retention – The Columbia Chronicle

Faculty, staff expect new provost to put emphasis on communication and trust

June 3, 2019

With a cape gifted from students at Manifest, incoming Senior Vice President and Provost Marcella David enters the college in the midst of some of its biggest challenges, including years of declining e...

He knows when you’ve been naughty—Krampus is coming to town

December 7, 2015

Instead of receiving coal, naughty kids this Christmas season will face being terrorized by the monster Krampus, thanks to a holiday production the Strangeloop Theatre is scheduled to run Dec. 7–8 and Dec....

Play about immigrant struggles touches audiences

March 10, 2014

Seen as the ultimate melting pot of old and new, America has long been a destination for immigrants dreaming of success and opportunity. Steppenwolf Theatre’s new production “Russian Transport” exp...

Honors Program potentially linked to retention

By Senah Yeboah-Sampong

October 14, 2012

Columbia’s honors program rankings have grown exponentially as of fall 2012, according to a report from the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences.Data from the Office of Research, Evaluation and Planning suggest course offerings in the honors program are a factor in retaining second-semester freshmen. From fall 2011–2012, honors freshmen returned at a rate of 81.8 percent, compared to 70.2 percent who did not take honors cl...

Fall enrollment slips to four-year low

By Senah Yeboah-Sampong

September 16, 2012

Columbia’s enrollment is down by 842 students for the fall 2012 semester, according to figures posted by the administration. The 7.2 percent drop over last year could cost the college nearly $17 million in tuition and other fees.The enrollment data was posted on the college’s interactive reporting tool Sept. 13 and confirmed by two high-ranking college officials, although college spokeswoman Diane Doyne said the headcou...

Eliminating criminal injustice

By Gregory Cappis

October 9, 2011

Marcus Lyons wasted three years of his life behind bars for a crime committed by someone else. He said this happened because he was the only person in a photo lineup wearing a necktie and not holding a sign.Lyons may never have been convicted if reforms proposed to the Illinois Senate Criminal Law committee on Oct. 3 were enacted in the 1980s. Using a computer program to generate impartial photo lineups was one reform introd...

Theater Department cuts student employees

By Amanda Murphy

April 10, 2011

Staff and faculty aren’t the only ones threatened by Columbia’s current financial position. Now, student workers are falling victim to the college’s fiscal constraints as well.Since the week of March 7, the Theater Department has laid off 11 student employees because of large budget cuts. John Green, chair of the Theater Department, ultimately made the decision.“It was a horrible decision to have to make and one o...

Circle City attracting broader sports audience

By Etheria Modacure

April 10, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS—Flocking from all around the country and globe, fans descend upon this city once a year to see the world’s biggest sporting event, the Indianapolis 500. Thirty years ago, this was the one sporting event the city could tout as its own.Fast forward to 2011, and the town hosted the Men’s (2010) and Women’s (2011) NCAA Final Four, NFL Scouting Combine and FINA World Championships. In February, Super Bowl XLVI...

Redistricting goes public at hearing

By Darryl Holliday

April 3, 2011

Residents and minority communities are expressing concern regarding the coming remapping of state and city borders, despite attempts at fairer redistricting on the part of legislators.The first of a batch of hearings planned for the state took place on March 28 at the Michael A. Bilandic Building, 160 N. LaSalle St., in which nearly 40 residents joined a crowd of more than 100 to testify on the past, present and future of redis...

Pub crawls tell tales of past

By Brianna Wellen

March 13, 2011

Embedded in the bar of Harrigan’s, 2816 N. Halsted St., are 4,000 Irish pennies collected as a last memento from before the Euro became universal European currency. The name of the bar references a famous Irish limerick, connecting Chicago’s Irish community back to its roots. The stories told by the tavern’s workers and patrons give a glimpse into little-known history hidden in the center of some of Chicago’s most...

Internet censorship a serious offense in any nation

By Luke Wilusz

February 7, 2011

Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s regime shut down Internet access, mobile phone service and BlackBerry Messenger activity across the country on Jan. 27, in an attempt to stifle communications between anti-government protesters and activists in the country. If the millions of rioters who took to the streets of Egypt in the following days are any indication, that plan didn’t work as well as Mubarak might have expected.I...

Tracking students and crunching numbers

By Shardae Smith

September 26, 2010

If you are a freshman at Columbia this fall in a first-year class, such as the First-Year Seminar, take a look around. There will likely be 17 students enrolled, the average class size at the college. Assuming the college’s current graduation rate of 40 percent, just seven or so members of the class will receive their diploma at Columbia in the allotted time.That 40 percent is an improvement from last year’s graduation rat...