Retention rates expected to rise

The University of South Dakota expects retention rates among first-time and full-time students to continue rising in the coming years, Kurt Hackemer, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs, said.

The university’s Institutional Research has reported a steady rise in retention rates for first-year full-time students from 2002-2012. Fall 2003 had a reported 68.06 percent first-year retention while 2012 had 76.49 percent reported retention.

The current overall retention rate at USD is 83 percent, and this spring’s retention rate from the fall semester to spring semester was 91 percent, a number comparable to years before.

Hackemer said much of the credit can be given to more centralized Academic Commons, a smoother advising process and academic probation charting.

“The biggest thing is more intentional student contact — making sure there’s good information and assistance out there for students,” Hackemer said. “We’re trying to make sure that students not only know the value of what they’re doing here, but if a student runs into any trouble, they know they have resources.”

USD has centralized its academic services in recent years and plans to add more services to the central location at the Muenster University Center and I.D. Weeks Library in years to come, which will contribute to continued rising retention rates, Hackemer said.

With plans to bring the math emporium, the testing center and other services to the library’s Academic Commons through an expansion, Steve Ward, director of USD’s Academic and Career Services said since the MUC was built with a connection to the library, he has seen a large increase in student traffic.

Ward said he doesn’t have specific data, but using the eye test, he believes more students use the library and its academic services because of location in relation to the MUC.

“It just makes sense,” he said. “If it’s easier for a student to get to a place, they’re more likely to go there. It makes sense if they only have to walk 30 seconds from where they’re eating.”

Hackemer and Ward  said consolidating the advising and career service offices into one branch is also contributing to retention at USD.

“That gives a distinct advantage to students because advisers are talking to students about what classes to take and also asking questions about what kind of experiences they are going to pursue,” Ward said.

Don Fibich, a sophomore business major who transferred after his first year from Nebraska-Lincoln said the advising at USD is smooth and easy.

“You sign up for a time on your own time online,” Fibich said. “Then you just go in and you’re ready to go.”

The South Dakota Board of Regents also implemented  Starfish in 2012, which Hackemer said is boosting retention rates, specifically for first-year students. Starfish is an early alert system that notifies students of academic issues, such as poor attendance or low grades.

First-year Ryan Hepper was early-alerted his first semester and said the alert helped him from slipping academically.

“A lot of students don’t like the system because it forces you to do things like go to class when it’s Friday at 8 a.m.,” Hepper said. “That’s a struggle for some, but for me, the alerts helped me make sure I wasn’t wasting my money my first semester.”

Fibich also said he was alerted in the fall 2013 semester. He doesn’t like the mandatory attendance policy some professors use, but he decided this spring semester to take more online courses instead.

“I can teach myself better most times,” Fibich said. “I like reading in the book myself because waking up to go to a 50 minute lecture would a lot of times feel pointless.”

Hackemer said USD has the resources to help its students, and retention is growing to be less and less of a problem in the future.

“You have to be almost deliberate now to avoid running into all these resources,” Hackemer said.

Photo: Sophomore Carly Holmstrom and her family shop for University of South Dakota apparel at Barnes & Noble College Booksellers April 15 in the Muenster University Center. (Rebecca Kroeger/The Volante)