Improve Graduation Rate
Increasing the graduation rate has been a focus of CAS for some time now. Barriers to graduation come in many forms and need to continue to be addressed as part of this plan. Efforts by the College fall in line with the University’s imperative to “increase the six-year graduation rate 10% by 2027 through a comprehensive retention strategy.”
Initative 2
Continue to address bureaucratic inefficiencies, degree requirements, quality of instruction, experiential learning and other forms of potential graduation impediments.
Objective 1: Support students in moving efficiently toward graduation
Students should be supported in moving efficiently toward graduation by reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies. The college will review course offerings to minimize such problems. For example, there should be communication across departments to prevent required courses from being offered simultaneously, particularly for upper-division courses necessary for graduation. There also needs to be communication when course schedules are changed, especially for courses required by many majors.
Objective 2: Remove graduation impediments
The College will review degree requirements to ensure that they serve an explicit educational outcome and do not impede graduation.
Objective 3: Create greater flexibility in course offerings
The College will review scheduling patterns that allow students who must work or have other obligations (which is most of our students) to have clear blocks of time when they can be available for employment, childcare, etc. For example, offering a variety of course modalities (online, hybrid and in-person) could accommodate more student schedules.
Objective 4: Reform required introductory STEM courses
One of the major causes of slow progress to graduation in many STEM disciplines is student performance in introductory level required classes. To address this, the College will, over three years, reform how introductory courses are presented and provide support for students who need more preparation for their major. A summer bridge program will support students with lower math skills upon entry to OSU to develop the knowledge, skills, confidence, and community to succeed at OSU.
Objective 5: Listen to and act on student feedback
Student feedback is essential in understanding the issues confronting students regarding their ability to graduate in four years. The College will encourage the Student Council to become a conduit of student concerns to the College.
Objective 6: Integrate experiential learning opportunities
Experiential learning experiences such as field-based courses, internships, study abroad and undergraduate research experiences are crucial to any well-developed student’s portfolio. The College will assess how experiential learning can be better integrated into the curriculum and allow students to get appropriate credit for these experiences.
Objective 7: Improve quality of faculty instruction
Quality of instruction can significantly impact students’ ability to succeed in courses. The University provides Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence (ITLE) training to incoming faculty. The College has mandated that all departments institute some form of peer review of instructor teaching. It is essential that these reviews are considered to be formative.
Objective 8: Support instructors’ continual education
The College will recommend departments support and recognize the importance of instructors’ continual education in classroom methods and online learning. The College will continue to partner with the ITLE to provide professional development for pedagogy and instructional design.
Objective 9: Redefine academic advisors’ responsibilities
The College will review the workloads of all academic advisors and ensure that they are being used effectively and not asked to perform departmental tasks that are not directly related to academic advising. All advisor loads will, as far as possible, be 250 or fewer total advisees.
Objective 10: Help students stay or return to college
Evaluate student needs each semester to identify and address (as much as possible) students in financial crisis, those facing circumstances that will drop them to part time or take a leave of absence from college, to aid students in being able to stay in college or return to college as smoothly and seamlessly as possible.