Retention & Student Success

Student Success Initiative

Housed within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Administration, UMD's intiative to improve student success focuses campus-wide attention on the five core process areas that support a successful student experience:

FIT - Interests & educational goals of students are aligned with UMD, its programs, and regional setting.

FINANCIAL - Students have access to sufficient resources and knowledge to plan for and invest in their education.

LEARNING - Students are engaged in challenging learning activities leading to timely degree completion.

SUPPORT - Students are connected to a strong network of caring faculty, staff, and students.

CULTURE - Students, faculty, and staff are valued participants in, and contributors to, a diverse and inclusive community that is educationally purposeful.

The Student Success Strategy Map, UMD's framework for improved retention and graduation rates, allows all campus stakeholders to become aware of the key startegies for improving student success and to monitor UMD's progress along the five core process areas listed above. The Strategy Map is founded upon and cross-referenced to the Literature Review and Best Practices. The Strategy Map is updated annually.

The 30-60-90 Student Success (Graduation) Roadmap incorporates key strategic priorities from the Strategy Map into a clearly marked route to student success. While each student is the primary architect of his/her college experience, faculty and staff are responsible for engaging students in curricular and co-curricular activities and for reinforcing the positive student behaviors that contribute to a successful educational experience. The 30-60-90 Roadmap is intended to communicate consistent expectations to students, to guide student actions, to facilitate discussions between academic advisors and students, and to reinforce the important role each member of our community plays in promoting student success and in contributing to improved retention and graduation rates. View/print the "student friendly" version of the Roadmap.

Progress to Graduation: The 30-60-90 Student Success Roadmap (paper presented at the Fall 2009 National Symposium on Student Retention, Buffalo, NY)