Having a retention steering or advisory committee is another integral aspect of promoting retention. Fifty-four percent of the responding institutions indicated that they did not have a retention steering or advisory committee. This reveals the low level of involvement and importance placed on retention activities.
Those most involved on the advisory committee were faculty (39 percent), student affairs (33 percent) and academic administrators (2X percent), general administrators (27 percent), and student (23 percent). The involvement of such a diverse group of people throughout the institution gives strength to the retention effort.
According to the study, the strategies used most often by institutions to overcome retention problems were:
· the creation of positions dedicated to handling retention activities on campus;
· * the recognition of the need for additional funding sources
· * the establishment of mentor programs for minority students--programs which have helped minorities see successful students and staff who can show them a path to success, and which give them the confidence and support they need
· * the re-organization of faculty\staff duties and responsibilities to assist in retention activities--especially for institutions with limited resources;
· * the development of a reporting system for identification and tracking so that institutions can have accurate data and data processing capabilities, on the different facets of their programs; and
