Meade, who earned a doctorate in Higher Education from the University of Virginia in May, 2003, developed the retention project to encourage and support students' persistence and success in her English classes. "I was concerned because student retention in my composition course was so low," she explained. "I wanted to know why students dropped out and determine what I could do to address the problem."

Dr. Joe Dipietro, a colleague at Southwest Virginia Community College shared with Dr. Meade the results of his retention research, which indicated that the absence of a support system was a primary cause for students' decision to drop out. "After several discussions and a lot of thought, I developed a questionnaire to identify which students were at risk and found that nearly all were equally at risk," she recalled. "I placed students randomly into groups and implemented activities that engaged them in collaborative projects and discussions in class. Working together, the students helped each other."

Additionally, Meade asked each student within a group to maintain contact with other members of their group. "I asked the members of their group to call a student from their group who missed class. The calls weren't intrusive, but were structured to offer help."

Early indications point to significant success, according to Meade. "A year ago, several students were absent on the final day before the (Labor Day) holiday," she stated. "This year, all of my students in both composition class sections were present. Last semester, about 10 students had withdrawn during the first five weeks. This year, I've lost only one student."

Students provide other members of their group with a balance of encouragement and motivation, according to Meade. "I've heard them exchanging ideas and, in fact, they push each other to try harder and do better," she said. "A challenge encountered when seeking to turn students into writers involves helping them realize they have something worthwhile to say, and their interaction within a group helps them come to this realization."

Meade believes the "group strategy" for enhancing student retention can be applied to a variety of academic disciplines. "I can use this in all of my classes," she projected. "When students struggle with a class or research assignment, they are sometimes intimidated by the thought of contacting their professor, but they feel much more at ease when they call another student. They're developing a ‘living laboratory' for learning and they're creating a sense of community in the classroom." "My goal is not simply to see them leave my class with the ability to write an 'A' paper. I also want to send them out as more compassionate, positive, helpful members of the community," she concluded.

September 17, 2003