Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 40

A Few Good Reads
About Student
Retention and the
Student Experience
· ACT, “What Works in Student
Retention? Fourth National
Survey, Public Four-Year Colleges
and Universities Report” (2010).
http://www.act.org/research/
policymakers/reports/retain.html.
· Edward Anderson and William
McGuire, “Key Concepts and
Principles Regarding College
Student Persistence” in 2003/2004
Workshop: Best Practices in
Recruitment and Retention (2003).
· Betsy O. Barefoot, “The First-Year
Experience – Are We Making It Any
Better?” About Campus (January/
February 2000).
· Beloit College, “The Mindset List”
(2011). http://www.beloit.edu/
mindset/2011/.
· Gregory Blimling, The Resident
Assistant: Applications and
Strategies for Working with College
Students in Residence Halls (2010).
· David Glenn, “6-Year Graduation
Rates: A 6-Minute Primer,” The
Chronicle of Higher Education
(December 6, 2010).
· Neil Howe and William Strauss,
Millennials Go to College (2003).
· George D. Kuh, Student
Engagement in the First Year of
College (2005).
· Lee Noel, Randi Levitz, and Diana
Saluri, Increasing Student Retention
(1985).
· Lynn O’Shaughnessy, “Who
Graduates in 4 Years?” The College
Solution (January 31, 2011). http://
www.thecollegesolution.com/whograduates-in-4-years/.
· Carolyn Palmer, Ellen Broido, and
Jo Campbell, “A Commentary on
‘The Educational Role in College
Student Housing,’” The Journal
of College and University Student
Housing (October/November
2008).
· Vincent Tinto, Rethinking the First
Year of College (2001).
· M. Lee Upcraft, “Insights from
Theory: Understanding First-Year
Student Development,” First-Year
Academic Advising (1995).
40

Talking STick

but also those specifically utilized by
housing and residence life, such as the
creation of residential living-learning
communities. In his book about the
strategies that resident assistants can
use to work with students, Gregory
Blimling emphasizes the importance
of the residential environment in
contributing to student success;
students gain knowledge in the
classroom, but they gain life-changing
experiences out of the classroom
– and residence life and housing
have an important role in providing
opportunities for these experiences.
In an article about how to
improve the first-year experience,
Betsy Barefoot identifies a common
theme in the reports about effective
programs: more faculty-student
or student-student contact in oneon-one or small-group settings.
These experiences not only provide
opportunities to learn outside of the
classroom but also help to create the
social bonds that are so critical in that
first year. In his book about first-year
academic advising, M. Lee Upcraft
emphasizes that students who feel
like they belong are more likely to be
successful. “Students need to feel they
matter and are appreciated. College
personnel must realize that students
need support from peers, faculty, staff,
and family if they are to succeed.”
The research is clear – the reason
that most students leave college is
not academic;-it is personal. Higher
education institutions must continue
to focus most of their retention efforts
not on improving the academic
environment but rather looking at all
the factors outside the classroom that
are important to student success: social
activities, support services, and the
residential experience.

Identify At-Risk
Students
MAP-Works is a survey tool that can
be used early in the term to identify
students most at risk of dropping out

of college, and residence hall staff can
be trained to use the tool to identify
students having problems making
peer connections, feeling homesick,
experiencing roommate problems, or
having trouble with anything that might
hinder their social integration. Students
can participate in the survey in the
fifth week of their first term, and the
results provide both the student and key
support staff immediate feedback on
their risk levels in multiple indicators
of student success. This allows quick
intervention so that staff can direct
these students to the appropriate
support services.
In addition to gaining insight into
themselves and feeling immediately
supported by staff, students also learn
how to reach out for help and to utilize
campus support services. Staff can
use the MAP-Works data not only to
immediately identify at-risk students
but also as a means of assessment.

Include Faculty in
Retention Efforts
Faculty can play an important role
in student retention by offering
opportunities for learning and
connection both inside and outside
the classroom. They are in a unique
position to help motivate students
to learn by creating an environment
where they feel they can succeed, and
students who feel supported by faculty
are more likely to take an interest in the
course and to put in stronger efforts
to do better academically. Even those
who are already academically strong
benefit from opportunities to connect
with a faculty member who expresses
interest in them and to engage with
other students in small-group projects
or workshops.
Faculty can also act as an important
connection between students and
campus support services like writing
labs, the disabilities office, or health
and psychological services. Some
students have difficulty asking for help,
building new relationships, finding
http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/reports/retain.html http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/reports/retain.html http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2011/ http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2011/ http://www.thecollegesolution.com/who-graduates-in-4-years/ http://www.thecollegesolution.com/who-graduates-in-4-years/ http://www.thecollegesolution.com/who-graduates-in-4-years/
Talking Stick - March/April 2013

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