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Dear Colleagues,

As we approach the end of the fall semester, I would like us to take a moment to celebrate the increase in our retention of first-year students from 72 percent for our fall 2020 cohort to 77 percent for our fall 2023 cohort. Alongside this achievement, however, we recognize that much work remains to be done to ensure we are cultivating a Mobility Mindset and genuinely supporting students on their academic journeys by minimizing or eliminating potential roadblocks to their success.��

Contemplating why some students do not progress, the National Institute of Student Success encourages institutions to ask a very simple question: “Are we the problem?” While entertaining this question might elicit defensive responses from some academic leaders, I believe it directs us to the realization that we have the power to make meaningful changes and identify effective ways of eliminating roadblocks to student motivation and success. Approaching the issue with this mindset, I asked deans and department chairs to develop program-based student retention plans.

My leadership team and I have reviewed the plans and are pleased with activities chairs have proposed, as they address factors known to impact student retention, including sense of belonging, academic success, and course scheduling. Here are a few examples:

• Curricular reviews (Biological Sciences and Marketing) and more proactive course scheduling (Chemistry, Computer Science, and Medical Diagnostics and Translational Sciences) were identified by some departments as strategies to eliminate unnecessary barriers to major declaration and progression.
• Some units are developing belonging activities like movie night (Accounting, Economics, and Finance), exercise runs (School of Exercise Science), mindful meditations (Philosophy and Religious Studies), Mapathons (Political Science and Geography), lunch and learns (Speech Language and Pathology), comprehensive orientation programming (Human Services, Sport Management, and Health and Physical Education), faculty fellows support (Perry Honors College), and free dental cleanings (Dental Hygiene).
• New promotional videos (), strategic communication plans (), and improved advertising of student support sessions (Mathematics and Statistics) have been developed by some programs.
• Work-based learning initiatives, including internships (Economics and Marketing), undergraduate research (Engineering Technology and Ocean and Earth Science), and career awareness programming (English and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) were identified as retention opportunities by some departments.��
• Several departments identified efforts to reduce DFWI rates (Chemistry, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, and Psychology).

Department chairs identified additional retention initiatives and strategies that promise to enhance our future retention efforts. Collectively, our academic programs can positively impact student retention. As individuals, we must take seriously our duty to foster in our students a sense of belonging. Together, we are the solution!

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Regards,

Brian K. Payne, PhD
Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice
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Norfolk, VA 23529