Mr. Mark Gumble Mr. Jeremy Foskitt Dr. Kerry Welch Engaging College Men: Initiatives to Improve Academic Success

Welcome Introductions Goals and objectives of the Male Working Group What we have learned through research and data inquiries of the Male Working Group Identify divisional strategies to improve male retention, persistence, and graduation rates Academic trends of male students at UCF

Learning outcomes Identify the trends and differences of retention and graduation rates between males and females at UCF Collaboratively identify how SDES seeks to improve the retention and graduation rates of at-risk males in the coming years Understand how practitioners and departments can get involved in the Male Working Group initiatives

Data gathering Read reports and listened in on a conference call with Dr. Shaun Harper, Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education, Penn State University Collected data on retention and graduation rates of UCF Students over the past decade Several members of the Male Working Group attended relevant sessions at NASPA in Baltimore, MD in March 2014 including: Moving Beyond “Boys will be Boys”: Theory and practice to better understand college students College Men’s Success: Engaging and Supporting Male Students in AcademicsCotinue to build on the success of the Male Working Group moving forward with data gathering, new ideas and initiatives

What have we learned? College male behaviors Hegemonic masculinity How to change male culture What defines “being a man” at UCF ?

Background research Many students drop out of college because they cannot afford to pay tuition and other educational expenses; financial aid officers should help students find alternatives to loans and off campus work Many successful college students are never asked one-on-one how they navigated their way to and through higher education, what compelled them to be engaged in student organizations and college classrooms, and what the have learned that could help improve achievement and engagement among other male students Campus engagement and mentorship from a faculty, staff, or administrator is inherently tied to academic success and ultimately retention Continue to build on programs and services that effectively bridge students’ transition from high school to college and ideally should include a residential component

UCF: FTIC 1 st year retention CohortMaleFemale %79.40% %80.80% %83.80% %83.10% %82.90% %82.80% %84% %85.20% %87.70% % %86.80% %87.80% AVG82%84.20%

UCF: FTIC 1 st year retention

UCF: FTIC transfer 1 st year retention CohortMaleFemale %78.30% %81.10% %81.50% %81.00% %82.20% %78.60% %80% %80.00% %79.30% %80.40% %79.20% %80.00% AVG 79%80.13%

UCF: CC transfer 1 st year retention

UCF: FTIC 4 th year graduation

UCF: FTIC 6 th year graduation

UCF: CC transfer 2 nd year graduation

UCF: CC transfer 4 th year graduation What does male/female graduation data say to you?

Action planning In small groups, discuss the following prompts: What can you do as an individual staff member or as a member of your departmental unit to retain men until graduation? How can we work together in SDES to educate others with regard to the compelling data of male retention, progress, and graduation?

Male working group goals Develop a male speaker series that will attract male students and speak directly to the issues at hand Collaborate with the Office of Student Conduct on a student conduct mentoring initiative, designed to reach out to those involved in the conduct process Reach out to students who are on academic probation and provide relevant and timely resources in an effort to sustain them from retention to graduation Recruit more SDES practitioners to help support these important initiatives

Questions? Mr. Mark Gumble Mr. Jeremy Foskitt Dr. Kerry Welch Contact one of us if you wish to get involved