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Recruiting & Retention Technology
Gaining Acceptance
9/1/2007
And at the University of Rhode Island, school officials have focused recent IT investments on retention. With the help of software from GoalQuest, the school has put together a survey for incoming freshmen to answer after they complete a 10-week online course called “URI 101,” a first-year prerequisite. The survey asks questions about overall readiness for college, study habits, work habits, personal adjustment, and more. According to Jayne Richmond, dean of University College and special academic programs, the school compiles the data anonymously and tweaks the program as the data return information about how students study, work, etc.
University officials also have set up a warning system to alert them to responses that might indicate a student is having trouble with the transition to college life. In these cases, academic advisers get involved and contact students about their concerns. Empirically, this aspect of the program has improved retention considerably: Since the initial adoption of GoalQuest in 2001—and, importantly, spanning the many retention initiatives the school has undertaken since that time—URI has seen its retention of firstyear freshmen rise from 75 to 82 percent of those who enroll. Still, is retention all about the technology?
“Retention is a combination of factors that also include financial aid and housing,” Richmond says. “But anything we can do with technology to make the overall experience better is certainly something that’s only going to help.”
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Solution Center: Strategies for
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CRM Meets the Campus
All Roads Lead to Portal
On-Demand Webinar: The 3Rs:
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Matt Villano is senior contributing editor of this publication.
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