To improve delivery of services that are responsive to students' unique needs and that promote effective learning.

The area has made significant progress this semester in the achievement of its annual goals.

The University has experienced a 4 percentage point increase in overall enrollment in fall 2013 over fall 2012. Enrollment is up in all areas except graduate enrollment. There was a decrease in full-time and part-time graduate students for a total decrease of 28.5%.

The University experienced a 35.5% increase in first time freshmen this year over last year. The reason for an increase was an improvement in communication with prospects. The University did experience a 3.4% decrease in transfer student recruitment as compared to Fall 2012.

New recruitment materials have been developed for this season. The Fall Open House is scheduled for Nov. 9. A new communications plan has been implemented so that the Admissions staff may respond more timely to all applicants. The new Enrollment Services Call Center is progressing well. The center managed a total of 2,027 calls in the month of September.

Retention Management and Advising Services – Ms. Jacqueline Faulkner

The area of Retention Management and Advising Services has two programmatic priorities that are outlined in the Division's strategic plan which are:

To increase student retention, progression and timely degree completion.

To decrease the number of students with academic actions.

In an effort to improve the retention rates of returning students, a massive registration campaign was held prior to the beginning of the fall 2013 semester. The initiative included outreach to students using various mediums: telephone, campus e-mail, and postal mail. As a result of this, the retention rates of all first-time, undergraduate degree seeking students increased by 0.8 percentage points for the fall 2012 cohort.

Working with the Office of Institutional Research, a Graduation Initiative has begun for students identified as a member of the fall 2009 cohort. This initiative focuses on students who have at least 60 hours completed, to ensure their ability to graduate within the required timeframe to impact graduation rates.

Instructional Counselors are currently collaborating with faculty in Math and English to provide structured study sessions and integrated academic support. The ACE Director is actively involved in the Wal-Mart Student Success Collaborative grant which is focused on providing holistic instructional services to students in a learning community context. A national conference of this team was held at the University's research farm on Sept. 12-13.

Staff members of FRIENDS in conjunction with ACE provided academic workshops to KSU students on Learning Styles, Study Skills, Goal Setting, Time Management and Test Taking Tips to give guidance, focus and to assist in the success of their educational careers.

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