Retention rates have hit a record high at Mid-Plains Community College. That means more students are persisting toward completion at MPCC’s campuses than ever before.

New data has been released showing first-to-second year retention rates for students who started in the fall of 2014 and stayed until the fall of 2015. The rate is 60 percent for full-time students and 44 percent for part-time students.

“These are the highest levels we’ve seen in the last decade,” said MPCC President Ryan Purdy.

National and peer group data for 2014-15 will not be released until next year. However, a year ago, MPCC’s full-time student retention rate of 59 percent was already higher than the ACT reported national average of 54.7 percent for two-year, open enrollment public institutions.

At that time, the average for MPCC’s 15 peer institutions, schools of similar size and with similar enrollment and program offerings, was also 54.7 percent. Those schools include: Western Nebraska Community College, Scottsbluff; Coffeyville Community College, Coffeyville, Kan.; Flathead Valley Community College, Kalispell, Mont., Eastern Oklahoma State College, Wilburton, Okla. and Carl Sandburg College, Galesburg, Ill. among others.

MPCC’s new student retention rates are also up significantly from the 53 percent for full-time students and 35 percent for part-time students during the fall 2012 to fall 2013 time period, which was when Student Life staff set a goal to increase the numbers.

“Everything makes a difference on student retention – from the quality of the facilities and the treatment students receive with student services, to the engaged learning taking place in our classrooms and the relationships students build with us on an individual basis,” said Andy Long, area vice president of student affairs and McCook Community College.

Kristi Salestrom, area director of student success and retention, echoed his statement.

“It’s not just one person or area influencing the outcome. It’s a team effort,” said Salestrom. “I think we have the right people in place. We have an administration buying into and being active in the retention process. We also have faculty and staff who go above and beyond for the students.”

In the last couple of years, data has been used more effectively to guide college officials in their decisions.

“By examining what efforts are paying off the most in terms of student success and engagement, we can spend our time doing the most effective activities,” said Long. “This sounds pretty simple, but there are so many factors that affect whether a student stays at a college or not.”

As an open enrollment, two-year institution, MPCC faces some unique challenges that impact its retention efforts.

“We lose some of our best students after one year because with the dual credit classes they took in high school they only complete one year before they transfer,” said Long. “On the opposite side, we have students enter college who read and do math at a third grade level. Even though we work with these students, they have to work very hard to catch up and be successful enough in a rigorous academic environment to return for a second year.”

The retention rate increase is also attributed, in part, to the continuous development and tweaking of offerings already in place. Those include student success classes, which teach students about time management, note taking skills, budgeting, testing strategies and the importance of attending class regularly among other success-impacting topics.

“We’ve had a mentoring program in North Platte and McCook for the last three years,” said Salestrom. “This year, the focus was on freshmen living in the dorms.”

North Platte Community College and McCook Community College hosted breakfasts in their cafeterias to give mentors, comprised of administrators, instructors and staff, the opportunity to visit one-on-one with student mentees.

“It is all about relationship-building, which from my perspective, is really what keeps students here,” said Salestrom.

That philosophy was the basis for many other initiatives implemented at the college. Those included sending full-time MPCC faculty into area high schools to connect with students and teachers, involving faculty in new student orientation activities and changing the learning environment to a more engaged classroom that allows students to really get to know faculty.

“Studies show that the more students can connect with a faculty member on-campus, the more engaged they are, and the more they are inclined to stay with us for a second year,” said Dr. Jody Tomanek, MPCC area vice president of academic affairs and NPCC. “MPCC faculty have always prided themselves in connecting with students and showing an interest in their lives. Our small class sizes allow that connection to happen frequently.”

In other attempts to boost retention, MPCC’s Student Success Centers have started reminding students about schedules, deadlines and classes available and collecting feedback to make sure students are receiving the services they need when they need them. An online tutoring service was also launched this week.

While retention numbers prove MPCC is on the right track, college officials aren’t giving themselves much time to celebrate. That’s because they’re already working toward the next goal.

“Now, our challenge is to at least maintain and possibly move up a little more,” said Long. “I believe that as long as we continue to take care of the individual students we interact with and continue to be data-informed and analyze what is most effective, the success of our retention and graduation rates will be there.”