College of Arts and Sciences Retention Efforts

The College of Arts and Sciences associate dean of undergraduate studies is a member of this committee which was formed as a result of Huron Consulting Group’s student lifecycle study. The focus of this committee is on coordinating student success initiatives across campus and involving the entire campus community in these efforts. Retention planning is a major item for this committee.

(Partners: University Ministry, Student Affairs, College of Arts and Sciences, Academic Affairs)

The associate dean of undergraduate studies co-directs the Living Learning Communities/Transfer Learning Communities (LLC/TLC) program with Student Affairs and oversees the process by which first-year (FY) students and transfer students are connected with advisors and registered for classes. The LLC/TLC program was designed in 2010 to enhance retention rates at USD and has been met with striking success. New approaches were built into the LLC/TLC program to enhance retention in a remote setting.

Elements of the program include the following items:

• Recruitment and training of the faculty advisors in the LLC/TLC program.
• Recruitment and training of the summer schedulers who place the FY students in their classes and then meet with them in the summer to address academic questions.
• Ensuring that classes are added to the course schedule as needed to meet the needs of the incoming students.
• Organizing a process by which incoming FY students who wish to take summer/intersession classes are advised on which class(es) are suitable.
• Organizing an Academic Open House as part of Orientation to introduce students to the academic life at USD and connect them to faculty in areas of academic interests.
• Once new students have arrived, support the faculty advisors and the peer mentors (SAs) in helping students who struggle in their transition to USD.

(Partners: College of Arts and Sciences, Student Affairs)

The College will pilot a new transfer advising model for their College-declared students in the Spring 2021 semester to ensure that all students receive a comprehensive and robust orientation to the liberal arts, the core curriculum and the resources available to them to transition successfully to USD. This program is designed to streamline the process and enhance student satisfaction. The transfer specialist works under the supervision of the associate dean of undergraduate studies to coordinate and implement university-wide articulation agreements for the undergraduate core curriculum and preparation for the major requirements of degrees in the undergraduate units. They also work on streamlining business processes related to transfer course evaluation. This is a critical element for the retention transfer students.

(Partners: College of Arts and Sciences, USD School of Business, Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, Learning Communities Office)

Planning is underway to ensure that we are ready for the students who deferred their enrollment until Spring 2021. If the sophomores who deferred for Fall 2020 return in Spring 2021, our retention rate will be approximately 89 percent – closer to the numbers we have reached over the past several years. Approximately half of the students who took a LOA this fall semester are undeclared students and we will communicate to these students as soon as the decision is made about the spring semester teaching mode. We expect that this decision will impact whether or not they return to USD.

This includes the following steps:

• There are currently approximately 140 FY students who deferred for the Spring 2021 semester. The associate dean of undergraduate studies is putting together LLC classes for these students to help in their transition to USD, as well as allowing them to fulfill their core requirement of First Year Integration. Each of these new LLCs will have a faculty advisor who will be trained on how to support these students in their unique needs as mid-year arrivals.
• The number of new transfer students we anticipate arriving in the spring will also determine the final number of TLC classes we need to offer and so more classes might need to be added to the current roster.
• Work with deferred students who wish to take intersession classes.
• A new questionnaire is being designed to send out to the FY students to ensure they are placed into suitable courses for the spring semester.
• Collaborating with the Admissions and Housing offices to ensure that there is transparent and clear communication about what the spring semester will look like in terms of their academics and residential life.

(Partners: College of Arts and Sciences, Student Affairs, USD School of Business, Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering)

The Office of Undergraduate Studies works with the Center of Student Success (CSS) and other offices on the Persistence Response team. The associate dean of undergraduate studies, in particular, works with advisors of new students who have not registered for classes to ensure students are directed to the right resources if needed to support them being able to register successfully.

(Partners: College of Arts and Sciences, USD School of Business, Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, Center for Student Success)

All of the undeclared and declared students have to connect with a faculty advisor prior to registration. The Office of Undergraduate Studies runs a workshop once a semester for all faculty on how to be effective advisors and to utilize resources available to them. All faculty are trained on conversations that enhance retention. The number one national indicator for high-retention rates is a strong student-faculty relationship and we spend a lot of time training faculty who serve in the LLC programs to engage in a close mentorship relationship.

(Partners: College of Arts and Sciences, Center for Educational Excellence, Learning Communities Office, Student Affairs)

The Academic Pledge was written by the three undergraduate deans and their teams as an effort to encourage students to enroll in and/or return to USD in Fall 2020. The pledge was sent to all incoming and returning students and discussed at the Summer Send Off meetings across the nation all summer.

(Partners: College of Arts and Sciences, USD School of Business, Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering)

Faculty can identify students through a survey on their class roster who are struggling/missing/have wellness issues in their classes. Students are then connected with the appropriate resource or the Student Affairs Torero Connectors.

(Partners: College of Arts and Sciences, USD School of Business, Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, Student Affairs)

The pre-health and pre-law advisors, working under the associate dean of undergraduate studies, provide guidance to all students looking to pursue careers in the health professions and law practice. These advisors are trained to work on retention for our pre-professional undergraduates. Their efforts range from advising to building community. This year both offices, in particular, spent extra time speaking with students about grading options and concerns about the fall as they made decisions about returning to USD. Further support for pre-health students is provided through the peer mentorship program.

(College of Arts and Sciences outreach to all undergraduate majors)

The Office of Undergraduate Studies sends out emails under CASadvising@sandiego.edu on a regular basis throughout the semester to remind students about important deadlines and resources. These emails are sent to all undeclared students, as well as to students majoring in College majors.

(College of Arts and Sciences outreach to all undeclared and students with majors in the College)