We have begun implementation of the academic plan which focuses on curricular renewal and enhanced advising. One early result is that retention of first-year students is the highest since record keeping of this statistic began 18 years ago. We believe that a large part of this retention success is related to the new registration system which partially addresses the course access problem and improves the advising relationship between students and faculty. Improved retention of students will ultimately improve the graduation rate. More immediate improvement in the graduation rate is possible with the ratification of the legislation on graduation requirements proposed by the Dean of the College which is now before the Educational Policy Committee.
Additional faculty are necessary to implement the academic plan.
Our long-range projections include 20 new faculty positions which can be funded by the base budget over the next four years. The first five of these positions have been allocated. Thirty percent of our current faculty will retire in the next ten years. We will need to recruit and retain the best faculty. A faculty committee is meeting with the administration to ensure that Wesleyan faculty are compensated at a level equal to faculty in our peer group of colleges and universities.