Giving Compass' Take:

• Charles McAdams explains how Delta State University is improving faulty instruction to improve student retention, particularly for those that do not have time to access the support facilities that colleges offer. 

• How can funders help to evaluate, improve, and spread this type of retention program? 

• Learn about the increase in college enrollment among low-income students. 

Delta State University is certainly in “flyover country.” And we don’t have the draw of a big flagship or an elite private institution. But like hundreds of small-to-medium-size colleges and universities that are off the beaten path, we are working hard to recruit, retain and graduate more students who are well-prepared with meaningful degrees.

Who enrolls? Young people and returning adults for whom a college education will change their lives. Forty-eight percent are eligible for Pell grants. Ninety-seven percent depend on federal, state and local aid. Not enough are academically prepared. Many are working their way through college while caring for their families, and too few have the spare time to visit our academic support and career centers.

All things considered, our best and sometimes only opportunity to make a significant difference for students is in the classroom. It’s imperative to ensure that the time students spend with peers and professors — face-to-face or online — is the best it can be.

This is why Delta State is making a major investment in its faculty. This past spring, we received a grant to support our newly developed and named Gertrude C. Ford Center for Teaching and Learning.

As one of the new initiatives supported by this grant, all of our faculty will have the opportunity to earn a credential in effective college instruction through the Association of College and University Educators. Within the program, developed in collaboration with the American Council on Education, our faculty are working together with the support of a facilitator to learn about and implement evidence-based teaching practices.

Most importantly, we’re already seeing positive effects on student learning. Students taught by faculty credentialed by the Association of College and University Educators had higher success rates and lower rates of “DFW,” or failure to pass with a grade of C or better, than students taught by faculty who have yet to start this program.

Read the full article about boosting student retention by Charles McAdams at The Hechinger Report.