1st Edition

Teaching for Retention Strategies to Ignite Student Success in Higher Education

By Bruce M. Mackh Copyright 2025
268 Pages 31 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

268 Pages 31 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

268 Pages 31 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book provides actionable insights and strategies to help address the student retention problem that has plagued higher education. Designed for faculty, this book reframes the common question, “Why do students leave and how can we fix it?” to “What if we made sure that every student had a compelling reason to stay?” Drawing upon the Gallup-Purdue “Big Six,” – six key experiences in... Read more

Preface

First, an Apology

1. Understanding 21st-Century Teaching

Teaching for Retention

The Big Six

Higher Education Today

21st Century Educator Skills and Competencies

The Learnings

Meeting Students Where They Are

2. Generating Excitement for Learning

Core Assumptions

Inspiring Excitement for Learning

Strategies for Active Learning

Eight Key Elements

Distracted, Reluctant, or Non-Responsive Students

3. Caring for Students as People

Look to Your Left, Look to Your Right

Not What, but Who and How

Faculty Immediacy

Warm Demander

Unreasonable Caring

4. Mentoring for Retention

Roots of Mentoring

Toward Mentoring

Strategies for Mentoring

Mentoring Special Populations

Mentoring Students in Crisis

The Case for Mentoring

5. Providing Opportunities to Work on Long-Term Projects

Defining Long-Term Projects

HIPs Connection

Engagement Beyond the Classroom

Toward Long-Term Projects

6. Incorporating Authentic Experiences

College-Career Connections

Pathways to Achievement

Experiential Education

Keeping Our Promises

7. Engaging Students Beyond the Classroom

Moving Beyond the Classroom   

Theories of Student Persistence

Strategies for Student Engagement

Benefits of Student Engagement

Facilitating Student Engagement

Just Two Things

8. Questioning Assumptions

The Trope of the Uncaring Professor

Weed-Out Courses

Analyzing Assumptions

In Plain Sight

9. Designing for Student Success

Quality Matters and Comprehensive Instructional Design

Designing for Student Success

10. Transforming Roadblocks into Stepping Stones

Why Students Leave

Financial Hardships

Institutional Frustrations

Personal Difficulties

Instructional and Academic Challenges

Social Disconnection

Compassion and Responsibility

Conclusion

Envoy

Resources

How to Write Objectives and Outcomes

How to Create a Course Map

How to Create a Career Pathway Map

How to Create a Program Map

Biography

Bruce M. Mackh is Vice Provost for Assessment and Chief Accreditation Officer at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio (USA). He is an experienced educator, academic administrator, and scholar of art and design, higher education, and teaching and learning.