Student retention is more than just a buzzword; it's an important piece of the mission of colleges and universities nationwide. At the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, student retention is engrained into nearly everything that we do from our student-centered teaching and learning to our outstanding research and creative work that is to serve our community, state, and nation.

We want our students to not only be academically successful; we want them to persist to graduation to be successful in their lives and careers. Retaining our students is all of our responsibility: faculty, staff, students, administration, families, friends, and the community. Without collaboration to develop communities of support for our students, many students will not graduate with a college degree and may drop out after their first semester or year of college. The good news is that simply by making connections with students and working with them to develop the skills they need in order to reach their potential, each and every one of us can make a difference.