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SmallerBall State has been given a $50,000 planning grant to help develop its proposal by May. The other schools are Indiana University, Purdue, Indiana State and the University of Southern Indiana.
"We have a long history of very successful programs to support student persistence to graduation," said President John E. Worthen. "In the past two years in particular, Ball State has been very aggressive in addressing the issues of declining retention.
"We believe we are in position to take a bold approach with the support of Lilly Endowment."
Among the programs currently in place to increase retention, the University College Learning Center, Project START, Supplemental Instruction, and the Student Leadership Program already have received national attention.
Worthen said the new Lilly Endowment initiative would build on these efforts, but also would support new initiatives to address retention.
The proposal calls for experts from throughout the campus to share their ideas. A planning committee has been created from the leadership of the University Senate made up of Bruce Hozeski, Marcia Summers, Malcolm Cairns, Jim Needham, Marilyn Flowers, Leo Hodlofski, and Paul Ranieri. Planning team leaders are Laura Helms, director of freshman programs; Barbara Jones, associate vice president for student affairs; and Charles Jones, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. Catherine Palomba, director of academic assessment and institutional research, is a consultant to the planning committee.
"These are our best people we are bringing together to propose even better ways to retain students," said Associate Provost Beverley Pitts, the project director.
Ball State's 69 percent freshman retention rate is about average for state universities nationwide.
