I would like to urge all faculty to try and attend the Starlink conference
on student retention that Karen Adsit announced today; I repeat the details
below. The faculty Senate has adopted a plan to use the retention issue as
part of our required SACS Quality Enghancement Plan, as this is a critical
issue both here and nation-wide.

Each year we lose students, not just to inadequate performance as many
faculty think, but also to other factors that may be in our power to
change. Because our budget is driven both by FTE and tuition (increasingly
the latter), we have a selfish as well as professional interest in
improving retention at UTC.  THEC is watching each campus for retention
rates, but we should do this as concerned, responsible faculty. That is
what makes this university different than some: a dedication to teaching
and our students.

Since the Senate will be meeting at the same time, I want to add to Karen's
announcement the information that UTC will have the rights to tape and use
this on campus. Therefore, after the conference you can contact the Walker
Center to check out the video after April 7th.

Richard Rice
Senate President



>>The UTC Walker Teaching Resource Center is sponsoring the broadcast
>>of a satellite teleconference on Student Engagement and Retention...
>>
>>TITLE: Keeping 'Em Once You've Got 'Em II:  Promoting Student
>>Engagement and Persistence.  Funded in part by the Texas
>>Collaborative for Teaching Excellence.
>>
>>DATE:  April 7, 2005 - 2:30 - 4:00 pm
>>
>>LOCATION:  Fletcher 205
>>
>>Student success and the student's learning experience are proven to
>>be two of the greatest factors effecting retention. This latest
>>STARLINK teleconference on Student Retention is designed for
>>educators seeking to learn the best strategies to positively affect
>>both.