Recently I have been spending important time meeting with academic directors, collegiate faculty, and adjuncts, getting to know more about their roles, what they are most proud of, what their challenges are, and how I can support them as the dean. I continue to be awed by the very talented and committed individuals who educate our students.
One of the topics that inevitably comes up in these conversations relates to retention. Faculty are concerned about this since it is disheartening for them to feel that they might have failed a student.
We need to turn this topic around and focus less on retention (which implies “after the fact”) and more on student success. Our students have busy work and personal lives outside of the University, and they may not have been in a college classroom for many years. They are used to writing short emails, not lengthy research papers, and they don’t necessarily see how algebra relates to the real world they live in. Most take much longer than the traditional four years to graduate. Under these conditions, the transition to enrolling in University classes can cause even the most motivated students to stumble. How can we help our students succeed once they have made the decision to return to school?
Many of you have shared stories about your work to help and support individual students who were struggling in your courses. That is a hallmark of UMUC instructors—you care enough to support your students and show them the path to success. But we can’t look at student success as the responsibility of the instructor only. Some students come to the University with a gap in their skills. Others become lost in the bureaucracy when they have a nonacademic problem. Truly, it takes the entire University to help students succeed.
I’m happy to report that the University is gearing up more efforts that focus on student success. As we prepare for the fall semester, each unit will identify ways to reach out to students at key points to support their progress toward the degree. I invite feedback and ideas on how UMUC can assist students to succeed. Let’s define success broadly—as any or all of the following: completing a course; enrolling in courses on a continuous basis; graduating with the degree; the ability to demonstrate knowledge gained or skills obtained.
I know you all have good ideas; I’d really like to hear them. If you discuss this topic in your 999s, your directors can summarize your ideas, and we will use your ideas as part of the SUS student success plan.
--Marie
