Student Success, Retention and Equity Taskforce - March 2024 Update

Dear Faculty, Librarians, and Staff,

The Student Success, Retention, and Equity (SSRE) Task Force continues our data-informed approach to foster a culture in which student success is a shared university expectation that encompasses multiple definitions spanning academic, emotional, social, and other measures. Student success includes more than retention, achievement, and advancement; it also includes student educational objectives, holistic development, and post-college performance and engagement.

Our goal is to retain at least 81% of our first-time, first-year students who started in fall 2023 to their second fall in 2024. Every 1% change in our retention percentage is about 15 students. 

The first-time, first-year fall-to-spring return rate increased from 91.3 percent (fall 2022 entering cohort) to 93.3 percent (fall 2023 entering cohort), which is lower than our target of 94 percent. The fall-to-spring return rate of new (Hilltop) transfer students decreased slightly from 86.8 percent (fall 2022 entering cohort) to 86.6 percent (fall 2023 entering cohort).

New students told us that a sense of belonging is related to why they stay or leave USF: 

• Students who strongly agree or agree with “I feel like I belong at USF” retained at 94 percent, while those who strongly disagree or disagree retained at 75 percent;
• Students who strongly agree or agree with “Overall, I feel connected to USF” retained at 94 percent, while those who strongly disagree or disagree retained at 85 percent;
• Students who strongly agree or agree with “I feel connected to other students” retained at 95 percent, while those who strongly disagree or disagree retained at 83 percent. 

Here’s how we can all work together to achieve that goal:

• Ensure our students have an academic home and meet with their advisers; 
• Connect students with CASA through the early alert system when they are struggling;  
• Engage with students through enriched research, artistic, and scholarly opportunities, and department social events; 
• Provide students with peer mentors or ambassadors;  
• Work with the Career Services Center to  facilitate more internship opportunities for majors;
• Encourage students to join or start organizations, club sports and intramurals; 
• Inspire students to explore faith and/or other social justice initiatives;
• Connect students directly to one of the many offices on campus through the Student Life Resource Toolkit; and
• Refer students to the Care Referral Program, if there is a more sensitive or challenging student issue, so a member of the dean of students or Care Referral Team can follow-up.

In collaboration with the Schools and College, and all faculty, staff, and librarians, the Student Success Retention and Equity Task Force is engaged in multiple efforts in support of student success, retention and equity as part of the USF 2027 Strategic Plan goals this academic year.  

A few highlights include:

• Development of degree maps for each undergraduate major that are explicit and available to all current and prospective students to assist them in planning their time-to-degree. Degree maps will be available via USF website by Fall 24.
• ‘Declare Your Major’ Week coming up this spring semester to encourage undeclared students to find an academic home.
• Updating the Leave of Absence and Petition to Withdraw forms to encourage student engagement before they leave and to gather better data around why students do not persist at USF.
• Gathering and mapping high impact practices (HIPs) across curricular and co-curricular areas to assess how engagement in HIPs impact retention and persistence.
• Partnering with Mentor Collective which launched fall 2023. Through the USF Mentor Collective platform, first generation students are paired by their interests through a matching survey. Over 340 conversations have been logged on the platform between first generation student mentors and mentees as of Feb. 15, 2024
• Expanding website resources to support student retention such as the ITS-ETS Technology and Student Retention Strategies.

Thank you for all you do in support of our students and the USF community. Please send any questions and additional retention ideas to the SSRE Task Force by emailing: ssre@usfca.edu.

Student Success, Retention, and Equity Task Force