Western Illinois University Receives Inaugural PERSIST Excellence in Execution Award
MACOMB/Moline, IL – Because of the successful efforts of, and new initiatives put into place by, the Western Illinois University Office of Retention Initiatives to ensure student success, WIU recently received EdSights’ Inaugural PERSIST Excellence in Execution Award. The Office of Retention Initiatives is led by Executive Director Justin Schuch.
Under Schuch’s leadership, the office, which is part of the Division of Enrollment Management, has launched a number of new, student-focused efforts to enhance the student experience. Students are able to text “Rocky” 24 hours a day, seven days a week to get valuable insight on services and support offered by WIU. In addition, Rocky proactively reaches out to students to access and promote academic success, student engagement, financial support and overall wellness. Insights from the campaigns help drive outreach efforts from the Office of Retention Initiatives, Schuch explained.
“Justin and his team have taken the lead to ensure that WIU is a center of best practice in retention initiatives,” said Vice President for Enrollment Management Amber Schultz. “I’m proud of Justin and his dedication to Western’s retention efforts and our students’ success.”
Schuch accepted the award on behalf of WIU at the inaugural PERSIST Summit, which centered around the key drivers impacting student persistence. According to the award committee, since joining the EdSights community, Western’s team has built processes to effectively utilize their EdSights data to support students; including EdSights risk levels, interventions and institutional insights. In addition, Western has developed communication channels to share EdSights data across multiple departments so the entire University community can leverage the data in support of student success and persistence goals.
For more information on Western’s retention initiatives and programs, visit wiu.edu/retention/
