2014-2015 freshman retention report

1

2014-2015 Freshman Retention Report September 27, 2016

A comprehensive examination of retention activity among the fall 2014 freshman cohort at UCCS.

2

Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 4 Measuring Retention ................................................................................................................................ 4 Benchmarks ............................................................................................................................................. 4

Student Demographics ................................................................................................... 6 Gender, Race, and Ethnicity ...................................................................................................................... 6 Age.......................................................................................................................................................... 6 First Generation Status ............................................................................................................................. 7 Tuition Residency ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Home State .............................................................................................................................................. 7 Colorado Home City .................................................................................................................................. 9 Colorado High School .............................................................................................................................. 10 Military Affiliation .................................................................................................................................. 11 Disability Status ...................................................................................................................................... 11

Student Engagement .................................................................................................... 11 Student Life & Leadership Programs ........................................................................................................ 11 Honors .................................................................................................................................................. 12 Athletics ................................................................................................................................................ 13 Recreation Center .................................................................................................................................. 13 Residence Life and Housing ..................................................................................................................... 13 Student Employment .............................................................................................................................. 14 Excel Centers ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Number of Excel Centers Visited ......................................................................................................... 16 Success Net ......................................................................................................................................... 16

Financial Aid ................................................................................................................ 17 Adjusted Gross Income ........................................................................................................................... 17 Aid Awarded .......................................................................................................................................... 17 Financial Aid Budget ............................................................................................................................... 18 Expected Family Contribution .................................................................................................................. 19 Unmet Need .......................................................................................................................................... 20 Loans ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 Grants ................................................................................................................................................... 23 Scholarships ........................................................................................................................................... 24 Work Study ............................................................................................................................................ 25 Federal, State, and Institutional Aid ......................................................................................................... 26

Admissions Criteria....................................................................................................... 26 Application Dates ................................................................................................................................... 26 Admit Type ............................................................................................................................................ 27 Window Admission Status ....................................................................................................................... 27 Admissions Index .................................................................................................................................... 27 Admissions Index Group.......................................................................................................................... 28 High School GPA ..................................................................................................................................... 28 Standardized Test Scores ........................................................................................................................ 29

3

Math Placement Exams ........................................................................................................................... 34 Academic Preparation .................................................................................................. 35

Starting Academic Level .......................................................................................................................... 35 Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and CLEP Credit ........................................................... 36 Freshman Enrollment, Early Starters ........................................................................................................ 37 High School Concurrent Students ............................................................................................................. 37 Transfer Credit ..................................................................................................................................... 38 Total Cumulative Hours ....................................................................................................................... 38

Academic Characteristics .............................................................................................. 39 Academic Program and Plan .................................................................................................................... 39 Major Change ........................................................................................................................................ 40 Full-time Status and Academic Load ......................................................................................................... 42

Coursework & Performance .......................................................................................... 43 Compass Curriculum ............................................................................................................................... 43 GPS Seminar Section and Grade Distribution ............................................................................................ 44 English and Math Prerequisites ............................................................................................................... 45 English Coursework ................................................................................................................................ 46 Math Coursework ................................................................................................................................... 46 Biology Coursework ................................................................................................................................ 48 Chemistry .............................................................................................................................................. 48 First Semester Course Withdrawals .......................................................................................................... 49 Grades ................................................................................................................................................... 50 Spring 2015 Grade Point Average ............................................................................................................ 50 Online Coursework .............................................................................................................................. 51 Course Level .......................................................................................................................................... 52

Statistical Summary ................................................................................................... 53 References ................................................................................................................ 55 Appendix A: ............................................................................................................... 56

National Survey of Student Engagement: Spring 2015 ....................................................................... 56 Engagement Indicators ........................................................................................................................... 56 NSSE Statistical Analysis .................................................................................................................... 63

Appendix B ................................................................................................................ 66 Pearson’s Correlations: Freshman Retention ...................................................................................... 66

4

Introduction

The performance of UCCS is often measured by its retention rate. In this report, we explain how

retention is measured and show how it varies according to student and institutional characteristics.

Our intention is to present a single, unified, and definitive resource on UCCS retention rates to inform

decision makers in the campus community. We hope to promote a single vision and reduce the number

of one-off retention reports by collaborating with colleagues to incorporate their data into this

comprehensive annual report. The scope of the report continues to expand as more campus offices

develop techniques to record student participation in events and programs designed to improve student

success. We thank the following for their cooperation and collaboration, in no particular order:

Office of the Registrar Financial Aid

Office of Veteran and Military Student Affairs Student Employment

Disability Services Recreation & Wellness Center

Excel Centers Admissions Services

Residence Life and Housing SuccessNet (Psychology)

Information Technology Web Services Student Life & Leadership

Intercollegiate Athletics Academic Advising

Gateway Program Seminar

Measuring Retention

Unless otherwise noted, we rely on the measure of retention defined by the U.S. Department of

Education and collected in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The IPEDS

retention rate is the percentage of first-time degree-seeking undergraduate students who entered in the

fall (or who were enrolled in the fall but started in the preceding summer term) and who enrolled at the

same institution one year later. A first-time student is one who is attending college for the first time

after graduating from high school. The cohort is identified after the fall semester ends and the retention

status per student in the cohort is determined one year later at the beginning of the next fall semester.

The fall 2014 cohort included 1661 full-time and 91 part-time students with retention rates of 68% and

53%, respectively. The overall retention rate was 67% among 1752 students.

Benchmarks

The UCCS administration sets a benchmark for retention between 72% and 74%, a rate that is deemed

reasonable in comparison to other similar institutions and in accordance to strategic initiatives on

campus. The UCCS retention rate usually falls below the retention rate at peer institutions, because

several are more selective with classifications as either Doctoral Universities with High Research Activity

(DHR) or Doctoral Universities with Moderate Research Activity (DMR). These peers are considered

aspirational since UCCS is classified as a Master’s Large (ML) institution. However, the UCCS retention

rate was also below 163 institutions classified as public master’s large institutions. The table below

shows the most recent publicized peer retention rates for 2013-2014.

5

Group Type of Institution

2013-2014 Retention Rate

Official Peer Institutions: 78%

Cleveland State University DHR 70% Florida Atlantic University DHR 75% New Jersey Institute of Technology DHR 84% Portland State University DHR 73% Rutgers University-Newark DHR 86% University of Maryland-Baltimore County

DHR 89%

University of Massachusetts-Boston DHR 80% University of Missouri-St. Louis DHR 79% University of North Carolina at Charlotte

DHR 82%

University of Texas at El Paso DHR 68% Wichita State University DHR 75% Montclair State University DMR 81% Oakland University (Michigan) DMR 78% Texas A & M-Corpus Christi DMR 56% University of Nebraska-Omaha DMR 77% Bridgewater State University ML 81% California State University-East Bay ML 81% CUNY Bernard Baruch College ML 90% CUNY Brooklyn College ML 82% CUNY City College ML 86% CUNY College of Staten Island ML 80% Northern Kentucky University ML 69% Rowan University ML 84% Salem State University ML 81% Sonoma State University ML 81% SUNY - Buffalo State ML 73% University of Central Oklahoma ML 66% University of Michigan-Dearborn ML 80% University of North Florida ML 83% University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

ML 70%

West Chester University of Pennsylvania

ML 88%

All Public Master’s Large Institutions (N=163) 75%

University of Colorado Colorado Springs ML 66%

6

Student Demographics

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Retention rates vary among gender, race, and ethnic groups. The retention rate for women is higher

than men in all race/ethnic groups except Asian, Nonresident Alien, and Unknown.

Gender IPEDS Ethnicity Cohort (N) Retention Rate Female American Indian or Alaska Native 5 60%

Asian 25 80% Black or African American 37 68% Hispanic/Latino 190 66% Nonresident Alien 2 50% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 6 50% Two or more races 82 70% Unknown 3 67% White 547 69% Female Total 897 68%

Male American Indian or Alaska Native 1 0% Asian 23 83% Black or African American 36 53% Hispanic/Latino 150 65% Nonresident Alien 9 56%

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Two or more races 69 65% Unknown 3 100% White 564 66% Male Total 855 66%

Total

1752 67%

Age

Age is determined as of October 15, 2014. The vast majority of students (93%) enter UCCS when they

are 18 or 19 years of age. Younger students below 18 and older students above 25 have relatively high

retention rates, but there are few of them. The age group with the lowest retention rate are 20 to 25

year-olds.

Age Cohort (N) Retention Rate

<18 43 70%

18 1299 67%

19 328 67%

20 to 25 63 57%

26+ 19 74%

Total 1752 67%

7

First Generation Status

Students are considered first-generation students if their parent(s) have not completed a four-year

degree. Students may voluntarily report the highest level of education for their mother and/or father on

the application and, if applying for financial aid, on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The only students regarded as first-generation are those who report levels of education less than a

baccalaureate degree; students who do not report information or who report at least one parent with a

baccalaureate degree are not first-generation students. By this definition, 28% of freshman students are

first-generation students. Our first-generation freshmen were less likely to be retained.

First Generation Status Cohort (N) Retention Rate First-Generation 495 64% Not First-Generation 1257 68%

Total 1752 67%

Tuition Residency

Students who qualify for in-state tuition were retained at a higher rate than students paying non-

residential tuition. Western Undergraduate Exchange Students are retained at a slightly lower rate than

residential students.

Tuition Residency Cohort (N) Retention Rate Non-Resident, Total 258 64%

Non-Resident 141 59%

Presidential Scholar (both Athlete and non-Athlete) 16 88%

Western Undergraduate Exchange 101 66%

Resident, Total 1494 68%

Resident 1436 68%

Active Duty, Active Duty Dependent, or CO National Guard 36 58%

Honorably Discharged or Dependent 11 73%

Olympic Athlete 3 100%

ASSET 8 63%

Total 1752 67%

Home State

UCCS attracted freshmen from 40 states and territories in fall of 2014. California, New Mexico, Kansas,

and Missouri are noteworthy because they represent 37% of our out-of-state freshmen and had a

combined retention rate of 72%.

Student retention in 19 states averaged less than the total overall cohort retention rate. Texas, Illinois,

Hawaii, and Virginia provided approximately 26% of our out-of-state freshmen; however, the retention

among students from these states was only 53%.

8

Home State Cohort (N) Retention Rate

California 58 69%

Texas 29 66%

Hawaii 12 33%

Illinois 11 55%

New Mexico

11 82%

Missouri 8 75%

Kansas 6 83%

Minnesota 6 67%

Virginia 6 33%

Wisconsin 5 80%

New Jersey 4 75%

Oregon 4 100%

Penn. 4 75%

Washington 4 75%

Alaska 3 33%

Florida 3 67%

Michigan 3 33%

N. Dakota 3 100%

Wyoming 3 0%

Conn. 2 100%

Georgia 2 100%

Iowa 2 100%

Mass. 2 50%

Nevada 2 100%

N. Carolina 2 50%

Ohio 2 50%

S. Dakota 2 50%

Tennessee 2 50%

Alabama 1 100%

Arizona 1 0%

Arkansas 1 100%

Idaho 1 100%

Maine 1 0%

Maryland 1 0%

Montana 1 100%

Nebraska 1 100%

New York 1 0%

Oklahoma 1 100%

Puerto Rico 1 100%

9

Colorado Home City

In fall 2014, UCCS attracted freshmen from over 125 cities within Colorado. Of the Colorado students,

51% originated from Colorado Springs. Another 32% came from a city within 70 miles of Colorado

Springs. Retention rates for freshmen by city with an incoming (n) above 5 are noted below.

Home City (in Colorado) Miles from Co. Spgs. Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Colorado Springs 0 784 67%

Monument 20.5 57 70%

Aurora 68.4 54 70%

Peyton 24.7 45 67%

Parker 54.5 39 77%

Castle Rock 40.6 36 81%

Centennial 55 35 69%

Denver 70.3 30 77%

Fountain 14.2 24 67%

Highlands Ranch 58.2 24 67%

Littleton 62.6 23 70%

Pueblo 43.6 20 50%

Arvada 79.4 20 30%

Woodland Park 19.2 18 72%

Westminster 79.9 14 86%

Longmont 106 14 50%

Thornton 79.7 11 82%

Broomfield 85.7 11 73%

Greeley 130 9 56%

Fort Collins 133 8 38%

Pueblo West 42 7 71%

Elizabeth 48.6 7 57%

Lakewood 72.4 7 29%

Palmer Lake 23.8 6 100%

Larkspur 32.2 6 83%

Calhan 47.7 6 50%

Englewood 64.4 6 50%

Golden 83.2 6 50%

Berthoud 115 6 83%

Elbert 37.3 5 80%

Florence 39.8 5 40%

Morrison 75.6 5 60%

Evergreen 82.9 5 60%

Trinidad 129 5 40%

Monte Vista 182 5 60%

Grand Junction 292 5 60%

Other (cities with n’s <5) 157 68.15%

10

Colorado High School

Over half of the incoming fall 2014 freshman cohort graduated from one of 44 high schools in Colorado.

The following table provides retention rate for students by high school and is sorted by the size of the

entering cohort.

High School Name Cohort (N) Retention Rate Rampart High School 52 87% Thomas B Doherty 51 65% William J Palmer 49 71% Pine Creek High School 42 81% Vista Ridge High School 41 76% Falcon High School 38 76% Liberty High School 37 65% Cheyenne Mountain 34 68% Coronado High School 32 66% Lewis-Palmer High School 32 63% Palmer Ridge High School 31 77% Sand Creek High School 31 68% Air Academy High School 27 74% Douglas County High School 22 73% Fountain-Fort Carson 22 45% James Irwin Charter HS 22 68% The Classical Academy-TCA 22 77% Harrison High School 20 30% Mesa Ridge High School 19 63% Discovery Canyon Campus 18 83% Widefield High School 18 72% Manitou Springs High School 17 53% Chaparral High School 16 81% CO. Springs Early College 16 81% Grandview High School 16 88% Legend High School 16 75% Castle View High School 15 87% Eaglecrest High School 14 57% Thunderridge High School 14 71% Rock Canyon High School 13 38% Saint Mary’s High School 13 54% Sierra High School 13 69% Woodland Park High School 13 77% Mountain Vista High School 12 83% William Mitchell High School 12 58% Pueblo West High School 11 64% Ralston Valley High School 11 18% Vanguard School 11 82% Arapahoe High School 10 70% Falcon Virtual Academy 10 60% Littleton High School 10 60% Rangeview High School 9 100% Peak To Peak Charter School 9 67% Florence High School 9 55%

11

Military Affiliation

We have at least four resources to identify students who have reported an affiliation with the military:

(a) recipients of military-related tuition assistance, (b) veteran service indicators certified by the Office

of Veteran and Military Student Affairs, (c) current term residency exceptions for out-of-state students

eligible for in-state tuition, and (d) self-reported military status drawn from student applications and/or

the student portal.

In 2014, 11% of the freshman cohort reported a military affiliation and 125 students returned for a 64%

retention rate. The only sizeable group with a notably different retention rate than the cohort is the

group of students with a Veteran Dependent service indicator (82%).

Group Cohort (N) Retention Rate Received Tuition Assistance from Military-Related Program 133 66%

Service Indicator 137 70%

Active Duty Military 3 33% Active Duty Military Dependent 51 63% Veteran 33 67% Veteran Dependent 50 82%

Tuition Residency Exceptions 47 62% Self-Reported Status 104 63%

Total, any of the above types of affiliation (unique headcounts) 195 64%

Disability Status

The Office of Disability Services recorded 79 freshmen (4.5% of the cohort) registered with the office

eligible for accommodation. Of those students who registered for services, 57 returned in fall 2015 for a

72% retention rate.

Student Engagement

Student Life & Leadership Programs

There are a variety of programs organized and managed by the UCCS department of Student Life and

Leadership located in the University Center. Student participation numbers and the corresponding

retention rates are noted in the table on page 12.

Student Government Association

Entering first-year students are unlikely to be members of the Student Government Association (SGA) in

their first semester. Of the 23 members of SGA in fall 2014, there were 3 freshmen participants and all 3

enrolled in fall 2015 for a 100% retention rate.

Greek Life

Greek Life has a small but growing presence on campus. In fall 2014, there were four active Greek

Chapters, two fraternities and two sororities: Alpha Sigma Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Phi Sigma Sigma,

and Pi Beta Phi. Retention for the 2.7% of freshman involved in either fraternities of sororities was

higher than students who did not pledge. Cohort numbers can be found in the table below.

12

Organized Student Clubs

The UCCS department of Student Life and Leadership coordinates student management of recognized

clubs on campus. The 400 freshmen who participated in club activities had a persistence rate that was

11 percentage points higher than freshmen who were not involved in club activities.

LIVE Leadership Program

The Launching Integrity, Values and Excellence (LIVE) Leadership Program is designed to cultivate

leadership skill among a dedicated group of emerging student leaders. Open to incoming, first year

freshmen, the program combines co-curricular training, mentorship and applied campus leadership

experience with an emphasis on civic engagement. In fall 2014, 20 freshmen entered the program and

100% were retained through fall 2015.

Student Life and Leadership Annual Leadership Conference

The 2014 Fall Student Life and Leadership (SSL) conference was a day-long event focusing on developing

a foundational understanding of leadership concepts such as how to use non-verbal communication for

better results, how to deal with self-esteem and bullying, how to be successful in the dance of life, and

how to set proper goals and expectations. Participants engaged with other student leaders, peers, and

club representatives in a variety of leadership exercises and by participating in ‘Learn, Lead, Dance’

themed activities. The event was open and free for all UCCS students. There were 32 freshman

participants in the SLL conference during fall of 2014 and 30 reenrolled in fall 2015 for a 94% retention

rate.

Life & Leadership Programs Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Student Government Association 3 100.00%

Sorority 28 75.00%

Fraternity 20 90.00%

Organized Student Club 400 75.75%

LIVE Leadership Program 20 100.00%

Leadership Conference 32 94.00%

Aggregated Participation (distinct headcount) 439 76.76%

Honors

The UCCS Honors Program is a selective program for entering first-year students who meet academic

eligibility criteria. Students admitted into the Honors Program receive either a $1,500 (University

Honors) or $500 (Mountain Lion Honors) scholarship that is renewable for up to four years, depending

on academic standing. Visit the Honors Program website for more information. In fall of 2014, 8% of

UCCS freshmen were admitted into either University Honors or Mountain Lion Honors and 87.9% were

retained into the following fall, which is 22.73 percentage points higher than freshmen who did not

participate in the honors program (65.17%).

UCCS Honors Program Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Mountain Lion Honors 109 84.40%

University Honors 32 100.00%

All Honors 141 87.94%

N/A 1611 65.17%

http://www.uccs.edu/honors/application.html

13

Athletics

UCCS participates in NCAA Division II athletics. In fall 2014, the athletics department had 63 freshmen on

their final athletic rosters. Although the number of freshmen participating in athletics is relatively small,

the retention rate is substantially higher than students who are not on a team.

Athletics also tracks students who initially intend to participate in Division II Athletics in student groups

within Campus Solutions. The athletic student groups include students who may not be on the final

athletics roster and freshmen who are included on the final team roster. Beginning in fall 2014, there

were 69 freshmen identified in one of the athletic student groups and 82.60% were retained.

Athletics (Source) Cohort (N) Retention Rate Athletics Final Roster 63 84.12% Athletics Student Group 69 82.60%

No Athletics 1683 69.75%

Recreation Center

In fall 2014, we have record of 32 students in the cohort visited the Recreation Center 421 times. We

define a visit as a recorded card swipe at the front desk when students enter the facility. The students in

the cohort who visited the Recreation Center were retained at a higher rate than their counterparts.

Also, the retention rate increases with frequency of visits. Students who signed up for Intramural or Club

Sports were retained at 78% and 100%, respectively.

Recreation Center* Cohort (N) Retained Rate

Recreation Center Visits 32 78.13%

Did not visit 1719 66.84%

5 or fewer visits 17 76.47%

6 to 20 visits 9 77.78%

More than 20 visits 6 83.33%

Intramural Participation 300 78%

Club Sports Participation 46 100% *Fall 2014, the recreation center data that was available to the Office of Institutional Research through the card-

swipe system demonstrated much lower usage patterns than has been observed in the past.

Residence Life and Housing

In fall 2014, UCCS had three distinct housing villages that accommodated 863 freshmen. Students in

Summit Village, the most traditional residence hall closest to the main campus, had a higher retention

rate than students housed in apartments at Alpine Village or in the temporarily leased buildings off

campus at Timberline Village. The highest retention rates were among students in Aspen, Copper,

Eldora, and Steamboat residence halls.

14

Residence Life and Housing Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Commuter 888 66%

On Campus: 863 68%

Alpine Village (near Recreation Center) 88 63%

Summit Village (near Columbine Hall) 697 70%

Aspen 73 75%

Copper 77 73%

Eldora 84 75%

Steamboat 86 84%

Telluride 84 65%

Vail 102 61%

Floor 2 Monarch, Keystone, or Breck. 56 61%



Timberline Village (temporary off campus) 78 51%

Taos 33 39%

Whistler 45 60%

Total 1752 67%

Theme Housing

In fall 2014, the UCCS Office of Residence Life and Housing offered seven option for theme housing.

Theme housing was utilized by 18% of incoming freshmen. Retention rates for students in theme

housing ranged from 50% to 100%. The table below contains retention rates for theme housing sorted

by retention rate.

Housing Theme Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Honors (located Steamboat) 31 100% Substance Free (located, Aspen) 73 75% Engineering (located, Floor 4 Monarch, Keystone, or Breck.) 66 70% The Arts Connection (located in Steamboat) 25 68% Colorado Living (located, Floor 2 Monarch, Keystone, or Breck.) 56 61% Female (located, Telluride) 31 52% Nursing (located, Vail) 34 50%

All Theme 316 68%

No Theme 547 68%

Student Employment

In fall 2014, there were approximately 7% or 126 freshman who either worked on campus or obtained

an off-campus work-study position through the university; these students returned at a higher rate

(76.9%) than students who did not have a position on campus (66%). The 126 student employees held

positions in 26 offices throughout campus. Food Service, the Family Development Center, Information

Technology, Student Recruitment, and the Recreation Center employed the largest number of freshmen.

All student employment data for fall 2014 was pulled from a HRMS snapshot with an active date of

October 15, 2014; therefore it may exclude student employees who were hired after the snapshot date.

15

Students worked in a variety of positions. Job classifications have different salary ranges that correspond

to level of skill and experience needed to complete the tasks outlined in the job description. Typically a

Student Assistant II will earn higher hourly wages than a Student Assistant I. Students in the cohort who

were initially hired into a Student Assistant II position had an 80.39% retention rate compared to 76.12%

for those initially hired in Student Assistant I positions.

Student Employment Department Job Level Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Academic Affairs Student Asst. I 1 0.00% Student Asst. II 4 100.00% Student Asst. III 1 100.00%

Library Operations Student Asst. II 2 100.00%

Academic Affairs Total

8 87.50%

IT-Administrative Operations Student Asst. I 1 100.00% Student Asst. II 5 60.00%

IT Total

6 66.67%

Family Development Center (VCAF) Student Asst. II 13 76.92%

Food Service (VCAF) Student Asst. I 51 72.55% Student Asst. II 3 100.00%

Recreation Center (VCAF) Student Asst. I 5 80.00% Student Asst. II 2 100.00%

Other auxiliaries (VCAF) Student Asst. I 5 100.00% Student Asst. II 13 69.23% Student Asst. III 3 66.67% Student Asst. IV 1 0.00%

Admin & Finance Total

96 75.78%

Student Recruitment (VCSS) Student Asst. II 6 100.00%

Other Student Success Offices Student Asst. I 4 100.00% Student Asst. II 3 66.67%

Student Success Total

13 92.31%

Off Campus N/A 3 66.67%

Campus Total

126 76.98%

Excel Centers

UCCS has academic support centers for five distinct subject areas: communication, languages and social

sciences, mathematics, science, and writing. These centers, known as the Excel Centers, offer academic

support to all students enrolled. For fall of 2014, over 55% (n=966) of incoming freshmen were shown to

have visited one of the five centers for a minimum of one visit and 73% of those visiting were retained;

however, the retention rates vary among center usage. Freshmen who used the writing and math

centers were retained at a higher rate than students who had used the other centers. Students who did

not visit a center had a retention rate of 60%.

16

Excel Center Cohort (N) Retention Rate Writing 472 80%

No visits 1279 62% 1 visit 317 79% 2 or more visits 155 81%

Language 236 69%

No visits 1516 67% 1 visit 168 67% 2 or more 68 76%

Communication 256 73%


Math 165 82%


Science 309 72%


Number of Excel Centers Visited

Of the fall 2014 incoming freshmen, 948 visited at least one Excel tutoring Center. Those students who

visited several centers during the semester had higher retention rates than those who did not make a

tutoring center visit during the term.

Number of Excel Centers Visited Cohort (N) Retention Rate Any Center 948 72.99%

1 Center 565 69.20% 2 Centers 290 76.55% 3 or More Centers 93 84.94%

No Centers 804 59.95%

Success Net

Success Net (SN) is an online resource that was developed through a collaborative effort with The UCCS

Office of First Year Experience (FYE), the UCCS College of Engineering, and the UCCS Psychology

Department with the purpose of assisting incoming students with the transition into college. Success

Net provides tools and self-assessments in three domains: Academic, Campus Community, and

Health/Wellness, which students can access as needed.

There were 73 freshman participants in fall of 2014 and 85% were retained.

Participation: Yes or No Cohort (N) Retention Rate

SuccessNet Participants 73 84.93%

No Participation 1678 66.27%

17

Financial Aid

Adjusted Gross Income

Adjusted gross income is a variable that is collected when a student completes the Free Application for

Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In fall of 2014, 1566 freshmen applied for aid. Nine percent of those

applying for aid reported an adjusted gross income of $0. Retention rates for students reporting AGI

vary from 53.87% for those with an AGI between $15,000 and $25,000 to 78.38% for those reporting an

AGI of $155,000 to $200,000.

Adjusted Gross Income Cohort (N) Retention Rate

$0 139 65.47%

$1 to $15K 103 70.87%

$15K to $25K 87 52.87%

$25K to $35K 93 68.82%

$35K to $45K 94 61.70%

$45K to $55K 90 70.00%

$55K to $65K 103 62.14%

$65K to $75K 86 70.93%

$75K to $85K 96 63.54%

$85K to $95K 96 65.63%

$95K to $105K 94 70.21%

$105K to $125K 141 72.34%

$125K to $155K 134 66.42%

$155K to $200K 111 78.38%

$200K or more 99 70.71%

Did Not Apply For Aid 186 62.37%

Aid Awarded

Approximately 89% of UCCS freshmen applied for financial aid and 78% were awarded aid for the 2014-

2015 aid year. The aid awarded ranged from $63 to $40,313. The average award for financial aid

recipients was $11,332. Retention generally improves as the amount of aid increases.

Financial Aid Awarded (2015-2016) Cohort (N) Retention Rate

$0 Aid 206 64.08%

$1 to $1K 159 68.55%

$1K to $3K 122 73.08%

$3K to $5K 109 70.37%

$5K to $8K 228 63.89%

$8K to $12K 219 21.21%

$12K to $20K 243 66.67%

$20K to $25K 132 61.90%

$25K to $30K 103 34.48%

$30K+ 131 61.83%

Did Not Apply for Aid 187 62.03%

18

Financial Aid Budget

The Financial Aid Budget is the average cost of attendance based on academic expenses, residency,

student level, and full-time enrollment minus the individual’s expected family contribution. The

academic year budget includes average allowances related to tuition and fees, books, supplies,

transportation, room and board, and other expenses.

For freshmen entering in fall 2014, the average financial aid budget was $24,991with a median budget

of $26,160 and range of $0 to $45,558. Eighty-five percent of freshmen had a budget greater than zero.

Retention rates are highest in groups who had a budget between $27K and $33K. Students with a

budget less than $20K had the lowest retention rate (53.85%).

Financial Aid Budget Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Applied for aid, 0 Budget 80 65.00%

< $20K 39 53.85%

$20K to $23K 378 67.72%

$23K to $25K 51 72.55%

$25K to $27K 679 64.36%

$27K to $30K 56 85.71%

$30K to $33K 164 77.44%

$33K + 118 67.80%

Did not apply for aid 187 62.03%

Other factors, such as the choice of program and full-time enrollment status are directly connected to

the budget; therefore, retention rates vary between budget categories throughout programs. Budget

groups that include a large proportion of undecided and “pre” plan students show lower retention rates

than groups related to degree granting programs.

Academic Program

Financial Aid Budget Range FT Cohort PT Cohort FT Retention

PT Retention

BUSNU < $20K 2 1 50.00% 0.00% $20K to $23K 30

80.00%

$23K to $25K 5

100.00%

$25K to $27K 55 1 76.36% 100.00% $27K to $30K 11 1 90.91% 100.00% $30K to $33K 11 1 90.91% 100.00% $33K + 22

77.27%

BUSNU Total 136 4 80.15% 75.00%

CLASU < $20K 15 7 46.67% 57.14% $20K to $23K 236 10 66.10% 60.00% $23K to $25K 25 9 68.00% 66.67% $25K to $27K 438 10 62.10% 30.00% $27K to $30K 31 1 87.10% 100.00% $30K to $33K 96 2 73.96% 50.00% $33K + 62 3 64.52% 66.67%

CLASU Total 903 42 65.34% 54.76%

19

EDUCU $20K to $23K 3

0.00% $25K to $27K 6

66.67%

EDUCU Total 9

44.44%

ENGRU < $20K 3 4 33.33% 100.00% $20K to $23K 45 5 68.89% 60.00% $23K to $25K 7 1 100.00% 0.00% $25K to $27K 80 1 71.25% 0.00% $27K to $30K 4

75.00%

$30K to $33K 26

88.46%

$33K + 11

54.55%

ENGRU Total 176 11 72.73% 63.64%

NURSU < $20K 2 2 100.00% 50.00% $20K to $23K 32 3 78.13% 100.00% $23K to $25K 1 2 100.00% 0.00% $25K to $27K 53 2 67.92% 100.00% $27K to $30K 7 71.43% $30K to $33K 18

66.67%

$33K + 11

81.82%

NURSU Total 124 9 72.58% 66.67%

PAFFU < $20K 2 1 0.00% 100.00% $23K to $25K 15

60.00%

$25K to $27K 32 2 59.38% 100.00% $27K to $30K

$30K to $33K 10

90.00%

$33K + 9

66.67%

PAFFU Total 68 3 63.24% 100.00%

Expected Family Contribution

According to the Department of Education’s Department of Federal Student Aid, Expected Family

Contribution (EFC) is an indexed number calculated by the Department of Education that institutional

financial aid offices use to determine both financial aid eligibility and amounts of federal financial aid

awards. Information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), including

student dependency status, family income, family assets, and family size are all used to calculate the

EFC. A larger EFC indicates less overall financial need for the student. It should be noted that the EFC is

not the amount of money a family will have to pay nor is it the amount of aid awarded in an academic

year (https://fafsa.ed.gov/help/fftoc01g.htm).

In fall of 2014, 1565 incoming freshmen completed the FAFSA and the average EFC was $17,870 with a

median of $8,727. Students with an EFC less than $10,000 were retained at a lower rate (64.23%) than

students who had an EFC of $10,000 or more (71.44%). However, students who did not complete the

FAFSA to apply for aid had a retention rate of 62.37%.

https://fafsa.ed.gov/help/fftoc01g.htm

20

Expected Family Contribution Cohort (N) Retention Rate

No EFC/No FAFSA 187 62.37%

$0 EFC 324 61.73%

$1 to $5,000 307 64.50%

$5,001 to $10,000 202 67.82%

$10,001 to $20,000 275 72.00%

$20,001 to $30,000 169 70.41%

$30,001 to $40,000 103 71.84%

$40,001 to $50,000 57 68.42%

$50,001 to $60,000 32 81.25%

$60,001 to $70,000 35 68.57%

$70,001 to $80,000 17 70.59%

$80,001+ 44 70.45%

Total 1752 67.05%

Unmet Need

Unmet need is the amount of the financial aid budget remaining after subtracting both the expected

family contribution and the total financial aid awarded to the student. In fall 2014, 71% of students

whose need was fully met were retained in comparison to 65% of those who had unmet need. The

retention rate declined among students with unmet need in excess of $16,000.

Unmet Need Cohort (N) Retention Rate Did Not Apply for Aid 186 62.36%

0 unmet need 564 71.28%

< $2K 54 85.19%

$2K-$4K 52 69.23%

$4K-$6K 65 73.85%

$6K-$8K 94 73.40%

$8K-$10K 93 69.89%

$10K-$12K 90 71.11%

$12K-$14K 93 68.82%

$14K-$16K 63 69.84%

$16K-$18K 68 51.47%

$18K-$20K 31 51.61%

$20K-$22K 33 30.30%

$22K-$24K 21 19.05%

$24K-$26K 9 55.56%

$26K+ 11 54.55%

21

Loans

Total Loans

Over half of our freshmen received loans (56%) ranging from $263 to $36,031. The average loan amount

granted was $11,167. Attrition is highest among students receiving either small loan totals (<$5,000) or

large loan totals ($35,000 or more).

Loan Totals Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Did not Apply for Aid 187 62.37%

$0 682 68.91%

$1 to $3,000 85 27.06%

$3,001 to $5,000 102 63.73%

$5,001 to $7,500 263 73.76%

$7,501 to $10,000 89 71.91%

$10,001 to $15,000 88 60.23%

$15,001 to $20,000 72 72.22%

$20,001 to $25,000 100 78.00%

$25,001 to $30,000 60 73.33%

$30,001 to $35,000 11 72.73%

$35,001 to $40,000 13 53.85%

Student Loans

Of the 1,565 students who applied for financial aid, 883 students received student loans (without parent

loans). The average loan amount for students who applied for aid was $3,548. The average loan amount

for those who received a loan was $6,289, the median was $5,500 and the range was $170 to $35,660.

Students who had a student loan disbursed during the fall term, had a retention rate of 66.5%. Students

with loans between $1 and $5,000 are retained at a rate of 47.69% while those with loan totals above

$5,000 are retained at a rate of 74.47%.

71%67%

72%68%

44%

52%

Resident Retention % Non-Resident Retention %

Unmet Need Aid

$0 Unmet Need $1 to $15,999 $16,000 or More

22

Total Loans (excluding parent loans) Cohort Retention Rate

$0 682 68.91%

<$1,000 44 61.36%

$1,001 to $2,000 20 35.00%

$2,001 to $3,000 64 23.44%

$3,001 to $4,000 94 61.70%

$4,001 to $5,000 38 44.74%

$5,001 to $6,000 299 75.59%

$6,001 to $7,000 165 74.55%

$7,001 to 10,000 85 75.29%

$10,001 to $15,000 32 68.75%

$15,001 to $20,000 18 77.78%

$20,001+ 24 62.50%


Parent Loans

Loans made to students’ parents were disbursed as part of the total financial aid package for 305

students or 17.4% of the freshman cohort. Overall retention for students using this type of aid is slightly

higher (68.5%) than the cohort average; however it varies by the amount disbursed over the academic

year. The average parent loan total was $14,120, the median was $15,086 and loans ranged from

approximately $800 to $29,000 for the 2015 aid year.

Disbursed Parent Loans Cohort Total Retention Rate

<$2,500 9 66.67%

$2,500-$5,000 20 60.00%

$5,000 -$7,500 24 50.00%

$7,500 - $10,000 41 60.98%

$10,000-$12,500 27 59.26%

$12,500 -$15,000 30 70.00%

$15,000 - $17,500 54 79.63%

$17,500 - $20,000 69 76.81%

$20,000-$22,500 8 37.50%

$22,500+ 23 78.26%

Parent Loans 305 68.52%

No Parent Loans 1260 67.38%

Loans as Percent of Total Aid

In fall 2014, 43% of incoming freshmen who applied for financial aid received an aid package without a

student loan. The remaining 57% had loan packages that ranged from 5% to 100% of their total annual

aid. On average, students who received some type of loan aid had a loan to total aid ratio of 75%. Most

non-retained students received a large percentage of their aid from loans. Students who had a loan to

aid ratio of 80% or higher had a retention rate of 64% while students with a loan to aid ration less than

80% had a 69% retention rate.

23

Loan % of Total Aid Cohort (N) Retention Rate


0.00% 683 68.81%

<30% 69 78.26%

31- 40% 71 60.56%

41- 50% 74 68.92%

51- 60% 49 65.31%

61- 70% 62 70.97%

71- 80% 71 70.42%

81- 90% 102 68.63%

91- 99% 84 65.48%

100% 301 62.79%

Grants

Total Grants

One third of our incoming freshman cohort received a grant as part of their student aid package with the

majority of grant aid coming from Federal Pell Grants. Students receiving grants had a slightly higher

retention rate than students who did not apply for aid. Persistence increases with higher levels of grant

awards. Students receiving grants that totaled less than $5,000 had a retention rate of 44.34%.

Grant Recipients Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Did Not Apply for Aid 186 62.37% Applied for Aid, Did Not Receive Grant Aid 1004 68.79% Received Grant Aid 562 65.48%

$1 to $1,000 60 65.00%

$1,001 to $2,000 25 24.00%

$2,001 to $3,000 56 25.00%

$3,001 to $4,000 27 62.96%

$4,001 to $5,000 48 37.50%

$5000 or less 212 44.33%

$5,001 to $6,000 70 71.42%

$6,001 to $8,000 45 77.77%

$8,001 to $9,000 43 69.76%

$9,001 to $10,000 178 82.02%

>$10,001 14 92.86%

$5,001 or more 350 78.29%

Colorado Student Grant or the UCCS Tuition Grant

Of the 562 entering freshmen who received grant aid at the start of the 2015 aid year, 258 received

grant aid that was not Pell related. Overall, students who received a grant other than Pell were retained

at a higher rate than students who were only Pell recipients.

24

Grant Type Cohort (N) Retention Rate CO Student Grant & CO Merit Grant 197 75% UCCS Tuition Grant 150 73% UCCS Merit Tuition Grant 89 72% Federal SEOG 149 73% Federal Pell Grant 522 64%

Pell Grants

Federal Pell Grants are awarded to undergraduate students who demonstrate exceptional financial

need. In fall of 2014, approximately 30% all incoming freshmen received a Pell grant for their first year

of instruction. As a group, students receiving Pell grants were retained at a lower rate than students

who applied for aid but did not receive a Pell Grant, but higher than students who did not applied for

financial aid. Additionally, freshmen receiving a Pell award greater than $3,000 for the aid year have a

higher retention rate than all the other student groups.

Pell Award Cohort (N) Retention Rate

$0 1054 69.26% $1 to $500 9 11.11% $501 to $1,000 18 44.44% $1,001 to $1,500 27 51.85% $1,501 to $2,000 26 61.54% $2,001 to $2,500 44 47.73% $2,501 to $3,000 52 26.92% $3,001 to $3,500 16 87.50% $3,501 to $4,000 26 73.08% $4,001 to $4,500 35 71.43% $4,501 to $5,000 21 61.90% $5,001 to $5,500 40 70.00% $5,501 to $6,000 198 78.28%

Received Any Pell 512 64.06%

Applied for aid total 1566 67.56%

No aid application 186 62.37%

Scholarships

Scholarship Source

Freshmen received scholarships from over 52 different sources (excluding athletics) in the 2015 aid year.

Overall, freshmen receiving scholarships were retained at a higher rate (74.81%) than those who did not

(62.13%).

Scholarships Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Applied for Aid, Received a Scholarship 675 74.81%

Institutional* 560 76.42%

Private* 243 72.83%

Other* 13 69.23%

Applied for Aid, No Scholarship Award 890 62.13%

Did not Apply for Aid 186 62.36% *Does not represent distinct headcounts as students often receive more than one type of scholarship within the same term.

25

Total Scholarships

Less than 40% of the fall 2014 incoming freshmen received scholarship aid; however, those that

received some type of scholarship award had a 74.58% retention rate compared to 62.17% retention

rate for those who did not receive a scholarship. Students receiving scholarships of $500 or less depart

at an alarming rate, their retention rate is 37.97% and transfer rate is almost 23%. Persistence increases

as the amount of the scholarship award increases with the exception of the $2500 to $3,000 range

where retention falls to 54%. Freshmen were granted scholarship from over 43 different scholarships in

the 2015 aid year.

Scholarship Totals Cohort (N) Retention Rate

no aid 186 62.36%

aid, no scholarship 890 62.13%

$1 to $500 79 37.97%

$500 to $1,000 254 81.50%

$1,001 to $1,500 70 80.00%

$1,501 to $2,000 52 84.62%

$2,001 to $2,500 47 70.21%

$2,501 to $3,000 31 54.84%

$3,001 to $3,500 18 83.33%

$3,501 to $4,000 20 90.00%

$4,001 to $4,500 9 77.78%

$4,501 to $5,000 30 76.67%

$5,001 to $10,000 41 82.93%

$10,001+ 24 87.50%

Athletic Scholarships

Sixty-five incoming freshmen received an athletic scholarship in the 2014-2015 aid year. Those who

received an athletic award had a retention rate of 80%, which is 13 percentage point higher than the

retention rate for the cohort as a whole.

Athletic Scholarship* Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Athletic Admin Scholarship 9 55.56%

Athletic Housing Scholarship 37 83.78%

Athletic Scholarship and C. Murray Athletic Endowment 4 100.00%

UCCS Athletic Scholarship 15 80.00% *Does not represent distinct headcounts as students often receive more than one type of scholarship within the same term.

Work Study

Work study is a part-time employment program that is partially subsidized by federal, state, or

institutional funds if the award is need-based, or it is subsidized by the state if the award is non-need-

based. Students must be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for the program. In fall of 2014, 61

freshmen who applied for financial aid and who were enrolled at least half-time received a work study

award for the academic year. Forty-seven used work study during the fall 2014 semester. For those who

received an award, the retention rate was 74.46%

26

Work-Study Amount Cohort (N) Retention Rate

No work-study award 1401 72.1%

$1 to $2,000 11 45.5%

$2,001 to $3,000 9 67.0%

$3,001 to $4,000 16 87.5%

$4,001 + 11 90.9%

Federal, State, and Institutional Aid

Student aid is funded through the federal government, the state government, and the institution. Often

all three sources overlap. In fall of 2014, 60% of the cohort received federal aid, 41% received

institutional aid and 12.6% received some type of state aid. Students receiving federal aid only were

retained at a lower rate than students who received multiple types of aid or institutional aid only.

Source of Aid Cohort (N) Retention Rate Federal Aid 1058 65.87%

Federal Aid Only 472 56.77%

State Aid 221 76.56% State Aid Only 0 N/A

Institutional Aid 719 76.35% Institutional Aid Only 261 79.69%

No Aid (FASFA=Y) 246 61.78% No Aid (FASFA=N) 186 62.36%

Admissions Criteria

Application Dates

Fall 2014 freshmen began submitting applications for fall matriculation in May of 2013. Over 77% of

freshman applications were received over a 5-month period between September of 2013 and January of

2014. Earlier applications are related to a higher retention rate and late applications reflect persistence

that is lower than the cohort average. Students applying before December of the fall enrollment year

had a retention rate of 70.37% while those who applied after January had a retention rate of 59.44%.

Application Month Cohort (N) Retention Rate

June 2013 32 87.50%

July 2013 6 83.33%

August 2013 19 63.16%

September 2013 276 73.91%

October 2013 418 71.29%

November 2013 320 66.88%

December 2013 141 65.25%

January 2014 202 64.85%

February 2014 85 55.29%

March 2014 85 58.82%

April 2014 67 59.70%

May 2014 41 60.98%

June 2014 34 50.00%

July/August 2014 26 42.30%

27

Admit Type

Freshmen enter UCCS with varying educational backgrounds, and are categorized accordingly. In fall

2014, 72% of the cohort entered as first-time freshmen with no other CU college experience; 15% were

admitted as freshmen who had college experience at a different institution of higher education where

they earned less than 13 hours of transfer; and 11% had earned credit as a non-degree student at a

University of Colorado Institution. Retention rates for each group of students are noted in the table

below.

Admit Type Cohort (N) Retention Rate FR- Freshman 28 67.85% FRF- Freshman First Time - No CU 1266 65.63% FRN- Freshman Prior CU Non-degree 200 77.00% FRO- Freshman Prior Other College 257 66.14%

Window Admission Status

The Freshman Admission Index is a combination of students’ SAT or ACT scores and their high school

GPA or high school rank percentile. The Colorado Department of Higher Education developed the score

and incorporated it into state-wide admission policy. After indexing (or norming) the score, the

minimum Freshman Admission Index score for each institution was identified. Students who meet these

standards are admissible. For UCCS, the minimum index is 92. The Colorado School of Mines has the

highest index in the state (110) in comparison to UC Boulder (103) and UC Denver (93). Unqualified

students may be admitted “in the window” with an index below 92, but the policy recommends that no

more than 19% of and institution’s admits should fall below the window outlined in the admission

standards. After policy changes in 2008 and 2010, the “window status” also included admitted students

who did not meet the Higher Education Admission Requirements (HEAR), which required Colorado

students to have completed high school courses in certain subject areas. For example, a student who

graduated from high school in 2010 is expected to have completed 4 years of English, 4 years of Math, 3

years of Science, 3 years of Social Science, 1 year of Foreign Language, and 2 years of Academic Electives

before they meet the HEAR requirements. The retention rate among students who meet or exceed the

admission requirements is 70.15%, which is higher than the retention rate of students admitted in the

window (53.52%).

Index and HEAR Cohort (N) Retention %

High Index (102+), HEAR exempt 1104 73.01%

Meets Index, meets HEAR 290 59.31%

“Window” Admits: 284 53.52%

Meets Index, does not meet HEAR 164 54.88%

Below Index, meets HEAR 60 50.00%

Below Index, does not meet HEAR 60 53.33%

Other Exempt or Unknown 74 59.46%

Grand Total 1752 67.05%

Admissions Index

As mentioned above, per state policy, C.R.S 23 Articles 40-56, each 4-year institution within the state

has minimum academic requirements for new applicants. Index scores, are a large component in

http://highered.colorado.gov/Publications/Policies/

28

determining admissions eligibility. According to Campus Solutions, entering freshmen in fall 2014 who

submitted the documentation needed for an index calculation, had an average index score of 107.39,

with a range of 77 to 139. The Campus Solutions index score may vary from scores calculated by the

Colorado Department of Higher Education.

Index Cohort (N) Retention Rate <92 133 51.88% 92 55 54.55% 93 19 57.89% 94 39 51.28% 95 47 53.19% 96 42 59.52% 97 61 52.46% 98 33 57.58% 99 68 64.71% 100 14 71.43% 101 66 63.64% 102 25 60.00% 103+ 1047 71.92%

No Index on Record 103 76.70%

Admissions Index Group

Student retention based on grouping of index scores are noted in the table below. Students who have

calculated index scores below the floor of 92 are retained at a lower rate than those who meet the

minimum admission index standard.

Index Group Cohort (N) Retained (N) Retention Rate N/A 103 79 76.70% <82 17 10 58.82% 82-91 171 59 34.50% 92-102 414 273 65.94% 103+ 1047 753 71.92%

High School GPA

Of the 1752 entering freshmen, 1736 submitted a high school grade point average during the admissions

process. The average high school GPA for the entering cohort was 3.31 and the median was 3.27.

Retention is highest for students who have a high school GPA that is 3.50 or higher.

High School GPA Cohort (N) Retention Rate <2.0 4 50.00% 2.0 - 2.4 82 36.58% 2.5 - 2.9 396 57.07% 3.0 - 3.4 638 65.51% 3.5 - 3.9 521 77.92% 4.0 95 84.21%

No GPA Record 16 75.00%

Total 1752 67.04%

29

Standardized Test Scores

ACT Examination Scores

ACT testing covers four components for basic benchmarking that include the areas of English, Math,

Reading, and Science. According to ACT, raw scores in each of areas are converted to a scaled scores

that range from 1 to 36. Ninety-two percent of entering freshmen submitted ACT test scores and 99%

submitted a combination of ACT and SAT test scores. Those that did not submit either ACT or SAT scores

were generally from a non-U.S. high school.

ACT Composite Scores

Composite scores, based on the maximum scores reported, ranged from 10 to 35 with a mean of 23.7

and median of 24. We observe higher retention when ACT composite scores are 22 or above. Students

who submitted ACT test scores, as a whole, had retention scores 11 points higher than students who did

not have an ACT score recorded in the system.

ACT Composite Percentile Groups Cohort (N) Retention Rate

</= 50th Percentile (scores 1 to 20) 341 56.60%

51st to 74th Percentile (scores 21 to 24) 655 68.09%

75th to 90th Percentile (scores 25 to 28) 453 73.07%

91st to 99th Percentile (scores 29+) 159 76.73%

Any Score Submitted 1608 67.91%

No Score 144 56.94%

ACT Composite Detail Cohort (N) Retention Rate

</=16 44 70.45%

17 38 71.05%

18 58 44.83%

19 85 51.76%

20 116 56.03%

21 160 65.63%

22 173 71.68%

23 160 68.13%

24 162 66.67%

25 164 78.66%

26 118 63.56%

27 93 70.97%

28 78 78.21%

29 54 70.37%

30 43 69.77%

31 40 87.50%

32 15 86.67%

33+ 7 85.71%

30

ACT English

Incoming freshmen had ACT English scores that ranged from 6 to 36. The average score for the English

component was 23.49 with a median of 23. Students with scores below 20 were retained at a lower rate

(63.03%) than students who scored above 20 (69.75%).

ACT English Percentile Groups Cohort (N) Retention Rate

< 50th Percentile (scores 1 to 19) 318 59.75%





No Score 144 56.94%

ACT English Detail Cohort (N) Retention Rate

</= 16 131 64.12%

17 35 57.14%

18 55 49.09%

19 97 60.82%

20 123 71.54%

21 150 70.67%

22 151 64.90%

23 138 62.32%

24 155 63.23%

25 134 70.15%

26 91 69.23%

27 61 73.77%

28 72 79.17%

29 58 75.86%

30 40 72.50%

31 29 75.86%

32 32 78.13%

33+ 56 83.93%

ACT Reading

Incoming freshmen submitted ACT reading scores ranging from 6 to 36. The average score was 24.07

and the median was 23. Students with reading score less than or equal to 21 were retained at a lower

rate (61.88%) than students that had a reading score of 22 or more (71.05%).

ACT Reading Percentile Groups Cohort (N) Retention Rate






No Score 144 56.94%

31

ACT Reading Detail Cohort (N) Retention Rate

</=16 89 66.29%

17 47 44.68%

18 50 58.00%

19 118 56.78%

20 88 68.18%

21 159 66.04%

22 93 67.74%

23 162 72.84%

24 123 66.67%

25 92 67.39%

26 82 78.05%

27 77 67.53%

28 66 74.24%

29 72 77.78%

30 77 66.23%

31 64 70.31%

32 63 61.90%

33+ 86 81.40%

ACT Math

Incoming freshmen submitted ACT math scores ranging from 14 to 36. The average ACT math score was

22.66 with a median of 23. Students with scores below 20 were retained at a lower rate (60.11%) than

students who scored above 20 (71.52%).

ACT Math Percentile Groups Cohort (N) Retention Rate






No Score 144 56.94%

ACT Math Detail Cohort (N) Retention Rate

</= 16 115 60.00%

17 118 63.56%

18 95 53.68%

19 88 60.23%

20 93 62.37%

21 112 69.64%

22 94 70.21%

23 156 66.67%

24 180 66.67%

25 145 70.34%

26 133 73.68%

27 91 73.63%

32

28 61 78.69%

29 66 80.30%

30 28 92.86%

31 12 75.00%

32 10 70.00%

33+ 11 72.72%

ACT Science

Incoming freshmen submitted ACT science scores ranging from 10 to 36. The average ACT math score

was 23.36 with a median of 23. Students with scores below 21 were retained at a lower rate (60.58%)

than students who scored 22 and above (70.75%).

ACT Science Percentile Groups Cohort (N) Retention Rate






No Score 144 56.94%

ACT Science Detail Cohort (N) Retention Rate

</= 16 46 69.57%

17 37 43.24%

18 46 60.87%

19 104 64.42%

20 98 61.22%

21 159 61.64%

22 200 67.50%

23 150 71.33%

24 190 71.05%

25 207 71.01%

26 93 61.29%

27 88 77.27%

28 42 73.81%

29 40 77.50%

30 32 68.75%

31 19 84.21%

32 24 70.83%

33+ 33 75.76%

SAT Examination Scores

Approximately 20% of fall 2014 freshmen submitted SAT scores. These scores are derived from the old

2015 SAT scoring scale where total scores for critical reading, writing, and math ranged from 600 to

2400 and section scores ranged from 200 to 800 for math and critical reading. SAT scoring methods

changed in 2016 to reflect vertical scaling. New scores are based on a 400 to 1600 point total scale, and

200 to 800 point scale for math and evidence based reading and writing. More information regarding

33

scoring changes can be found online: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/educators/higher-

ed/scoring-changes/new-score-structure and the new score concordance provided by CollegeBoard can

be found here: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/higher-ed-brief-sat-concordance.pdf.

SAT Critical Reading Scores

For this cohort, Critical Reading SAT scores ranged from 340 to 730. The average SAT critical reading

score was 538 and the median was 540. Retention varies throughout the range of scores, however, they

increase slightly when scores pass in the 600 to 690 range. Students who submitted critical reading

scores were retained at a slightly higher rate (69.05%) than students who did not report a score

(66.53%).

SAT Critical Reading (Verbal) Percentile Groups Cohort (N) Retention Rate






No Score 1416 66.53%

SAT Critical Reading Score (verbal) Detail Cohort (N) Retention Rate

300 to 390 8 87.50%

400 to 490 83 65.06%

500 to 590 172 68.60%

600 to 690 68 73.53%

Over 700 5 60.00%

SAT Math Scores

SAT Math scores range from 300 to 780. The average SAT Math score is 544 with a median of 535. Like

with the SAT reading scores, retention increases as scores exceed 600.

SAT Math Percentile Groups Cohort (N) Retention Rate






No Score 1416 66.53%

SAT Math Detail Cohort (N) Retention Rate

300 to 390 5 100.00%

400 to 490 87 67.82%

500 to 590 156 63.46%

600 to 690 74 74.32%

Over 700 14 100.00%

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/educators/higher-ed/scoring-changes/new-score-structure

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/educators/higher-ed/scoring-changes/new-score-structure

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/higher-ed-brief-sat-concordance.pdf

34

SAT Writing Scores

SAT writing scores range from 310 to 800. The average writing score for this cohort is 516 with a median

of 510. Retention rates increase slightly with SAT writing scores above 600.

SAT Writing Percentile Groups Cohort (N) Retention Rate






No Score 1454 66.64%

SAT Writing Score Detail Cohort (N) Retention Rate

300 to 390 11 63.64%

400 to 490 116 68.10%

500 to 590 124 66.94%

600 to 690 42 73.81%

Over 700 5 100.00%

SAT Totals

In Campus Solutions, SAT totals are calculated by adding the SAT math score and SAT critical reading

score together. This is a different procedure than SAT scaled totals that include, critical reading, writing,

and math scores. Incoming freshmen have Campus Solutions calculated SAT totals that range from 710

to 1470. The average score is 1082 with a median of 1095. Retention rates for students with SAT total

scores follows the profile of retention based on SAT subject scores, and increase when totals are greater

than 1100. Percentile scores are not available for these internally calculated totals.

SAT Total Score Cohort (N) Retention Rate

700 to 790 7 85.71%

800 to 890 19 63.16%

900 to 990 61 70.49%

1000 to 1090 81 62.96%

1100 to 1190 94 69.15%

1200 to 1290 63 71.43%

1300 to 1390 7 100.00%

1400+ 4 75.00%

Math Placement Exams

Incoming students considering degree plans in science, engineering, business, psychology, secondary

education, or any pre-professional plan must take a math placement examination prior to registration if

they have not completed a course for credit in college algebra or higher. Cut scores for math placement

exams vary depending on the test, therefore, one student may take several placement exams to

determine the correct course placement level. Retention rates are higher for students who have higher

math placement test scores. More information regarding math placement policies and administration

can be found here: http://www.uccs.edu/math/math_placement_test_general_information.html

http://www.uccs.edu/math/math_placement_test_general_information.html

35

Math Placement Exam Cohort (N) Retention Rate

M0099 Intermediate Algebra 302 68.21%

< 75 73 63.01%

75 - 84 73 69.86%

85 + 114 68.42%

100 42 73.81%

M1040 College Algebra 787 71.79%

< 75 509 71.12%

75 - 84 123 71.54%

85 + 127 70.87%

100 28 89.29%

M1050 Pre-Calculus 523 71.89%

< 75 164 65.85%

75 - 84 119 70.59%

85 + 196 76.53%

100 44 77.27%

M1120 Calculus for Business and Economics 87 78.16%

< 75 52 75.00%

75 - 84 17 76.47%

85 + 18 88.89%

100 N/A N/A

M1350 Calculus I 255 74.51%

< 75 169 73.96%

75 - 84 41 75.61%

85 + 45 75.56%

100 N/A N/A

No math placement scores 678 58.55%

Academic Preparation

Starting Academic Level

Due to concurrent enrollment and credit earned through non-traditional means prior to high school

graduation we have students entering who are first-time freshmen with enough credit to be classified at

a higher academic level. In fall of 2014, 3.5% of the entering freshman class were classified as

sophomores or higher. As can be expected by their previous academic experience, the retention rate

for these students is higher than the cohort average of 67%.

Entering Academic Level Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Freshman 1690 66.74%

Sophomore 41 70.73%

Junior or higher 21 81.95%


36

Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and CLEP Credit

Many incoming students earn college credit while enrolled in high school through both the Advanced

Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate Programs (IB). Additional pre-collegiate experience can

be gained through participation in high school concurrent programs and through the College-Level

Examination Program (CLEP). Students who took at least one AP exam have a retention rate of 75.97%;

students who took at least one IB exam have a retention rate of 69.84% and students who received

credit for at least one CLEP exam have a retention rate of 80%.

Advanced Placement

Over 30% of freshmen entered with Advanced Placement coursework. The retention rate for these

students increase with the volume of AP examinations and with increased exam scores. Overall students

who had AP experience were retained by 13.5 percentage points higher (or a 21.64% difference) than

students without AP experience.

Total AP Test Frequency Cohort (N) Retained %

1 152 67.11%

2 131 76.34%

3 105 79.05%

4 77 77.92%

5 49 81.63%

6 48 77.08%

7 or more 29 93.10%

Total AP 591 75.97%

None 1161 62.45%

AP grades examinations on a 5 point scale with 5 being the highest score available and 1 being the

lowest. According to CollegeBoard, the AP program administrator, mid score of “3” indicates that the

student has proven themselves capable of doing entry-level college work. According to the UCCS Office

of Degree Audit and Transfer Credit, UCCS grants variable college credit for AP examination scores that

is dependent upon the AP exam taken and the exam score received. The lowest score that can be used

for transfer credit at UCCS is currently a 3.

In fall of 2014, over half of the students submitting AP test scores scored a “qualified” (3) or better on

one of their exams. Students take multiple AP examinations and earn varied scores in different topics,

therefore, the retention rate corresponding to the exam scores in the table below does not reflect a

“one score to one person” persistence measure.

AP Exam Score Cohort Exam Score Retention %

5 (extremely well qualified) 70 84.29%

4 (well qualified) 184 79.89%

3 (qualified) 316 77.85%

2 (possibly qualified) 339 76.11%

1 (no recommendation) 222 76.58%

No AP Test 1160 62.45%

37

International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate Programme (IB) is accelerated high school programming for students

age 16 and older that is comprised of six subject groups (language and literature, language acquisition,

social sciences, mathematics, and the arts). UCCS provides transfer credit for IB exams based on the

student’s course of study and their exam score. Generally, transfer credit is not awarded to students

who receive less than a 4 on an IB exam. In fall of 2014, 3.5% of our incoming freshmen submitted IB

scores for credit. Students with IB experience were retained 2.94 percentage points higher than

students who did not have IB experience.

Exams (N) Cohort (N) Retention % 3 or fewer 15 66.67% 4 to 6 7 42.86% 7 41 75.61%

Total IB 63 69.84%

No IB Exam 1689 66.90%

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

To receive transfer credit for CLEP examinations at UCCS, students must score a minimum of 50 on the

CLEP exam. Transfer credit applicability varies by college and program. Ten first-year students received

some type of transfer credit through the College Level Examination Program. Out of the ten that

entered in 2014, eight or 80% were retained in fall of 2015.

Freshman Enrollment, Early Starters

A small number of freshmen entered in the summer term of 2014 (n=20); the retention rate for summer

freshmen was 7.09 percentage points lower than freshmen who entered in the fall 14 term.

Summer Enrollment Cohort (N) Retention Rate Yes 20 60.00% No 1732 67.09%

High School Concurrent Students

Since 2010, UCCS has had several high school concurrent programs that serve students in different ways.

They all provide an opportunity for exposure to college-level coursework before high school graduation.

CU Succeed is college material delivered directly by the high school during the regular school day by

honorarium faculty at a reduced tuition rate; Project Lead the Way is a STEM centered program that

provides nationally standardized, project-based courses that prepare students for college-level work and

culminate with a student assessment, which colleges and universities can use to determine if a student

earns college credit; The Adelina Gomez Scholar Program is a summer program where high school

juniors can earn college credit while participating in a college experience on-campus prior to high

school graduation; Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) was a program that is now inactive that

allowed the school districts to expand their offerings for students who are ready for college-level work

while still enrolled in high-school; the standard concurrent offering is provided for high school seniors

who have completed their coursework for high school graduation prior to the end of their senior year or

students older than 16 who choose to pay out-of-pocket for more advanced coursework; and the

PreCollegiate Program is a college readiness program for first-generation students who are interested in

a college education.

38

To determine whether high school concurrent enrollment students had a different retention rate than

those not involved, UCCS student records were searched beginning in 2010 to identify if incoming

freshmen had participated in a concurrent program offered by UCCS between fall of 2010 and summer

term of 2014. Almost 10% of the incoming freshman class had participated in some type of high school

concurrent enrollment at UCCS in the four years prior to their 2014 freshman year. Overall, students

who participated in one of the programs listed above were retained at a higher rate than students who

do not have any UCCS high school concurrent enrollment history.

UCCS Freshman Concurrent Enrollment Cohort (N) Retention Rate

High School PSEO/Gomez/Proj. Lead Way 12 75.00%

Non-Degree HS Concurrent 36 77.77%

Non-Degree HS CU Succeed 101 82.17%

Non-Degree HS PreCollegiate 17 70.58%

Total Concurrent Participation 165 80.00%

No Concurrent Participation 1587 65.65%

Transfer Credit

In fall 2014, approximately 30% of the incoming freshmen had some type of prior transfer credit applied

to their academic record; these freshmen were all retained at a higher rate than students who did not

have transfer hours recorded in Campus Solutions at the end of their first term.

Total Transfer Hours Cohort (N) Retention Rate

0 Hours 1204 64.12%

1 to 12 346 72.25%

13 to 24 131 77.86%

25 to 36 31 70.97%

37 to 48 14 64.29%

48 to 60 15 66.67%

61 to 72 7 85.71%

72 to 84 4 75.00%

Total Cumulative Hours

At the end of the fall 2014 semester, incoming freshman had earned cumulative credit hours ranging

from 0 to 111 (including transfer hours). The average cumulative credit earned was 17.73 hours and the

median earned was 15.

Total Cumulative Hours Cohort (N) Retention Rate

6 or fewer 159 15.72%

7 to 15 827 65.18%

16 to 23 430 79.77%

24 to 30 159 77.36%

31 to 45 124 82.26%

46 to 60 25 72.00%

61 to 75 16 87.50%

76+ 12 83.33%

39

Academic Characteristics

Academic Program and Plan

Freshman retention varies greatly by both academic program and academic plan. Entering freshmen

either declare a course of study or major in a degree granting program or in a course of study that

requires transfer to a degree granting program before graduation (e.g. undecided or a pre/prep

program). In fall of 2014, 58% of entering freshmen enrolled in degree granting programs*, with a

retention rate of 72%. The remaining 42% of freshmen who were in an undecided or pre/prep program,

had a 61% retention rate. Freshmen enrolled in colleges with higher admissions standards (Business,

Engineering and Nursing) all had retention rates greater than 73%.

Program Primary Academic Plan Cohort (N) Retention Rate

College of Business Undergrad (BUSNU) 162 76.54%

Accounting (ACCT-BSBU) 10 90.00% Business Administration (BI) 9 77.78% Business Administration (BSBU) 8 50.00% Finance (FNCE-BSBU) 13 76.92% Information Systems (INFS-BSBU) 4 100.00% International Business (INTB-BSBU) 9 88.89% Management (MGMT-BSBU) 8 75.00% Marketing (MKTG-BSBU) 7 71.43% Sport Management (SPTM-BSBU) 32 87.50%

BUSN Undeclared (UDBU) 62 69.35%

College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences Undergrad (CLASU) 1284 65.42%

Anthropology (ANTH-BA) 7 28.57% Biochemistry (BCBA-BA) 10 80.00% Biochemistry (BCBS-BS) 13 92.31% Biology (BLBS-BS) (BIOL-BA) 99 72.72% Chemistry (CHEM-BA) 9 77.78% Chemistry (CMBS-BS) 13 61.54% Communication (COMM-BA) 36 52.78% Economics (ECON-BA) 5 80.00% English (ENGL-BA) 38 68.42% Geography/Environment Studies (GEEV-BA) 9 66.67% History (HIST-BA) 25 60.00%

Mathematics, BA (MTBA-BA & MATH-BA)) 5 80.00% Mathematics, BS (MTBS-BS) 4 50.00% Philosophy (PHIL-BA) 1 100.00% Physics/Energy Science (PHES-BS) 14 64.29% Political Science (PSCI-BA) 13 92.31% Psychology (PSYC-BA) 95 73.68% Sociology (SOCI-BA) 10 60.00% Spanish (SPAN-BA) 3 100.00% Visual & Performing Arts (VAPA-BA) 39 66.67%

40

CLASU Degree Granting Subtotal 448 69.64%

CLAS Undeclared (UDLS) 281 61.21% Pre-Business (PRBU) 119 59.66% Pre-Dentistry (PRDE) 1 100.00% Pre-Education (PRED) 11 63.64% Pre-Engineering (PREN) 123 61.79% Pre-Health Care (PRHC) 13 53.85% Pre-Journalism & Mass Comm. (PRJR) 1 100.00% Pre-Medicine (PRMD) 9 77.78% Pre-Nursing (PRNU) 103 56.31% Pre-Pharmacy (PRPH) 2 0.00% Pre-Physical Therapy (PRPT) 6 50.00% Pre-Veterinary Medicine (PRVT) 5 20.00%

CLASU Pre and Prep Program Subtotal 674 59.94%

College of Education (EDUCU) 12 41.67% Pre-Inclusive Early Child Educ. (EDBI) (BICE-BI) 12 41.67%

College of Engineering and Applied Science (ENGRU) 223 74.44% Computer Engineering (CPEN-BS) 23 78.26% Computer Science (BICS-BI) 8 75.00% Computer Science (CSCI-BS) 51 74.51% Computer Security (BISC-BI) * 66.67% Electrical Engineering (BIEL-BI) 3 100.00% Electrical Engineering (ELEN-BS) 18 72.22% Engineering Prep Program (ENPR) 5 100.00% Game Design & Development (BIGD-BI) 18 77.78% Mechanical Engineering (MEEN-BS) 94 71.28%

Nursing and Health Sciences Undergrad (NURSU) 148 73.65% Health Care Science (HCSC-BS) 82 68.29% Nursing Prep (NUPR)* 66 80.30%

School of Public Affairs (PAFFU) 84 64.29% Criminal Justice (CRJU-BA) 84 64.29%

Grand Total 1751 67.05% *NUPR is the entering point for all qualified BSN freshmen.

Major Change

Major Switching

Almost 15%, or 259 freshmen, changed their major between the fall 2014 and spring 2015 terms. Over

72% of those who changed their major were retained to the fall 2015 term. For those who did not

change major, 234 departed before the spring 2015 term.

Major Switching Cohort (N) Retention Rate Switched Major 259 72.20% Did not Switch Major 1493 65.50%

41

Sankey Diagram for Fall 2014 Freshmen

The Sankey Diagram below provides a visual representation of the of the persistence behavior of the fall

2014 incoming freshman cohort. Students’ persistence or departure is summarized by primary program

of enrollment. The figure provides a scaled image of what portions of each population is retained in

their original major, what portion of the population is retained with a major change, what portion of the

population departs.

UCCS 20142015 Retention Behavior uccs.edu/ir Data from the UCCS 2014 End of Term Enrollment Snapshot, IPEDS Freshman Cohort

Acknowledgement for Sankey Diagram design to Mike Bostok

Letters, Arts, and Sciences

Retained in Major

Public Affairs

Nursing and Health Science

Business

Engineering and Applied Science

Undecided/Undeclared

Pre or Prep Program

Dropped Out/Transferred

Switched to Public Affairs

Switched to Letters, Arts, & Sciences

Switched to Pre or Prep Switched to Undecided

Switched to Engineering Switched to Business

Switched to Nursing/ Health Sci

42

Undecided Students: Major Change

A majority of freshmen that switched majors (n=147) started their fall 2014 career with either and

undecided major or a major that falls into the “pre-major” grouping. Of the 147 freshmen in this group,

98 selected a major in a degree granting program and we retained at a rate of 75.51%, those that

switched into a different undecided or “pre-major” program were retained at a rate of 71.43%. Both

groups of undecided and “pre-major” students who switched were retained at a much higher rate

(74.29%) than those who did not select a different major before spring 2015 end of term (57.22%).

Full-time Status and Academic Load

Of the 1752 first-time students that enrolled in fall term of 2014, 95% enrolled in 12 or more credit

hours and were considered full-time while 5% enrolled in fewer than 12 credit hours and had an

enrollment status of part-time. Freshmen who attempted 13 or fewer credit hours during their first

semester were retained at a much lower rate (58.44%) than students who attempted 14 or more

(72.61%).

Fall 2014 Plan Spring 2015 Plan Grouping Cohort (N) Retention Rate

PRBU To Degree Granting Major 9 66.67% To Other "Undecided" or “Pre-Major” 8 87.50% Did Not Switch 102 56.86%

PRED To Degree Granting Major 4 75.00% To Other "Undecided" or “Pre-Major” 2 100.00% Did Not Switch 5 40.00%

PREN To Degree Granting Major 12 83.33% To Other "Undecided" or “Pre-Major” 9 55.56% Did Not Switch 102 59.80%

PRNU To Degree Granting Major 12 75.00% To Other "Undecided" or “Pre-Major” 3 0.00% Did Not Switch 88 55.68%

Other "Pre" To Degree Granting Major 9 77.78% To Other "Undecided" or “Pre-Major” 2 100.00% Did Not Switch 26 42.31%

UDBU To Degree Granting Major 7 85.71% To Other "Undecided" or “Pre-Major” Did Not Switch 55 67.27%

UDLS To Degree Granting Major 52 75.00% To Other "Undecided" or “Pre-Major” 18 77.78% Did Not Switch 211 56.40%

All To Degree Granting Major 98 75.51%

To Other "Undecided" or “Pre-Major” 42 71.43%

Did Not Switch 589 57.22%

Switched Major Total 140 74.29%

Did Not Switch Major Total 589 57.22%

43

IPEDS Academic Load Main & Extd. Studies Credit Hours Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Part-time (IPEDS) 3 10 60.00% 4-5 3 100.00% 6 9 44.44% 7 4 25.00% 8 3 66.67% 9 22 54.55% 10 25 44.00% 11 16 56.25%

Total Part-time

92 52.17%

Full-time (IPEDS) 12 285 57.89% 13 316 60.76% 14 211 65.40% 15 496 74.19% 16 230 71.30% 17 85 80.00% 18 34 82.35% 19+ 3 100.00%

Total Full-time

1660 67.83%

Coursework & Performance

Compass Curriculum

The UCCS general education requirements for undergraduates at UCCS is called the Compass

Curriculum, and has recently been redesigned to incorporate high impact practices for “retention,

graduation, and professional development” according to research recommendations provided by the

American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). The program, consists of seven critical

components, which include a Gateway Experience, Navigate Courses, Writing Intensive Courses,

Sustainability Courses, Inclusiveness Courses, and Summit Experience. Beginning fall 2014, all freshmen

were required to take a Gateway Experience course followed by three Explore courses, which are

intended to provide a broad view of discipline specific perceptions focused on science, humanities, and

social science.

In fall of 2014, 1,476 freshmen enrolled in one or more courses that were identified with a Compass

Curriculum course attribute in Campus Solutions (excluding Gateway Experience which is addressed in

the next section). Freshmen who avoided courses within compass curriculum had a 63.41% retention

rate and students who enrolled in one or more of these courses had a retention rate of 67.68%.

Number of Compass Curriculum Courses Attempted: First Term Cohort (N) Retention Rate

0 276 63.41%

1 372 70.70%

2 682 66.57%

3 310 63.87%

4+ 112 75.00%

44

GPS Seminar Section and Grade Distribution

GPS Section

The Gateway Program Seminar (GPS) is the first required course within the Compass Curriculum

requirements. In fall of 2014, 92% of the incoming freshmen enrolled in one of 38 GPS sections.

Retention for students enrolled ranged among courses from 52% to 89%.

Freshman Seminar Title and Section Enrolled (N) Retention Rate Sustainable Me (001) 27 62.96% Rotten Tomatoes (002) 43 62.79% Unreality (003) 59 67.80% Globetrotters (004) 28 64.29% Survivor (005) 60 70.00% Driven (006) 48 54.17% School in the Woods (007) 28 67.86% Storytelling: Soaps/ Star Trek (008) 32 62.50% Mindstorms (009) 26 69.23% "25" (010) 46 65.22% Modern Family (011) 39 56.41% Flying High (012) 16 68.75% You Think You Can Speak? (013) 46 71.74% Restore (014) 25 72.00% DOA (015) 30 70.00% Homicide (016) 49 69.39% Off and Running (017) 67 65.67% Studio A (018) 47 61.70% Serenity Now (019) 48 56.25% You Majored in What? (020) 33 66.67% Gray Matters (021) 122 89.34% Sleuth (022) 23 73.91% Baseball (023) 66 75.76% Tech Revolution (024) 46 76.09% Head of the Class (025) 49 55.10% Family Tree (026) 46 78.26% Heroes (027) 43 58.14% React to the Past (028) 53 52.83% Learning Liberty (029) 23 52.17% Football (030) 58 65.52% Club Med (031) 48 87.50% Club Med (032) 47 61.70% Numbers (033) 30 73.33% Be Your Own Boss (034) 30 66.67% Circle of Life (035) 46 71.74% Link In! (036) 32 71.88% Dig Deeper (037) 44 70.45% Flying High (038) 16 68.75%

Total GPS Enrollment 1618 68.36% No GPS Enrollment 133 51.13%

45

GPS Grade Distribution

Not only was GPS course selection important, but the grade a student earns in freshman seminar is

important too. Retention rates climb with course grades, students who earn a B+ or better in the course

have a retention rate of 79%, while students who earn a B or less, without withdrawing or receiving an

incomplete have a retention rate of 50%.

GPS Grade Cohort (N) Retention Rate

A 752 81.25%

A- 207 73.91%

B+ 112 71.43%

B 210 65.24%

B- 63 57.14%

C+ 31 58.06%

C 78 47.44%

C- 29 48.28%

D+ 7 28.57%

D 19 15.79%

D- 5 0.00%

F 59 10.17%

I 3 100.00%

W 43 13.95%

No GPS Enrollment 133 51.13%

English and Math Prerequisites

Prerequisite coursework or placement examinations are often required for completion of core

curriculum courses. Most frequently, underprepared students are required to enroll in English 1300, the

first of the rhetoric and writing series and/or Math 90/99, which are designed to improve students’ basic

mathematical skills to prepare them for college-level algebra.

English 1300 is the first half of the rhetoric and writing core coursework required for incoming freshmen

who have earned either a score of 18 or under on the English ACT exam or a critical reading score of 450

or less on the SAT. In fall 2014, 206 incoming freshmen were enrolled in English 1300, these students

had a 60.19% retention rate.

To be eligible to enroll in college-level algebra, a student must either complete Math 99 or score

between 50% and 86% on the university’s algebra placement exam. An incoming student scoring less

than 50% on the algebra placement exam is required to take the basic math 99 placement exam and

subsequent scoring will determine whether the student is eligible to enroll in Math 99 or Math 90. In fall

2014, 61 freshmen enrolled in either math 99 or Math 90, and their overall retention rate was 63.30%.

Approximately 13% of the cohort (224 unduplicated students) registered for English 1300, Math 90, or

Math 99 to satisfy prerequisites for higher level math and English courses. Overall those who enrolled in

one or more of these courses were retained at a lower rate (59.82%) than those who were not enrolled

in one of these courses (68.06%).

46

Prerequisite Course Cohort (N) Retention %

English 1300 206 60.19%

No English 1300 1545 67.96%

Math 90 20 55.00%

No Math 90 1731 67.19%

Math 99 41 65.85%

No Math 99 1710 67.08%

English Coursework

During their first term, 60% Sixty percent of the fall 2014 entering freshmen cohort enrolled in English

1310 or English 1410. Students earning a B- or higher in English 1310, the first core writing course

required by all students at the university, have a higher rate of retention than students earning a C+ or

lower. Additionally students who enroll in English 1410, which is the second required core writing

course for all incoming students, are retained at a higher rate (87%) than those who earn a D or F grade

in the course or who enroll in English 1310.

English 1310 Rhetoric and Writing Cohort (N) Retention Rate

A or A- 288 82.29%

B+, B, B- 337 75.37%

C+, C, C- 186 65.05%

D+, D, D- 47 55.32%

F 108 16.67%

I or W 58 24.14%

All Enrolled 1024 65.43%

Did Not Enroll 728 69.23%

English 1410 Rhetoric and Writing II

A or A- 46 89.13%

B+, B, B- 40 85.00%

C+, C, C- 13 84.62%

D+, D, D- 3 0.00%

F 11 9.09%

I or W 7 28.57%



English 1310 or 1410

Enrolled 1144 66.34%


Math Coursework

Freshman level math coursework encompassed preparatory coursework such as Math 90 and Math 99

along with general education mathematics spanning college level algebra to calculus. In fall 2014, 35% of

the incoming freshman cohort enrolled in one or more of the courses listed below. Students who earned

grades higher than a C- in this coursework had a higher retention rate than students with a D+ or lower.

Additionally all students who enrolled in a general education mathematics course were retained at a

47

higher rate than those who did not enroll in math during their first term with the exception of

Elementary Functions of Calculus.

Math 1040 College Algebra Cohort (N) Retention Rate

A or A- 69 86.96%

B+, B, B- 83 74.70%

C+, C, C- 66 84.85%

D+, D, D- 28 53.57%

F 24 29.17%

I or W 15 20.00%



MATH 1050 Elementary Functions of Calculus

A or A- 12 91.67%

B+, B, B- 26 65.38%

C+, C, C- 38 81.58%

D+, D, D- 16 56.25%

F 20 40.00%

I or W 17 47.06%



Math 1120 Calculus for Business & Economics

A or A- 28 96.43%

B+, B, B- 11 63.64%

C+, C, C- 6 83.33%

D+, D, D- 2 100.00%

F 3 0.00%

I or W 2 0.00%



MATH 1350 Calculus I

A or A- 32 90.63%

B+, B, B- 36 80.56%

C+, C, C- 39 84.62%

D+, D, D- 6 83.33%

F 20 30.00%

I or W 15 60.00%



Math 1040, 1050, 1120 or 1350

Enrolled 614 71.49%


48

Biology Coursework

Over 20% (N=354) of the incoming freshman cohort enrolled in one or more of the following biology

courses in the fall 2014 term. As with mathematics and English, students who earn course grades of A

or B tend to have a higher retention rate than those earning C grades and below.

BIOL 1010 Introduction to Human Biology Cohort (N) Retention Rate

A or A- 13 100.00%

B+, B, B- 36 80.56%

C+, C, C- 30 40.00%

D+, D, D- 12 50.00%

F, I, or W 8 12.5%



BIOL 1300 General Biology I: Organismic Biology Cohort (N) Retention Rate

A or A- 26 92.31%

B+, B, B- 51 80.39%

C+, C, C- 43 67.44%

D+, D, D- 24 70.83%

F, I, or W 41 46.34%



BIOL 1310 General Biology: Organismic Biology Laboratory Cohort (N) Retention Rate

A or A- 56 87.50%

B+, B, B- 73 73.97%

C+, C, C- 20 55.00%

D+, D, D- 12 50.00%

F, I, or W 19 21.05%



BIOL 2010 Human Anatomy and Physiology Cohort (N) Retention Rate

A or A- 12 91.67%

B+, B, B- 22 86.36%

C+, C, C- 17 76.47%

D+, D, D- 1 100.00%

F, I, or W 13 69.23%



Chemistry

In fall 2014, 24% of the incoming cohort enrolled in one or more of the chemistry courses listed below.

Both Chemistry 1001 and 1201 are designed for students who have not taken a Chemistry course in high

school or have not passed a high school or college level algebra course. Students who are academically

prepared to enroll in General Chemistry (Chem 1301) are retained at a higher rate than students who

49

have enrolled in Preparatory Chemistry or Introduction to Chemistry. Students earning a B or above in

Preparatory Chemistry (Chem 1001) or Introduction to Chemistry (Chem 1201) are retained at a higher

rate than students earning a C+ or lower.

CHEM 1001 Preparatory Chemistry Cohort (N) Retention Rate

A or A- 11 100.00%

B+, B, B- 19 89.47%

C+, C, C- 16 43.75%

D+, D, D- 6 83.33%

F, I, or W 21 38.09%



CHEM 1201 Introduction to Chemistry Cohort (N) Retention Rate

A or A- 28 78.57%

B+, B, B- 63 79.37%

C+, C, C- 43 62.79%

D+, D, D- 12 50.00%

F, I, or W 29 20.68%



CHEM 1301 General Chemistry I Cohort (N) Retention Rate

A or A- 35 88.57%

B+, B, B- 57 82.46%

C+, C, C- 44 75.00%

D+, D, D- 6 33.33%

F, I, or W 41 39.02%



First Semester Course Withdrawals

Freshmen who withdraw from a course between the term census date and the end of term persist at a

much lower rate (42.27%) than students who did not withdraw (71.10%).

Count of “W” at End of Term Cohort (N) Retention Rate

1 180 51.67%

2 23 21.74%

3 9 33.33%

4 or more 34 8.82%

Any “W” 246 42.27%

No "W" 1505 71.10%


50

Grades

Fall 2014 End of Term GPA

Retention rates for first year freshmen are highest in groups with an end of term GPA 2.75 or higher.

End of Term GPA Cohort (N) Retention Rate

0 83 7.32%

0.1- 1.49 149 18.12%

1.50- 1.99 108 50.93%

2.00- 2.49 207 64.25%

2.50- 2.74 120 65.83%

2.75- 2.99 167 71.26%

3.00- 3.24 228 78.07%

3.25- 3.74 438 82.42%

3.75- 3.99 179 84.92%

4.00 73 87.67%


Count of Earned Grades

Students who failed to earn at least one “A” grade in their first term persisted at a similar rate as

students who earn a “D-“or “F”.

Grade 0 Earned 1 Earned 2 Earned 3 Earned 4 Earned 5 Earned 6 Earned

(N) % (N) % (N) % (N) % (N) % (N) % (N) %

A 674 47% 450 73% 284 80% 209 85% 93 89% 37 89% 5 100%

A- 1128 61% 487 78% 114 77% 16 81% 7 86%

B+ 1255 63% 419 76% 69 78% 9 56%

B 871 59% 611 74% 213 77% 51 78% 6 50%

B- 1340 66% 356 70% 51 75% 5 80%

C+ 1437 67% 285 65% 26 65% 4 100%

C 1224 68% 406 66% 103 59% 16 63% 3 50%

C- 1553 68% 181 55% 16 63% 2 100%

D+ 1681 68% 67 54% 3 33%

D 1535 69% 188 52% 27 41% 2 50%

D- 1693 68% 56 43% 2 50%

F 1413 76% 186 45% 75 25% 43 7% 21 5% 11 0% 2 0%

Spring 2015 Grade Point Average

Of the 1,752 fall 2014 incoming freshmen 1506 reenrolled in spring 2015 and earned a spring grade

point average (GPA). For the fall 2014 cohort, students earning a second term GPA greater than or

equal to 2.00 had a higher retention rate (85.64%) than students who persisted into the spring term, but

earned a GPA lower than 2.0 (44.69%).

51

Spring 2015 GPA Cohort (N)

Retention Rate

0 74 14.86%

0.1 - 1.49 130 50.00%

1.50 - 1.99 107 58.88%

2.00 - 2.49 189 84.13%

2.50 - 2.74 144 79.17%

2.75 - 2.99 154 84.42%

3.00 - 3.24 188 84.57%

3.25 - 3.74 314 90.13%

3.75 - 3.99 134 86.57%

4.00 75 86.67%

Did Not Enroll in Spring 2015 243


Online Coursework Flexible programming that makes coursework more accessible has been a priority for the UCCS campus.

Online courses, hybrid courses, extended studies courses, and Weekend University are all methods used

to make programming available to a greater number of students. In fall of 2014, we had very few

incoming freshmen who participated in these types of course offerings.

Type of Instruction

Less than 6% of freshmen participated in either main campus online or main campus hybrid coursework.

Retention rates for freshmen that participate in hybrid coursework are higher than freshmen that

participate in online coursework only.

Type of instruction Cohort (N) Retention %

0 online hours 1717 67.15%

3 or more online hours (main campus) 34 58.82%

0 hybrid hours 1675 66.63%

3 or more hybrid hours (main campus) 76 75.00%

Percent Online

Additionally, as the percent of flexible programming increases per student, the lower the retention rate

appears to be. The optimal level of this type of coursework as it relates to freshman retention is 25% of

a student’s total credit hours per term.

Percent of Hybrid or Online Cohort (N) Retention Rate

None 1642 66.79%

<20% 20 75.00%

20% to 24% 59 72.88%

25% to 49% 26 61.54%

50%+ 6 50.00%

Any % 111 69.37%

52

Weekend University Coursework

Weekend University is an alternative course delivery program that provides 10-week condensed courses

on Fridays and Saturdays for students who may find it difficult to attend course during the workweek. In

the fall 2014 semester, 3% of the incoming freshmen (N=53) enrolled in Weekend University courses.

The average attempted credit load was 3.5 credit hours, but enrollments ranged from 3 to 7 units. As a

whole, retention is much lower for freshmen who attempted coursework through Weekend University

(58.82%) than for freshmen who in enrolled in coursework offered at traditional times (67.25%).

Weekend University Cohort (N) Retention Rate Enrolled in Weekend University Total 51 58.82%

3 credit hours 41 58.53% 4 or more credit hours 10 60.00%

Did Not Enroll in Weekend University 1701 67.25%

Course Level

Freshmen enroll in all types of coursework during their first semester. The majority of freshmen take

multiple courses that fall within the lower division credit range (2000 level and below), while some

enroll in upper-division coursework. As a whole freshmen that take 1000 level courses during their first

term are retained at a similar rate to the cohort average of 67%; however, the small number of students

who take 2 or more of 2000 and 3000 level courses in their first-term appear to persist at a higher rate

than the cohort as a whole.

Course Level Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Number of 1000 Level Courses

0 8 75.00%

1 15 60.00%

2 38 52.63%

3 158 63.29%

4 495 65.05%

5 778 68.77%

6+ 260 70.00%

Any 1000 level 1744 66.97%

Number of 2000 Level Courses

0 1380 66.59%

1 245 64.49%

2 106 73.58%

3 21 90.48%

Any 2000 level 372 68.55%

Number of 3000 or 4000 Level Courses

0 1694 66.94%

1 44 56.82%

2 or more 14 92.86%

Any 3000 or 4000 level 58 65.52%

53

Statistical Summary The purpose of this report was to provide an in-depth examination of retention activity. The measures

explored were broad and included many nominal variables that are not normally distributed and thus,

not appropriate for additional statistical analyses; however, Pearson’s Product correlation was used to

measure the strength of the association that exists between the continuous variables examined in the

report and Fall 2015 total taken credit hours. The strongest correlations occur between variables with

links that are linear, such as cumulative credit hours, fall 2014 GPA and successful course completions.

It isn’t surprising that students who do well in a greater number of classes are more likely to stay than

those who do not.

A full list of correlations can be found in Appendix B. The significant relationships with an r value greater

than .20 are sorted by variable category and strength of association in the table below. There were

several correlations worth noting:

Higher grades in freshman level coursework in Math, English, Biology, Chemistry, and GPS show a moderate to

strong strength of association to fall 2015 cumulative credit hours (r = .306 to .593, p<0.001).

Higher levels of academic preparation in the form of the Admissions Index, High School GPA, and participation

in a concurrent enrollment program show moderate to weak strength of associations to fall 2015 cumulative

credit hours (r =.20 to .31, p<0.001).

Number of attempted courses at the 3000 level and higher, Number of ‘A’s” earned, amount of Pell received

in the first-term, visits to the Science Learning Center positive weak to moderate correlations (r,>= 0.188

to .398).

Engagement variables such as participation in student life, club sports and athletics show positive weak

correlations (Appendix B).

A later application date and number of W’s earned at the end of the term showed negative correlations with

strength of associations (r= -0.219 to -.598, p<.001).

Variable Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N

Linear Variables

Fall 2015 Total SCH Hours (taken) 1

1752

Taken Progress Units (fall 2014) .552** .000 1752

Total Cumulative SCH (fall 2014) .401** .000 1752

Taken Units Main (fall 2014) .377** .000 1752

Main SCH + Exstu. SCH (fall 2014) .358** .000 1752

Total Term Units (fall 2014) .302** .000 1752


Index (Cognos) .310** .000 1649

Major Switch Fall 2014 to Fall 2015 .275** .000 1748

High School Converted GPA .268** .000 1745

Application date -.219** .000 1752

UCCS Concurrent Enrollment 2010 to 2014 .204** .000 1752

Coursework and Performance

Count of "W" at EOT (fall 2014) -.598** .000 246

CHEM 1001 Grade (fall 2014) .593** .000 73

MATH 1120 Grade (fall 2014) .583** .000 52

54

BIOL 1310 Grade (fall 2014) .579** .000 180

CUM GPAPTS (fall 2014) .549** .000 1752

CUR GPAPTS (fall 2014) .548** .000 1752

ENGL 1310 Grade (fall 2014) .519** .000 1024

Freshman Seminar Grade .508** .000 1618

CHEM 1301 Grade (fall 2014) .495** .000 183

CHEM 1201 Grade(fall 2014) .471** .000 175

ENGL 1410 Grade (fall 2014) .468** .000 120

Spring 2015 GPA .464** .000 1509

MATH 1350SCALE (fall 2014) .460** .000 148

BIOL 1010 Grade (fall 2014) .453** .000 99

BIOL 1300 Grade (fall 2014) .448** .000 185

MATH 1040 Grade (fall 2014) .436** .000 285

A # earned EOT (fall 2014) .398** .000 1752

MATH 1050 Grade (fall 2014) .394** .000 129

BIOL 2010 Grade (fall 2014) .306* .013 65

3000 Level Course # (fall 2014) .286* .038 53

A- # earned EOT (fall 2014) .221** .000 17522

Student Engagement

Visits to Excel Science Center .188** .001 309

Financial Aid

Pell Amt. 3/2/15 .374** .000 512

Unmet Need -.217** .000 1565

55

References ACT (2015). National distributions of cumulative percents for ACT Test Scores.

http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/

NormsChartMCandComposite-Web2015-16.pdf

Bostock, M. (2012). Sankey diagram with horizontal and vertical node movement. Retrieved from

http://bl.ocks.org/d3noob/5028304

Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid, (2016) Expected Family Contribution.


CollegeBoard (2016) ACT: Understanding Scores. Retrieved from

http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Using-Your-ACT-Results.pdf

CollegeBoard. (2016). AP Students, About AP Scores. Retrieved from

https://apscore.collegeboard.org/scores/about-ap-scores

CollegeBoard. (2016) SAT Suite of Assessments, New Score Structure. Retrieved from:

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/educators/higher-ed/scoring-changes/new-

score-structure.

CollegeBoard. (2016) SAT Suite of Assessments Score Concordance Tables for Higher

Education. Retrieved from: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/higher-ed-brief-

sat-concordance.pdf.

National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) http://nsse.indiana.edu/2015_Institutional_Report

/data_codebooks/NSSE%202015%20Codebook.pdf

National Student Clearinghouse http://www.studentclearinghouse.org/about/what_we_do.php

UCCS Office of Degree Audit and Transfer Credit http://www.uccs.edu/transfer/transfer-credit-

advising/credit-by-exam/advanced-placement.html

UCCS Math Placement General Information. Retrieved from http://www.uccs.edu/math/math

_placement_test_general_information.html

http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/


https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/educators/higher-ed/scoring-changes/new-

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/higher-ed-brief-

http://www.studentclearinghouse.org/about/what_we_do.php

http://www.uccs.edu/transfer/transfer-credit-

http://www.uccs.edu/math/math

56

Appendix A:

National Survey of Student Engagement: Spring 2015

NSSE Cohort

In the spring term of 2015, UCCS participated in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

NSSE surveys a sample of freshmen and seniors from over 1,500 different colleges and universities to

ask about the amount of time and effort students put into their studies and other educationally

purposeful activities. Of our fall 2014 freshmen, 1507 were retained into the spring term when the NSSE

survey was administered. Of the 1,507 who persisted into the spring term, 300 or 20% completed a

NSSE questionnaire. The difference between those who continued into spring and participated in NSSE is

shown below.

Student Group Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Fall 2014 to Fall 2015 Retention (Full Cohort) 1752 67.05%

All Spring Continuing (Adjusted Cohort) 1507 77.24%

NSSE Participants (Adjusted Cohort) 302 85.76%

Non-NSSE Participants (Adjusted Cohort) 1205 75.10%

Engagement Indicators

NSSE breaks their survey question sets into specific factors called engagement indicators. Student NSSE

responses have been examined in relation to the ten NSSE engagement indicators: Higher-order

learning, Reflective & Integrative Learning, Learning Strategies, Quantitative Reasoning, Collaborative

Learning, Discussions with Diverse Others, Student-Faculty Interaction, Effective Teaching Practices,

Quality of Interactions, and Supportive Environment. Overall, there was a distinct retention gap

between those who answered the questionnaire and those who did not.

NSSE Higher-Order Learning Engagement Indicator

The higher-order learning indicator looks at the frequency in which students apply facts, analyze information and make choices based on information presented. The NSSE codebook defines this indicator as: “Amount coursework emphasized challenging learning tasks including applying learned information to practical problems, analyzing ideas and experiences, evaluating information from other sources, and forming new ideas from various pieces of information.” A very small population of students report seeing coursework that does not emphasize higher-order learning tools; however, there is a large retention gap between those who have coursework that emphasizes “some” use and “very much” use of tool 1 and 2.

Higher-Order Learning Response Cohort (N) Retention Rate

During the current school year, how much has your coursework emphasized the following?

1. Applying facts, theories, or methods to practical problems or new situations

Very little 3 66.67%

Some 47 80.85%

Quite a bit 127 85.83%

Very much 97 90.72%

57

2. Analyzing an idea, experience, or line of reasoning in depth by examining its parts


Some 50 78.00%


Very much 95 90.53%

3. Evaluating a point of view, decision, or information source


Some 62 85.48%


Very much 83 87.95%

4. Forming a new idea or understanding from various pieces of information


Some 62 88.71%


Very much 90 87.78%

NSSE Reflective & Integrative Learning Engagement Indicator

NSSE defines Reflective & Integrative Learning as “how often students made connections with prior

knowledge, other courses, and societal issues, took into account diverse perspectives, and reflected on

their own views while examining the views of others”. The engaged group that reported less flexibility

in examining their belief system or understanding someone else’s position were less likely to be retained

than both the others.

Reflective & Integrative Learning Response Cohort (N) Retention Rate

During the current school year, about how often have you done the following?

1. Combined ideas from different courses when completing assignments

Never 11 100.00%

Sometimes 95 82.11%

Often or Very Often 174 87.36%

2. Connected your learning to societal problems or issues

Never 21 90.48%

Sometimes 97 96.91%


3. Included diverse perspectives (political, religious, racial/ethnic, gender, etc.) in course discussions or assignments

Never 20 95.00%

Sometimes 106 85.85%


4. Examined the strengths and weaknesses of your own views on a topic or issue

Never 11 72.73%

Sometimes 84 90.48%


5. Tried to better understand someone else's views by imagining how an issue looks from his or her perspective

Never 9 77.78%

Sometimes 69 91.30%


6. Learned something that changed the way you understand an issue or concept

Never 7 100.00%

Sometimes 81 88.89%


7. Connected ideas from your courses to your prior experiences and knowledge

Never 2 100.00%

Sometimes 44 84.09%


58

NSSE Learning Strategies Engagement Indicator

NSSE has identified three basic learning skills and has categorized them into “learning strategies”. The

survey asks how often students engage in these behaviors. Students who report never reviewing notes

or summarizing content are retained at a lower rate than those who practice these strategies and there

is a large retention gap (11 percentage points) between students who practice all three strategies never

or sometimes compared to often and very often.

NSSE Quantitative Reasoning Engagement Indicator

NSSE’s quantitative reasoning engagement indicator (QR) is meant to determine “how often students engaged with numerical and statistical information across the curriculum, and used this information to reach conclusions, examine real-world problems, and evaluate what others have concluded”. There is little difference in retention based on student responses to the QR questions. However, students who never report engaging in QR activities tend to have a higher retention rate than students who report engaging either sometimes or often.

Quantitative Reasoning Response Cohort (N) Retention Rate

During the current school year, about how often have you done the following? Reached conclusions based on your own analysis of numerical information (numbers, graphs, statistics, etc.)

Never 33 87.88%

Sometimes 82 85.37%


Used numerical information to examine a real-world problem or issue (unemployment, climate change, public health, etc.)

Never 56 85.71%



Evaluated what others have concluded from numerical information

Never 52 94.23%



Learning Strategies Response Cohort (N) Retention Rate

During the current school year, about how often have you done the following?

1. Identified key information from reading assignments

Never 8 87.50%

Sometimes 36 80.56%

Often 113 84.07%

Very Often 92 91.30%

2. Reviewed your notes after class Never 16 68.75%

Sometimes 78 83.33%

Often 72 91.67%


3. Summarized what you learned in class or from course materials

Never 23 78.26%

Sometimes 72 81.94%

Often 88 89.77%


Used all three Learning Strategies Never/Sometimes 88 80.68%

Often/Very Often 137 91.24%

59

NSSE Collaborative Learning Engagement Indicator

Questions within NSSE’s Collaborative Learning Engagement Indicator (CI) ask how frequently students

engage with peers with the purpose of gaining better understanding of course content. Students who

report engaging in CI activities often or very often are retained at a higher rate than students who did

not participate CI activities.

Collaborative Learning Response Cohort (N) Retention Rate

Asked another student to help you understand course material

Never 27 88.89%



Explained course material to one or more students

Never 8 75.00%

Sometimes 88 81.82%


Prepared for exams by discussing or working through course material with other students

Never 40 87.50%

Sometimes 99 83.84%


Worked with other students on course projects or assignments

Never 18 83.33%

Sometimes 98 86.73%


NSSE Discussions with Diverse Others Engagement Indicator

Questions within NSSE’s Discussions with Diverse Others Engagement indicator explore “how often students had discussions with people who differ from themselves in terms of race or ethnicity, economic background, religious belief, or political views. Retention appears to be higher for students who report increased levels of interaction with diverse people.

Discussions with Diverse Others Response Cohort (N) Retention Rate

During the current school year, about how often have you had discussions with people from the following groups? During the current school year, about how often have you had discussions with people of a race or ethnicity other than your own?

Never 14 85.71%

Sometimes 54 85.19%

Often 72 84.72%


During the current school year, about how often have you had discussions with people from an economic background other than your own?

Never 11 81.82%

Sometimes 55 89.09%

Often 76 81.58%


During the current school year, about how often have you had discussions with people with religious beliefs other than your own?

Never 17 82.35%

Sometimes 60 86.67%

Often 73 84.93%


During the current school year, about how often have you had discussions with people with political views other than your own?

Never 19 89.47%

Sometimes 52 80.77%

Often 89 87.64%


60

NSSE Student-Faculty Interactions Engagement Indicator

In these data, students who report both discussing career plans with faculty and discussing academic performance with faculty are retained at a higher rate than students who never participate in either of these activities.

Student-Faculty Interaction Engagement Response Cohort (N) Retention Rate

During the current school year, about how often have you done the following? Talked about career plans with a faculty member Never 56 78.57%



Worked with a faculty member on activities other than coursework (committees, student groups, etc.)

Never 149 89.26%

Sometimes 76 84.21%


Discussed course topics, ideas, or concepts with a faculty member outside of class

Never 88 87.50%



Discussed your academic performance with a faculty member

Never 69 85.51%



NSSE Effective Teaching Practices Indicator

NSSE’s Effective Teaching Practices Indicator explores student perception of how instructors emphasized

student comprehension and learning with clear explanations and organization, used illustrative

examples in the class-room, and provided formative and effective feedback. Students who reported a

perception of greater extent of effective teaching practices were retained at a higher rate than students

who perceived that these practices were not implemented during their first year.

Effective Teaching Practices Engagement Response Cohort (N) Retention Rate

During the current school year, to what extent have your instructors done the following? Clearly explained course goals and requirements Very little or some 44 84.09%


Very much 95 91.58%

Taught course sessions in an organized way Very little or some 55 85.45%


Very much 108 86.11%

Used examples or illustrations to explain difficult points

Very little or some 57 82.45% Quite a bit 118 84.75%

Very much 95 91.58%

Provided feedback on a draft or work in progress Very little or some 82 86.58%


Very much 72 88.89%

Provided prompt and detailed feedback on tests or completed assignments

Very little or some 97 86.59% Quite a bit 105 83.81%

Very much 68 89.71%

61

NSSE Quality of Interactions

Students who reported poor quality interactions with other people during their first year were retained at a lower rate than students who reported mid-range or higher interactions with others.

Quality of Interactions Response Cohort (N) Retention Rate Indicate the quality of your interactions with the following people at your institution:

With Students

Poor 6 66.67%

Less than avg. 23 78.26%

avg. 28 89.29%

Greater than avg. 139 77.70%

Excellent 48 91.67%

With Academic Advisors

Poor 12 75.00%


avg. 27 88.89%


Excellent 58 87.93%

With Faculty

Poor 8 62.50%


avg. 32 78.13%


Excellent 51 86.27%

With Student services staff (career services, student activities, housing, etc.)

Poor 14 85.71%


avg. 36 80.56%


Excellent 33 87.88%

With Other administrative staff and offices (registrar, financial aid, etc.)

Poor 14 78.57%


avg. 42 83.33%


Excellent 36 91.67%

62

NSSE Supportive Environment

NSSE asks students about how they perceive support in the academic environment. A large percent of students report high levels of perceived support throughout their first year and are retained at a higher rate than students who perceive very little support.

Supportive Environment Response Cohort (N) Retention %

How much does your institution emphasize the following?

Providing support to help students succeed academically


Some 22 86.36%



Using learning support services (tutoring services, writing center, etc.)


Some 13 84.62%



Encouraging contact among students from different backgrounds (social, racial/ethnic, religious, etc.)


Some 64 85.94%


Very much 59 86.44%

Providing opportunities to be involved socially Very little 12 83.33%

Some 50 88.00%


Very much 66 89.39%

Providing support for your overall well-being (recreation, health care, counseling, etc.)


Some 44 84.09%


Very much 74 91.89%

Helping you manage your non-academic responsibilities (work, family, etc.)


Some 79 84.81%


Very much 32 90.63%

Attending campus activities and events (performing arts, athletic events, etc.)


Some 60 85.00%


Very much 49 93.88%

Attending events that address important social, economic, or political issues


Some 72 83.33%


Very much 34 91.18%

63

NSSE Statistical Analysis

Pearson’s Product (Point Biserial) correlation was used to measure the strength of the association

between student responses to questions on the 2015 administration of NSSE and fall 2014 to 2015

retention. Of the numerous questions on the survey, nine showed a significant strength of association.

The strongest correlations occur between variables that ask about the quality of interaction between

students and faculty, students and academic advisors, and students and the student perception of

institutional emphasis on academic support and learning support.

There were several correlations worth noting:

There is a positive weak correlation between student perception of the quality of interaction between

students and academic advisors and fall 2015 retention r= 0.196, p<.01; between the quality of

interaction between students and students and fall 2015 retention r=.160, p<.01; and the quality of

interaction between student and faculty and retention r=0.152, p<0.05.

There is a weak negative correlation between the number of writing tasks 11 pages or more required and

being retained r=-0.159, p<0.05.

Correlations with p-value < 0.05 are noted in the table below.

NSSE Engagement (included significant results only) NSSE Question & Variable

Correlation Sig. (2-tailed)

N

Enrolled fall 2015 1 1752

Indicate the quality of your interactions with the academic advisors at your institution. (QIadvisor)

.196** 0.003 230

How much does your institution emphasize the following? Using learning support services (tutoring services, writing center, etc.) (SElearnsup)

.178* 0.01 207

Indicate the quality of your interactions with the students at your institution. (QIstudent)

.160* 0.015 230

How much does your institution emphasize the following? Providing support for your overall well-being (recreation, health care, counseling, etc.) (SEwellness)

.159* 0.022 206

How many papers, reports, or other writing tasks of the following length have you been assigned? 11 pages or more (wrlong)

-.153* 0.018 238

Indicate the quality of your interactions with the faculty at your institution.(QIfaculty)

.152* 0.021 230

How much does your institution emphasize the following? Providing support to help students succeed academically (SEacademic)

.147* 0.035 207

Estimated number of assigned papers, reports, etc., 11 pages or more (wrlongnum)

-.145* 0.025 238

Attended an art exhibit, play or other arts performance (dance, music, etc.) (Attendart)

-.138* 0.017 297

64

Pearson’s Product correlation was used to measure the strength of the association between student

responses to questions on the 2015 administration of NSSE and fall 2015 cumulative credit hours.

Results varied from the point biserial correlation referenced previously. Fourteen of the 59 variables

examined for NSSE showed significant correlations to fall 2015 cumulative credit hours.

There were several correlations worth noting:

There is a weak positive correlation between the number of writing tasks up to 5 pages required and fall

2015 cumulative credit hours r=-0.239, p<0.001.

There is a weak positive correlation between the perceived quality of interactions between students and

2015 cumulative credit hours r=.223, p<.001; and perceived quality of interactions between students and

faculty and 2015 cumulative credit hours r=.168, p<.01.

There is a weak positive correlation between the perceived emphasis on providing support for students’

overall well-being and fall 2015 cumulative credit hours r=.204, p<.01.

Correlations with p-value < 0.05 are noted in the table below.

Variable Correlation Sig. (2-tailed)

N

Fall 2015 Taken Total Hours 1 1752

During the current school year, about how many papers, reports, or other writing tasks of the following length have you been assigned? Up to 5 pages (wrshort)

.239** .000 252

During the current school year, about how many papers, reports, or other writing tasks of the following length have you been assigned? Estimated number of assigned papers, reports, etc., up to 5 pages (wrshortnum)

.239** .000 252

Indicate the quality of your interactions with the following people at your institution. Students (QIstudent)

.223** .001 230

How much does your institution emphasize the following? Providing support for your overall well-being (recreation, health care, counseling, etc.) (SEwellness)

.204** .003 206

Indicate the quality of your interactions with the following people at your institution. Faculty (QIfaculty)

.168* .011 230

How much does your institution emphasize the following? Providing opportunities to be involved socially (SEsocial)

.163* .019 207

How much does your institution emphasize the following? Providing support to help students succeed academically (SEacademic)

.149* .032 207

During the current school year, about how often have you done the following? Talked about career plans with a faculty member (SFcareer)

.149* .012 281

Indicate the quality of your interactions with the following people at your institution. Student services staff (career services, student activities, housing, etc.) (QIstaff)

.146* .027 229

During the current school year, about how often have you done the following? Identified key information from reading assignments (LSreading)

.143* .030 231

65

During the current school year, about how often have you done the following? Discussed course topics, ideas, or concepts with a faculty member outside of class (SFdiscuss)

.138* .020 281

Indicate the quality of your interactions with the following people at your institution. Academic advisors (QIadvisor)

.134* .043 230

During the current school year, about how often have you done the following? Explained course material to one or more students (CLexplain)

.115* .048 295

66

Appendix B Pearson’s Correlations: Freshman Retention

Results of the Pearson’s bi-variate correlations sorted by category and effect size are located in the table

below:

Variable Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N

Linear Variables

Fall 2015 Total SCH Hours (taken) 1

1752

Taken Progress Units (fall 2014) .552** .000 1752

Total Cumulative SCH (fall 2014) .401** .000 1752

Taken Units Main (fall 2014) .377** .000 1752

Main SCH +Exstu SCH (fall 2014) .358** .000 1752

Total Term Units (fall 2014) .302** .000 1752

Taken Unit Exstu (fall 2014) -.093** .000 1752

Total Transfer Hours .081** .001 1752


Index (Cognos) .310** .000 1649

Major Switch Fall 2014 to Fall 2015 .275** .000 1748

High School Converted GPA .268** .000 1745

Application date -.219** .000 1751

UCCS Concurrent Enrollment 2010 to 2014 .204** .000 1752

My Math Placement M1050 .198** .000 523

TotalAPTest .187** .000 590

Window Category (7= meets window +10, 6= meets index meets HEAR, 5= meets index HEAR does not apply, 4=meets index does not meet HEAR, 3= does not meet Index meets HEAR, 2= does not meet index HEAR does not apply, 1=does not meet index does not meet HEAR)

.183** .000 1752


AP Score 3 (Received Y/N) .167** .000 1752


ACT Math .145** .000 1749



ACT English .135** .000 1749

ACT Composite .133** .000 1749

ACT Reading .115** .000 1749

ACT Science .114** .000 1751



SAT MATH .060* .014 1698

SAT TOTAL .055* .024 1698

67

SAT VERB .049* .043 1698

CLEP Credit 0.37599 .284 10

My Math Placement M1120 0.146129 .177 87

My Math Placement M1350 0.101481 .110 249

SAT ESSAY 0.039309 .106 1696

SAT MC 0.039137 .107 1696

SAT WR 0.035492 .144 1696

IB score 6 (Received Y/N) 0.015301 .522 1752




IB score 2 (Received Y/N) -0.00315 .895 1752



IB Number of Courses -0.06172 .631 63

Coursework and Performance

Count of "W" at EOT (fall 2014) -.598** .000 246

CHEM 1001 Grade (fall 2014) .593** .000 73

MATH 1120 Grade (fall 2014) .583** .000 52

BIOL 1310 Grade (fall 2014) .579** .000 180

CUM GPAPTS (fall 2014) .549** .000 1752

CUR GPAPTS (fall 2014) .548** .000 1752

ENGL 1310 Grade (fall 2014) .519** .000 1024

Freshman Seminar Grade .508** .000 1618

CHEM 1301 Grade (fall 2014) .495** .000 183

CHEM 1201 Grade(fall 2014) .471** .000 175

ENGL 1410 Grade (fall 2014) .468** .000 120

Spring 2015 GPA .464** .000 1509

MATH 1350SCALE (fall 2014) .460** .000 148

BIOL 1010 Grade (fall 2014) .453** .000 99

BIOL 1300 Grade (fall 2014) .448** .000 185

MATH 1040 Grade (fall 2014) .436** .000 285

A # earned EOT (fall 2014) .398** .000 1752

MATH 1050 Grade (fall 2014) .394** .000 129

BIOL 2010 Grade (fall 2014) .306* .013 65

3000 Level Course # (fall 2014) .286* .038 53

A- # earned EOT (fall 2014) .221** .000 17522

2000 Level Courses # (fall 2014) .196** .000 372

1000 Level Courses # (fall 2014) .195** .000 1744

B # earned EOT (fall 2014) .176** .000 1751

B+ earned EOT (fall 2014) .152** .000 1751

Enrolled Engl1300, Math90, Math99 unduplicated HC -.099** .000 1752

Math 90 (Y/N) (fall 2014) -.094** .000 1752

68

D earned EOT (fall 2014) -.085** .000 1751

D- earned EOT (fall 2014) -.084** .000 1751

Percent SCH Online (fall 2014) -.083** .001 1751

English 1300 (Y/N) (fall 2014) -.075** .002 1752

D+ earned EOT (fall 2014) -.069** .004 1751

C- earned EOT (fall 2014) -.065** .007 1751

Online Hours (fall 2014) -.054* .025 1751

B- earned EOT (fall 2014) .049* .040 1751

Percent Online or Hybrid (fall 2014) -.048* .046 1751

4000 Level Courses # (fall 2014) 0.799867 .104 5

Weekend University Attempted Hours 0.156264 .274 51

Hybrid Hours 0.02849 .233 1751

C+ earned EOT (fall 2014) 0.006531 .785 1751

C earned EOT (fall 2014) -0.0317 .185 1751

Math99 (Y/N) (fall 2014) -0.04257 .075 1752

Incomplete earned EOT (fall 2014) -0.04294 .072 1751

Demographics

Disability Services Registrant (Y/N) -0.03124 .191 1752

Eth Recode Wht/People of color -0.02234 .350 1752

First Generation -0.03876 .105 1752

Gender 0.03506 .142 1752

Military Status 0.04254 .075 1752

Student Engagement

Visits to Excel Science Center .188** .001 309

Visits to Excel Total .167** .000 1751

Number of Excel Centers Visited .154** .000 948

Student Life and Leadership Participation .144** .000 1752

Visits to Excel Language .140* .031 236

Intramurals Fall 2014 to Spring 2015 .101** .000 1752

Club Sports 2014-2015 .095** .000 1752

Fall2014 Athletics Roster .074** .002 1752

Campus Housing (Y/N) .073** .002 1752

Greek Life (Y/N) .057* .016 1752

Visits to Excel Math Center 0.07981 .308 165

Recreation Center Visits Fall 2014 0.052007 .801 26

Housing (Theme Housing( Y/N 0.034929 .305 863

Visits to Excel Writing Center 0.024694 .593 472

Visits to Excel Communication Center -0.06294 .316 256

Financial Aid

Pell Amt. 3/2/15 .374** .000 512

Unmet Need -.217** .000 1565

Freshman Institutional Scholarship .199** .000 1752

FinAid Institutional Aid Amt. .191** .000 1565

69

FinAid Scholarship Amt. .182** .000 1565

FinAid as % of FinAid Budget .133** .000 1485

FinAid Total Aid Amount .118** .000 1565

Disbursed Parent Loans .117* .040 305

Freshman Private Scholarship (Y/N) .113** .000 1752

Grants Excluding Pell Amt. .096** .000 1565

Loan as % of Total Aid -.088** .001 1359

Freshman Other Scholarship (Y/N) .082** .001 1752

UCCS Merit Tuition Grant (Y/N) .081** .001 1752

FAFSA (Y/N) .080** .001 1752

UCCS Tuition Grant (Y/N) .079** .001 1752

FinAid Family Contribution Amt. .076** .003 1565

Colorado Student Grant (Y/N) .075** .002 1752

CCHE Adjusted Gross Income Amt. .071** .005 1565

Fed SEOG (Y/N) .071** .003 1752

Athletic Scholarship Recode (Y/N) .070** .005 1565

FinAid Work Study Amt. .070** .005 1565

Financial Need (FA Budget-EFC) -.066** .009 1565

FinAid State Aid Amt. .063* .012 1565

FinAid Grant Amt. 0.047426 .061 1565

FinAid Federal Aid Amt. 0.047041 .063 1565

FinAid Loan Amt. 0.046722 .065 1565

Total Loans excluding Parent Loans Amt. 0.045728 .071 1565

FinAid Budget Amt. 0.044483 .079 1565

2014-2015 freshman retention report

Documents