Prescription for College Student Retention and Graduation

My institution's faculty and staff were treated to a very good presentation from a system bigwig on Friday.  He prescribed the following recipe for retention and graduation (this is my version of his prescriptions).

1.  Nine hours of major-related courses in first year.
2.  Growth mindset (not just that the student has a growth mindset but that he/she perceived the faculty believes he/she has a growth mindset)
3.  30 hours finished in first year (can include summer school)
4.  Students' understanding their major choices
5.  Complete required English and Math (because they won't go any further without them).  Mathematician organizations all support that students take the math relevant to their discipline.
6.  Feeling connected to the institution and that they belong (how many students feel that "they just don't belong here" for whatever reasons?)
7.  Give them confidence to interact with faculty and staff.
8.  Ensure they understand the purposes of courses they are taking to their major/careers.

I am a firm believer in faculty development (to ensure #2, #4, #8, primarily, but the others are connected) and in high-quality onboarding of students before Day 1 in the classroom. 



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