Overview
The COAS SERP establishes goals, priorities and frameworks for student success in the College of Arts and Sciences. The mission of the SERP is to reduce equity gaps in access, retention and completion through targeted student support, and our vision for the college is to build a student success network where COAS units are aligned towards shared equity goals.
Last year we launched college-led retention strategies in Advising, Student Persistence and Re-Enrollment and First-Year Experience. Now, with our goals and infrastructure in place, we are ready to advance SERP work at the department level through Strategic Retention Initiative (SRI) grants.
The SRI grant program provides college-level funding and training, delivered over a two-year period, to develop targeted retention strategies within departments. For this round of SRI, we are focusing on retention initiatives. In the future, we will create opportunities for departments to design and implement recruitment-based initiatives.
A team-based approach
- We will award two years of funding to three COAS department teams.
- Departments will submit proposals in teams of up to four members.
- During year 1, team members will each receive a $1,000 stipend.
- During year 2, teams will submit proposals to fund their pilot project with up to $10,000 available per project.
- The grant work is divided into two phases:
- Year 1: Guided strategic retention planning (Fall 2024 – Spring 2025 )
- Year 2: Department-level retention initiative pilot (Fall 2025 – Spring 2026)
Responsibilities
- In the first year, the training and strategic planning work will require weekly engagement. For example:
- Training sessions with all three SRI department teams
- Planning sessions with Casey Iezzi and your Data Team partners
- Working meetings with your department team
- Strategy and information-gathering with campus partners (e.g., Institutional Effectiveness)
- In year 2, hours will likely shift based on the goals and needs of your pilot project. Expectations for outcomes will be determined by the department team’s specific pilot project