{"id":1924,"date":"2015-08-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-08-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/blogtest\/hitting-our-stride\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T16:13:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T21:13:51","slug":"hitting-our-stride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/president\/hitting-our-stride\/","title":{"rendered":"Hitting Our Stride"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p>As we all know by now, Tennessee\u2019s\u00a0new funding model for higher\u00a0education places the highest priority\u00a0on student progress, matriculation, and\u00a0graduation success. Gov. Bill Haslam\u2019s\u00a0Drive to 55 initiative seeks to improve\u00a0Tennessee\u2019s workforce by increasing\u00a0the percentage of Tennesseans with\u00a0postsecondary degrees or certificates\u00a0to 55 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Last academic year, we made great\u00a0strides in helping our students stay\u00a0enrolled and on a clear\u00a0path to earning a degree.\u00a0Our achievements can\u00a0be largely attributed to\u00a0our ambitious Quest\u00a0for Student Success,\u00a0which has proven to\u00a0be an effective roadmap in the effort\u00a0to improve retention and graduation.<\/p>\n<p>Within the first six months of implementing\u00a0just two key components of\u00a0the Quest\u2014a new advising model\u00a0and use of a predictive\u00a0analytics software\u00a0system to better monitor student\u00a0progress\u2014\u00a0significant\u00a0increases in\u00a0persistence\u00a0were\u00a0measured:<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Persistence rates increased by +2.2 percentage points for\u00a0new freshmen.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Rates increased +4.5 percentage points for transfers.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Rates increased +2.1 percentage points for sophomores.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 These improvements resulted in approximately $1.5\u00a0million in additional spring 2015 tuition and fees.<\/p>\n<p>The near future also looks bright. Although official data\u00a0<span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">will not be available until census on September 7, 2015,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">trend projections have consistently indicated that MTSU\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">will achieve record or near-record retention increases in\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">the upcoming semester for first-time freshmen, new transfer\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">students, and sophomore students.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\"><br \/>\nThe Quest is helping redefine and refocus our efforts and\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">investments in recruitment, advising, and classroom teaching\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">to better meet the needs of our students. With broad support\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">from the University\u2019s central administrative team, led by\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">Provost Brad Bartel and under the direction of Dr. Rick\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">Sluder, vice provost for student success, and the leadership of\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">the academic deans, department chairs, and faculty, our plan\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">has shown tangible progress.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Driving those increases are a number of specific initiatives:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0 The redesign of more than 20 courses\u00a0 has enhanced\u00a0the learning environment for students, enabling them to\u00a0better master the material and offering a greater chance for\u00a0success. By the close of the fall 2015 semester, 28 courses\u00a0will have been through some form of redesign. Eleven of\u00a0MTSU\u2019s top 12 most predictive and most enrolled courses\u00a0will have been redesigned.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 The recent hiring of 47 new college-based academic\u00a0advisors\u00a0 has greatly enhanced our ability to effectively\u00a0address critical advising and academic support needs.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 The use of new predictive analytics software\u00a0 has helped\u00a0us sharpen our focus on areas that have the greatest\u00a0opportunity to positively affect academic needs and\u00a0achieve measurable, sustainable results.<\/p>\n<p>From October 29,\u00a02014, through April 30, 2015\u2014the first six months of the\u00a0system\u2019s use\u2014academic advisors<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>met in person with 19,464 students,<\/li>\n<li>conducted 5,727 advising sessions by email or online,<\/li>\n<li>advised 772 students by phone,<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0reviewed the files of 12,627 students and reached\u00a0out to assist them, and<\/li>\n<li>altogether, made 40,206 contacts with students!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I am proud to say these early successes have not gone\u00a0unnoticed. An article in the March 13 issue of The Chronicle\u00a0of Higher Education says that MTSU is at the forefront nationally\u00a0of efforts to improve retention and graduation, and many of\u00a0the programs we are implementing are being adopted by\u00a0institutions around the country (See page 4) . MTSU\u2019s student\u00a0success efforts were also pointed out in the Washington Post\u00a0on June 14, 2015. And most recently, the Association of\u00a0Public and Land-grant Universities named MTSU one of five\u00a0finalists nationally for its Project Degree Completion Award\u00a0recognizing institutions that employ innovative approaches\u00a0to improve retention and degree completion.<\/p>\n<p>We have long said that we are a student-centered institution,\u00a0and I am pleased that our actions are validating that for\u00a0students and our peers. But with this recognition it\u2019s critical\u00a0that we not rest on our laurels. There remains much to be\u00a0done. Looking forward to the 2015\u201316 academic year, in\u00a0addition to the previously mentioned efforts underway, there\u00a0are a number of other activities we are launching:<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 A total of twenty-eight (28) Raider Learning Communities\u00a0are offered in fall 2015. Students in RLCs attend paired\u00a0courses where instructors create collaborative learning\u00a0experiences to not only magnify student learning, but also\u00a0allow them to build personal and professional networks.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Our highly successful Scholars Academy\u00a0 will be\u00a0expanded to serve greater numbers of first-generation\u00a0and\/or at-risk students as they prepare for college.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 To continue to improve sophomore retention, a\u00a0Second-Year Experience\u00a0 program has been developed.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Restructuring our financial aid program to provide\u00a0better incentives and support for students who make\u00a0sustained progress toward completing their degree.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Initiating a new program called Rebound , which provides\u00a0academic support and assistance in retaining freshmen\u00a0who had below a 2.0 at the end of the fall 2014 semester.<\/p>\n<p>For example, a Finish Line Scholarship has been developed\u00a0for new freshmen and transfer students that will reward\u00a0students who stay on track to finish their degrees by taking\u00a0an average of 15 hours each semester.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Expanding our dual-enrollment\u00a0program . Courses counting for both\u00a0high school and MTSU graduation\u00a0requirements are available at our\u00a0partnering high schools, on the\u00a0MTSU campus, and online.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Attracting non-traditional students\u00a0to our campus through unique\u00a0programs including the Recapture\u00a0program\u00a0 that focuses on adults\u00a0who earned a significant number of\u00a0college credits but did not graduate.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Building on our existing efforts\u00a0to support our military students\u00a0and veterans.<\/p>\n<p>Clearly, the University is committed to\u00a0the success of every student, and we\u00a0have committed considerable resources\u00a0to making MTSU a success-oriented\u00a0institution. However, the interactions\u00a0you have in your classrooms and in\u00a0your encounters with students form\u00a0the basis of everything we do . I would\u00a0urge each of you to take a look at\u00a0your own students and classes, asking\u00a0yourself \u201cWhat can I do to make this\u00a0experience better, more meaningful,\u00a0and more effective?\u201d I ask\u2014no urge\u2014\u00a0each of you to be accountable and\u00a0accept your responsibility to help\u00a0take us to an even higher level of\u00a0achievement. Much can be done if\u00a0we all work together.<\/p>\n<p>Best wishes for a wonderful fall\u00a0semester, and I look forward to\u00a0an even greater year for our Blue\u00a0Raider family!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we all know by now, Tennessee\u2019s\u00a0new funding model for higher\u00a0education places the highest priority\u00a0on student progress, matriculation, and\u00a0graduation success. Gov. Bill Haslam\u2019s\u00a0Drive to 55 initiative seeks to improve\u00a0Tennessee\u2019s workforce by increasing\u00a0the percentage of Tennesseans with\u00a0postsecondary degrees or certificates\u00a0to 55 percent. Last academic year, we made great\u00a0strides in helping our students stay\u00a0enrolled and on a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1924"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3204,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1924\/revisions\/3204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}