The retention programs we have put in place are very important and have been successful, but we also have a whole army of faculty and staff across campus who work at it every day. Leslie Davis Burns, director of undergraduate academic programs at OSU, agreed with Risser, saying it takes a campus-wide effort to realize this level of success. It's a campus-wide effort. Students feel good about being at OSU and they feel their degree is worth the time and effort. Burns said Oregon State's successful retention efforts began after university leaders developed a report in 1996 that took a critical look at how OSU approached the task of keeping students in school.
Universities spend a lot of time and money interviewing students who have left school.
We took a different approach. We tried to understand why students stay in school. The study was published and received national attention in the academic community. But more importantly, it served as a guide for OSU to develop a strategy to retain more students. They succeed in challenging academic programs when they make solid connections to the university and feel a part of the community.