Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange

1700 Asp Ave.
Norman, OK 73072

Phone: 405-325-2158
Fax: 405-325-7309
csrde@ou.edu

		Thinking Differently, Thinking Together about Student Success September 24-26, 2007 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Conference Details Who Should Attend Conference Objectives Keynotes and Invited Speakers Tentative Conference Schedule Conference Program Tuesday Evening Event Pre-Conference Workshops Post-Conference Workshops Conference Registration - Fees and Sign-ups Call for Papers Conference Hotel Exhibitor and Sponsor Information Shipping Information See the agenda for the 2006 symposium here.
		*Save the Date: September 29-October 1, 2008 in Little Rock, AR at The Peabody Hotel (check back for more details)

Who Should Attend

The National Symposium on Student Retention offers attendees a complete educational experience, with opportunities for collaboration and networking among leaders and peers working to understand and improve student success. The symposium focuses on research and evidence based strategies that impact student retention and completion.  Informative sessions are coupled with a collegial atmosphere to facilitate networking and interaction among participants. 

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Conference Objectives

• Highlight emerging research in higher education that can inform retention efforts at four-year and two-year institutions.
• Showcase successful, effective programs, retention strategies and best practices of four-year and two-year institutions.
• Promote opportunities for dialog, networking, and shared understanding between colleagues.
• Identify useful research and resources for addressing the entire retention life cycle from developing strategic plans and performance indicators through funding, implementing, and evaluating retention efforts at the program and institutional levels. 

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Keynotes & Invited Speakers

The symposium’s informative line up of speakers and invited presentations enables attendees to hear from leaders and researchers who can speak with authenticity about current student retention issues and who will share their observations about opportunities and challenges facing higher education.

This year our confirmed guest speakers include:

• Cliff Adelman, Senior Associate, The Institute for Higher Education Policy. Dr. Adelman served for almost 30 years as a senior analyst at the U.S. Department of Education. He has authored many studies, including most recently The Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion from High School Through College (2006). Dr. Adelman has also served as administrator and educator at several higher education institutions.

• Steve Robbins, Assistant Vice President of Applied Research at ACT, Inc. Dr. Robbins has been engaged in a number of studies addressing student retention and academic preparedness. His most recent study looks at the effectiveness of various campus interventions on the retention of students.

• Richard Rafes, President, East Central University, Oklahoma. Dr. Rafes was previously Senior Vice President for Administration for the University of North Texas, as well as Interim Vice-Chancellor for Administrative Affairs and Chief Legal Council for the University of North Texas System. He has received numerous honors and awards in higher education.

• Laurie Schreiner, Professor and Director of Doctoral Programs in Higher Education, Azusa Pacific University. She is co-author of the Student Satisfaction Inventory. She is a Senior Fellow at the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities and directs a national project on student retention and satisfaction, the Comprehensive Assessment Project.

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Tentative Conference Schedule

The conference program is set.

Conference Paper Presentations -- Concurrent sessions offer attendees an opportunity to choose presentations from a number of different topic tracks and levels of expertise from introductory to advanced.

Best Practices Sessions – Best Practices sessions provide attendees an opportunity to interact directly with their peers whose papers have been accepted by a panel of review for presentation in the Best Practices Track. Attendees learn about the lessons learned and future plans from those who have designed, developed, and implemented for online learning.

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Tuesday Evening Event

Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Tuesday September 25, 2007

Come join us for a fun evening event at the Milwaukee Brewer's Stadium. The Brewer's will be playing the reigning world champion St. Louis Cardinals in a divisional game.

When: Tuesday September 25, 2007. Game starts at 7:30 pm but we will be tentatively leaving around 6:00 pm.

Price: The price will be $50. This will include the ticket, transportation, and tip. Please note that we will only be accepting credit cards for payment (Non-refundable).

Registration: Purchase your tickets by filling out our registration form.

TICKETS ARE LIMITED SO RESERVE YOUR SEATS ASAP!!!

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Pre-conference Workshops

Several full-day and half-day pre-conference workshops will be offered during the day of September 24th. Workshops provide attendees an opportunity to explore more deeply topics that may be of interest to them and their institutions.  Attendees come away with specific, practical knowledge that they can put to work when they return to their institutions. Classes include:

Data and Decisions to Support Student Success (Session Full)
Increasingly, college and university leaders base strategic decisions on data. The ability to access, analyze, and convert data into strategic information is critical for institutions to remain competitive with other institutions. This full day workshop will focus on ways to identify peer and competitive institutions, define key institutional performance measures related to retention and compare relative positions on these measures with other institutions. A team approach will be used in this workshop, so senior management and their institutional researchers are encouraged to sign up together for this workshop for maximum benefit. (Full Day, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm)

Retention for Rookies
You've just been named coordinator of student retention at your institution-now what? Retention for Rookies is intended to give you a solid orientation about the retention field. Learn basic retention concepts. Identify resources that can help you evaluate the current state of affairs at your institution. Discover retention strategies that get results at two-year and four-year institutions and learn the best ways to plan for programs by laying the groundwork for success and gaining faculty support. A good starter course for those of you who have recently been told that "retention and student success" have been added to your responsibilities. (Half Day, 8:30 am - 12:00 pm)

Group Process to Foster Faculty Engagement in Retention Efforts (Session Full)
Looking for a positive way to engage faculty student retention strategies? In this workshop participants will learn and experience the steps in facilitating a faculty summit on retention. Using examples of successful sessions at East Central, Dr. Hall will also discuss tips that will encourage open discussion, limit monopolization, and help build consensus. (Half Day, 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm)

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Post-conference Workshops

A couple of post-conference workshops will be offered during the day of September 26th. These workshops are IPEDS training workshops, and the participants are required to bring a laptop with a network card.

Introduction to Peer Analysis System (PAS)
Includes a hands-on demonstration of the use of PAS: level of access of data, methods for constructing comparison groups and calculated variables as well as a summary of the various report types. (Wednesday, September 26, 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm)

Advanced Peer Analysis System (PAS)
Builds on the information presented in “Introduction to Peer Analysis System” (PAS), and “Foundations for Institutional Comparisons.”  It is designed to provide the target audience with knowledge of the complexity of IPEDS data and the skills needed to design analyses and produce customized reports using the advanced capabilities of PAS. (Wednesday, September 26, 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm)

Conference Registration - Fees and Sign-ups

Online Registration: Register for the conference by clicking here. You'll be given the opportunity to register for the conference and then for Pre- and Post-Conference Workshops. Please be sure to include your email address with your registration. (Note: If you have already registered and would like to add a Pre- or Post-Conference Workshop, click on the same link. Then in the drop down menu select "Add Pre-Conference or Post-Conference". This will allow you to add a Pre-Conference or Post-Conference Workshop without registering you for the Main Conference again.)

Cancellation/Refund Policy: Prepaid registrants who find they are unable to attend may send a delegate in their place without penalty. Refunds (less a 20% processing charge per registration) will be made on any prepaid registration for which we receive an advance written cancellation by September 5, 2007.

No Show: Those who pre-registered and do not attend the conference without written notification of cancellation will be charged the full conference fee.

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Call for Papers

CSRDE is particularly interested in papers which address current, evidence based research that advances knowledge in the student retention and success fields.  Papers may be submitted for audience participants at introductory, intermediate, or advanced levels of experience.  However, authors should be aware that while we will have a few participants that are interested in introductory information, many of our participants are seeking more advanced levels of understanding.

We are currently accepting proposals for papers to be presented at this year’s symposium.  Below is a brief description of the presentation tracks.  You are encouraged to download and review the full Call for Papers document for more detail.

• Best Practices - Collaborative institution-wide initiatives that involve all key campus players.
  
• Meritorious Retention Programs - Programs and activities which address particular areas of need such as Math Intervention, Freshman Orientations, Learning Communities, etc.
  
• Transfers and Retention - Shifting focus from first-time students to all the rest.
  
• Beyond the First Year - Addressing what we know about retention beyond the first year.
  
• Retention and Special Populations - A focus on retention concerns with special groups such as At-Risk or minority students; retention within major fields such as STEM, Business, etc; retention within distance and non-traditional populations.
  
• Retention Theory and Models - These papers focus on concepts, principles, or relationships between concepts and principles, which affect the student retention life cycle.  For example, papers which examine the relationship of student financial aid, or federal grants to student retention.
  
• Data, Technology, and Methods - Papers in this track will provide presenters with an opportunity to share analytical methods or technology that is useful in the study of student retention issues.

For symposium paper guidelines, click here.

Abstracts are due May 18, 2007. Go here to submit your abstract.
Reminder: Paper submission due date is July 6, 2007.
Questions?  Call 405-325-2158.

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Conference Hotel - Hilton Milwaukee City Center - Milwaukee, WI

Address: 509 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53203
Hotel Phone (direct): 414-271-7250
Hotel Phone (reservations): 800-HILTONS

Our Hotel Conference Site for this meeting will be the Hilton Milwaukee City Center. It is ideally located in the center of the city's business, entertainment and cultural districts. The hotel is within easy walking distance of many of the city's attractions, restaurants, shopping centers, sporting events, and museums. In addition, they are right across the street from the Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee's largest convention facility, and just 15 minutes from General Mitchell International Airport. The Hilton Milwaukee City Center is in the heart of downtown Milwaukee.

BOOK YOUR ROOM ASAP!!!
*The special room rate ($139/night) is no longer available as of September 1st.

HOWEVER:

There are two options available for reserving a room for the conference:

Option 1: There are a very limited number of rooms available across the street from the conference hotel at the Doubletree Hotel Milwaukee City Center for $159/night.  Call 414-273-2950 and be sure to mention that you are with the National Symposium on Student Retention.

Option 2: Rooms are still available at the conference hotel (Hilton Milwaukee City Center) at the normal room rate (starting at $189/night) as of September 7, 2007. Call the number above or reserve your room online by clicking here.

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Exhibitor and Sponsor Information

The Exhibitor Showcase will be open as follows: Monday, September 24, 2007 (set-up 10 a.m. – noon) exhibit from 2:00 - 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday, September 25, 2007, 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. and Wednesday, September 26, 2007, 7:30 a.m. – noon.  The Showcase timeframe allows for maximum contact with the participants.  The exhibitor fee is $750 per space in addition to many sponsorship opportunities. If you are interested, please download the following PDF documents:

Exhibitor/Vendor Application

Exhibitor Rules and Regulations

If you have any other questions, contact Amy Hesselgren at 405-325-2158.

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Shipping Information for Presenters and Exhibitors

Shipping information and shipping labels. (PDF file) Please read these instructions and use the color paper to print off your labels as described in the handout. Color coded identification labels will help the conference staff keep the materials organized for you.

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The Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange at the University of Oklahoma is a consortium of two-year and four-year institutions dedicated to achieving the highest levels of student success through collaboratively sharing data, knowledge, and innovation.

CSRDE is a sponsored activity of the Center for Institutional Data Exchange and Analysis at