Art Quake begins
this weekend
page 7
Volume 86 No. 3
University of Portland — Portland, Oregon
September 20, 1984
U of P student retention explored
A CAPACITY CROWD
The University of Portland hopes to continue to keep its classrooms full, and as a result has compiled a report on st^dent'retention
to better meet students needs.
by Brian Fundingsland
Staff Writer
Who drops out at the Univer¬
sity of Portland and why? This
question was posed to a
regulatory advisery committee
on student retention last fall.
The committee, consisting of
representatives from all areas of
the University, was formed to
look into the student attrition
problem (leaving before gradua¬
tion) and "..come up with
recommendations as to how we
might do a better job of retain¬
ing students," said Committee
Chairman Steve Bunch.
The committees findings
were published in a report given
to University President Rev.
Thomas C. Oddo, C.S.C. titled
Who Drops Out and Why:
Recommended Counter
Measures to Student Attrition
at the University of Portland.
The U of P attrition problem
is similar to those faced by col¬
leges everywhere. U of P
graduates about half of every
freshman class which is about
average for colleges as a whole.
It is a few percentage points
below, however, other private
church affiliated schools, said
Bunch.
The committee gathered in¬
formation from surveys mailed
to students who had left the
University, and also examined
records to determine the com¬
mon characteristics such as ma¬
jors, class level, and grade point
average of those who left.
The committee found that in
any given year about 17 percent
of the students would not
return the next fall, and that ap-
proximately
3/4
of the
"leavers" are freshmen or
sophomores, said Bunch.
"One thing that many people
may find surprising," Bunch ad¬
ded, "is that students who
leave here are doing very well
academically." In fact, accord¬
ing to the report, only about 20
percent of the leavers have
GPA's of less than 2.0 when
they leave.
Financial considerations and
lack of student involvement are
the most frequently given
reasons for leaving, with
finances (48 percent) being
number one, said Bunch.
The committee made recom¬
mendations in order to combat
these two areas, with the em¬
phasis being placed on more in¬
volvement by faculty members
with the students. "Eighty per¬
cent of the freshmen that came
to us last year received their full
aid," said Bro. Malcolm O'Neil
of the Financial Aid Office. "I
think students may be giving
lack of finances as a reason
because it is acceptable by their
peers. I think many times it
could be other problems, such
as family or home."
The retention committee
recommended the Financial Aid
Office should try to "be more
pro-active in helping students
find financial aid," said Bunch.
But according to O'Neil that
isn't as easy as it sounds. "Last
year we set up financial aid
workshops in every hall
(dorm)," said O'Neil, "...and
we never had more than five
people show up. The turnout
was so bad that at one hall
nobody showed up at all." The
committee also recommended
another person be added to the
financial aid staff.
Another recommendation
given by the committee was
that the school should try to do
more things to involve students
both socially and academically
with the faculty. Examples of
this, according to Bunch, would
be more contact through advis¬
ing, and student involvement in
research projects done by the
faculty. Another instance would
be Honors and Scholars pro¬
grams to keep the higher level
academic students more
challenged.
Jim Kane, assistant dean of
students at U of P, said this year
the emphasis has been put on
freshmen to "get involved",
and he feels that is very impor¬
tant. "The amount of time
students spend going to class
and studying is really a small
part of the overall time they
spend here," said Bunch.
"We need to look to increase
opportunities to get people in¬
volved." The idea is that the
more students are involved, the
more they are likely to enjoy
their stay here.
The Rev. Anthony DeCon-
ciliis, C.S.C., Director of
1 ounseling and Consulting,
who worked on the retention
task force from 1981-1983
before it became a committee,
felt his department has adapted
to help students more.
"In 1980 we reorganized all
our counseling services under
one administration,” said
DeConciliis. "Our counseling is
more of an educational process
than before."
Last year the office of
Counseling and Consulting
received close to 6,000 con¬
tacts, many of which were for
academic assistance and advis¬
ing, as well as for career plan¬
ning and development. DeCon¬
ciliis felt that the "leavers" kept
from leaving are not as impor¬
tant as the overall atmosphere
for the students at Ulof P
"It's not so much that the
University is trying to hold on to
people," said DeConciliis. "The
reason for the report is to try
and make this the best Universi¬
ty we possibly can and create
the best learning experience for
the students present."
