The need to increase the number of students who retain their studies to graduation arises from the necessity to provide a workforce with the right academic and professional qualifications. Institutions all over the world have come up with programs to entice students to incessantly enroll for their studies every semester until graduation. It is researched that there are several institutions with a retention rate of 70%. However, some institutions’ student population that graduates is only 55% as others have a graduation proportion as low as 25%. Whereas institutions may not focus on retention of the students explicitly, efforts to retain students do have massive effects on graduation rates.
Successful retention and graduation programs entail three critical elements. First, the institution needs to understand individual students by personality and status. Status and personality are significant aspects that drive attempts by institutions to achieve the targets of increased retention and graduation rate. In addition, institutions must develop a process based on detailed data. The data collected over the issue needs to be closely monitored for at least 5 years. This is because the aspects that determine retention rate of students may differ from region to another or with institutions. Finally, there must be a department within an institution that is dedicated towards achieving augmentation in graduation and retention rates of the college students.
Ultimate realization of favorable retention and retention rates involves developing a map of course schedules every semester with critical courses highlighted. A registration hold is placed against any student who does not complete the critical course successfully. This reduces the need to disappoint the student with the news of his inability to graduate when the time for graduation comes. Further, institutions have placed automated contact systems for reaching students in real time and letting them know that their progress is monitored. These contact media include email, Facebook, and Twitter.
Institutions have provided academic advisors to students and created structures that foster accountability and professionalism. In attempts to improve graduation rates of students of non-traditional backgrounds, Northwestern state has introduced new admission policy. In the past, there was an umbrella policy that students who are 25 years and older could not be admitted in the event that a developmental course was required of them. The rule has relaxed to exclude non-traditional students. A college unit called Credit 100 has been introduced in several major colleges and universities. The unit supports the transition of students from high schools to college and university. It has the effect of enhancing student adaptation to the college atmosphere and later improvement of retention and ultimate graduation of students.
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