Special "weeks," special events and special attentions to freshmen are as predictable as falling leaves on all of Utah's campuses as fall semester begins each year.
All of the colleges contacted by the Deseret News have programs specifically aimed at improving retention.
"There is no bigger issue for us than retaining students and keeping them until they have a degree — in a timely manner," Utah State University President Kermit L. Hall told legislators visiting his campus recently. The legislators, members of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, had been lamenting the poor follow-through rate in Utah and the time it takes many students to earn a degree.
Outside the meeting room on the USU campus, hundreds of new freshmen were taking part in Survival Week orientation activities.
Dean O'Driscoll, director of marketing and public relations and assistant to the president at SUU, said, "There is a real focus on campus to relieve the impact of attrition. Each school tries to begin building relationships with students at the outset. We try to get to know our new students, get them involved in clubs and other activities so that alienation won't be the reason for not returning."
SUU Welcome Week featured a talk by President Steven D. Bennion, who chose "Feasting at the Banquet Table of Southern Utah University" as a topic. Bennion is the grandson of SUU's founding principal, Milton Bennion, so has a familial loyalty to the school. His talk was just one in a series of convocations designed to make newcomers welcome on campus.
At Weber, a retention officer is specifically assigned to track students at risk of dropping out. Special services are provided to address concerns and integrate new students into the campus culture, including a women's center and a multicultural center that extend helping hands to minority students whose socioeconomic background may leave them handicapped educationally, said Anand K. Dyal-Chand, vice president for student affairs. Assistance in English writing and math is available to help students who struggle in those areas, which are crucial to success in college.
Freshman Year Experience, a nationally developed counseling program, is used to encourage first-year students and keep them in school, he said. A summer-long orientation program welcomes newcomers and tries to make them comfortable on campus before classes begin.
Dixie State College calls its preschool orientation WOW (Week of Welcome) and gears the introductory week to getting freshmen involved from the outset, said Donna Stafford, director of student activities.
"This is one of the most important weeks of a student's academic career. Everyone comes with a clean slate. Everyone comes from their own individual institution to a situation in which Dixie State College is everyone's institution. It's important that students feel like they're part of the college, and WOW Week facilitates this."
A "club rush" alerts new students to the availability of 40 clubs on campus. A movie night, improvisational comedy show, a carnival and a dance in the Gardner Ballroom all invite freshmen to integrate themselves into the college scene.
One of many University of Utah efforts, a program dubbed LEAP, enlists second- or third-year students who have been through the program themselves to be mentors to incoming freshmen. LEAP involves a yearlong seminar program with small groups of students and faculty. The seminars focus on basic academic requirements, such American institutions, math and college writing, as well as providing an opportunity for interaction with peers, said Slava Lubomudrov, senior associate dean of undergraduate studies.
"If students make connections early, it improves their educational experience," said Lubomudrov. LEAP provides that support, helps beginners get answers to their questions and form support systems. More than 600 freshmen took advantage of the program in the last academic year.
E-mail: tvanleer@desnews.com