July 13, 2007

Purdue receives national award for retention excellence

The Lee Noel-Randi Levitz Retention Excellence Award was presented Thursday (July 12) at the national conference on Student Recruitment, Marketing and Retention in Orlando, Fla. The award, established by the Noel-Levitz enrollment management consulting firm, recognizes the most successful, state-of-the art retention programs at colleges and universities in North America.

Purdue received the award based on the success of its Multicultural Learning Communities project, initiated in 2003. Students participating in the project include more than 200 freshmen who are grouped together in classes and residence halls based on similar academic interests and a desire to explore multicultural themes in their courses. The students, selected from the colleges of Consumer and Family Sciences, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Science, form a support system to help them succeed in school.

"The success of an institution and the success of its students are inseparable," said Tim Culver, Noel-Levitz associate vice president of consulting services. "Improving student retention results from concerted efforts to improve the quality of life for everyone who studies, teaches or works at an institution. We are proud to recognize Purdue as having one of the most creative and effective approaches in the country."

"This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the faculty and staff who created this program," said Pamela Horne, assistant vice president for Enrollment Management and Dean of Admissions. "They have respectively and collectively made a difference in the lives of our students."

This difference can be seen in student success rates. Freshmen who participated in Multicultural Learning Communities had retention rates that were 6.4 percent higher compared to similar students who did not participate in the program. Nearly 91 percent of first-year students who participated in the program returned to Purdue for their sophomore year, compared to 84 percent of the non-participating freshmen.

Retention rate differences for minority Multicultural Learning Communities participants were even greater – with 87.1 percent of the minorities returning to Purdue for their sophomore year compared to 79.9 percent of minority non-participants. Nearly 45 percent of all Multicultural Learning Communities students are minorities, with African-Americans constituting nearly two-thirds of the minority participant population.

Andrew Koch, director of the Student Access, Transition and Success Programs, said project participants also had a more positive outlook on Purdue's diversity climate.

"With assistance from faculty and graduate students from the College of Education, we developed a Diversity Perception Scale to survey and assess first-year students' attitudes and experiences," Koch said. "The results showed that students who participated in Multicultural Learning Communities were more likely to interact with students from other racial backgrounds, display greater appreciation of different values and viewpoints and feel more comfortable with multicultural relationships and a diverse campus climate."

Purdue's Multicultural Learning Communities received startup funding from the Lumina Foundation for Education and are currently supported with recurring institutional funds.

"This is a great example of how an institution can use external funds to pilot a student success effort and how it can sustain support for a program that makes a difference in students' lives," Koch said.

Writer: Marydell Forbes, (765) 496-7704, mforbes@purdue.edu

Tim Culver, (800) 876-1117,  tim-culver@noellevit.com

Pamela Horne, (765) 494-9116, pamhorne@purdue.edu

Andrew Koch, (765) 496-3618, akkoch@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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