UVU creates new center to bolster student success and increase graduation rates

 

Officials at Utah Valley University announced today the creation of a new first-year center to bolster student success and increase graduation rates.

 

The center will soft launch in the fall of 2019, and will be available to students with 30 credits and fewer, helping them to navigate thecritical first year of college. Thirty-eight percent of UVU students who leave before graduating do so in their first year, which is more than all remaining years combined.

 

“This is the evolution of our current advising system,” said Dave Connelly, associate vice president of academic programs. “It’s advising 2.0. UVU’s 80 advisors work tirelessly to help our students succeed, but advising usually happens later on. Center counselors will reach students sooner, when they are more vulnerable to giving up.”

 

The center will be staffed with highly qualified academic counselors, backed by integrated support services that are focused on holistic student development. The staff will include a director, three assistant directors, and 21 academic counselors. The director position is new, and will be filled through a public national search. The three assistant directors and 21 academic counselors will be selected from existing advisors. All current advisors will remain employed, although schooland college placement may adjust.

 

First-year outreach is part of UVU’s comprehensive plan for student success that includes improvements to course scheduling, pathways, general education, and more.

 

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University Marketing & Communications

Scott Trotter

801-863-6807 | scott.trotter@uvu.edu

Barb Smith

801-863-5274 |barbara.smith@uvu.edu

   

About Utah Valley University

 

At 39,931 students and growing, Utah Valley University is the largest public university in the state of Utah, and one of a few in the nation offering a dual-mission model that combines the rigor and richness of a first-rate teaching university with the openness and vocational programs of a community college. UVU’s unique model, which focuses on student success, engaged learning, rigorous academic programs, and faculty-mentored research, is transforming higher education by making it more affordable and accessible to students of all backgrounds.