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Monday, May 2, 2011
CSU reorganization aimed at improving achievement
WILBERFORCE — Central State University trustees approved a campus-wide reorganization plan late last week aimed at combating graduation rates that are half the national average.
CSU has struggled to grow student enrollment and improve retention and graduation rates. In 2010, only 47 percent of freshmen returned for a sophomore year and just 19 percent graduated after six years.
Those rates are far lower than the national average for public universities where 78 percent of students return for a sophomore year and a little more than half of all students graduate after six years, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
A new University College is designed to be a “learning community” that serves as a starting place for all incoming students. Incoming CSU students will receive more advising and take a required year-long course designed to teach students how to be successful during their time at school. Under the plan students will chose areas of interest as freshman, but won’t declare a major until their second year.
“We see this as an opportunity to develop a more strategic approach for the first year experience,” said Juliette Bell, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “What we want by the end of the first year is the other colleges to take ownership of those students.”
The school will begin implementing the plan this summer for the 2011-2012 incoming class. The move comes as the Ohio Board of Regents, which oversees state colleges and universities, puts a growing emphasis on course completion and graduation rates when distributing state funds.
“We’ve been focused on (improving student achievement), but our current efforts are scattered across campus. This brings it all in one place in a more concentrated effort,” Bell said. The plan also creates two new colleges — science and engineering, and humanities, arts and social sciences — to join the existing business and education colleges. The historically black university has 33 bachelor and one master degree programs.
University officials say they have set “ambitious” goals of raising the CSU graduation rates to the national average in five short years. Many attending CSU are first-generation students, who, because of their inexperience with college, often have lower retention and graduation rates to begin with.
CSU faces a $600,000 cut in the special supplement the university receives to keep tuition low on top of a $1 million cut in general state funding. The university was forced to furlough employees and close campus over the holidays this school year because of budget shortfalls.
Elizabeth Watkins, chair of the board of trustees, said improving first year retention will lead to more students and help increase graduation rates making CSU more financially stable.
“If we get those numbers up, it will help our bottom line,” Watkins said. “We just need to embrace students a little more, nurture them and explain what it is like to be a college student.”
The reorganization also will put the university’s science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, disciplines under the new college of science and engineering that will help give greater visibility and attract new students, Bell said. University officials are using part of a $4 million federal Department of Defense grant to cover some of the costs.
“This is an opportunity for us to build upon our strengths,” Bell said.
