2009 Performance Accountability Report Vol. 2 - Maryland Higher ...

nationally), (4) departmental student forums, (5) student research projects, and (6) student
presentations at national and local conferences.
Retention and Graduation Rates
Academic Quality
The four-year downward trend in second-year retention (Objectives 4.1 and Objective 4.3) seems
to have been arrested. For the first time, the “statewide” second-year retention rate for UMES –
which measures those students who return to UMES or another four-year institution in the state –
reached 71% for all first-time full-time students for the fall 2007 cohort (reported for FY 2009)
and is projected to be even higher for FY 2010. This is a significant improvement, although it
still falls short of the 2009 target of 79%. Therefore, UMES will continue to keep a watchful eye
on the retention problem that is related to several factors including increased costs other than
tuition, which is affecting all UMES students. In addition, out of-state-student tuition fees that
keep increasing affect the enrollment of these students adversely. For example, the decrease in
out-of-state enrollment from 29.4% to 24.3% over a five-year period has to a large extent been
significantly impacted by tuition increases. Low-income students in particular, continue to be
hardest hit by the college “affordability gap” (Leubsdore B, Chronicle of Higher Education, June
9, 2006) especially in times of high unemployment rates as a result of the current economic
recession. Therefore, there will continue to be a great need for increased need-based financial
assistance in order to help students offset the burden of increased college costs. In addition, the
gap in available aid and student need has continued to increase, leaving many students
unprepared for any sudden change in Federal guidelines. Another factor affecting retention is
that our increase in enrollment has exposed the fact that a number of admits, who meet our entry
requirements, are arriving from high schools that do not adequately prepare them for the
academic rigor of the University. There is a great need for UMES to continue to work more
closely with the high schools from which it recruits its students to strengthen their curricula and
consequently make high school student entry into college seamless.
In a study to be published in November 2009 in the Journal of Student Retention, the Office of
Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment at UMES, using secondary source data, has revealed
that low academic performance as represented by the spring semester GPA is a major
contributing factor to student attrition. This analysis indicated that a one-point increase in a
student’s spring semester cumulative GPA increases his/her chances for second-year retention by
453%. Therefore, students from a less rigorous high school curriculum will need a lot of
academic support to persist beyond the first semester in college. Thus, Access and Success
funds will continue to be critical in strengthening the support counselors and mentors provide to
help students persist. In addition, with the recent increase in the maximum Pell Grant by the bill
passed by the U. S. Congress there is some hope in the future that the economic burden of
college education for Pell Grant recipients will be eased.
A major initiative by the President of UMES is the continued placement of undergraduate
student retention in the first place of UMES’ strategic priorities for all divisions and units. All
divisions are required to include a retention objective in their strategic operational plans. In
addition, several programs have been put in place to reverse the low retention trend. First,
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