National report on best practices in student retention and completion cites the success of Winter Session
A new research report on best practices in student retention and completion by EAB, “Promoting Timely Degree Completion: Reconciling Student Choice and the Four-Year Graduation Imperative,” cites the success of the University of Maine’s Winter Session, which launched in the 2015–16 academic year.
UMaine’s three-week Winter Session last year offered 20 high-need, fundamental undergraduate courses fully online. It was introduced as part of UMaine’s Think 30 initiative that encourages students to complete 30 credits per year so they can graduate in four years, while saving money and reducing their debt. With the addition of Winter Session, UMaine classes are offered on campus and online year-round.
As noted in the EAB report, UMaine had 650 students enrolled in the first Winter Session, resulting in 2,000 additional credit hours accumulated and no decrease in spring semester
In this year’s Winter Session, over 1,000 students enrolled in one or more of the 26 high-demand courses. Included among those undergraduates were nearly a quarter of all our student-athletes, who took advantage of the flexibility afforded by the online classes to help them meet their course requirements and graduate on time.
“We are hearing very positive feedback from both students and faculty about their Winter Session experience” says Monique LaRocque, associate provost for the Division of Lifelong Learning. “Students are pleased to be able to use the time between semesters to make progress toward their degrees. Both faculty and students appreciate the condensed online format where students can focus intensely on one subject area. This focus has contributed to improved grades and overall student and faculty satisfaction.”
The Division of Lifelong Learning, home to UMaineOnline, Winter Session and Summer University, supports the Think 30 initiative by expanding course options for students year round.
“The increased interest in Winter Session, our revised Summer University calendar and greater overall awareness of the Think 30 initiative are contributing to students’ academic success and their overall UMaine experience,” says Jeffrey Hecker, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. “We look forward to building on the success of Winter Session by expanding it to offer high-demand upper-level courses.”
According to EAB, fewer than 40 percent of students at four-year institutions graduate within four years, leading to increased costs for students and heightened scrutiny at the federal and state level. The goal is to streamline student pathways to maximize outcomes; the challenge is in the tension between timely degree completion and the student exploration central to a university’s mission.
The new report explores in detail how academic leaders are supporting on-pace student performance by addressing credit accumulation barriers for incoming students, and facilitating structured major and career exploration. In addition, the registration and scheduling best practices profiled demonstrate how institutions can organize course offerings around four-year graduation and create additional opportunities for students who do not register for or complete a critical course.
Members of the university community with an @maine.edu email address can create a login to access the page where UMaine is profiled using this link.