Making it across the finish line: Pace Holds Regional Conference to find ways to help students stay in college

Pleasantville, June 5, 2017 – Boredom, loneliness, debt and mental health issues are among the top reasons that students drop out of school before getting that coveted degree.

What can colleges do to retain students and make sure they cross that finish line? Educators from public and private colleges across the Northeast will discuss their successes and failures on this front on June 16 when Pace University holds its first Retention Conference:“Going the Extra Mile: Data-Driven, Student-Focused Retention Strategies that Work.

More than 25 schools including Pace, Mercy College, Temple University, Hunter College, Johnson and Wales University, Vassar College, St. Thomas Aquinas, Manhattanville College and the College of Mount Saint Vincent, among others will present and attend the conference from 9:30 - 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 16 at the Pleasantville campus at 861 Bedford Road. The day will include a morning keynote and luncheon presentation, as well as breakout groups in the morning and afternoon and round table discussions.

“It is our responsibility to make available to our students all possible resources that will support them in persisting with their university life, graduating with a college degree, and tools to succeed post-graduation. By bringing together public and private colleges across the Northeast to share best practices, we hope to provide educational leaders with new insights into how we can make this happen,’’ said one of the conference organizers Uday Sukhatme, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), only about 59 percent of students who began seeking a bachelor's degree at a four-year institution in Fall 2009 completed that degree within six years. Between 2010 and 2015 this rate increased by only 1 percentage point. And the national first-to-second-year retention rate has consistently hovered around 68% for the last five years, meaning that only a handful of colleges and universities are making progress on this front.

For institutions of higher education, retention is a serious issue with schools losing millions each year to students dropping out or switching schools. Prospective students and parents also look at retention as an indicator of a college’s the overall effectiveness at educating students and keeping them happy and engaged in college life.

Discussions at the conference will focus on some of the top reasons students leave school and what some schools have found works in retaining them. Presentations will include a look at programs like the Pace Path, which combines academic and real-world experiences through coaching, mentoring, and experiential learning to engage students and make studies more relevant to the work world.

Mercy College, another conference presenter, will be discussing its Pulse on Learning program, which allows students to help shape the learning environment by giving substantive input at the outset of a college course.

“Typically students are given an evaluation sheet at the end of the semester—a method that has value, but comes late in the process,” said Victoria Mondelli, Executive Director of Mercy’s Office for Teaching Excellence and Engaged Learning. “Our early-term survey happens about 3 or 4 weeks into the semester. We ask students for their impressions of different aspects of the learning experience, such as how the class is structured, whether they’re getting sufficient opportunities to practice skills and acquire knowledge, how engaging the instructor is, and so forth.”

Another session will feature the directors of counseling centers at Pace, Vassar College and Montclair State University discussing what their schools are doing to help students access counseling services as mental health and substance abuse issues are leading cause of students leaving school.

The conference’s other organizer, Susan L. Maxam, Assistant Vice President for Student Success, said while there has been a lot of emphasis on financial incentives to keep students in school - like the state’s new excelsior scholarship program, a lack of funding is not the only reason students don’t finish college.

“Since today’s incoming college students have more choices and challenges than ever when it comes to defining their college experience, dropping out or transferring has become commonplace,’’ said Maxim. “As a result, higher education institutions across the nation are finding it increasingly necessary to prioritize student retention efforts and seek strategies that serve students more effectively.”

About Pace University

Pace University is a comprehensive, independent University with campuses in New York City and Westchester County. Nearly 13,000 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the Lubin School of Business, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, Elisabeth Haub School of Law, School of Education, and College of Health Professions. http://www.pace.edu