SUBJECT: Promising Practices: A Student Retention and Success Summit

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

We are excited to invite you to participate in the inaugural Undergraduate Graduation and Retention Summit: Building on Promising Practices to be held on campus Friday, April 5th from 9am-3pm. This summit will bring together faculty, staff, and students to highlight current initiatives across campus that promote student success, engagement, and retention. In addition, attendees will explore ways to scale up existing initiatives for their units and colleges and coordinate to best support our students.

Please visit this website for more information.

Who should participate?

Any faculty member currently using innovative practices to address student success in their classrooms. Any faculty member interested in learning about increasing student success in their classroom.

I can only attend for a short time, when should I join?

• The poster session and browsing fair is from 9:00am-11:00am for those presenting or those interested in viewing innovative practices.
• A review of data on retention and graduation rates will be held from 9:00-9:45am and again from 11:00-11:45am.
• A discussion of best practices and a forum for feedback will be held in the afternoon from 1:00-2:45pm.
• The full schedule will be available on the website soon.

I’m interested in participating, but I feel like the things I do in my classroom are small and I don’t track results. What kinds of ideas are you looking for?

We think small changes in the classroom can have a really big impact on student success. Even if you are not formally measuring the impact of your work, we would love to see what you are doing. Some examples of promising practices include:

• First day surveys of students
• Non standard grading techniques like outcomes based assessments, second chance grading, or upgrading
• Including professional development activities in the classroom
• Incorporating PBL
• Working with a student group or organization

I’m interested in participating, how do I sign up?

Please use this Participation Form to register to attend or to present a promising practice.

Thank you for your support of undergraduates on campus - we appreciate the work that you do! Please let us know if you have any questions.

Maureen and Joan

Maureen Linker
Associate Provost
Undergraduate Education and Experiential Learning

Joan Remski
Associate Provost
Faculty Development and Digital Learning