Read the Curry College NEASC 2012 Self-Study Report.

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The large‐scale impact of these efforts on the overall retention rate has not yet been assessed.
Some of the very recent changes, including reduction in the number of students with less than
a 2.0 high school GPA and earlier invention with at‐risk students, are anticipated to have a
positive impact on future retention rates. Sustainable improvements are the longer‐term goals,
and they will be based on analyses of the impact of interventions such as those noted above on
student learning, engagement, retention and graduation. The appointment of an institutional
research director has provided an important resource for more sophisticated data analyses to
better align and direct institutional efforts on retention and student learning.
To further its commitment to data‐driven decision‐making, the College is also considering ways
to best execute and oversee comprehensive and systematically aligned efforts. One possibility
may be through changes to the existing organizational structure, which is now configured such
that Admissions, Financial Aid, and Enrollment Management report to the President through
three separate members of Senior Staff (Dean of Admission, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief
Academic Officer). There is recognition of the critical need for integrated oversight and
leadership of retention efforts to make significant progress on an issue that is critical to Curry’s
success.
Student Services
The comprehensive array of services, leadership, athletic/recreational, and co‐curricular
opportunities provided to Curry students helps the College to meet its goal of supporting Curry
students to succeed and flourish within its academic environment. Guided by an assessmentoriented
framework, Curry regularly evaluates its student services offerings to determine what
improvements can be made to further increase student engagement and success. The following
are examples of ways that both formal and informal data have been used to revise and improve
student services and inform appraisal of existing activities.
• Noel‐Levitz Student Satisfaction Surveys yield consistently high ratings for Curry as a
caring community. However, when responses indicated concerns with public safety,
significant attention and resources were brought to bear to improve the professionalism
and consistency of the Public Safety Office. Now under new leadership, the Public Safety
Office receives praise from students, although not yet as consistently favorable ratings
as other college services.
• The College’s strategic planning survey indicates that traditional undergraduates are
most satisfied with academic support, academic advising, leadership opportunities and
technology in the classroom, and are less satisfied with technology in the residence
halls, residential facilities, and campus safety. Supplementing that information are
results from a Residence Life and Housing survey, conducted in 2010, to assess
satisfaction with First Year Residence Halls; 21% of the population responded,
identifying several themes: dissatisfaction with the condition and maintenance of the
residence halls, lack of adequate common lounge space, frustrations with damage and
vandalism by peers, and lack of adequate wireless internet in the halls. Some action
items that came from the process included a review of the damage billing process and
practice, requests to update common space appearances, and a commitment to
Curry College 2012 Self-Study
Standard Six