Taking Retention Seriously: Rethinking the First Year of College

Abstract

Efforts on most campuses do not go far enough to promote student retention, especially for first-year students. Add-on classes that are disconnected from one another cannot give students the cohesive environment they need to connect with faculty, staff, and other students. What are needed are learning environments, such as learning communities, that actively involve students, faculty members, and staff in shared learning activities.