2025 - 2030 Retention Plan
Champions for Success
At Ferris State University, student success isn’t a slogan, it’s a mission grounded in expanding access and helping students persist to graduation. The 2025–2030 retention plan, Champions for Success, outlines a focused strategy to strengthen academic readiness, foster belonging, and ensure every student has the support to finish strong.
Every student.
Every step.
Every finish line.
Contents
Strategic Pillars
In alignment with the university's 2024 - 2027 strategic plan, Ferris Forward: Relevant and Responsive, Champions for Success is structured around three strategic pillars that directly address persistence, retention, and student success.
By implementing evidence-based strategies within these categories, Champions for Success aims to enhance student retention and persistence while reaffirming the university’s commitment to student success. In doing so, the institution seeks to cultivate an environment where all students, regardless of background, can reach their full academic and personal potential.
Pillar One
Academic Support And Readiness
Ensuring students are prepared for the rigors of higher education by implementing proactive advising, developmental coursework, and academic support services designed to scaffold their transition to university-level expectations.
Pillar Two
Community and Belonging
Creating a welcoming and inclusive campus environment through structured onboarding programs, strategic communication and process streams, peer mentorship opportunities, and initiatives that foster a strong sense of community and institutional affinity.
Pillar Three
Student Care and Success
Supporting holistic student development through targeted interventions that address financial stability, mental health and well-being, and access to essential resources, ensuring that students have the foundation needed to thrive academically and personally.
Current Landscape
Historical data shows disparities in our student outcomes, specifically in credit completion.
First to second-year fall retention rates
| Student type | Fall 2024 | Fall 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time bachelor's students | 78% | 73% |
| Full-time associate students | 69% | 69% |
| Total students | 72% | 71% |
Full-time FTIAC students earning 30 credit hours, first to second fall
| Fall 2021 | Fall 2022 | Fall 2023 | Fall 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23.3% | 25.0% | 24.6% | 23.5% |
Goals
The goals, metrics, and initiatives of this retention plan aim to increase student outcomes.
85%
Transfer Student Persistence
Increase full-time degree-seeking transfer student persistence rate to 85%.
Current average: 80%
30%
Credit Completion
Increase the number of students of students who complete at least 30 credit hours annually to 30%.
Current rate: 23.5%
Fall 2024 FTIAC students. Current average credit hours completed is 13.7 per semester.
85%
Transfer Student Persistence
Increase full-time degree-seeking transfer student persistence rate to 85%.
Current average: 80%
56%
Degree Completion
Increase the overall degree completion rate by 1% annually for five years to reach 56%.
Current rate: 51%
Two and four-year completion rate (within 150% of projected degree time).
35%
Associate Degree Completion
Increase associate degree completion rate by 1% annually for five years to reach 35%.
Current rate: 30%
Associate degree-seeking completion rate (within 150% of projected degree time).
62%
Bachelor's Degree Completion
Increase the bachelor's degree completion rate by 1% annually for five years to reach 62%
Current rate: 57%
Bachelor's degree-seeking completion rate (within 150% of projected degree time).
77%
Full-time Student Retention
Increase full-time student retention by 1% annually for five years to reach 77%.
Current average: 72%
74%
Full-time Associate Degree-Seeking Student Retention
Increase retention of full-time associate degree-seeking students by 5% over five years to 74%.
Current average: 69%
83%
Full-time Bachelor's Degree-Seeking Student Retention
Increase retention of full-time bachelor's degree-seeking students by 5% over five years to 83%.
Current average: 78%
Initiatives
Academic Support and Readiness
Ensuring students are prepared for the rigors of higher education by implementing proactive advising, developmental coursework, and academic support services designed to scaffold their transition to university-level expectations.
- Review course availability and align registration process with student needs.
- Pilot identification and support for high DFW courses.
- Fully adopt Navigate360 tools (e.g. creating student journeys and increasing faculty and staff engagement around advising, student reports and coordination of care).
- Institutionalize the work of hold reform committee.
- Within new student programming (e.g. Orientation and Admitted Student Open House), build unique interactions for students who enroll with more than 1 semester of credit.
Share your work that supports Academic Support and Readiness
Community and Belonging
Creating a welcoming and inclusive campus environment through structured onboarding programs, strategic communication and process streams, peer mentorship opportunities, and initiatives that foster a strong sense of community and institutional affinity.
- Increase retention and the student experience by strengthening collaborations and communication across divisions.
- Collaborate on resource use to improve efficiency, streamline outreach, and enhance strategy (e.g., minimize duplication and over-surveying, and improve student communication).
- Identify procedural efficiencies for degree completion (e.g. Award software).
- Review and refine class schedule forfeiture policy and procedures.
- In partnership with K-12 guidance counselors and teachers, develop a virtual onboarding program for students that highlights our Founders’ legacy and helps them prepare for the transition to college.
Share your work that supports Community and Belonging
Student Care and Success
Supporting holistic student development through targeted interventions that address financial stability, mental health and well-being, and access to essential resources, ensuring that students have the foundation needed to thrive academically and personally.
- Enhance institutional collaborations to ensure every student engages in a career readiness experience that incorporates future-focused workforce trends and high-impact experiential learning practices (e.g., PERT Exam, Career Readiness Inventory).
- Expand the orientation and onboarding process to support students in navigating campus life, increasing resource awareness, and easing their transition to college. Strengthen the alignment and sequencing of key programs—such as online orientation, in-person orientation, and the first-year experience course—to create a cohesive and connected student journey.
- Identify procedural efficiencies and collaborations for emergency resources.
- Establish learning communities that connect students through shared academic interests and provide coordinated support for belonging, academic success, and persistence through graduation.
- Foster financial literacy to help students prepare for their financial future and long-term career success.
- Embed evidence-based practices for first-generation student success into campus-wide policies, programs, and support services to ensure sustainable impact in outcomes.
Share your work that supports Student Care and Success
Conclusion
Student success remains a campus-wide responsibility. Champions for Success outlines where we must act—across academic support, belonging, and student care—and how we can achieve this together. The plan outlines a focused and collaborative approach to meeting the needs of all students—particularly those who are first-generation, low-income, and academically under-prepared.
By aligning our goals with Ferris State University’s strategic priorities and committing to clear, measurable action, we can strengthen retention, address gaps, and ensure more students persist to graduation. The work ahead will require coordination, accountability, and a shared commitment to putting students first. With this plan as our guide, we are ready to move forward—focused, united, and determined to make a lasting impact.