Fall semester starts with record retention rate, most diverse student body in history
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
Lipscomb University is celebrating several milestones as fall semester 2016 is in full swing.
With official enrollment numbers in, Lipscomb is celebrating its third-highest enrollment for a fall semester in university history with 4,572 students. In addition, this year’s student body has made university history as the most diverse to date and with a freshman retention rate that has set a new institutional record. In addition, several graduate programs are boasting record enrollments this fall.
For the first time in Lipscomb history, nearly one-fourth — 22 percent — of the student body, including undergraduate and graduate students, come from a diverse background including different countries, races and ethnicities.
“Lipscomb is becoming a reflection of our country and of Nashville where one in ten residents are born outside the U.S.,” said Lisa Steele, assistant dean of student life and director of intercultural development. “Students are finding out that Lipscomb is a place that has good support services in place for students of all backgrounds. And the word-of-mouth is spreading from our students who are here to those who are trying to make a college choice that Lipscomb is a welcoming place and a place where students come together and build their own communities on campus.”
“When our students leave here my goal is for them to leave with a diploma in one hand and cultural competency in the other,” she continued. “We can all learn from each other. At Lipscomb we have great melting pot of cultures and countries. We are also giving students the resources they need to be successful as they are pursuing their education at Lipscomb.”
This year’s student body comes from 49 states (including Puerto Rico) and 47 countries, and represents 32 religious preferences.
Lipscomb reached another milestone this fall with a record first-time freshmen retention rate of 84.7 percent. This is the third consecutive year first-time freshmen retention has set a school record and the fifth consecutive year for an increase in the retention rate.
Brian Mast, associate provost for student success, oversees retention efforts at Lipscomb University, but said that retention is a university-wide effort.
“If a school is setting record retention numbers it is because everyone is taking ownership in retention-related work,” said Mast.
Mast leads a Retention Collaboration group comprised of representatives from the offices of institutional research, student life, bursar, admissions, student advocacy, commuting students, intercultural development athletics and housing. The focus of this group is to collaborate and focus on retention related issues and drill down to individual student need, he said.
Last year Mast incorporated predictive modeling to more readily target students who may need extra support. He said that predictive modeling will be the primary driver of the Retention Collaboration's focus this academic year with the goal of reaching a sixth straight year of retention increases.
“There are numerous factors that play into increased retention rates. In an initial review of the data, I can see that we have made great improvements over the last several years with our commuting students,” said Mast. “We have also found that students are coming to the Academic Success Center for academic support and enrichment in record numbers. The Academic Success Center has been in existence for five years. This is the fifth consecutive year of increased retention, so I know the programs offered here are making a difference.”
“In addition, the four year graduation rate is up nearly eight percentage points from last year, which is significant,” said Mast. “My overall goal is to improve our four-, five- and six- year graduation rates by improving not only first-time freshmen retention but by improving first to third year retention. Our faculty members continue to be a driver in the success we have seen in the area of retention. I hear from students daily how much they enjoy class and how they love interacting and engaging with faculty.”
Several graduate programs also marked enrollment records this fall. Included in this year’s count is a record number of students enrolled in graduate Bible programs with 142 students, an increase of 46 students from this time last year and the Doctorate of Education program, with 103 students, is nearly five times larger than its initial enrollment of 22 in fall 2010. Two new programs accepted students for the first time this fall. Twenty-two students are enrolled in Lipscomb’s new College of Leadership & Public Service master’s program, which launched earlier this year. In addition, 17 students are enrolled in the College of Professional Studies’ new competency-based master’s degree program.
Enrollment numbers will continue to grow throughout the semester as undergraduate and graduate program cohorts are added over the next few months. Lipscomb’s innovative programs offer students a variety of entry points throughout the semester to meet the needs of its students.