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UNK Welcomes NCA

North Central Self Study
Chapter 2: UNK and the North Central Association

1994 NCA Team Report

2. Institutional Concerns

The institution needs to build a strong retention database and establish ongoing programs that facilitate campus-wide ownership in retention activities. (p.23)

Coordinated leadership among Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and the faculty has produced sustained focus and significant progress in this area. The most important data concerning retention - i.e., those demonstrating outcomes -- show that UNK's performance is at all-time highs by widely recognized standards (See Tables 2.2 and 2.3 below.)

Persistence rates: percentage of first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshman returning for sophomore year*:

Table 2.2

Persistence Rates, 1993-2003
 
       COHORT   Rate          
  1993-94   69.8%  
  1994-95   73.6%  
  1995-96   70.8%  
  1996-97   73.1%  
  1997-98   74.7%  
  1998-99   77.4%  
  1999-00   80.4%  
  2000-01   79.5%  
  2001-02   82.4%  
  2002-03   81.2%  
 

Six-year graduation rates percentage of undergraduates who receive baccalaureate degree (cohort each year includes first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen):

Table 2.3

Graduation Rates, 1987-1998
 
       COHORT   Rate         
  1987-88   40.0%  
  1988-89   41.7%  
  1989-90   42.5%  
  1990-91   45.0%  
  1992-93   42.6%  
  1993-94   41.4%  
  1994-95   47.7%  
  1995-96   48.3%  
  1996-97   50.0%  
  1997-98   49.7%  
 

A number of factors account for this progress, including:

Since 1997 UNK (the Office of the Registrar) has assembled detailed data concerning the persistence of major ethnic categories within the student body. These reports are available in the Resource Room. Although the numbers of students in these groups are relatively small, and wide variations are possible from year to year, generally the data indicate that white students tend to persist at higher rates than minority students. This is consistent with results at other University of Nebraska campuses. In light of this data, UNK has taken a number of steps to make the campus more hospitable for minority students, including establishment of a multicultural affairs office within Student Affairs to lead pertinent programming, and concerted efforts to hire minority faculty and staff (including Admissions Counselors).

Several major initiatives demonstrate campus-wide investment in maintaining UNK's student success rates, as measured by retention and graduation statistics. For each, administrators and faculty collaborated extensively on programs designed to help students make a successful transition from high school to the first year of college.