North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27804
NEWS & OPINION
September 26, 2008
Issue In-Focus: Student Retention at NC Wesleyan College
Under financial stress, Wesleyan is
striving to improve student retention.
For this issue. Decree stajf members
were asked for their views on the issue.
What can the college do
to improve retention?
Jarad Brown
To return or not to return, that is the
question. Unfortunately, for too many
students, the answer to that question is
not to return. This retention issue has
caused several problems, most notably
the finances of the college being a
complete joke. To address this problem,
the college needs to look no farther than
itself. The biggest thing the college could
and should do is make Wesleyan an
environment students want to be in. Ad
dressing problems with the dorms such as
consistently bad plumbing, defaced walls,
and sub-par furniture could go a long
way. Also keeping in mind that whether
they like it or not, the entire college’s
staff, from professors, to cafeteria work
ers, all the way to housekeeping, is here
for the students. The students pay to be
here, they pay for a service and receiving
it would go a long way toward keeping
bodies on campus.
Joyce Collins
One thing that the college can do to
improve retention is simply listen to the
students. If the students say they would
like something that is reasonable and
within the college’s means, I don't see
why it would be an issue. This can be as
simple as adding an hour or two to the
cafe/grill hours, or as complex as having
a music artist perform at homecoming.
Another feature that may help with reten
tion is to consider special housing for
students with children. Wesleyan could
open a daycare so that while students are
in class, their children are being watched
in an on-campus facility. As part of this
initiative, Wesleyan could add child care
as another major, which could have the
child care majors running and maintain
ing the daycare facility.
.lulianne Cyr
First 1 think the caliber of students
should be raised. I believe in giving
plenty of people the opportunity to attend
college, but accepting students who have
extremely low SAT scores, combined
with extremely low GPAs, may not be
the best route for the school. Some of
these students may be admitted to the
college if they show promise. However,
the standard for the overall GPA and
SAT should be raised. Allowing in
students who desire to learn and have
the background to show this can quickly
change the retention rate.
The college may also consider
investing more money in the facilities.
This year there appears to be a lot
of improvements being made to the
grounds, and 1 commend the college for
these accomplishments. Changes are
being made to the library, the writing lab,
and even to the student support center.
The buildings and the facilities need to
be made accessible to all students. This
means more technology and greater
access for students with disabilities. Too
often do I see a sad student with a broken
foot climbing the stairs to one building
or another. Accessibility is always an
important issue. And there needs to be
more quiet places on campus for students
to rest or to write a paper.
Jade T. Johnson
I feel that the college can make a better
effort in keeping young minds interested.
Most of the incoming freshman are foot
ball players, so, granted, they spend most
of their time outside of the classroom on
the football field. But for the females and
males that don’t participate in the sport it
is difficult for them to maintain interest.
In other words. Give Us Something To
Do! It is understandable that the college
is having financial difficulties at this time,
but I believe that if we spent a little more
money and effort on student activities,
there may be a few more student sticking
around for more than one or two semes
ters. The lack of clubs and programs at
Wesleyan make many students search for
a more well-rounded college experience
in schools such as ECU or NC State.
There are plenty of things that I
think the college could improve upon
to increase student retention that may
not even cost that much money. I think
that very few professors actually show
interest in their students outside the
classroom, and I think that in the case
of freshmen, they need a more hands-on
approach. The.se are the main reasons
why students leave.
Amanda Land!
Student Activities has had its ups
and downs since I've been here, but
Jennifer Evans has done a very good job
of getting the word out to students, and
creating different events for students. I
think the college can offer more majors,
such as art and music, to bring in more
of the kids from artistic families that live
TfecE Decree
since I960 “of, by, and for the Wesleyan community."
STAFF
Editors, News & Features
Joyce Collins
James Randolph
Editors, News & Features
Jarad Brown
Jade Johnson
Senior Editor
Jessica Smith
Cartoonist
Lorenzo Whitley
Faculty Advisor
Dr. William Grattan
171 Braswell • Phone: 985-5336
Email: WJGrattan@ncwc.edu
Stajf Writers
Ashley Ball
Mikey Case
Julianne Cyr
Meghan Herd
Amanda Land!
Kimberly McCorkle
Kathleen Penrod
Makeda Rose
Catherine Weathers (ADP correspondent)
Staff Photographers
Kathleen Penrod
Claudia Thomas
Lorenzo Whitley
Special Contributors
Grace Wallace
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in cities. This will bring in more money
as well as bring in and keep more kids.
Another issue would be to give financial
aid to students who keep up their GPAs.
They will be more likely to stay with the
school, as compared to students who get
scholarships with low GPAs just because
of playing on a team. This way it will
equal out.
James Randolph
Well, I think that one of the biggest
problems as far as retention is the
ongoing false promises during initial
recruitment. Many students are lured to
Wesleyan with the promise of athletic
stardom, low tuition, and, in general, a
glorious college experience that almost
never lives up to expectations. As noted,
a great deal of students come to play
sports, and then some, within a week or
two, realize that they will likely ride the
bench. Thus they are out the door before
they finish a semester, let alone a full
year.
Another big issue is financial aid; it’s
a pretty good idea when you’re trying
to attract freshmen to take care of their
financial aid first. But for the upper
classman, it’s a big turnoff when your
financial aid is decreased, dropped, or as
one student was told when calling over
the summer “not our biggest priority.”
If you cater to freshmen, it’s hard to get
your sophomores, juniors, and seniors to
return when they’re looked at as second
class citizens. Recruiting should be more
focused on finding students dedicated
to career fields that Wesleyan is ready
to prepare and push them into. Athletic
recruitment should be limited and higher
standards should be set in place for
bringing students aboard.
Jessica Smith
To improve retention and reduce
the number of students transferring, the
college might consider adding majors
or developing some kind of masters
program. Also, the school might consider
broadening the types of classes offered,
and offering more than one section of
classes that are essential to acquiring a
major or minor. Scheduling classes has
always presented a unique challenge for
me, and I only have one major and minor.
I don’t know how the people with more
than one major are able to complete their
programs. The school might also consider
lowering tuition, if at all possible. If it
were not for scholarships and loans, I
would not be going to this school. It is
very costly to go to college at all, let
alone a small private institution.
What can students do?
Jarad Brown
As students, we should expect the
staff to be here for us and to do things
that cater to student’s needs and overall
wants; however we also need to exercise
patience. For the college to do just about
anything for students, it takes money
and with students leaving left and right,
it’s more difficult. It’s not always the
college’s fault when a student decides
his or her time at Wesleyan is up. Some
things are simply out of the college’s
control, so as a student body we need to
be patient and encourage freshmen and
all students to stick around. In doing this
more money will become available, and it
will be easier for the college to do things
for students.
Joycie Collins
Because some students may struggle
financially with funding their education at
Wesleyan, one thing I think students can
do to improve retention is to keep their
grades up. Students sometimes don’t real
ize what impact their grades may have on
their future. The higher your GPA is, the
more grants and scholarships you may
qualify for. If your GPA falls below a 2.0,
you may be at risk of losing your federal
aid. This means that you will have to pay
to attend Wesleyan out-of-pocket. At the
same time, I do not blame the govern
ment, because why should they use tax
payers’ dollars on students who cannot
keep a 2.0?
Julianne Cyr
One method for improving retention
is to create a wider variety of on-campus
activities to get the students involved.
Part of this problem, I do have to admit,
is that campus clubs and organizations
seem to be limited in what activities they
are willing to sponsor. However, a good
combined push could be used from
faculty, staff, and students to come up
with wonderful ideas for programs that
would interest students. Too often I hear,
"There's nothing to do on campus." And
too often I want to respond, "College
is what you make of it. If you find
something lacking, create something
new."
Jade Johnson
Even though the college may have
its downfalls, there are many students
that just don’t care about their education
enough to stay in school! That is a big is
sue with retention. I know many students
who only stayed a semester or two
because they didn’t even want to take
the time to get out of a bed in morning.
Students have to realize that this is not
high school anymore; more than likely
if you live on campus, your mom or dad
is not going to wake you up for school.
Students need to learn how to manage
their time, learn to take time out to study
for classes and get enough rest.
Amanda Landi
The reason I stayed at Wesleyan is
because of the small campus. I came
from a school of over 3,000 students
and a graduating class of 600. The small
campus provided me with an intimacy
with other students and professors that
I had never experienced before, and I
enjoyed it very much. With the small
campus, I learned, came the apathy of
most students. Many Wesleyan students
will go to class and return to their rooms
and hang out, and then go home for the
weekends. This can be said of Wesleyan
campus: it's whatever YOU make it out
to be.
James Randolph
As far as the students, on-campus
activity levels are severely low and an
increase in involvement in current activi
ties may help to boost the morale of those
attempting to flee Wesleyan as a result of
sheer boredom. Other than that, there is
not much else the students can do other
than refrain from being a nuisance.
Jessica Smith
It is not the responsibility of the
students to attract, enroll, and retain
students. That is the responsibility of the
college. Students have enough to keep up
with: classes, papers, exams, presenta
tions. I, personally, do not have time
to worry about how many people will
transfer this year, and really do not know
how I could influence their decision to
stay or leave.
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Summer Accident Claims
Lives of Two Former Students
By Joyce Collins
Decree News Editor
Classmates recalled memories of two
former Wesleyan students who drowned near
Raleigh over the summer. One of the former
students died as he tried to save his friend.
According to WRAL.com, Michael
Patrick McDowell, 20, John Brian Taylor, 21,
and an unidenfified man went swimming in
the Neuse River in Raleigh on Wednesday,
July 9, at around 2 a.m. After swimming
across the river, the men walked to the
Milbumie Dam.
Then at about 3, WRAL reported, the men
began to swim back, but Taylor apparently
began to struggle. Family members later
said that McDowell and the other man tried
to help Taylor. Only the unidentified man
emerged from the river.
One Wesleyan student expressed her
initial reaction to learning about the two
former Bishops, who attended Wesleyan in
2006-07.
Gloria Moore said she was devastated by
the news of their deaths. “Everyone has their
scheduled appointment that God has given
them,” said Moore. “God needed two angels
and so he chose Mikey and John.”
Kearston Kenner, a friend of both victims,
described her fondest memory of the two. “I
am going to miss Mikey saying, ‘no homo’ to
everything,” said Kenner, “And I’ll miss John
for playfully beating me up for the smallest
things.”
Jaleesa Murray said that the two friends
made her and others feel safe. “They actually
protected and looked out for us,” said Murray.
“I’m going to miss John for trying to rap and
Mikey for his New York accent,” she said.
Crystal Marable focused on what she
remembered the most about them. “They were
always there for us when we needed them,”
said Marable.
Anyone who is interested in planning a
memorial service for McDowell and Taylor
is encouraged to contact Wesleyan Chaplain
Barry Drum. “I’d be honored to hold a memo
rial service for the two young men,” said Rev.
Drum. “We could plant a tree in their honor.”
According to Registrar Cliff Sullivan,
McDowell was a freshman who attended Wes
leyan during the fall of 2006 and the spring of
2007. Taylor was a ttansfer from Louisbutg
College and stayed at Wesleyan from fall of
2006 to fall of 2007 as a business major. Both
men were football players: McDowell was a