Increasing second-year student retention by intervening toward the end of the first year

(Co-written with Brandon Trissler of Noel-Levitz)

With spring upon us, and in an effort to strengthen student retention initiatives, campus colleagues are orchestrating manageable strategies for the freshman class yet this term and into the summer, to strengthen the “staying power” of their first-year students for stronger retention and graduation rates. Do you find yourself in a comparable position?

If so, have you bridged your attention to those students who are struggling academically, or who show signs of needing further social or personal support? Are you reaching out to those students who are experiencing financial complications for various reasons?

Indeed, with the high stakes of accountability for persistence, progression, and retention, it makes good sense (both educationally and organizationally) to give extra attention to first-year students as this important year draws to a close.

Are you safeguarding your connections with this freshman class through extra service before the summer break?

While there has been a much-needed recognition of the importance of intervening with college students in their second year, some colleagues have taken a more proactive stance; namely, they secure foundations for second-year student success through extra attention toward the end of the first year, lest the summer months weaken students’ resolve to return in the fall. For some students, especially those with challenges academically or otherwise, this could make the difference of re-enrollment, dropping out, or transferring.

Just as intervening early in the first term can put students on the path to success, comparably intervening at the end of the first year creates a bridge to return in the second year.

For example, in the last month, some campus colleagues have set the stage to administer the Second-Year Student Assessment™ to freshman students on probation or with unsatisfactory mid-term grades at this very time. Still others have administered this assessment to second-year students and transfer students who had not previously completed the assessment, allowing them to not only connect these students to resources that may help them persist, but to re-engage them at a very critical moment in their academic careers.

In this competitive marketplace, not a day goes by without a headline reminding us of high stakes of accountability. We can’t risk losing students in the upcoming months as they pause to reconsider their original decision to enroll in your institution and begin to explore alternatives.

How are you identifying current needs and interests of your first-year students as the term draws to a close? What initiatives do you have in place right now to strengthen the holding power of your first-year students before they leave for the summer break? Let’s share strategies for assessment and intervention, as you help even more students achieve their academic, personal, and career goals.

Please e-mail me or continue the dialog on Twitter at @BethRichterNL. We will also feature two case studies of strategies in second-year student assessment and intervention by Robert Morris University (PA) and Missouri Western State University (MO) at a free Webinar on June 18. I hope you can join us.