Fayetteville State University just broke a record

Fayetteville State University has not only reached record enrollment for the fall semester, but it also making gains in retention rates, university officials said this month.

More than 800 first-time freshmen make up the university’s largest freshman class since 2007 and bring the student population to nearly 7,000, a news release stated.

The university also improved its retention rate to 78% compared to 63.3% in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

Chancellor Darrell Allison and Provost Dr. Monica Leach spoke to The Fayetteville Observer on Thursday about initiatives taken at the Fayetteville-based historically Black college to reverse national trends.

“It's really important for campuses to understand the enrollment shifts that's happening nationally, but also the communities in which they serve,” Leach said. “Here in the Sandhills region, it's important for us to be dialed in on the needs of the counties surrounding Cumberland County, as well … Our team is very intentionally focused in on what the demographics is telling us about the students that we're wanting to recruit to come here and why we feel our mission at Fayetteville State aligns with those students to come here.”

Eliminating tuition costs

Allison said when he came on board in March 2021, only three schools within the University of North Carolina system were part of the NC Promise Program — Western Carolina, Elizabeth City State University and UNC Pembroke.

The program is designated to keep tuition at $500 for in-state students and $2,500 for out-of-state students.

“We were very happy and fortunate to become the fourth to be designated as a NC Promise school ... particularly when the cost of education is at the forefront. But we didn’t just rest on laurels with UNC Promise,” Allison said.

In February 2022, the university announced it would eliminate tuition for military-connected students to include active duty, veterans, spouses and dependents of veterans or service members.

“It will cost them nothing for four years' tuition, and for their service, we wanted to match their service,” Allison said. “Again, our motto is deeds, not words, but we didn’t stop there.”

FSU also partnered with Fayetteville Technical Community College to provide no-cost tuition for two years to students in the Keen Scholars program The program is named after former FTCC President Larry Keen and awarded to FTCC students who transfer to FSU with a 3.0 grade-point average.

Since the announcements, FSU has seen a 22% growth in its military-connected students, which is now more than 2,160, Allison said.

While FSU had “historically done OK,” in enrollment, Allison said, it has not always done well in retention and graduating students, at one point ranking last in the UNC system for retention.

One way to keep students at FSU, he said, was developing the university’s 30/60/90 Graduate On Time Initiative.

The program launched in 2021 and is based on the premise that students need 120 credit hours to graduate in four years and are encouraged to average about 30 hours in credits each year,

However, if a student falls behind or is unable to maintain 15 credit hours in one semester, Allison said, they can make up the hours by earning up to seven credit hours at no cost during the summer semester.

If a student takes summer courses all four years, they can potentially have 28 credit hours paid for, Allison said.

“What you're trying to do on the front end is eliminate as much cost as we can, and at the same time trying to work diligently to get you across that goal line in four years or less,” he said.

Internships

Allison said university leaders want to see students with jobs after earning an FSU diploma, too, which is why it has partnered with 150 companies and agencies to offer paid internships.

The goal is to have 750 paid internships within three years. There are 452 internships to date, he said.

Through the university’s partnership with the Fayetteville-Cumberland Regional Entrepreneur and Business Hub, there are 50 paid internships, he said. 

“It is important to us that as the students walk across that stage and get a diploma, they've also had three or four different job opportunities,” Allison said.

Removing barriers

While the university has worked to eliminate costs for students, Leach said, officials have worked to remove any barriers that could cause a student to stop attending.

“We took a holistic approach and really understanding who our students were and how we can best serve them to graduate in a timely fashion, and so we repurposed and reimagined, quite a bit, and one of the biggest shifts in the campus was really centered around our advising,” she said.

Allison said when he first got to FSU, there were 16 student advisors. Now, there are 32, he said.

The university’s Bronco One Stop Shop is a central location in FSU’s Charles W. Chesnutt Library for financial aid, tutoring and more, Allison and Leach said.

“We've also built out several entities within the campus and understanding who our populations are that we're serving around our military adult learners and our transfer population,” Leach said.

More than half the university’s student population is adult learners, and about 30% are military-affiliated, she said.

Military-connected students

Allison said that after seeing a recent article about 1,500 Fort Liberty soldiers deploying to Europe this fall, Leach told him FSU has 324 active duty students.

Leach said the university is being intentional with its technology and data to accommodate those students’ needs.

“Anytime, anyplace, anywhere, we can remain connected ... And if something was to happen, and they have to depart, we will be here standing ready to respond to that,” she said.

Leach said another area university officials have focused on is its academic portfolio of degree programs offered.

FSU has built its cybersecurity and public health programs, she said, and Allison said the university is listening to the needs of Fort Liberty in terms of defense and logistics programs.

“We’re listening to the city and the county in terms of those growing budding industries that, that makes sense there,” Allison said.

Cybersecurity and supply chain courses are offered, and construction management will soon be added to course offerings, he said.

Intentional focus

Leach said focusing on the needs of FSU students has been intentional to maintain the university’s enrollment.

“This does not happen overnight, and it is very intentional, focused, committed folks who are really ensuring our students are being successful, and that's how that needle in the retention space moves,” she said. “That number is extremely hard to move if you are not paying attention to who your students are.”

Allison said the university wants to be a good community partner, whether it’s partnering with Cumberland County Schools to host two early college high schools, Cross Creek Early College and Cumberland International Early College High School, for students to earn dual high school and college credit hours, or engaging with leaders at Cape Fear Valley Health and Methodist University to leverage medical school opportunities.

“I cannot say we're going to be No. 1 in the UNC system as it relates to retention and graduation rates, but what I will say is we won't be last with this kind of focus and this kind of intentionality,” he said.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: How Fayetteville State University is improving retention and enrollment