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Central State aims to boost grad rate

Reorganization plan includes a special  program for incoming CSU freshmen.

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By Christopher Magan, Staff Writer Updated 9:51 AM Monday, May 2, 2011

WILBERFORCE — Central State University trustees approved a campuswide reorganization plan late last week aimed at combating graduation rates that are half the national average.

CSU has long struggled to grow student enrollment and improve retention and graduation rates. In 2010, only 47 percent of freshmen returned for their sophomore year and just 19 percent graduated after six years.

Those rates are significantly lower than the national average for public universities where 78 percent of students return for a sophomore year and a little more than half of all students graduate after six years, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

As part of the plan, a new University College will be established as a starting place for all incoming CSU freshman. Students will choose areas of interest, but won’t declare a major until their second year. More advising will be made available and students will be required to take a yearlong course designed to teach them how to be successful during their time at school.

“We see this as an opportunity to develop a more strategic approach for the first year experience,” said Juliette Bell, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

“What we want by the end of the first year is the other colleges to take ownership of those students.”

The school will begin implementing the plan this summer for the 2011-2012 incoming class.

The move comes as the Ohio Board of Regents, which oversees state colleges and universities, places a growing emphasis on course completion and graduation rates when distributing state funds.

CSU faces a $600,000 cut in the special supplement the university receives to keep tuition low on top of a $1 million cut in general state funding. The university was forced to furlough employees and close the campus during the holidays this school year because of budget shortfalls.

Elizabeth Watkins, chairwoman of the board of trustees, said improving first-year retention will help attract more students and increase graduation rates, making CSU more financially stable.

“If we get those numbers up, it will help our bottom line,” Watkins said. “We just need to embrace students a little more, nurture them and explain what it is like to be a college student.”

The reorganization also calls for the creation of two new colleges to join the existing business and education colleges: science and engineering; and humanities, arts and social sciences. The university offers 33 bachelor’s and one master’s degree programs.

University officials say they have set “ambitious” goals of raising the CSU graduation rates to the na- tional average in five short years. Many attending CSU are first-generation students, who, because of their families’ inexperience with college, often have lower retention and graduation rates to begin with.

“We’ve been focused on (improving student achievement), but our current ef- forts are scattered across campus. This brings it all in one place in a more concentrated effort,” Bell said.

The plan will put the university’s science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, disciplines under the new college of science and engineering to help give greater visibility to what the school offers and attract new students, Bell said. University officials are using part of a $4 million federal Department of Defense grant to cover some of the costs.

“This (plan) is an opportunity for us to build upon our strengths,” Bell said.

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