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UW Looks To Boost Student Retention

UW

As 1,600 first-year students descend upon the University of Wyoming this weekend, administrators are working hard to make a good first impression.

New students attend an orientation program called “Cowboy Connect.” Events and info-sessions are designed to prepare them for the academic and social changes that come with college life.

Recently, UW has put more focus on trying to increase retention rates. That’s the number of freshman students who return their sophomore year.

April Heany helps coordinate some of these efforts. She says these first few weeks of college are crucial.

“A lot of research on student transition shows that those early experiences are very important to student persistence and how they see themselves as college students,” says Heany. “So, we really want to capitalize on that little window to help them move from thinking about themselves as high school students to really helping them envision themselves in that first year—what they want to be and what opportunities are available to them.”

UW’s retention rate in 2013 was about 76 percent. Administrators are hoping to get that up to 80 percent, the national average for public universities.

Remediation efforts will continue into the school year. This is the first year all students will be required to take first-year seminars under the University’s new general studies program. In those classes, top faculty will impart college success skills to small class sizes. 

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