A Message From the President: Retention Rate Increase

A Message From the President:

Bob Griggs, President

Enrollment and retention go hand-in-hand, and while we celebrated our increased enrollment numbers this fall, I would also like to draw attention to our exceptional retention rate. 

This fall, STC saw a 3% increase, bringing our institution-wide retention rate to 75%.

Much like with enrollment, we can attribute our retention increase to several factors: Getting past COVID, better tracking, better processes, better communications and better policies. However, at the heart of these metrics, we have talented, dedicated faculty and staff making improvements happen.

• The Student Success Center has been proactive with student communications and ongoing conversations when students face obstacles.
• Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) practices have become more consistent and hold all students accountable toward successfully progressing in their academic programs.
• Changes to STC’s attendance and refund policies have also contributed to the retention increase. The Registrar’s Office engages in more communications with students who receive attendance warnings. Additionally, the updated refund policy allows students to drop a course and receive a refund for it. Then, those students can continue in their other classes, such as general education courses, and they may return the next semester in a new program. 
• For the Build Dakota program, we have improved the selection process for industry sponsors, which has also helped us retain more Build Dakota students.
• The Academic Resource Center (ARC) has expanded to additional buildings on campus, making it more convenient for students to engage in tutoring, study buddies and study tables.  A special thanks to the faculty for their contributions in referring students and spending office hours and additional hours staffing the ARC. 

I look forward to building on this momentum as we continue to serve our students and fill the region’s workforce needs. 

Bob Griggs, President