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Topics

Article Type

Professional Proficiency

Article Abstract

Related Issue:

Persistence to graduation begins with engaging the incoming class even before they have made a deposit. Saint Joseph’s University developed a framework for combatting the admissions summer melt following a summer where 20% of the deposits were withdrawn. By employing tactics to monitor student engagement throughout the summer and connecting with students during the fall semester, the summer melt now averages 8% and retention to the second semester averages 96.5%. Spending time verifying the cohort of first-time full-time students and assisting students facing obstacles has greatly improved the student experience and retention. Tactics including University Connectors, a New Student Portal, pre-enrollment surveys, and a 5th week check-in are described.

Author(s)

Kimberly Allen-Stuck, Ph.D., M.S.Ed., B.A., has served as the director of Student Success & First Year Experience at Saint Joseph’s University since 2007. During that time the first-year to sophomore retention rate has gone from 85.5% to 89%. The success of improving the retention rate can be attributed to support programs for low achieving students, targeted outreach to students who may withdraw, and institutional changes that resulted from the exit interview feedback. Prior to serving in this role, Kim served as the assistant to the vice president for Student Life coordinating assessment for the division. She has worked at SJU and the University of Pennsylvania in both student life and academic affairs. Kim has both her master’s and Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. She has a B.A. in sociology from Shippensburg University. Please send correspondence to kallen@sju.edu.

Daniel McDevitt has worked in the Office of Student Success & First Year Experience at Saint Joseph’s University since 2011 and serves as the Associate Director. In addition to this role, Dan also serves as an adjunct professor in the Haub School of Business at SJU. Prior to working in Student Retention, Dan worked as the Assistant Director of Academic Advising and as a Professional Tutor. Dan has a Master’s degree and will be starting in the Interdisciplinary Doctor of Education Program for Educational Leaders at Saint Joseph’s University in fall 2014.

References

Castleman, B.L., K. Arnold, and K.L. Wartman. 2012. Stemming the tide of summer melt: An experimental study of the effects of post high school summer intervention on low-income students’ college enrollment. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness. 5(1): 1–17.

Castleman, B.L., and L. Page. 2013. Can text messages mitigate summer melt? New England Journal of Higher Education. May.

Hoover, E. 2009. In an uncertain summer, college try to control enrollment ‘melt.’ The Chronicle of Higher Education. July 20.

Hoover, E., and B. Supiano. 2009. This year, colleges recruited in a ‘hall of mirrors.’ The Chronicle of Higher Education. May 29.

Schultheis, L.D. 2013. Strategic university partnerships for enrollment management. Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly. 1(3).

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