CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Board of Trustees February 20, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Retention Overview
Retention is a campus-wide ethical and economic imperative, supporting both student completion goals and institutional sustainability. A successful retention initiative is a critical component of the value proposition of Central Washington University. Over the past two quarters, Academic and Student Life has partnered with Enrollment Management and consulted across divisions to meet retention objectives presented to the Board of Trustees in the fall of 2019. These include: 1. Establishment of the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE): The goal of the CTE, located in Samuelson Hall, is to support the faculty in developing/refining modes of teaching that lead to transformational student learning. Research identifies active, interactive, highly participatory, highly engaged activities as best practices for fostering deep and lasting learning. 2. Establishment of the Transfer Center: Located in Bouillon 210, the new Transfer Center will serve as the focal point of outreach to sending institutions for both recruitment and alignment of curricula for the 42 percent of undergraduates who are transfer students. Students will receive tailored mentoring to ensure their integration into student and academic life. 3. Learning Within the Standard, Credit-bearing Curriculum for All Students: With the active support and leadership of the Dept. of English, “Stretch English” will launch in fall 2020. The Stretch concept, which has been nationally tested and endorsed, introduces students who need supplemental assistance in first-year composition and rhetoric to the standard English 101 curriculum, allocating them two quarters of credit and of time-on-task to complete the material. Selected faculty in mathematics, including the department chair, will attend a national conference in May to explore folding supplemental math support into the department’s standard curriculum and to learn more about current trends in mathematics in higher education. Additionally, all fees currently charged to students testing into developmental courses have been eliminated. 4. Year-long New Faculty Orientation: In fall 2019, Associate Provost Gail Mackin began leading new tenure-line faculty in a year-long introduction to What the Best College Teachers Do. This text is a treasure trove of ideas on engaged teaching and learning (and student mentoring) drawn from professors across the country identified as highly successful. Currently in its second quarter, the program has now been opened to all faculty. The program includes traditional orientation activities, such as requirements for scholarship and service and tips on life in Ellensburg and the region. 5. CWU 184, First Year Experience : This program was launched in fall 2019 and seems to be doing well. This year we will offer 130 sections taught by faculty from 43 different disciplines. All sections share common student learning goals. Enrollment is capped at 20 students. Beginning in the spring quarter of 2020, 184 will pilot a peer-mentoring program. Successful 184 completers, Douglas Honors College students, and graduate students are among the groups under consideration as peer mentors.
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