University President Bob Frank announced on Friday that the retention rate of Hispanic students going into their third semester is 80.1 percent. Hispanic students make up about 25 percent of undergraduate students on campus.
“What historically has been a vulnerable student group is now one of our strongest,” he said. “This milestone is reason to celebrate.”
This surpasses the overall student retention rate of 79.1 percent, and also sets the record for largest total number of returning students, Frank said.
These high numbers are in part the result of several student success programs, like the Foundations of Excellence, which were designed to engage with students on a personal basis, Frank said. The 3-year-old Foundations project improves current programs and creates new ones in order to supplement the freshman experience.
To encourage new students to continue attending, the Office of Student Academic Success created “Operation: Registration,” an informal registration party for freshmen. Beginning at midnight in the Student Union Building, students can speak with advisors and register for their next semester, according to a press release.
“We get all the advisors together, bring in the bursar’s office, offer free food and prizes, then we have a huge operation to help get students registered for the next semester,” Jennifer Gomez-Chavez, director of Student Academic Success, said.
Vanessa Harris, director of University Advisement, said she believes much of the improvement in retention numbers is because these programs cut through the red tape that can make getting an education frustrating.
“Now students know exactly who their academic advisors are, who they need to go to and what other resources on campus they can connect with, such as CAPS for tutoring,” she said.
According to a UNM press release, students who continue past their freshman years are more than twice as likely to graduate in their lifetimes, so the increase in retention rates is an encouraging trend.
“This success is a result of UNM’s intentional and deliberate effort to enrich our students with a positive and engaged educational experience,” said Brian Colón, president of the UNM Alumni Association. “Students are our customers and this is a signal that we’re moving in the right direction. As an alumnus, I couldn’t be more pleased.”
The increase in Hispanic student retention also highlights other University distinctions. UNM is a Carnegie-designate d university because it is a “very high research” institution and is listed as a Hispanic serving institution.
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While the Hispanic population displays obvious gains from these initiatives, the retention rate of Native American students has dropped 5 percent in the last year, according to the Board of Regents meeting agenda.
The programs created by the Foundations of Excellence project are available to all students and it continues to make efforts in improving achievement gaps, Frank said.
“We are having a lot of success improving student progress through strategies that emphasize each student as an individual, but we need to continue developing support that is effective for all populations,” Frank said.
Marielle Dent is a freelance reporter for The Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com, or on Twitter @Marielle_Dent.
