October 21, 2004

Freshman Success Task Force Created At Boise State University To Help Retain First-Year Students

Boise State University has formed a 14-member task force to study freshman success. The task force will examine why students do or do not return for a second year, review current campus programs, and make recommendations on services to increase the likelihood of retaining first-year students. Boise State s average freshman retention rate has been 59 percent the last two years, meaning that 41 percent of the first-time, full-time academic freshmen that start a fall semester do not return to campus the following fall. Boise State is the largest university in Idaho with a fall 2004 enrollment of 18,456 students, including a freshman class of 2,165. The Freshman Success Task Force has been created by Provost Sona Andrews and Vice President of Student Affairs Peg Blake with a planning meeting on Oct. 14. The first formal task force session is set for Nov. 3. The group is chaired by Suzanne McCorkle, professor of communication and director of Conflict Management Services at Boise State. Additional members of the task force are: Marcia Belcheir, coordinator, institutional assessment; Valerie Cleary, TRIO programs; Ken Coll, professor and chair, counselor education; John Gardner, professor and chair, mechanical engineering; Heather Gribble, student; Joe Holladay, student; Patricia Kempthorne, Idaho s first lady; Bill Lathen, dean, College of Business and Economics; Chris Rosenbaum, budget director; Roger Stewart, professor, literacy; Kim Thomas, director, university bookstore; Mark Wheeler, dean of enrollment services; and Shelton Woods, associate dean, College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs. This task force is charged with examining the first-year experience of our students and determining what turns freshmen into sophomores, said McCorkle. We need to look at who our students are, why they succeed or not, what programs work and how we can better support our new students. The retention and graduation of students are at the heart of Boise State s mission. The year long study will result in interim changes as well as overall recommendations by September 2005. Comparable efforts in 1993 to examine student retention at Boise State University resulted in positive outcomes, including a revamped student orientation program and the formation of University 101 freshman seminars. Other initiatives were the Cluster Program, which groups programs together so students share similar class schedules, and the eight-week Summer Bridge Program, which provides a head start on strengthening academic skills prior to the start of the regular academic year. -30- Contact: Suzanne McCorkle, professor of communication, Freshman Success Task Force chair, (208) 426-3928, smccork@boisestate.edu  Media Contact: Frank Zang, communications and marketing, (208) 426-5391, frankzang@boisestate.edu