Creating an Institutional Culture
Focused on Retention
Nancy Mitchell, Director Undergraduate Education
Programs
Amy Goodburn, Associate Vice Chancellor,
Academic Affairs
How can institutions create
a culture of change?
• Describe our attempts to change UNL’s
culture
• Share efforts on your campuses
Who is UNL?
Land-grant, researchintensive
~20,000 undergraduates
State capital, pop. 250,000
Chancellor’s Goals by 2017
• Increase enrollment from 24K to 30K
• Increase 6-year grad rate from 63 to
70%
• Double research expenditures to $300
M
• Hire 160 additional tenure-track faculty
• Double national faculty awards &
prizes
Question
• If you had the
power to
make ONE
change at
your
institution to
improve sixyear
graduation
Key Questions for Achieving
Goals and support
• How can we mobilize
faculty?
• How can we (re)structure units &
processes?
• How can we prioritize and invest
resources?
Listening to Campus Leaders
• Housing
• Learning
Communities
• Deans Council
• Health Center
• Registration &
Records
• Residence Life
• Union & Rec
Center
• Distance
Education
• Career Services
• Disciplinary
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Financial Aid
Student Senate
Honors College
New Student
Enrollment
Libraries
Transfer Credit
Information Services
General Studies
Intercultural
Services
Admissions
Advising Centers
Mobilizing People & Changing
AttitudesCouncil (30
• Enrollment Management
•
•
•
•
members) developed Campus Blueprint
Retreats with over 300 academic leaders
Individual meetings with leaders and
groups
Media campaign (newspapers, email,
etc.)
New advisory groups (Student Success
Council)
Mobilizing People Outcomes
• Promote awareness & importance of
goals
• Convey to leaders they are accountable
• Promote campus networking &
collaboration
• Change attitudes—everyone is involved
Reorganize Academic Structures
• Moved student units to academic affairs
• Integrated summer sessions within
colleges
• Reorganized office of International
Affairs
• Created Explore Center for undeclareds
Reorganizational Outcomes
• Prioritized retention & eliminated other
efforts
• Reaffirmed leadership of academic deans
• Promoted coordinated messaging
• Fostered new attitudes about change
“We can’t do this” “We never thought
about that”
“How can we do this?
Revising Policies & Processes
• Moved to electronic advising system
• Streamlined transfer credit processes
• Moved to 120 credit hour degree
requirement
• Registration holds for students on
probation
• Redesigned form & messages of web
Revising Policies & Processes
Outcomes
• Advising notes for 41% undergrads in
1st semester
• ~2,200 transfer course equivalencies
created
• More hits and strong feedback to web
page
• 150 student increase in learning
communities
Reallocating Resources
• Allocated $250,000 for student-success
and curricular reform proposals
• Allocated $80,000 for department
initiatives
• Prioritized $2 million for strategic faculty
hiring
• Created new positions for Retention
Analyst, Director of Advising, Senior
International Officer
Reallocation Outcomes
• Course reforms in Math, Psychology, &
History
• Electronic advising inventory for new
students
• Faculty hires in Brain/Biology & Digital
Humanities
• Increased staff for Learning Communities
Ongoing Challenges
• Improve grad rates & retain academic
quality
• Scarce resources & competing priorities
• Keeping people marching in same
direction
Questions for Discussion
• What initiatives are taking place on your
campus?
• Have you faced barriers in changing your
campus culture? How have you faced
them?