Keene State College is seeing positive results from its academic reform efforts, with first-year retention increasing to 79.2% and four-year graduation rates climbing above 60%.
“All of our newest News and World Report rankings went up,” said Senate Chair Karen Stanish, highlighting the college’s efforts to improve student retention and success.
The announcement came during the KSC Senate meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 8, which also welcomed two new senators– Student Senator Nathan Hope and Faculty Senator Daniel Perrucci. According to the meeting packet, the Academic Policy and Standards Committee proposed revisions to several policies, including withdrawal from college, declaration of majors or minors, attendance and schedule adjustment.
Senator Greg Knouff, the speaker of the Academic Policy and Standards Committee, explained how the revisions were intended to clarify deadlines for students.
“You can see we added a lot more words to it and some specific dates, and this is designed to help students and make registering for classes smoother so they know when the time limits are,” he said.
Some senators voiced concerns that the proposed changes to the major or minor adjustment policy could be misleading.
“I am very concerned about the way this is worded,” said Senator Amber Davisson, the department chair of communication and philosophy. “If I were a student and I were thinking about changing my major, and students are already worried about not graduating on time, I think I would encounter this, that I should not change my major.”
Ultimately, the motion would be withdrawn to revise the language, leaving the policy unchanged. In the same meeting, the College-Wide Academic Programs Committee proposed new working groups to guide general education course proposals and assessment.
“What we’re really trying to ensure is that we have some set of guidelines that CAP will use to provide recommendations for courses in each of those areas,” said Nick Germana of the Senate Commerce Committee. “We want to make sure they’re flexible. Our intention is not to put some severe restrictions. We’re really working from the learning outcomes and effectively asking folks, ‘How will students demonstrate these outcomes?’”
Each group aims to define and articulate the course expectations while maintaining teacher autonomy.
Keene State College’s ongoing policy reform aims to clarify academic procedures and support students. The Senate will meet Nov. 12 to continue reviewing proposed changes, while the Board of Trustees will meet Oct. 23-24, with sessions led by the Educational Excellence Committee and a campus presentation featuring alumni.
Xander Noel can be contacted at
Hope is the managing executive editor of The Equinox and was not involved in the process of writing or editing this Equinox article.
