Student Success

from A Decade of Morgan of Momentum (2010-2020)

Campus Development

It’s not by accident that “Enhancing Student Success” is the first goal listed in Morgan’s 2011–2021 Strategic Plan, and the intense focus on Goal 1 has yielded many positive results. The preceding section presents some of the means by which the University sought to move its students to greater academic achievement over the past decade. What follows is a synopsis of the end results of those efforts. After a stirring address by journalist Roland S. Martin, MSU Computer Science major Joseph L. Jones of Baltimore became Morgan’s 50,000th graduate, during the University’s Fall 2016 Commencement Exercises, held in Hill Field House. Since then, Morgan has conferred an additional 3,994 baccalaureates and an additional 1,307 master’s and doctoral degrees, bringing the total number of MSU graduates to more than 55,000. Key to this achievement was the innovative work in which we’ve engaged to move our students from matriculation to graduation. The award-winning initiatives of our Office of Student Success and Retention, part of our Division of Enrollment Management and Student Success, are major reasons why Morgan has achieved its goals for second-year retention, which has remained above 70 percent since the 2010–11 academic year. Moreover, the University is also 70% making steady progress toward our “50 x 25” goal, which is to achieve a six-year graduation rate of 50 percent by the year 2025. The graduation rate for the cohort of students who entered Morgan in 2014 was 46.2 percent, a significant improvement over the 29 percent rate for the students who entered in 2005, and the highest rate on record for the University. Morgan is proud of its increasing student enrollment during an era marked by declines in that statistic at many fouryear institutions of higher education across the country. Our student body now comprises more than 7,763 scholars, a number that represents a 7.4 percent increase over our enrollment in 2009, and our applicant numbers for the Fall 2020 semester bode well for enrollment growth above 8,000. We are even more proud of the countless success stories within our enrollment, retention and graduation statistics, Morgan students who have earned national recognition for their scholarship and service. Education is a family endeavor, and Morgan’s Division of Enrollment Management and Student Success (EMASS) facilitated greater parental involvement with the launch of the University’s Parent Portal in August 2019. The website is a “one-stop shop” for parents to gain access to important campus news and deadlines; insight into their students’ progress and financial details; personalized newsletters; email announcements; and updates shared with family and friends. As the diversity of Morgan’s student body continues to grow, in line with our Core Values, our tradition of success in advancing our original mission of providing higher education to African Americans continues with vigor. Morgan is a leader in Maryland and the nation in producing African-American recipients of academic degrees in many key disciplines. MSU is first among traditional campuses in the state in the number of baccalaureates awarded to African Americans, and we are first among all institutions in Maryland and among the top 10 campuses nationwide in the number of doctorates awarded to African Americans. n

A Winning Retention Strategy Morgan’s Office of Student Success and Retention is the recipient of the 2017 Hobsons Education Advances Award for Student Success and Advisement; the 2016 Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Turning Points: From Setback to Student Success Award; and the 2015 Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Project Degree Completion Award. Morgan is the only Historically Black College or University to have received these national awards.

73%

Second-Year Retention, 2011–2020 Second-Year Retention, 2010–2017

72% 72% 76% 75% 73% 75% 72%

The student success model at MSU includes a comprehensive early alert system, intrusive advising, ongoing tracking and monitoring of student cohorts, transparent and consistent notetaking, and specific programs and initiatives designed and delivered to promote degree completion.

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The ‘50 x 25’ Initiative Since 1867, Morgan State University has advanced the welfare of its students and the broader community by offering the opportunity of higher learning. Today, as Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University and a leader in 21st century innovation, we have our sights set on 2025. A campaign we call “50 by 25,” launched in 2017, is building on our institution’s Strategic Plan to achieve a measurable goal: increasing Morgan’s graduation rate to 50 percent by 2025. Vital to this effort is the HBCU Student Success Project, the key components of which are a campus-wide predictive analytics system and a second-year experiential learning opportunity. This project, inspired and funded by Morgan’s partner Lumina Foundation, works to close degree attainment gaps between groups and enhance academic achievement, particularly for those who are Pell Grant-eligible, and is adding to our momentum in improved student success.