Nationally, approximately one-fourth of new full-time freshmen at four-year colleges do not return to the same institution for their second year. The project report here, Increasing Student Success: Student Voices and Their Undergraduate Experiences, presents a gathering and analysis of interviews and focus groups to better understand the following concerns:

• How students define “success” and why they are at Missouri State.

• Why some leave Missouri State either during or after their first semester, where they go, what they are doing, and their future plans.

• Students' experiences in the context of various challenges and opportunities—academic, social, recreational, personal, and work-related.

• Student awareness and the effects of current interventions and services (e.g., IDS 110, academic and career advising, counseling, tutoring, residence hall programs, TRIO) on motivation and success.

• Unmet needs for particular kinds of interventions and services that can improve student success in general and student retention in particular from year 1 to year 2.

Executive Summary Increasing Student Retention

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