Faculty Toolkit: Supporting Retention & Student Success

Gain a greater understanding of the academic, cultural, and social experiences of first-generation college students (FGS).

Who students are when they start college does not dictate how much they can benefit, provided they take advantage of the myriad learning opportunities institutions offer.

This is a requisite text for enrollment practitioners, higher education scholars, and progressive public policy makers dedicated to understanding the processes involved in increasing student retention and success rates. The authors' data-focused approach identifies many of the best practices and fundamental efforts that can make a positive impact at most colleges and universities.

Drawing on studies funded by the Lumina Foundation, the nation's largest private foundation focused solely on increasing Americans' success in higher education, the authors revise current theories of college student departure, including Tinto's, making the important distinction between residential and commuter colleges and universities, and thereby taking into account the role of the external environment and the characteristics of social communities in student departure and retention.

American higher education needs a major reframing of student learning outcomes assessment Dynamic changes are underway in American higher education. New providers, emerging technologies, cost concerns, student debt, and nagging doubts about quality all call out the need for institutions to show evidence of student learning.