The new freshmen who entered Mississippi State in the fall of 1998 made better grades and were less likely to drop out than the previous year's freshmen.

University officials attributed the improvements at least in part to an experimental program designed to help students succeed by stressing class attendance in the critical first weeks of college.

This fall's one-year retention rate improved by more than 3 percent-with 79.5 percent of fall 1998 freshmen remaining in school after one year, compared with 76.3 percent of the fall 1997 freshmen.

By the end of their first year of college, the fall 1998 freshmen had a typical grade point average of 2.60, compared with a 2.52 for their counterparts of the year before. Only 23.3 percent of the fall 1998 freshmen had a grade average below 2.0-which equals a "C"-compared with 25.8 percent from the previous year.

McMillen

The numerical differences are small but statistically highly significant, said David McMillen, professor of psychology and coordinator of the Freshman Academic Success Project. He said the improved performance of last year's freshmen may stem from efforts to make sure the new students showed up for class. The project is continuing this year.

Faculty members, residence hall staff members, and parents are among those being enlisted to encourage class attendance.

Instructors teaching freshmen are asked to check attendance regularly, and students who miss more than one class during the first two weeks of the semester are contacted "to let them know someone is concerned," McMillen said.

Also, for the second year, MSU President Malcolm Portera sent a letter during the first week of the semester this fall to the parents of approximately 2,000 new freshmen, reminding them of the importance of class attendance and asking them to talk to their son or daughter about it.

Parents and new students heard the same message during MSU's summer orientation programs for incoming freshmen conducted by the Division of Student Affairs. The university's athletics department has donated office space, telephones, and a computer to aid with the project.

Faculty members in departments across the campus have embraced the class-attendance initiative and most have been eager to participate, McMillen said.

Apparently as a result, the fall 1998 freshman class had a larger percentage of its members returning for the sophomore year than any group in at least the past 10 years. The dropout rate among freshmen has been in the 22 to 25 percent range throughout the decade.

The proportion of first-time freshmen who go on to graduate from Mississippi State within six years has hovered just below 50 percent in recent years, but the university's strategic plan calls for raising that rate to 60 percent over the next five years. President Portera this fall appointed a task force on Admissions, Retention and Graduation to study that and other issues.