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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2002

Six Indiana doctoral/research universities launch student retention projects

Lumina Foundation provides $600,000 in grants to improve retention at Indiana universities.

INDIANAPOLIS — Early success in college is a key predictor of eventual degree attainment. According to ACT, about half of all the nation's students who enroll in college graduate in five years; half of those who don't graduate drop out in the first year. To help improve student retention and degree attainment at Indiana universities, Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation for Education challenged six institutions that educate more than one-third of Indiana's college students to improve their retention of first- and second-year students. All six institutions accepted the invitation, and each has been awarded a $100,000 grant as part of a new program called the President's Fund for Student Success in the First and Second Years of College.

"Many students hit a variety of academic, financial and social roadblocks on their way to graduation," said Martha D. Lamkin, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation. "These six Hoosier universities, through our President's Fund initiative, are pursuing innovative programs to help students navigate the sometimes bumpy road of the freshman and sophomore years."

Below are profiles of the six grant recipients, along with summaries of their retention initiatives.

Ball State University (Muncie) plans to develop faculty teaching skills in ways that will lead to greater student retention and graduation. This grant will fund the creation of an intense, in-service development experience for a dozen faculty members who will teach one-third to one-half of Ball State's freshmen in first-semester courses. Ball State seeks to improve its retention rate for first-year students to 80 percent from 77 percent and its graduation rate from its current rate of 52 percent to 60 percent by 2006.

Indiana State University (ISU) (Terre Haute) hopes to increase student success and retention by integrating Web-based student portfolios into learning communities. Over the past four years, ISU used learning communities to help raise the retention rate for first-year students from 64 percent to 72 percent. In a learning community, students work collaboratively, taking a series of classes as a group. The faculty teaching those courses work together to integrate the material in a way that allows students to make these connections. Portfolios are Web-based, interactive tools to help students continuously assess progress toward specific academic and personal goals. Research indicates that this process engages students more fully in activities that increase academic success and persistence to graduation.

Indiana University (Bloomington) plans to use the grant to increase student success by more fully engaging first-generation students in campus and community life through "service learning" in introductory courses. Service learning directly connects content learned in the classroom to real-life situations addressed in activities learned through local community organizations. Research indicates that an effective service-learning class increases engagement on campus, which can increase the chances that a student will return the following semester.

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) proposes to develop a program to increase the success of entering first-generation students, particularly African Americans and Latinos. The program has two main goals: to increase social and academic support through a mentoring program and to improve student performance by making the learning environment more inclusive and collaborative. IUPUI will convene faculty from key freshman courses. The faculty will work to build "learning communities" by integrating their efforts on these key courses.

Purdue University (West Lafayette) plans to introduce a multicultural learning communities project to improve retention for participating students. Purdue seeks to increase the number of students - particularly historically underrepresented students - who successfully complete coursework for the first and second years of college. A study of 1990 student enrollment patterns shows Purdue lost more than 20 percent of enrolling freshmen before they completed a degree. About 69 percent of these students left Purdue during or immediately after the first or second year. In recent years, Purdue's retention rate has improved 8 percent to 9 percent for students of color who participated in certain retention programs, compared to students of color who did not participate in these initiatives. Purdue's Lumina Foundation project is building on this success.

The University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame) plans to increase student success and retention by transforming a large, freshman lecture class into a highly interactive learning experience. Notre Dame has a 96 percent retention rate and a graduation rate of 94 percent that is exceeded nationally only by Harvard, Princeton and Yale. Yet, it recognizes pockets that need improvement. Professor Harvey Bender, a Carnegie Scholar and human genetics professor at Notre Dame, has identified one such area. He notes that the required introductory courses in science often intimidate students. Professor Bender wants to reduce student intimidation and increase successful participation in the sciences by redesigning his introductory human genetics course, which enrolls a quarter of all Notre Dame freshmen. He plans to supplement large group meetings with small learning groups. The groups will use case studies, current events, journal writing, a Web site and cross-disciplinary research to make the learning experience rich and varied.

Lumina Foundation for Education, a private, independent foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access and success in education beyond high school. Through research, grants for innovative programs and communication initiatives, Lumina Foundation addresses issues surrounding financial access and educational retention and degree or certificate attainment -- particularly among underserved student groups, including adult learners. The Foundation bases its mission on the belief that postsecondary education remains one of the most beneficial investments that individuals can make in themselves and that society can make in its people.

For more information, contact Sara Murray-Plumer, director of communications at (317) 951-5493 or splumer@luminafoundation.org.