NorthWest Arkansas Community College Emphasizing Recruitment, Retention

BENTONVILLE -- With dramatic enrollment gains no longer considered automatic every year at NorthWest Arkansas Community College, officials are focused on recruiting and retaining students.

The college became accustomed to rapid growth during its first 20 years. Between 2004 and 2011, for example, the number of credit hours taken at the college nearly doubled, from 87,466 to 173,282.

Enrollment began to slip two years ago. The number of credit hours taken during the fall 2013 semester was 70,592, a decline of 7.3 percent from two years earlier.

It remains to be seen what enrollment will be this school year. Officials crafted this year's budget with the expectation of a 3 percent decline in student credit hours from last year.

How to recruit and retain students was a major topic of discussion when board members and administrators gathered for a retreat meeting July 26. Every department, from learner support services to accounting, was asked to explain how it's contributing to recruitment and retention efforts.

A list provided by the college shows the departments combined to provide 90 steps that either have been taken or are being taken to boost student recruitment. Another 71 steps were listed on the retention side.

"We know community colleges are often the very best place for students to start and we want to make sure we are giving information so we can recruit students," said Evelyn Jorgenson, college president. "Even more important than getting them here, we want to keep them here and help them be successful."

The Finance Department, for example, listed no increase in tuition or fees this fiscal year as having a positive impact on recruitment and retention.

Meredith Brunen, director of development for the college's foundation, said the foundation offers an emergency loan program that helps with retention. The program allows students to receive an interest-free loan of up to $300 to address one-time emergencies in their lives that might affect whether they complete their education.

In previous years the college has assisted in connecting students to mental-health providers off campus. Ethan Beckcom, director for institutional policy, risk management and compliance, said the college decided to bring Ozark Guidance counselors on campus for about eight hours per week starting last spring.

"Anecdotal data, specifically from students served and faculty, supports that this service has contributed to overall student success and retention," Beckcom said. "This information has been derived from exit surveys and informal channels of communication."

The marketing and public relations department listed numerous efforts on the recruitment side, including a new billboard design on Interstate 49 and an advertisement in the University of Arkansas's student newspaper. A redesign of the college's website also is in progress.

Shane Broadway, director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, said there seems to be a renewed focus at college campuses statewide on recruiting and retaining students.

"The governor and the Legislature have encouraged those initiatives," Broadway said. "Every campus is going to be different because they all serve different students who have different needs. So each one is having to look inside their own institution and see what areas they have to focus on."

Enrollment growth has slowed dramatically for most higher education institutions in Arkansas in recent years, especially at the two-year level, Broadway said. An improved economy has something to do with that because fewer people are unemployed, he said.

Broadway said his department is working with other state agencies to improve the quality of students those institutions receive. It's also important to prepare high school students for the way college works so they will be more likely to survive that first year of college, he said.

"If you can get a student through that first year and get them back the second year, the chance of them going on to get a certificate or degree goes up substantially. We're working on several different ideas from a statewide level on how to address that," Broadway said.

One of the biggest concerns his department hears about from students and parents is related to academic advising, which he called "a huge key in terms of getting a student in college and on the right path."

NorthWest Arkansas Community College has improved its student-to-adviser ratio from 1,600 to 1 to 750 to 1 since 2011. The college's Academic Success Center provides more "intrusive" advising to at-risk students by requiring completion of specific courses and recommending additional resources to help foster student success.

The fall semester starts Aug. 25.