Objective 3 from the Institutional Retention Plan
English Department Retention Plan
Facilitar la adaptación de los estudiantes de Nuevo ingreso a la vida universitaria

Advising

  • Create mechanisms to intervene proactively with students experiencing or likely to experience difficulty adapting to college life.
  • Support the Early Warning System (SITA) by referring students who present academic deficiencies or other personal situations.
  • Support first year college students who score less than 450 in the CEEB with developmental courses.
  • Establish support-group conversations between first-year students and professors/other students to help with the former’s adaptation with first year students to help with their adaptation.
  • Promote tutoring and mentoring services.

Curriculum and Instruction

  • Promote UPRA’s tutoring and mentoring service
  • Offer summer courses that allow students to advance in their coursework.
  • Support first year college students with developmental courses
  • Promote the use of technology in the classroom.
  • Revise syllabi periodically to keep it abreast with current learning methodologies.
  • Maintain and enhance diverse course offerings in the department.
  • Continue discussions with other departments to establish learning communities.

Extracurricular Activities

  • Hold social, cultural, and academic events for students.
  • Encourage student to visit the professor immediately after the first and second exams, so they can get input regarding their performance in the exams and their expectations for success
  • Create a departmental social media site to promote with events, present articles and other news related to the Department.
  • Maintain, publicize, and enhance co-op program to encourage students, provide work experience, and build connection to potential employers.

Assessment and Feedback

  • Create a departmental policy encouraging faculty members administer and grade partial examinations by the fifth week so students have time to evaluate their performance.
  • Set a departmental policy of returning written work to students within one week for paragraphs or short compositions and two weeks for essays and longer compositions.