and increase student yield.