Oregon universities open to record enrollments as they step up efforts to help students succeed
Published: Sunday, September 26, 2010, 8:00 PM Updated: Sunday, September 26, 2010, 8:33 PM
View full sizePortland State University incoming freshmen in a class taught by Liane O'Banion called Roads to Success write letters to themselves recently on what goals they expect in six months, when O'Banion will mail their letters to them. The students, including Chris Nigro (center), took the intense class over the last two weeks for tips on how to succeed in college. The class is one of many strategies Portland State has launched to improve its freshman retention rate.
Oregon's public universities open their classrooms Monday to a record number of students -- more than 92,000 -- and they will be doing more than ever this year to hold on to them.
The seven campuses are under financial and political pressure to ensure fewer students quit and more graduate. The most recent figures available from 2008-09 show about one in five freshmen in the Oregon University System quit within a year and about three in five earn a degree after six years.
To help freshmen succeed, the universities are enlisting more advisers, tutors, and mentors. They are