Goal 2: Student Achievement
Keene State College will enable students to explore, clarify, and achieve their personal and academic goals by (1) enrolling, challenging, and supporting students who can thrive at the College; (2) encouraging the development of self advocacy; and (3) providing opportunities and guidance across the student life cycle.
Objectives:
- 2.1 Create and implement a comprehensive enrollment strategy, incorporating admissions and financial aid policies and practices, that is aligned with institutional values, supports the priorities and goal of the strategic plan, and promotes the matriculation of students who can thrive at Keene State College.
- 2.2. Better define the scope and improve the integration of student support services and enrichment programs to fulfill the College’s commitment to support the success of all students who are admitted and enrolled.
- 2.3. Create a comprehensive and coordinated first-year program, aligned with the comprehensive academic and co-curricular plan, to support student achievement, persistence, and retention.
- 2.4. Provide specific support to improve the educational experience and romote the retention and success of traditionally underserved or at-risk student populations, including first-generation students and highachieving students.
2.1 Create and implement a comprehensive enrollment strategy, incorporating admissions and financial aid policies and practices, that is aligned with institutional values, supports the priorities and goal of the strategic plan, and promotes the matriculation of students who can thrive at Keene State College.
Actions recommended by the Implementation Planning Group:
2.1.1. Identify additional stakeholders, including faculty, to join the Enrollment Management Committee, and charge that Committee with developing, after appropriate consultation, a recommended enrollment strategy, to include the expected size and composition of the entering class; recruitment strategies needed to increase the demographic diversity of students; identification and description (through review of institutional data) of students most likely to thrive at Keene State College; financial aid policies and resources related to recruitment as compared with competitor institutions; admissions policies, practices, and resources as compared with competitor institutions; admissions territories, including domestic and international markets; and admissions and recruitment components of the College’s marketing plan.
2.1.2. Review the future role of graduate education programs in the context of academic and market factors such as changing professional requirements, regulations and mandates, and competing programs in place or in development at other institutions.
2.1.3. Further engage members of the faculty in recruitment efforts.
2.2. Better define the scope and improve the integration of student support services and enrichment programs to fulfill the College’s commitment to support the success of all students who are admitted and enrolled.
Actions recommended by the Implementation Planning Group:
2.2.1. Design a plan to support student success, aligned with the comprehensive academic and co-curricular plan and the enrollment plan; this plan should include an inventory of current support services and enrichment programs, a comprehensive needs assessment for support services (based on student surveys and institutional data), a review of standards and generally accepted best practices, and a proposal for initiatives that can be accomplished by 2020, which should include improvements in communication with and information access by students.
2.3. Create a comprehensive and coordinated first-year program, aligned with the comprehensive academic and co-curricular plan, to support student achievement, persistence, and retention.
Actions recommended by the Implementation Planning Group:
2.3.1. With broad faculty involvement and consultation, create a plan for a comprehensive first-year program, including: identification of the overall goals and objectives of the College’s first year program; review and evaluation of different first year program models in other institutions; consideration of the use of e-portfolios; and selection or development of a model for implementation that is aligned with Orientation and Welcome Days and the College-wide learning outcomes.
2.4. Provide specific support to improve the educational experience and romote the retention and success of traditionally underserved or at-risk student populations, including first-generation students and highachieving students.
Actions recommended by the Implementation Planning Group:
2.4.1. Review institutional data to determine which students are most at risk of not persisting, being retained, and/or graduating.
2.4.2. Develop a plan to support students who are most at risk, including at least: an inventory of current programs and services that support those students; a review of evidence-based best practices in supporting students with those characteristics and features; and recommended strategies for implementation at Keene State College.
2.4.3. Review recruitment and admissions strategies and revise as necessary to increase the demographic diversity of students.
Consideration: Activities 2.4.2, 2.4.3, 2.4.4, and 2.4.5 allow the intent of objective 2.4 to be focused on groups of students who are shown in institutional data to face greater challenges to success.
Collaborators and stakeholders:
- Director of Institutional Research and Assessment
- Director of TRIO Program
- Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management
- Marketing and Communications Office
- Diversity and Multiculturalism Office
- Admissions Office
2.4.4. Develop a plan to support the retention and success of diverse students, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students (LGBTQ); this plan should include an inventory of current programs and services that support those students; a review of evidence-based best practices in supporting such students; and recommended strategies for implementation at Keene State College.
2.4.5. Review current strategies and programs through which Keene State College supports and responds to the needs of students who are, or may become, deeply engaged intellectually in their college experience—both high-achieving and potentially high-achieving students, and develop and implement programs and services, including scholarships based on academic merit, to better support these students.