Pre-Enrollment Strategies to Improve Retention and Engagement
Student Retention Early Planning
It’s generally agreed that the sooner you engage incoming students in your retention program, the better your results will be.
That would naturally lead you to assume that Day One – the first day of school – would be the optimum time to start.
But you’d be wrong, according to Matt Stillman, Ph.D., Director of Enrollment Analysis at Southern Oregon University.
His experience reveals that you can achieve still better results by starting before Day One – engaging and involving students from their very first contacts with your institution.
Stillman shared his successes in this information-packed, 90-minute seminar focusing on critical elements of an “early engagement” strategy.
Key points include:
- Sources of student dissatisfaction and attrition.
- How to lay the groundwork for retention as early as the recruiting stage.
- Retention-boosting summer programs for incoming freshmen.
- Important modifications to orientation programs.
- How civic engagement can promote retention.
- The benefits of diversity training.
Who will benefit from this seminar:
- Admissions officers
- Student services administrators
- Directors and deans of admission
- Retention Management staff
- Deans and Vice Presidents of Student Affairs
- Deans and Vice Presidents of Enrollment Management
- Registrars

Recorded: 12/3/2008
Running Time: 90 minutes
Audio with PowerPoint
3 WAYS TO ORDER:
- Supplemental Materials
- PowerPoint Handouts
![]() | Matt Stillman, Ph.D. |
For information or assistance with accessing your seminar, view the Online Seminar FAQ.
Please test your computer to make sure it meets our technical requirements by accessing our Mediasite Test and our Adobe Connect Test.




