ASCEND Podcast

Dr. Kal Srinivas from Syracuse University joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share her deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! As part of Syracuse University’s larger commitment to creating an inclusive student body, Dr. Kal Srinivas works with all schools, colleges and divisions to further the ideals of supporting...

Many students face unforeseen financial challenges such as a car repair, medical procedure, job loss, family issues, etc. Such surprises can prevent a student from having enough money to cover their rent, buy books, purchase food for a few weeks, pay for utilities, and so on. These expenses can lead to students withdrawing from the university. To combat this, we set some funds aside for these emer...

In this special episode, we sat down with conference attendees at the National Symposium for Student Retention (NSSR) which is hosted by the Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange at the University of Oklahoma. In this episode you'll hear from: University of Wyoming - Nycole Courtney & Abby Markley Berklee College of Music - Kristina Sharra Shenandoah University - Marshell Edney G...

We have found over the years that it is important for staff to know exactly which students they are responsible for retaining. Otherwise, if they feel responsible for ALL students, they struggle finding a way to focus their time and energy in a productive manner. We highly recommend that campuses create a series of dashboards for each individual on campus that has a responsibility to retain a part...

Dr. Michelle Ashcraft from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share her deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Dr. Michelle Ashcraft is the inaugural Senior Associate Commissioner and Chief Program Officer at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Michelle leads the...

When dealing with today’s generation of students, we cannot expect them to approach us when they have questions. Instead, we believe that we need to get in the habit of going to them. During the first few weeks of each semester, our peer mentors and key staff members will be seen carrying signs around campus. At any given time during these weeks, we will have a dozen or more student leaders wander...

Dr. KayDee Perry from The University of Olivet joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share her deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Dr. KayDee Perry currently serves as the Associate Provost for Student Development at The University of Olivet. Olivet is a small, private, primarily residential institution located in...

Every campus handles the course registration of new students very differently. The most common practices are either that campuses allow students to register themselves without much guidance or require students to attend a summer orientation and meet with an academic advisor. We have tried both, and from these experiences, we know that this generation of students needs significantly more support as...

In this episode, Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby sit down with the Southern Utah University Student Success Team to talk about the ASCEND model. Featured in this episode are: Kelly Lid Stephens - Executive Director of Completion and Student Success Ashleigh Zimmerman - Executive Director of Belonging and Engagement Heather Garcia - Director of Student Involvement & Leadership Brandon Street - Dir...

Too often we wish students would reach out to us for help. However, we know that this is rarely the case, especially during their first year. So we have two options: wait in vain for them to come to us or take key and timely information to them. More importantly, when dealing with Generation Z students, it is crucial to understand that we need to “go to them [and] don’t beg them to come to you” (H...

Dr. Bridget Burns joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share her deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Named one of the “Most Innovative People in Higher Education” by Washington Monthly magazine, Dr. Bridget Burns is the founding CEO of the award winning University Innovation Alliance (UIA), an national multi-campu...

In recent years there seems to be an increase in food insecurity among college students.  And even if students do have access to an adequate amount of food, on the whole they still seem to always be hungry.  To address this need, your institution might consider creating a ‘Free Food’ app. In many instances, campus activity boards, clubs, and organizations are always looking for increased attendanc...

Dr. James Winfield joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Dr. James K. Winfield serves as the associate dean for first-year experience, general education, and retention strategies at Southern New Hampshire University’s Global Campus. Winfield is a proud first-gen graduate wit...

It is important for college campuses to study their students, collect data on them so they better understand their unique qualities, and then determine how to best serve them. A common challenge that many campuses face is making sure that campus practices, policies, approach, and culture match the students that they serve. The students on our campuses change over time and it is important that we a...

Dr. Christine Salvesen joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share her knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Dr.  Christine Salvesen serves as the Chief Retention Officer and Associate Vice Provost for Student Success & Retention Innovation at the University of Arizona. She leads several retention leadership groups, c...

FACULTY OFFICE HOURS - WHO ARE THEY FOR? One of the things that has always surprised us was the unwillingness of first-year students to visit faculty during office hours. After talking to many students, we realized the unwillingness was not intentional and that they thought that professor office hours were times faculty were NOT to be disturbed. They thought these hours were similar to the listed...

Dr. Amber Williams joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share her knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Dr. Amber Williams is the Vice Provost for Student Success at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where she provides oversight to various departments, encompassing Academic Advising, Career Development, First-Year P...

Campuses that have great success in increasing their retention and completion rates have faculty who are actively engaged in this student success effort. In fact, there is substantial evidence in the literature that faculty may be the strongest influencers in helping students persist and graduate. And, it is easy to see why, because they spend significantly more time with the students than anyone...

Dr. Amelia Parnell joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share her knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Dr. Amelia Parnell is vice president for research and policy at NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, where she leads many of the Association’s scholarly and advocacy-focused activities. Amelia wr...

We recognize that it is critical for incoming students to feel supported. Therefore, from the time a student commits to our institution (through the paying of their enrollment deposit) to the start of fall semester, we have 38 points of contact with each incoming student. These forms of communication include a welcome letter; outreach through phone, text, postcards, handwritten letters, and social...

Dr. Beth Lingren-Clark joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share her knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Beth Lingren Clark is the Associate Vice Provost for Retention and Transition Programs in the Office for Undergraduate Education at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.  She is responsible for leading the U’s...

Generation Z students are highly self-​​directed, demonstrated by a strong desire to work for themselves, study entrepreneurship, and design their own programs of study in college (Northeastern, 2014).    This sense of independence and flexibility also translates into academic and curricular expectations for autonomy and exploration.  Additionally, Gen Z’ers largely prefer a traditional undergradu...

Dr. Drew Koch joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Dr. Andrew (Drew) Koch is a husband and father of 6, hiker (when both body and time permit), aging lacrosse player, educator, son of immigrants, and Chief Executive Officer at the Gardner Institute. His 30+ year career in h...

Does your institution have a publicized, stated retention goal? Is the goal realistic? Do you have data that supports your ability to achieve or exceed your retention goals? We often find campuses, just like ours, who have set lofty retention goals without guiding their aspirations with good data. When we arrived on our campus we inherited a noble, lofty, and catchy retention goal for our campus,...

Dr. Terrell Strayhorn joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts! Dr. Terrell Strayhorn is Professor of Education and Psychology at Virginia Union University (VUU), where he also serves as Director of the Center for the Study of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)...