SUNY Oswego’s graduation rate has decreased by 5% in the last three years. However, President Peter Nwosu’s Vision 4040 plan aims to stabilize degree attainment. Based on data tracking freshmen cohorts from four years prior, the university’s graduation rate fell from 65% in 2021 to 60% in 2023. For example, 2021’s data came from the 2014  freshman class, and 2023-2024’s data was derived from 2017. Similarly, retention rates have declined by about 10% from 2008 to 2022.  

SUNY Oswego pays great attention to graduation rates and student outcomes, Deborah Furlong, director of institutional research and assessment, said.  

“Institutional researchers gather, analyze, interpret and share data so that the administrators, faculty and staff can use information effectively, efficiently and ethically to improve the success of their schools and their students,” Furlong said. “Our office of  Institutional Research and Assessment includes me and three analysts.”  

Furlong’s department oversees data reporting, assessment and visualization, which ensures accurate student information on students and builds dashboards on institutional data. The department does extensive survey research and statistical analysis. Institutional data is used to make efficient and effective decisions to improve current statistics.  

“I meet bi-weekly with the president and conduct quantitative studies at his request on a very wide range of topics – student financial aid, faculty salary equity, student outcomes equity,  enrollment projection,” Furlong said. 

Academic deans regularly consult with Furlong and her team to help make data-driven decisions and arguments. The responsibilities and focuses when using institutional data differ as dean than associate dean, said Jennifer Knapp, dean of the School of Communication, Media and the Arts (SCMA). As dean, her responsibilities pertain to SCMA personnel, though her previous role as associate dean was more student-oriented.  

President Peter Nwosu’s Vision 4040 plan endeavors to improve graduation rates by stabilizing degree attainment of 4,000 awards yearly by 2040. SUNY Oswego plays a crucial role in economic development and quality of life in Central New York, said Knapp. 

“We are all involved in Vision 4040; that is how everyone should feel,” Knapp said. “We all have a role to play in the president’s vision, and my specific role is to analyze Vision 4040 through the  SCMA lens and ensure we are featured and contributing.”  

SUNY Oswego will be expected to contribute qualified members of the workforce who are also good citizens and care about their communities, Knapp said. Trends in area growth are important for developing academic programs that match industry needs in communities.  

“For example, if the CNY population grows as expected, it is logical to assume there will be a need for more journalists, arts administrators, event planners, artists and performers, and media-savvy technicians and thought leaders,” Knapp said.  

Fostering student success, academically and interpersonally is a constant conversation.  According to Knapp, we must address retention rates to stabilize graduation rates.  “It’s a conversation that needs to happen with students, not about them. We need to find meaningful ways to connect with our students to build relationships in which they feel supported and comfortable expressing their needs,” Knapp said. 

Post-COVID students have very different experiences that stress the importance of finding ways to help students through various college challenges such as academics and socialization, Cory Bezek, vice president of Enrollment Management, said. According to Bezek, interacting with students in informal settings outside of the classroom allows him to help students.  

“I don’t need to interact with them and see them in the classroom,” Bezek said. “I’d much rather see when they’re sitting in Shineman hanging out together to go ask them how they’re doing or see what goes on or respond to a student in crisis,” Bezek said.  

Gaining insight from students balanced with consulting data from Furlong’s department is key to making informed decisions that will push toward the Vision 4040 goal. Furlong’s department has developed various data visualization tools that help specific departments.  

“Dr. Furlong jokes that I’m one of her super-users,” Bezek said. “She has dashboards built directly for me and I’m in there five, six, seven times a day. I’m a very data-heavy person.” 

Data can be used to develop intervention strategies to mitigate retention rates. For example, looking at mid-semester GPAs for first-semester students could lead to the creation of additional study opportunities.  

Vision 4040 also aims to increase the amount of microcredentials awarded with bachelor’s degrees, Bezek said. Employers are in demand of employees with a variety of skill sets. Stacking skills will make standard degrees more robust. Two students pursuing the same degree can pursue different interests. 

“It may be that you come out and you’re getting a microcredit, a degree and a certificate [then] on your way then to a masters degree so you have the skill-sets to stay employed anywhere you want, but particularly for what’s needed in the region,” Bezek said.