Address will focus on retention

Student retention and graduation rates at the University of South Dakota will be the topic of choice for Thursday’s State of the University Address.
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The annual speech will deviate from last year’s focus on the university’s $250 million fundraiser to evaluating its stain appeal on students and getting them to a degree on a four to six-year plan, said USD President James Abbott. Abbott will deliver the address in Aalfs Auditorium in Slagle Hall.

“If you have a student whose stated goal is to receive a degree — to be granted a degree — it seems to me that whether or not they are taking one class or five, we need to talk about retaining that student,” Abbott said.

USD’s first-year, full-time student retention rate has landed around 75 percent the past few years, while the university’s four-year graduation rate is just over 25 percent.

Abbott said he would wait until his address to elaborate on what changes needed to be made to increase these percentages, but he wants to encourage a campus-wide discussion on how USD can do a better job supporting students involved in on-campus, distance and “hybrid” learning.

“If (a student) is taking classes on a part-time basis, say with the University Center or here, we need to think about those students, too,” he said.

The influence of Massive Open Online Courses — or MOOCs — will also be apart of his speech, as Abbott said he plans to talk about the state of higher education and how a “blended education,” which would feature in-class and online courses, falls into the picture.

As Abbott takes to the stage Thursday, whether or not many students will be in the audience to hear the university’s priorities is unclear. A graduate of USD, even Abbott admits during his seven years as a student in Vermillion, he never went to one university address.

Sophomore Lennea Clark said she doubted she would attend the address unless Abbott spoke about the physical progress of the campus — specifically with housing.

With the university pushing for 1,500 first-year students on campus by 2017, Clark said she wants to hear the president speak about where USD plans to put a surge of new students.

Junior Emma Vrtiska said she did not think the marketing of the address was targeted to what students care about: the social aspects of USD’s campus.

“Academics are great, but students want to listen to more relatable topics, like how can we get more students involved in groups on campus?” Vrtiska said.

Abbott said he understands that the prospect of getting students to attend the event is low, but he said students think they don’t have control over what happens at USD, but in many ways, they do.

“Changes in higher ed., in great part, will be dependent upon what students are willing to do – what they are willing to accept.”