Augusta State University
2006-07 Annual Report of Institutional Progress

The vision of Augusta State University is to be “recognized as an outstanding comprehensive university focused on student learning and the educational needs of its community and state.”  This new vision was adopted by the university, following a year of conversation with faculty, staff, and students.  In summer action of the President’s Advisory Council, a broad-based group composed of key faculty committees, student government leaders, the staff council, and the head of every university department, office and service, the new vision statement, a set of basic responsibilities, and key performance measures were proposed to lead the university in a new cycle of planning.  The basic responsibilities of Augusta State University are to:

• Operate responsibly under the governance of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and comply with all requirements for accreditation by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
  
• Establish reasonable standards of admission for all academic programs in accordance with the university mission and University System of Georgia policies for comprehensive universities.
  
• Offer access through University College to local students who meet USG standards for admission to two-year institutions.
  
• Continually assess programs, services, and expected student-learning outcomes.
  
• Seek external funding to increase resources and enhance quality.
  It was determined that the following Key Performance Measures will be used to gauge the university’s success toward meeting its basic requirements and goals.
  
• Student credit hours overall and the percentage earned above the sophomore level.
  
• External funding from private donors, sponsored grants, and other sources.
  
• Audit ratings.
  
• Success rates of students who are admitted to University College.
  
• General retention and graduation rates.
  
• Student performance on the Regents’ Examination and required licensure examinations.

The goals were not revised in 2006-07; however, a new process was implemented whereby goals will be revisited by University Council, a body comprised of the president, vice presidents, college deans and faculty, student government officers, chairs of the Faculty Policies and Academic Policies Committees, faculty secretary, staff council president, and director of the library. On matters of general planning and direction, the president will continue to consult with the President’s Advisory Council, a larger, campus-wide body.

The annual planning process is based on individual units incorporating the university’s statements of vision, mission, responsibilities, goals, and performance measures. Each academic and administrative unit clearly defines its goals and chooses the assessment methods that measure its success toward the goals. Through analyzing and evaluating academic programs, academic support units, and administrative services, the university can focus attention on the extent to which its goals—and those of the University System—are being met. 

Katherine Reese Pamplin College of Arts and Sciences

The cycle of planning in the Pamplin College allows units to identify student learning outcomes specific to their programs. Internal and external assessments of student learning have been used, such as direct measurement within the curriculum, surveys of graduates, alumni, and employers, pretest and posttest comparisons, performances on mandated licensure examination, portfolios and senior projects, and performance on the Regents’ Exam.

A recent USG report shows ASU students outperformed their peers at other state universities on the Regents’ Exam, with the exception of Georgia College and State University, which is a selective admissions institution. The first-time pass rates on the reading and essay portions in 2006 were 95.29 percent and 95.29 percent, respectively, for a cumulative total of 92.69 percent. Augusta State also surpassed Georgia State University, one of the state's three research institutions.

These latest rates are a continuation of our students’ impressive success on this assessment. Among students taking the Regents Exam for the first time across all 13 state universities, ASU students had, with the exception of Georgia College and State University, the highest passing rates on both the Regents essay test and the Regents critical reading test for three of the four years from 1999-2004.

Among sophomore students reaching 45 credit hours, the passing rates for ASU students on both the essay and reading tests:

• were higher, for the years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, than any of the other 12 state universities except Georgia College and State University;
• were higher, for the years 2000-2001 and 2002-2003, than all but two of these state universities; and
  
• were higher, for the year 2001-2002, than all but three of the other 12 state universities in the University System.

Broken down by demographic groups—still drawing from the data for sophomore students reaching 45 credit hours:

• Among students identifying themselves as African-American, ASU students had the highest passing rate among the 13 state universities for the years 2002-2003 and 2004-2005, and the 2nd highest for 2003-2004.
• Among students identifying themselves as multiracial, ASU students had the highest pass rate among all state universities reporting data for this demographic group for 2003-2004 and 2004-2005.
• Among students identifying themselves as Hispanic, ASU students had the highest passing rate among the state universities for the years 2002-2003 and 2003-2004.
• Among students of Asian or Pacific Island origin, ASU students had the highest passing rate among state universities for the years 2002-2003, 2003-2004, and 2004-2005.
• Among students identifying themselves as white, ASU students had the highest passing rate among the 13 state universities in 2004-2005, the 2nd highest (to GCSU) in 2000-2001 and 2003-2004, and the 3rd highest in 2001-2002.

Performance on the professional licensing examination is an assessment measure for students in the nursing program, and ASU students did exceptionally well in 2006-07. Sixty-four nursing students took the NCLEX; 58 were successful on the first try, and the NCLEX first time pass rate for 2006 was 91 percent.

Pamplin College units have developed, submitted for review, and put into place plans for at-risk students. For instance, the Department of Biology teamed up with the Career Center and the Counseling Center to work with biology majors who have grade point averages lower than 2.0. This program termed Improving Success in Students or ISIS was designed to provide these students with techniques to study effectively.

Pamplin College units also identified and implemented organizational changes to more closely align units with both their students’ and curricular needs. Two departments were separated and each newly created department restructured many of its courses and tracks: the Department of Fine Arts became the Department of Art and the Department of Music. The Department of English, Languages, and Communications became the Department of Communications and Professional Writing and the Department of English and Foreign Languages.

The university goal of making ASU education as seamless as possible with K-12 and other colleges resulted in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and the Hull College of Business Office of Undergraduate Advising instituting a procedure to facilitate the evaluation of transfer students’ transcripts so statistics courses could be transferred for the associated business statistics equivalent.

Toward its goal of developing new academic practices and improving existing ones to enhance students’ university experience, a number of departments made substantive improvements. Art and Department of English and Foreign Languages faculty evaluated new technologies for classroom use and course delivery. Art  faculty explored multimedia (podcasts) to supplement traditional course delivery; humanities faculty tested on-line delivery of readings for classical works to broaden students’ accessibility to this material; foreign languages faculty expanded multimedia instruction through the use of iPods; a new homeland security track was developed within the Master of Public Administration degree program; Biology revamped and modernized the BIOL 1108 curriculum and the introductory courses for non-majors; Communications and Professional Writing redesigned, deleted, and created new courses and renamed the drama track to theatre. It simplified the prerequisites for some courses, such as Introduction to Electronic Media, to make it possible for non-majors to take the courses.

Mathematics and computer science faculty met with representatives of local industry, the Hull College of Business, and the Office of Information Technology Services regarding the need for and structure of an information security curriculum, resulting in three new courses in information security and assurance. With the help of local industry, the Department of Chemistry and Physics made substantial upgrades to instructional hardware in its computational physics lab and its student research facilities.

A refinement of the Freshman Year Experience course, ASUO1000, is in the formative stage to explore how the college might better (1) help freshmen to adjust to the college experience, and (2) more informatively introduce freshmen to their selected major field of study. Pilot sections of the course are being taught fall semester 2007 within the context of introductory coursework for biology majors.

James M. Hull College of Business

Assessment of learning outcomes in the Hull College is a set of interlocking and overlapping efforts that are dynamic, adjust to changes, and take advantage of opportunities. It provides assurance that the college meets its learning goals and has strong feedback processes, while identifying the changes and plans that are needed to maintain quality. Its accreditation by the AACSB International—the hallmark of outstanding business schools—is additional evidence of the quality of the college’s instruction.  

The college uses Educational Testing Service's (ETS) Major Field Tests as an ongoing external assessment of its Bachelor of Business Administration program and majors. ETS data support the conclusion that a Hull College student performs as well or better than 4 out of 5 students at peer schools; the latest program-wide measure puts ASU in the 85th percentile with a long-term average of 80th percentile. This provides reasonable assurance that our program and delivery are on track with national norms.

During 2007, the college employed focused learning assessments of ethics and cultural diversity instruction, administering online surveys to a cross section of students. Each of these topics have specific learning goals within the BBA program  Conclusions from these studies indicated  our students’ grasps of ethical issues are more consistent student-to-student after participating in our program; and students’ attitudes toward diversity are somewhat broader and more flexible after participating in our program. Strengths of these findings have led to “boot camps” where faculty have shared methods with others to maintain and spread the effective practices relating to ethics and diversity.   

To emphasize ethics, the college initiated a Focus on Ethics program, bringing in top executives from throughout the nation to share experiences with ASU students and the community, initiated a case competition for majors, and sponsored ethics research. To emphasize real-world experiences, it instituted an MBA Executive Lecture Series. The programs were widely successful, according to the students involved.

Exit interviews of graduates in both the BBA and MBA programs have been a standard part of the assessment process. In the past, however, this information was primarily internal to the administration, but it is now reported to faculty as part of the assessment/improvement cycle. In addition, the interviews were reoriented toward the learning goals and instructional success and away from polling students about satisfaction with campus services.

As a result, the college made minor revisions to its BBA program learning goals and made a major refocus of its MBA degree program learning goals. MBA learning objective assessment was supported by a survey performed in spring 2007. Graduate students were surveyed for their responses to a variety of topics including their responses to goal-oriented questions. The new MBA goals meet two objectives:  they reflect the College’s strategic plans for the program and they are more outcomes focused than the prior process focused goals. The Hull College is developing assessments that more directly use student feedback to support the broader assessments already in place. 

Faculty members within discipline areas review peers’ classroom materials in light of the learning outcomes and topics for courses as outlined in the common syllabi.  Based on feedback and suggestions, course materials are improved, and in some cases changes were proposed to the common course syllabi. In 2006-2007 the college moved from a paper-based system to an online approach and expects to have the revised system in place in fall 2007.

Although not a formal assessment measure, the performance of students in the business fraternity, Phi Beta Lambda, was also strong support for the effectiveness of the Hull College programs. Hull students excelled in state competition and went on to national competition, capturing seven of the top 10 awards in summer 2007.

College of Education

A new Master of Arts in Teaching degree was implemented, which is expected to double the number of teachers prepared by college by the year 2010. A change was made to the master’s degree program in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science by combining two tracks into a single general track with more opportunities for electives. Two new graduate courses will be introduced in the fall under the title of Selected Topics: Sport Psychology and Sport Nutrition.

A myriad of external assessment measures were used to verify the ability of graduates to positively impact students’ learning. (Praxis I, Praxis II, Program Retention & Completion, BOR Employer Guarantee,  Graduate and Employer surveys, and other Report Cards). Changes were made to many courses to ensure that students were adequately prepared for the new Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators (GACE).

All special education undergraduates taking the GACE II test and those students who took the GACE tests for certification of school counselors passed.  

Both the school and community counseling tracks were approved for accreditation in July 2006 for eight years. Accreditation by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, one of the requirements for meeting the BOR Principles for the Preparation of School Counselors, signifies the program is aligned with the learned society for counseling training programs. 

In response to student input, more flexible scheduling and 8-week block scheduling were implemented in the college. Students in Kinesiology and Health Science gave good reviews to the department’s new Plan of Study, which is being implemented for undergraduates to keep them on track in their studies.

In preparation for the redesign of the educational leadership programs to meet the pending changes of the Professional Standards Commission, faculty met with area superintendents to get input. The programs already have embedded in the curriculum two suggestions that superintendents made: that new school leaders should be capable of using data for developing school improvement plans and that new leaders be capable of initiating school- wide discipline programs.

Teacher Education collaborated with faculty in arts and sciences and professional development schools and continued to seek input to promote stronger content preparation in Early Childhood, Middle Grades, and Secondary Programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level. The Georgia Performance Standards was incorporated into all certification programs and programs were revised to respond to state mandates.  The graduate programs underwent revisions to increase the flexibility for students at the MEd level.  A new set of teaching dispositions adopted by the department last spring was implemented this year in both coursework and fieldwork. Live Text Database is being implemented as an assessment instrument for fieldwork.

Other Institutional Units

In 2006, Reese Library administered the nationally-recognized LibQUAL+ assessment instrument to identify areas in which the library could improve its programs and services. At the same time, the library assessed its offering in relation to both the Customer Service Initiative and the Student Retention and Success Initiative. As a result, the library increased access to electronic full-text resources in chemistry, kinesiology, humanities, English, sociology and education. The assessment revealed unmet customer expectations relating to the library aesthetic environment. As a result, the interior of the building and study and research areas were redesigned. A Family Room was created for students who need a safe and quiet place to study when they must bring their children with them. 

 All academic support and business units use surveys to assess its performance and use the results to improve services. Both Human Resources and the Business Office provided more efficient customer service through implementation of a number of online services and electronic payments. ASU received a full state audit this year with good results and only two findings that needed to be addressed. The bookstore implemented an online textbook adoption system for faculty to improve efficiency and timeliness.

The Office of Public Relations conducted focus groups with high school and college students and used feedback to improve design and usefulness of university publications. It also tracked online traffic to determine the effectiveness of specific features on the ASU website. One result of such assessment is a new, integrated campus calendaring system, which makes it possible for units to enter their own events. The new calendar, located on the homepage, is more convenient, accurate, and useful than the previous posted calendar.  

The Office of Institutional Research (IR) purchased and provided training for SNAP Survey Software which is being used by several units on campus to administer online surveys. Users include Hull College of Business, Nursing Department, the Associate Dean of Student Services, and IR itself.  Other units slated to begin using the software in fall 2007 are Information Technology Services (ITS) and Continuing Education.  The software purchase and contract renewals empower any campus unit to design and administer its own surveys to select populations without ITS and IR assistance.

All units used the assessments detailed in its unit plans to improve the performance of its services.

Section II – Overall Institutional Health

For much of its history, the university had to make do with renovated Army warehouses and facilities for academic use—not buildings specifically planned and designed for academic and student use. However, now, about 75 percent of the academic space is in new replacement buildings that have opened since 2000, making the university among the most technology-rich in the University System. Technology includes white boards, multiplatform instructional stations, student labs and study spaces, and over 2,000 computers, with about 800 designated for student use only.

These new facilities, however, do not meet the growing need for academic space—particularly in the sciences. The new facilities are replacement spaces for the World War II arsenal buildings that have been demolished. The master plan has placed the number of students the current campus can serve at 7,200—not too far away from the current enrollment. A new academic building for Augusta State has been requested. The new building will be constructed at the Wrightsboro Road location which presently houses the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science and athletics.

Providing full-time faculty to meet the demands of the growing enrollment is a concern, although some progress has been made. It remains a critical issue, however, particularly since several programs carry additional accreditations. The university will have to continue to rely on part-time faculty to provide instruction if funding levels do not increase. Several units have also identified a lack of money for faculty development and student travel for presentation of research as challenges.

Enrollment has placed demands on Augusta State’s limited resources, particularly in relation to space, course availability, technology, and parking. The university is grateful to the University System Board of Regents and to the state legislature for the funding received, but concerns remain as to the funding level for operations, particularly in programs that do require additional accreditations.

The university accommodated an enrollment of 6,552 students in 2006-07, which was nearly a four percent increase over the previous fall. 

Diversity remained an institutional characteristic worthy of note. African American enrollment increased by 7.4 percent. The decline in “other” (9 students) may indicate preference of students to select other categories of classification. 

A significant increase was reported in the number of students who chose to study abroad—recognition of the emphasis ASU has placed on internationalization. A new position, assistant vice president for international affairs, was created effective Jan. 1, 2007 to facilitate international academic experiences for faculty, staff, and students as well as coordinate the development, fundraising, and scholarship distribution activities associated with the study abroad program. It has been through her efforts that the university had 158 students study abroad—283 percent over our Regents’ target goal. Part of this was accomplished through the offering of some two-week study abroad opportunities to accommodate ASU students who typically work full- or part-time. Also, a program called Sweat Equity was created to allow students to earn money toward their future trips by participating in athletic concessions sales and other fundraising events.

Through an alumna, a new study abroad program was developed last year in collaboration with the Dallas Mavericks basketball team for a two-week program to Senegal, West Africa. Ten students, several who used the sweat equity component, were able to participate in that program. 

Study abroad fairs have increased awareness of the opportunities available to students, and students who have participated in previous study abroad programs have become vocal on-campus proponents of the programs. Internationalism (globalization) has also been incorporated as an element in the Hull College of Business programs and will be the focus of their speaker series in 2007-08.

Another indicator of institutional health is the success of its fundraising, and ASU had a significant year. The annual A Day for Augusta State University campaign to raise friends and funds for the university exceeded its goal by more than $55,000 as the campaign closed with a record $472,000. An exciting new program was developed by community philanthropists to take the HOPE Scholarship program a step further. The HOPE Plus scholarship will cover expenses over and beyond tuition, books, and fees that are covered by HOPE. It also provides a mentoring and support system from the students’ enrollment to graduation. Eight local students who qualified for the state’s HOPE Scholarship but who would not have been able to attend college otherwise will be attending ASU in the fall.

A $2 million gift was made to the College of Business Administration, prompting faculty to recommend to the Regents a name change for the college in honor of the benefactor, resulting in the newly named James M. Hull College of Business. Mr. Hull, the owner of Hull Storey Retail Group, LLC, one of the largest privately owned retail estate companies in the Southeast, is not an alumnus, but he saw the impact that the university had on the community and decided to donate to help in its mission.

Mr. Hull’s gift followed another major gift, which was presented July 1, 2006—a million dollars from the estate of a retired biology teacher. Again, the donor, Marie Hulbert, was not an alumna but considered ASU to be a “great community asset.”

Through a $250,000 challenge gift, funds were raised for a Campaign for Collegiate Golf, which resulted in the construction of a golf house for ASU’s Division I teams. The new J. Fleming Norvell Collegiate Golf House includes three offices, a conference room, locker rooms, a kitchenette, a reception/meeting space, and two computerized hitting bays. (A practice facility was constructed in the previous year.) 

In fall 2006, a new Jaguar Student Activities Center opened, funded by the ASU Foundation, LLC. The $11.1 million building contains a fitness facility, food court, ballroom, offices, and meeting rooms. It adjoins the Reese Library, and its unique design was cited with an award from the University System.

When student activities vacated its space, Washington Hall was renovated to hold the Department of Art. The project added new offices, classrooms, and space for an art gallery. When art vacated the Fine Arts Center, renovations were made to the building to accommodate a new rehearsal hall for 150 student musicians and increased space for the Department of Music.

A $4.4 million project is currently underway to improve storm water retention, relocate above ground power lines below ground, pave two parking lots, and build a new road. Currently in the design phase is a $2.8 million central energy project that will provide the existing central energy loop with two additional chillers, an additional boiler, additional cooling towers, and several offices.

In the construction phase is a new amphitheatre, which is located next to the new Jaguar Student Activities Center. It will seat approximately 500, have a lighted stage, and will accommodate almost any activity. It is scheduled to be completed in spring 2008.

These new state-of-the-art facilities have given an enthusiasm to campus and campus life. ASU had no new buildings constructed on the Walton Way campus after the late 1970s, so the university has undergone a complete transformation since 2000 with the construction of Science Hall, two replacement classroom buildings (Allgood and University Halls), a redesigned front entrance, a new student activities center, and the demolition of the old warehouse buildings (that formerly housed academics).

This was also an exciting year for Jaguar athletics. ASU was cited by Golf Magazine as having the 11th best men’s golf program in history. It has produced about 10 players who are now on the professional golfing circuit including Vaughn Taylor, who played for America on the Ryder Cup team in 2006. The PGA made a $100,000 gift to the university in honor of Mr. Taylor’s participation in that event.

It was an exceptional season for the men’s basketball team, capturing the Peach Belt Conference title, and capped off by triple conference honors: Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Player of the Year awards.  Coach Dip Metress was also named Coach of the Year for the NCSA South Atlantic Region. A. J. Bowman, a junior forward, was named the All South Atlantic Region first team selection, the only player from the Conference selected to the squad and a candidate for All America honors. He also was selected by the Atlanta Tip Off Club as the top collegiate basketball player in the state of Georgia. Attendance—the highest in the Peach Belt—set a record with about 1,000 fans attending each game. Three coaches were named Coach of the Year, and the athletics director was selected as the NCAA Division II AD of the Year for the Southeast Region.

The university hosted the NCAA Regional tournament. It was the first time that ASU has hosted a regional competition and the first time in over 30 years that ASU had competed in the regional. 

While these student athletes played exceptionally well, they also demonstrated that they were scholars first. The Conference named 56 scholar athletes to its 2007 Presidential Honor Roll, indicating a grade point average of 3.0.

These are all barometers of good institutional health, and as demonstrated in this report, this year has been exceptional for Augusta State University in the areas of scholarship, physical growth, community partnerships, private giving, and athletics. As a result, Augusta State University is in exceptionally good health.

Section III      Student Retention and Graduation

The U. S. Department of Education, Center for Educational Statistics, reports that only 50 percent of those who enter higher education in America succeed in earning a bachelor’s degree. Although all colleges and universities are concerned with persistence and progression, institutions like Augusta State are faced with particular issues where missions are predicated on providing access and opportunity. ASU students are diverse in ethnicity, background, age, and academic preparation, and the region it serves has a significant high-school drop out rate—about 52 percent. Only 25 percent of the population has a college degree so the majority of ASU students are first-generation college. 

In addition, Augusta State admits many students who fail to meet regular admission requirements into its two-year unit, University College.

Financial considerations are among the greatest influences on ASU’s graduation and retention areas, not surprising considering the economic considerations of our region. Most of our students have family and work responsibilities that compete with academics, making it difficult to complete a degree in four to six years. About 80 percent of ASU undergraduates  work in either full or part-time jobs, and the number of working hours affects the course load that students can handle as well as the scheduling of classes that can be taken to accommodate their work schedules. Working also takes away time and energy to study effectively, possibly affecting satisfactory academic progress.

A significant number of students rely on federal financial assistance, primarily Pell Grants, and financial conditions are cited most frequently as the reason given for dropping out.  Despite the fact that our students have such a high level of demonstrated need, ASU does not have the private funds to provide a large number of institutional scholarships, and the number of students receiving financial assistance from the institution itself is quite low. Most ASU students have to work during college to survive, and only increased financial aid opportunities will alleviate this persistent problem. Frequently, students also have to “stop out” until financial situations allow them to return. Many of these students do not consider themselves as dropping out of college, since they expect to return.

These mitigating factors are not being used to dismiss the university’s responsibility to improve the academic progression and success of our students. Instead, it makes it more incumbent on the university to seek additional, innovative ways to address issues that impact our students’ success. This remains an institutional priority and is reflected in unit planning and in overall actions of the university last year.

Student retention and persistence were made the responsibility of each department and program within the university last year. Each academic major and program set retention goals and developed specific programs to measure their success.

Changes in the university’s retention rates have fluctuated for entering fall cohorts of 1998 through 1995.  The chart below, compiled by the Office of Institutional Research, shows the changes in Augusta State’s retention rates over the past six years.

The new academic replacement buildings, Jaguar Student Activities Center, and university housing have contributed to a positive campus climate, so that an increasing number of students are choosing ASU as their school of choice. This year, a new freshman experience program was created for students in housing that creates early bonds with peers and the university. The university housing staff also sponsors workshops on topics contributing to academic success as well as arranges tutoring sessions and social activities. This, and improved orientation programs for parents and students, is connecting students with the university earlier, and has been shown to be a contributing factor to retention. Also, the university offers a strong array of student support services and programs, ranging from traditional services provided by Counseling, Testing and Disability Services, and the Career Center, to the more specialized services provided by our International Student Coordinator, the Writing Center, a Math Lab, Minority Advising Program, and Student Development Office.

Previous ASU retention surveys and studies have suggested a number of factors influenced retention and student success: faculty attitude toward students, availability of teaching faculty, and advising. These factors are being addressed in a number of ways. Last year, a consultant from Noel Levitz conducted an advising workshop on campus for ASU faculty, training “master advisors” in new advising procedures and techniques that were then implemented at the unit level. Each unit incorporated retention as a goal and submitted a plan to identify and assist at-risk students.

Activities differed from major to major, but the university’s plan to improve retention, Meeting Students Where They Stand, was adopted by all three of ASU’s colleges and faculty as well as the support services that affect a student’s life on campus.

As a result, identifying at-risk students as early as possible and providing services to them “where they stand” is now the policy rather than relying on the student’s own motivation to seek out university-wide services and assistance. Therefore, ASU is committed to bringing the services to the student in a way that forcefully encourages the participation of at-risk students in programs that promote strong and positive progress toward graduation. The goal is to 1) help students overcome obstacles to academic progress and 2) to guide students in acquiring the university connections and support structures needed to succeed. 

In that regard, the university’s retention effort includes the following components: a dedicated data collection system that regularly and systematically gathers information needed to identify at-risk students at 11 checkpoints along their progression and the evaluation of the quality of the campus climate to ensure a positive learning environment, focusing on the issues of student connectedness to the institution, perceived racial harmony, and student school spirit.

Academic units have reviewed their policies and procedures to determine if any may be unnecessarily serving as stumbling blocks to student success, and if identified, make adjustments to enhance student progress toward graduation while still maintaining the integrity of the policy or procedure. They were also asked to take a critical look at that how they were conducting advising as well as to develop plans to improve academic advising that include mandatory advising of all students each semester, and a process of advising that includes more than course scheduling. Units were also asked to improve opportunities for student interaction with faculty and staff within their departments.

As a result, units implemented social gatherings for students such as pizza with a professor, chat with the chair, meet the majors day, drop-ins, and recognition ceremonies. Mentoring programs were implemented with upper-class students and new majors; intervention programs were adopted for at-risk students. Faculty in the Department of Biology teamed up with the Career Center and the Counseling Center to work with biology majors having grade point averages lower than 2.0. This program termed Improving Success in Students or ISIS is designed to provide these students with techniques of how to study effectively. 

New advising worksheets, handbooks, and websites were designed, advising hours were extended, and some departments required at-risk students to be advised by the department chair.  Faculty in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science followed up their Noel Levitz workshop with student focus groups and discussed the results with departmental faculty to seek improvement.

For undeclared majors, advising was done through the Undeclared Majors Advising Center, which offered a wide array of other advising programs for these students as well as for advisors:  ACES (Answers and Connections for Early Success), OARS (Orientation, Advising, and Registration Special Programs), and the Advising Edge (ASU Academic Advising Network).

These enhanced advising programs and increased interactions between faculty and students are expected to have a significant impact on retention. Minority students received mentoring as well as took part in social and academic activities offered by the Office of Student Development to encourage them to remain enrolled. In addition, the university’s Customer Service Improvement plan has addressed retention as its first issue. An initial survey found ongoing frustration with some services on campus, most significantly, the financial aid office. Improving the processes in that department became the chief focus of the financial aid office and the CSI effort last year. Improvements were put into place, and there has been some automation of processes through new technology. Also, a consultant was brought to campus to help with a financial aid business process review. Some financial aid staff received additional customer service training and it will be repeated again later with all staff. In the initial survey, fifty-four percent of students indicated satisfaction with the financial aid office; the goal has been set to increase the rate of satisfaction to 66 percent. A follow-up survey has been done to measure any change in the perceptions held by students, but the results are not yet available.

The CSI plan has been adopted across campus with a core group of ambassadors carrying the message to provide faster, easier, and friendlier service to students and other constituents. An icon was placed on the university’s homepage to seek input into any concern about university services, and it is being closely monitored to ensure any university areas that need addressing are done so, with a view toward improvement.

The same factors that influence our retention rates naturally affect our graduation rates as well.  The chart below is from the Office of Institutional Research and shows the expected fluctuations.

Monitoring our efforts toward retention and toward improving the graduating rate is an essential and ongoing practice at Augusta State. Best Practices in Student Retention are being studied, and where possible will be implemented.