RETENTION & STUDENT SUCCESS PROJECT
Retention and Student Success Project (RSSP)
Western Oregon University’s Retention and Student Success Project is designed to increase retention and persistence by reducing inequity gaps for students. The project is funded by Title III, a federal grant that helps to strengthen and expand an institution’s ability to support students who face higher than average barriers in their journey to graduation. While this grant funding will support many new changes and programs, the goal is to create long-lasting systems that WOU can sustain after the life of the grant.
Project Objectives
Project Activities
The Retention and Student Success Project contains five main activities created to achieve the project objectives. These include increasing assessment, improving the student experience, investing in instructional design, creating better clarity of degree paths and increasing opportunities for career readiness. Click here to learn more!
Timeline and Scope
The life cycle of the grant can be seen on the left. Through the previously mentioned activities, the RSSP has offered support in student success interventions and to departments across campus. Some examples of this include:
- The expansion and implementation of EAB Navigate
- The creation and administration of the WOLF Student Experience Feedback Form
- Capacity within the Center for Professional Pathways
- Resources for new student orientation
- Capacity within the Center for Teaching and Learning,
- Mentor and coaching opportunities for students
- Improvements in First Year Seminar
What is the WOLF Student Experience Feedback Form?
This form, directly created and managed through RSSP, is WOU’s annual, campus-wide student experience survey. All areas of the student experience are included and the form is open to all students when it is administered every winter term. The goal of the form is to provide a one stop shop for student voices to be heard and to use this feedback to help make actionable change on campus. The data collected from this form not only helps inform the direction of the Retention and Student Succcess Project but also the instituion as a whole.
How can I learn more?
Faculty and staff can learn more about RSSP and the data findings from the 2024/25 Student Experience Feedback Form by joining our Kickoff Week information session, details to be determined.
Students can learn more by attending a similar event specifically for students, hosted in collaboration with ASWOU in the coming Fall Term.
Anyone is welcome to learn more about the Title III Grant and RSSP as a whole by viewing this presentation.
