Hot Topic #1 - Access and Student Success

Jamie Comstock, Butler University

Abstract

This presentation is the first in a series of Hot Topic discussion platforms used (a) to orient the Butler Board of Trustees Academic Affairs Committee to current issues in higher education and (b) to stimulate meaningful discussion regarding how Butler addresses these concerns. The Hot Topics for review during the 2010-2011 Board meetings are: Accountability: Promoting Access & Student Success; Civic Engagement: Inspiring Students to Become Agents of Change; Global Awareness: Educating Across Borders; and Generating & Allocating Resources: Becoming Market-Smart Supports Being Mission-Driven.

The first presentation outlines the national conversation on student access to quality higher education by accenting the important distinction between “enrollment” and “completion”, reviewing the brutal facts about degree completion in the United States, connecting socio-economic status with access, and highlighting the need to focus on the high impact educational practices that promote student retention. Connecting Butler’s NSSE data to our outstanding retention numbers, the presentation illustrates the reason we invest heavily in faculty development and student academic services that promote student engagement.