UNA Sets Record Student Retention
Oct. 24, 2023
Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392
FLORENCE, AL – Student success in the higher education setting comes in a variety of forms, and retention is a top indicator that students are finding pathways to accomplish their academic goals and work toward graduation. At the University of North Alabama, student retention has achieved a high watermark, with almost 80 percent of freshmen opting to return to campus for their degree work.
“Preliminary data indicate that UNA has set a new record for freshmen retention,” said Julie Taylor, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management. “UNA is actively recruiting and retaining a high caliber of student who not only complete their bachelor’s degrees, but they also want to be involved on campus and explore the many opportunities available to them on campus and in the community.”
For context, the average freshmen retention rate for peer institutions to UNA is around 70 percent. UNA boasts an average retention rate in the mid-70s; most recent retention data, however, indicate that UNA’s freshmen retention rate is close to 80 percent, which is a new benchmark for the institution and widens the gap between UNA and its peers in regard to this key performance indicator of institutional quality.
Among the campus-based entities contributing to the overall student retention rate as well as to the high caliber student making UNA their first-choice institution for higher education is the Delores and Weldon Cole Honors College. The College is now home to more than 10 percent of the overall student body, and it is on track to recruit event more students who were high-performing in high school.
“When students see what we have to offer in the Cole Honors College – from the enhanced academics to the opportunity to network with Honors College alumni, it makes sense that they would choose UNA for their higher education,” said Dr. Vince Brewton, Dean of the Cole Honors College. “More and more, students want the individualize opportunities we can provide as part of their overall collegiate experience.”
About The University of North Alabama
The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.