Student Success & Retention
One retained student represents more than tuition revenue. It also represents progress toward this institutional mission.
What is student success and degree completion?
The "A" in LACE refers to this quality assurance process.
What is Accreditation?
This document serves as the roadmap for a student's academic journey through a program.
What is the Program of Study?
A sudden decline in enrollment can immediately impact this program resource.
What is revenue?
A proposed solution improves student satisfaction but significantly increases costs. Effective leaders evaluate both these factors.
What are student outcomes and financial impact?
Faculty who view retention as "someone else's job" may overlook their influence on this key student outcome.
What is persistence to graduation?
Accreditation standards are intended to evaluate more than compliance; they also evaluate this.
What is program quality?
When curriculum changes occur, leaders must consider potential impact on this group.
Who are current students?
Program leaders often use this process to determine how resources will be allocated over a future period.
What is budgeting?
A curriculum change requiring additional faculty support affects both academic quality and this operational area.
What is budgeting?
A program leader reviewing retention data should focus not only on who left, but also on identifying these underlying contributors.
What are root causes or barriers to persistence?
An institution grants degrees, but this external body often controls entry into professional practice.
What is a licensing board?
This process evaluates whether students are achieving expected learning outcomes.
What is assessment?
Hiring additional faculty without available funding can negatively affect this.
What is fiscal sustainability?
Student retention, program resources, and accreditation outcomes are all examples of this type of leadership data.
What are key performance indicators or metrics?
Research consistently shows students are more likely to remain enrolled when they feel this connection to faculty and the institution.
What is a sense of belonging or engagement?
Pass rates on certification examinations are commonly reviewed as evidence of this.
What is program effectiveness?
Curriculum review should focus not only on course content but also on this larger outcome.
What is program effectiveness?
A program leader wants to add a new initiative. Before implementation, they should evaluate this.
What are costs and available resources?
A leader reviewing a student challenge, a budget concern, and a curriculum issue should apply this common skill.
What is strategic decision-making?
Students rarely withdraw because of a single event. More often, retention challenges result from a combination of these three areas.
What are academic, personal, and financial factors?
Leaders preparing for accreditation reviews should maintain this continuously rather than creating it immediately before a site visit.
What is documentation or evidence?
A curriculum may be academically strong yet still require revision if it no longer aligns with these expectations.
What are professional standards or competencies?
This metric often affects budgeting, faculty needs, and long-term program planning.
What is enrollment?
The strongest program leaders make decisions by balancing student success, financial stewardship, and this third responsibility.
What is program quality and compliance?