Are you ready to ASCEND to new possibilities? In this podcast, Dr. Jared Tippets and Dr. Eric Kirby outline why a focus on retention and completion is so important, why previous retention efforts have not always worked, and discuss how we can successfully "ASCEND" to these great expectations. In each episode, we will share innovative ideas, creative initiatives, and best practices and strategies that campuses have used to achieve amazing results. This podcast has intentionally been produced ...
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S2 - E30 - Parent and Family Orientation (In English and Spanish) (Engagement)
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Offering parent and family orientations in both Spanish and English is a practical and inclusive approach that benefits students, families, and the institution as a whole. It ensures that language barriers do not hinder access to vital information and support, fostering a more welcoming and diverse campus community.…
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S2 - E29 - Meet students on their turf (Culture)
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We have found in many instances, especially among Generation Z, that we have to find ways to ‘go to them’ instead of waiting for them to come to us. To better meet students on their turf, we found many ways to ‘go to’ the students. Meeting college students on their turf, rather than waiting for them to come to your office, can offer many benefits.…
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Even though they are second-year students and in theory know their way around campus, sophomores and transfer students often still find themselves getting the runaround, being bounced from office to office and center to center until they find what they need. To stop this runaround, we created a one-stop shop on campus to better serve our second-yea…
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S2 - E27 - Expert Session - Dr. Bryce Bunting (Brigham Young University)
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Dr. Bryce Bunting from Brigham Young University joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Dr. Bryce D. Bunting is an associate clinical professor, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Education, and Director of the Office of First-Yea…
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S2 - E26 - Professional Closet (Affordability)
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To help students who need professional clothes, our Career Center created a ‘Professional Closet’ to ensure they have access to professional clothing and a knowledge of how to dress for important occasions (i.e. interviews, jobs, internships, etc.). To help get this project off the ground, a request was sent out across campus and throughout the com…
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S2 - E25 - Transfer student focus groups (Data)
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Transfer students can face a variety of challenges when transitioning to a new institution or college. These challenges can impact their academic and social experiences and can involve things like credit transfer issues, navigating a new environment, academic adjustments, building a new social network, understanding a new campus culture, lacking ad…
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S2 - E24 - Associate degree pushes (Nudges)
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As we all know, many students start school to get a bachelor’s degree. However, as life happens, that dream can get interrupted for many students. We found that by using information gathered by our withdrawal coordinator and academic advisors, we could identify students who might be considering leaving our institution, but who are close to getting …
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S2 - E23 - Parent and Family social media (Engagement)
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In many regards, parents are often considered the front line of defense for the retention of college students due to their significant influence and role in a student's life, especially during the critical transition to college and as issues along the journey arise. Given this, we have found that providing information and support to parents via soc…
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S2 - E22 - Normalizing the ‘Sophomore Slump’ (Culture)
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‘Sophomore slump’ is a term often used to describe a decrease in excitement, engagement, and overall drive that can occur after the initial excitement of the first year has passed. We know from the literature and from many years of experience that sophomore students often face a period of academic, personal, or motivational decline during their sec…
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S2 - E21 - Sophomore specific events and initiatives (Support)
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We created a variety of unique initiatives and programming specific to our second-year students. By specifically addressing the sophomore slump and its challenges, we try to demonstrate that we understand and care about the difficulties students may encounter during their second year. This validation can create a sense of belonging and support, red…
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S2 - E20 - Community coupons, deals, and discounts (Affordability)
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Students are always looking for discounts and deals to save money. Additionally, community businesses are always looking for ways to attract more customers. Given these two realities, creating a community coupons, deals, and discount packet (or website) and giving it to all incoming and returning students can be a great way to help students save mo…
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S2 - E19 - Surveying students to find out why they came back (Data)
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Most institutions explore why students have left the institution, which is indeed extremely important data to have. But how often do we explore why students return to the institution? What is it that makes them come back semester after semester? We found that this data can be just as valuable as why students leave.…
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S2 - E18 - Expert Session - Aaron Basko (University of Lynchburg)
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Aaron Basko from the University of Lynchburg joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Aaron Basko is currently the Vice President of Enrollment and University Outreach at the University of Lynchburg in Lynchburg, VA. He has…
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S2 - E17 - President outreach to students not registered (Nudges)
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Another nudge we have utilized, primarily to help get students registered for the next semester, is to have the university president send an email to all students who haven’t registered past a certain date to see what can be done to get the student back. An email from the university president can be a powerful tool for encouraging students to regis…
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S2 - E16 - Campus connections (Engagement)
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We have found in many instances that many students often struggle to go to an event, activity, or program on their own. If they have to go on their own, they often will choose not to go at all. Struggling with attending big events or going somewhere on one's own can be attributed to a variety of factors, including social anxiety, fear of the unknow…
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S2 - E15 - Expert Session - Dr. Glenn Davis (Bowling Green State University)
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Dr. Glenn Davis from Bowling Green State University joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Glenn Davis is Vice President for Student Engagement and Success at Bowling Green State University. In this role, Glenn collaborat…
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S2 - E14 - ‘Every Job Counts’ Campaign (Culture)
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There are often two competing realities we face when dealing with Generation Z and their view of the workforce. First, they often complain about not having enough money; and second, there are many jobs on our campus that we can’t fill, often in the custodial or food service fields. As we further investigated this issue, we found that some students …
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S2 - E13 - Leads: Sophomore peer mentors (Support)
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While peer mentoring programs have become all the rage in higher education, not many peer mentoring programs focus on second-year students. At our institution, the second-year peer mentors (Leads) serve as personal friends, guides, and coaches to each second-year student. Each returning student (or incoming transfer student) is assigned a Lead the …
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S2 - E12 - Expert Session - Nii Abrahams (Butler University)
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Nii Abrahams from Butler University joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Since Fall 2022, Nii Abrahams has served as the inaugural Director of the First Year Experience at Butler University in Indianapolis, where he par…
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S2 - E11 - FAFSA Nights (Affordability)
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Completing a FAFSA has many financial benefits. So, our Financial Wellness Office created regular and ongoing ‘FAFSA Nights’. During our FAFSA Nights, our Financial Wellness Office reserves a computer lab on campus for the evening to help students apply for FAFSA and answer all questions regarding what FAFSA is and why they should apply. The studen…
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S2 - E10 - Triggers for those withdrawing (Data)
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At our institution we began to see higher levels of withdrawals after certain messages from the institution went out to students. While it is true that Institutions of higher education typically aim to retain students rather than encourage them to withdraw, we found that there may be instances where a message or communication from the institution i…
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S2 - E9 - Expert Session - Dr. Gill Hunter (Eastern Kentucky University)
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Dr. Gill Hunter from Eastern Kentucky University joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Dr. Gill Hunter is Assistant Vice President of Retention and Graduation at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky. Located…
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One way to help nudge students is to have a banner (or several banners) hung across campus that has interchangeable signs for particular events (i.e. course registration days, career fairs, etc.) and removable numbers that can create a countdown (days left until the event).Av Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby
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S2 - E7 - Adulting 101 seminars (Engagement)
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We have found that some Gen Z students may lack essential life skills such as cooking, cleaning, basic home maintenance, and financial literacy due to growing up in a digital age where such skills are less emphasized or learned from traditional sources like parents or home economics classes. With this as a backdrop, we have found that institutions …
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S2 - E6 - Strategies for shifting the culture on campus (Culture)
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In season one of the ASCEN D Podcast we outlined strategies for how leaders, managers, and supervisors might go about shifting the organizational culture on a campus. Because this effort is at the core of improving student success we spent more time on this topic in volume 2 of our book and wanted to reshare these strategies in season 2 of our podc…
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S2 - E5 - Third-week apartment walks (Support)
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The first few weeks of each semester can be hard for many students. During these first few weeks, new students may feel homesick after they leave their family and home for the first time. Given these realities, and to show our students we are here to support them every step of the way, during the third week of each semester we do apartment walks wh…
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S2 - E4 - Financial February (Affordability)
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At our institution, our Financial Wellness Office hosts a wide array of events and initiatives throughout the year, but during February, there is a concerted effort to get students financially ready for the next school year. Tune in to learn more about Financial February!Av Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby
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S2 - E3 - Why the ASCEND Model and does it work?
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In this episode we discuss the different aspects of the ASCEND Model -- Affordability, Support, Culture, Engagement, Nudges, and Data. As a result of the implementation of this new model, we saw immediate improvements in retention and completion rates. Tune in to learn more!Av Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby
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S2 - E2 - Why the focus on retention and student success?
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In this episode we discuss the following 8 reasons why colleges and universities should focus on retention and student success: a declining national pool of high school graduates; increased pressures to grow revenues; a growing call from the public for increased accountability; the need to close the equity and achievement gaps; the ever-changing ge…
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S2 - E1 - Introducing Season 2 of the ASCEND Podcast
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It's great to be back for season 2 of the ASCEND Podcast! Thanks for listening!Av Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby
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S1 - E104 - Wrap up episode for Season 1
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In this episode, ASCEND Podcast co-hosts Eric Kirby and Jared Tippets wrap up Season 1 and talk about themes and takeaways from the first season.Av Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby
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S1 - E103 - Helping students better understand campus culture before arriving on campus (Culture)
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For years we have lost students after a semester or two because they said that our campus, or living in our community, was not what they expected. It was either too large for them and they felt overwhelmed, or it was too small and they would rather live in a bigger city. We found this issue to be particularly prevalent among our international and o…
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S1 - E102 - Shifting the culture on campus in the eyes of the students (Culture)
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In addition to helping shift the culture on campus in the eyes of our staff and faculty, we also found it important to shift the campus culture in the eyes of the students. Students need to know we care about them and their success. Students need to feel needed, appreciated, and wanted. Students need to feel at home on our campuses. One of the thin…
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S1 - E101 - Creating a culture of accountability (Culture)
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In this episode, Dr. Jared Tippets and Dr. Eric Kirby talk about the importance of creating a culture of accountability.Av Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby
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Happy holidays from Jared and Eric. Thanks for your support of the ASCEND Podcast. We're going to take a break for a few weeks and then we'll be back with another episode on January 14.Av Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby
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S1 - E99 - The Nest: A student help center (Support)
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Students often get the runaround, being bounced from office to office and center to center until they find what they actually need. To stop this nightmare, we created a one-stop shop on campus to better serve our students. This center (The Nest) does not have representatives from all the offices housed within. Instead, it is staffed by peer mentors…
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S1 - E98 - Expert Session: Dr. Steven Girardot (Georgia Tech)
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Dr. Steven Girardot from Georgia Institute of Technology joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Dr. Steven P. Girardot is the vice provost for undergraduate education at Georgia Tech and has over twenty years of higher ed…
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S1 - E97 - Unit Effectiveness Plans (Culture)
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A key to creating a campus culture around student success, retention, and completion is making sure that everyone knows these are priorities for campus. From experience we have learned that organizations fund those things they value most. Therefore, it is important that we also measure those things we want to fund. Within higher education, faculty …
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S1 - E96 - Expert Session: Dr. Jim Spain (University of Missouri-Columbia)
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Dr. Jim Spain from the University of Missouri-Columbia joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Dr. Jim Spain earned a BS in Animal Sciences from North Carolina State University and completed his Master of Science and Docto…
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S1 - E95 - Early alerts and report a student concern webpage (Support)
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There are two broad groups of individuals that can often serve as the ‘canaries in the coal mine’ when it comes to a student’s well-being: faculty and community members (parents, alumni, religious leaders, etc.). In this episode we talk about how it is important to involve these two groups in the retention efforts. Two simple ways to have them help…
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S1 - E94 - Expert Session: Dr. Mark Milliron, Dr. Angela Baldasare, Sarah Ball (National University)
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For this expert session co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby sat down with leaders from National University to capture their knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! In this episode you'll hear from Dr. Mark Milliron (President & CEO), Dr. Angela Baldasare (Deputy Chief of Staff and …
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S1 - E93 - Survey in Housing to help pair roommates based on interests (Data)
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Students often struggle getting along with their roommates, which sometimes leads to a desire to return back home. To increase the likelihood of roommates getting along and ultimately retaining, try pairing them with students who have similar interests, live similar schedules, and enjoy similar living arrangements. Many campuses already do this via…
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Happy thanksgiving to all our ASCEND Podcast friends and listeners!Av Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby
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S1 - E91 - Involving faculty with small groups during Fall Welcome Week to start creating connections (Culture)
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A fun way to include faculty in creating a culture of care and concern is to involve them in our retention efforts from the very beginning of the semester. Each year, during our Fall Welcome Week, we split up all our new incoming students into small groups based on similar interests and hobbies. We then carve out some time during our welcome week f…
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S1 - E90 - Expert Session: Dr. Ed Cabellon (Curry College)
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Dr. Ed Cabellon from Curry College joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! With over 26 years in Higher Education, Dr. Ed Cabellon (pronounced "kah-bell-en") currently serves as Vice President of Enrollment Management at C…
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S1 - E89 - Online Orientation and Personalized Visits (Support)
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We eliminated our old mandatory on-campus orientation and shifted to online modules and a voluntary system where any student who wants can come to campus to perform a Personalized Visit. Here is how it works. The student visits our Personalized Visit homepage and chooses from numerous options to hand pick exactly what he or she would like to accomp…
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S1 - E88 - Expert Session: Dr. Kal Srinivas (Syracuse University)
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Dr. Kal Srinivas from Syracuse University joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share her deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! As part of Syracuse University’s larger commitment to creating an inclusive student body, Dr. Kal Srinivas works with all schools, colleges …
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S1 - E87 - Retention grants (Affordability)
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Many students face unforeseen financial challenges such as a car repair, medical procedure, job loss, family issues, etc. Such surprises can prevent a student from having enough money to cover their rent, buy books, purchase food for a few weeks, pay for utilities, and so on. These expenses can lead to students withdrawing from the university. To c…
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S1 - E86 - Expert Session: National Symposium for Student Retention (NSSR) Conference Attendees
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In this special episode, we sat down with conference attendees at the National Symposium for Student Retention (NSSR) which is hosted by the Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange at the University of Oklahoma. In this episode you'll hear from: University of Wyoming - Nycole Courtney & Abby Markley Berklee College of Music - Kristina Sharra…
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S1 - E85 - Create “Retention Dashboards” by cohorts and caseloads so staff know who they are accountable for (Data)
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We have found over the years that it is important for staff to know exactly which students they are responsible for retaining. Otherwise, if they feel responsible for ALL students, they struggle finding a way to focus their time and energy in a productive manner. We highly recommend that campuses create a series of dashboards for each individual on…
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