Vianey Alderete, far right, with Study Abroad Coordinator Niamh Minion, center, and fellow program assistant Edwin Ramirez-Homs. (Photo courtesy of UTEP News Service)
Alderete is the only daughter of a single mom who suffers from severe arthritis. She helps take care of her mom and also chips in for gas and grocery expenses. To help pay the bills, she took a job at a big-box store about 30 minutes from the campus. To increase her earnings, she considered a job at another Wal-Mart that would have required her to work all night.
Instead she took a different course. She spoke to the university and they found her a job on campus as part of a strategy to keep her focused on getting her degree. Today, Alderete is on track to graduate from UTEP next May.
High success
In recent years, UTEP, a school that’s about 80 percent Hispanic, has received national attention for its work at retaining students and graduating far more than expected. Alderete’s story illustrates why the school has been successful in its retention efforts.
University officials say they accomplish this by rigorously analyzing their own data to help students earn degrees. Officials say they seek to address possible hurdles in students’ personal lives that may impede their success, such as a lack of financial literacy. The school uses various interventions, including a class that helps newly matriculated students adjust to university life.
Faculty members are also expected to meet with students who have 30 credit hours prior to graduation to ensure that they are taking the right classes and that there are no roadblocks to graduation.
