Summit Provides Clear Direction

Published: May 29, 2015
By: DeAnn Possehl
The Persistence and Completion Task Force sponsored a Completion Summit recently to begin the development of Parkside's three- to five-year "Persistence and Completion Plan."

The summit was a follow-up to a conversation that began at the Spring 2015 Convocation in January during which the campus was given an update on progress in meeting persistence and completion goals identified in the Strategic Enrollment Plan. By 2019, Parkside is committed to increasing first-to-second-year retention to 75 percent, improving four-year graduation rates by 5 percent and six-year graduation rates by 10 percent.

More than 50 faculty, staff and students attended the half-day summit. Participants received an update on current retention initiatives and relevant data along with feedback from the January convocation. During the summit, smaller working groups were asked to identify what current activities should Parkside continue, what other activities should Parkside undertake to achieve our persistence and completion goals, and what should be our top priorities for the next three to five years? 

Several themes emerged from this work: standardized advising, adult-focused activities, academic mapping, associate's degree offerings, student-led support, and targeted seminars. A complete summary of the conversation is available at

https://sp.uwp.edu/em/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/em/Shared%20Documents/Persistence%20and%20Graduation%20Task%20Force/Summit/Summit%20feedback.docx&action=default 

Using information from the summit, the Persistence and Completion Task Force develop a draft Persistence and Completion Plan for review and campus feedback by late summer.

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