EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is featured in the Fall 2024 edition of The Tartan magazine. Read more from The Tartan at alma.edu/tartan.
For the past few years, first-year students at Alma College are greeted at orientation by a group of current students who are cheering for them as they enter the college, while wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan, “You belong here.”
That concept of “belonging” is central to the college’s retention strategy — designed to keep students who come to Alma stay until they graduate. The strategy is working: 94.2 percent of Alma first-year students retained from fall to winter in the 2023-24 academic year, an increase of 0.8 percent from the previous year and 3.9 percent from 2021-22.
“It used to be the case that colleges would tell students, ‘Come to this office and get what you need,’ or ‘Come find your way here.’ Today’s student asks us to provide that sense of community to them — don’t make them find it on their own,” said Damon Brown, vice president for student affairs and chief diversity officer. “With that mindset, we’ve been able to shift our approach in how we connect with students. It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s wonderful to see it pay off.”
Brown explained that Alma utilizes a three-pronged approach to belonging, one that ties in academic, social and community aspects of campus life. It’s an approach that doesn’t end in the area of student affairs, he said — rather, every office on campus has united around the goal of improving the rate of retention.
That approach starts early in a student’s academic career, even before they set foot in a classroom. Becoming a Scot Day and Tartan 101 are a set of orientation programs that take place in the summer and aim to provide welcoming introductions to Alma College. There, new students can acclimate to their surroundings, build relationships with their peers and become familiar with the resources available to them.
“By offering a diverse range of activities and programs that cater to various interests and preferences, these activities demonstrate the college’s commitment to supporting students’ holistic development and well-being,” said Alice Kramer, assistant vice president for student affairs. “This holistic approach not only enhances each student’s overall college experience, but contributes to their likelihood of persisting and thriving at Alma College.”
Another way the college has sought to improve students’ sense of belonging, and improve retention, is through the creation of living- learning communities (LLCs). LLCs allow for students with common academic, cultural, or social interests to live together in on-campus housing and receive various supports guided by their goals.
The college’s first LLC, designed for students of color, was introduced in 2021. Named after Julius Chatman, the first student of color in the college’s history, the Julius Chatman Living Learning Community (JCLLC) saw its first class of students graduate in 2024: Morgan Leake, a nursing major from Southfield, Mich., and DeQuan Powell, a business administration major from Detroit, Mich.
Even more proof of the success of the JCLLC is in the students’ grade-point averages: in the 2023-24 academic year, they reached a collective 3.2 GPA, the highest mark in the program’s history.
“Something really special about the JCLLC was that feeling of community. I live right next to people that I know and can talk to any time. Those are the same people that I eat lunch with or sit in class with. We’re all going through the same things, so if one of us is struggling, we’re able to help because we see it, too,” Powell said. “To be the first graduate of this program, along with Morgan, is a huge honor. It feels like we’re starting a legacy.”
