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Retention Overview

From the Ground Up: Building a Student Success Center
Jewel B. Cherry, Director of Forsyth Technical Community College's Success Center, presents eight keys to achieve purpose-driven success. Delivered at the the Student Engagement and Retention Workshop on June 17, 2008.

Money Matters: Financial Aid Issues Affecting Student Success
Presented by Jo-Ann Craig, Director of Financial Aid, Cape Fear Community College, at the Student Engagement and Retention Workshop on June 17, 2008.

Best Retention Practices (Adobe Acrobat File)
A collection of best practices from colleges within the North Carolina Community College System

An Overview of Student Retention Best Practices in NC Community Colleges (Adobe Acrobat File) A presentation by Charletta Sims, Associate Director of Student Development Services, NCCCS. Handouts accompanying the presentation include Twenty-Nine Best Practices in Retention (Word file), a copy of the 2005-2006 survey questionnaire used to determine which strategies are used in NCCCS institutions and Strengths and Challenges within North Carolina Two-Year Schools (Word file), a brief overview of survey findings.

NCCCS Student Leadership Institute: Notes on Retention (Adobe Acrobat File)
This report was prepared by North Carolina community college students participating in the November 2006 Student Leadership Institute. Students were asked to brainstorm ways of improving retention at North Carolina community colleges.

Re-recruiting Program
A Best Practice from Southeastern Community College, this program is based on the assumption that it is more efficient to re-recruit a current student than it is to try to attract a new one.

Best Practice Highlights
Published by the organization that conducts the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), these short monographs focus on exemplary practices in student retention at community colleges around the country. (Central Piedmont is highlighted in Vol. 2, Issue 2.)

Retaining Students in Classes: Putting Theory into Everyday Practice (Adobe Acrobat File)
This monograph by Laura Saret, Professor, Computer Information Systems, Oakton Community College (IL), begins with an overview of retention theory called "Why Students Do Not Persist in Community College Courses."

Student Retention and Graduation: Facing the Truth, Living with the Consequences (Adobe Acrobat File)
In this report funded by The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, Vincent Tinto (Distinguished University Professor and Chair, Higher Education Program, Syracuse University) provides statistics and analysis on who goes to college, who graduates from college, retention of low-income students and the c onsequences of non-completion. Tinto then recommends strategies that colleges and the federal government could implement to encourage retention.

Starting a Retention Program
This brief article from the Center for the Study of College Student Retention outlines the key questions one must ask before implementation can take place successfully.

Implementing a Retention Program
As a follow-up to the previous article, the Center for the Study of College Student Retention suggests measures for putting the retention plan into effect.

Community College Inventory: Focusing on Student Persistence, Learning and Attainment (Adobe Acrobat File)
This inventory, developed by Kay M. McClenney and Byron N. McClenney, provides descriptions of eleven characteristics of colleges that are strongly focused on student success. Related to each characteristic is a set of indicators that more fully describe observable institutional practices. The inventory as a tool for prompting institutional review, reflection, discussion and improvement.

A Bibliography of Recent Research and Practice on Student Retention (Adobe Acrobat File)
A list of several hundred journal article, reports and presentations organized by topic, such as First-Year Students, Government Research, Institutional Research, International Research, Special Populations, Adult & Distance Learning, and Two-Year Institutions.

Best and Emerging Practices in Developmental Education and Learning Assistance: An Annotated Bibliography (Adobe Acrobat File)
David Arendale, Assistant professor and faculty advisor for outreach, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, has identified publications and resources that can serve as guidelines for developing policies and procedures for improving student outcomes.