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The Future is Florida State: Strategic Plan 2017-2022
Metric Chart: Second Fall Retention of Full-Time FTIC Students with 2.0+ GPA. 2023 Goal: 93% Retention Rate. 2016-17 cohort baseline: 91.8%. 2017-18 cohort progress: 91.4%. 2018-19 cohort progress: 91.6%. 2019-20 cohort progress: 93.6%. 2020-21 cohort progress: 92.9%. 2022-23 cohort goal: 93.0%.
Tactics
Improve quality and frequency of advisor contacts
Academic advisors have a key role in assuring student success, but often these advisors have a case load that is too high to be the kind of mentors they would want to be, so we will be increasing staffing and using technology to improve the quality of engagement with students.
Increase student success early alert usage
Poor grades and course withdrawals are clear indicators of students who are at risk of not graduating on time. To address this, we will be examining all courses with high D, F, W grade rates and looking for opportunities to identify and assist students who are struggling.
Expand first-year student engagement
FSU has implemented a new program – Engage 100 – that is designed to engage close to 100% of first-year students in formal communities where they can forge meaningful peer relationships; develop personal, social and professional awareness; and cultivate skills to advance their academic disciplines or personal goals.
Activities and Accomplishments
- In Fall 2020, FSU increased its first to second-year retention rate to 95% and continued its tradition of having virtually no disparities in retention rates among student demographic groups. Ninety-five percent of FSU’s first-time-in-college students who enrolled in Summer/Fall 2019 stayed for their sophomore year — a record for the university. Notably, last year’s freshman class of about 7,100 students was the largest and most diverse in university history.
- Last academic year, the Proactive Referral and Engagement (PRE) program offered support to 3,164 referrals from faculty indicating students who were struggling in their courses and in need of academic intervention. Approximately 35% of those referrals (1,118) responded to outreach and received assistance via email, phone, in-person meeting, or an appointment with a study skills tutor.
- FSU expanded its Engage 100 program, supporting and engaging more first-year students than ever in the program’s peer-mentored community.
- Florida State University’s Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement (CARE) will receive $2.6 million over the next five years to continue funding two programs that support traditionally underrepresented students in higher education. The two competitive grants are part of the Federal TRIO Programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. CARE received a total of $2,618,880, an increase over the original $2.2 million in TRIO funding awarded five years ago.
Outcomes