Everglades University: Student Achievement

Everglades University identifies, evaluates, and publishes goals and outcomes for student achievement appropriate to the institution's mission, the nature of the students it serves, and the kinds of programs it offers. Everglades University uses multiple measures to document student success.
The Mission of the University is to "provide quality education to adult learners of diverse backgrounds in a collaborative environment where each individual has the opportunity to achieve personal growth. The University seeks to accomplish its mission by combining small class sizes and innovative programs with traditional academic values. The University supports the academic endeavor and service, to deliver graduate and undergraduate programs both on campus and online." The Mission is articulated in the University Catalog into a series of ten institutional goals and objectives, the first of which is to "To continually change, improve, and ensure the effectiveness of the University’s programs in preparing students for successful careers."
The University Mission heavily informed the decision-making behind the goals, outcomes, and measurements used by Everglades University to measure student success. The University is concerned primarily with providing an environment for adult students of diverse backgrounds to experience a high level of achievement in unique educational programs; the first Institutional Goal emphasizes that the learning achieved in these programs should help prepare EU graduates for jobs and successful careers after graduation, support for which is provided by the many services offered to students.
The measures chosen for student success were those upholding retention and graduation of EU's students. These measures are all disaggregated by gender and ethnicity, and include the following. 
•	Criterion 1: Attrition Rates. 
o	Description: The University has held a long-standing commitment to achieve attrition of less than 4% per month. Monthly goals support the modular monthly class delivery structure, and assist in rapid mobilization of institutional resources to limit student attrition and assist students in completing their degrees. Retention efforts ensure students remain engaged, remain enrolled, and are more likely to persist to the end of the program and graduate. The University publishes on its Website Consumer Information page information regarding the University's attrition rates.
o	Threshold: EU has determined a threshold of 4% attrition per month. 
o	Goal: EU has set a goal of keeping its attrition less than 3% per month.
•	Criterion 2: First Year Retention. 
o	Description: Considered by EU as one of the leading indicators of student success, first year retention is a strong indicator for a student's eventual graduation. If a student remains enrolled through the first calendar year then it is likely that student will persist and complete the program.  The University publishes on its Website Consumer Information page information regarding the University's First Time Full Time student first year retention rate.
o	Threshold: EU has determined a threshold of 63% First Year Retention Rate based on historical data from the 2018, 2019 and 2020 IPEDS reporting years.
o	Goal: EU has declared a goal of 71% First Year Retention Rate, based on comparative data from ICUF schools, for First Time Full Time students first year retention rate as reported in IPEDS annually.  Everglades University is a member of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF), the 30 private not-for-profit Universities located in the state of Florida which are accredited by SACSCOC.
•	Criterion 3: IPEDS Graduation Rates (Key Student Completion Indicator). 
o	Description: The IPEDS 150% Graduation Rates survey is Everglades University Key Completion Indicator.  The University publishes on its Website Consumer Information page information regarding the University's 150% Graduation Rates.
o	Threshold: EU has determined a threshold graduation rate of 53% for this criterion based on historical data from the 2018, 2019 and 2020 IPEDS reporting years. 
o	Goal: EU has committed to a goal of 58% for the 150% graduation rate, 5% better than threshold.
CRITERION 1: ATTRITION RATES
Everglades University has held a long-standing institutional goal to keep its attrition rates to 4% or less per month at each location. The University engages in a variety of student engagement and retention efforts to support student persistence through each term. The threshold value for attrition by month at each Everglades University location is 4%, with a declared goal of maintaining an attrition rate lower than 3% per month at each location. This rationale was based on the University's modular course delivery method (1 undergraduate class per month for a 4-week long, 3 credit course; four of these monthly classes constitute one 16-week semester in which full time students typically complete 12). 
Updated data on monthly attrition budgets and campus performance against these budgets is archived and disseminated to all locations (including branch campuses, off-campus instructional sites, and the Online Division) in weekly meetings between the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Deans, and with the President and Vice Presidents.
The University's attrition performance tracking is shown here for the years 2021 to 2023. The chart below shows the University's beginning population for each month of 2021, 2022, and 2023. The number of students who drop or withdraw per month is also recorded. This number of withdrawn students, divided by the beginning population number, provides the attrition percentage in a given month. The attrition threshold is 4% and the attrition goal is 3% of the population by month. The data is then totaled together over the year to obtain the final attrition percentage. 
 
University Attrition Rates	
Month	2021	2022	2023	
	University
Population	Number of Students Withdrawn	Attrition Percent	University
Population	Number of Students Withdrawn	Attrition Percent	University
Population	Number of Students Withdrawn	Attrition Percent	
Jan	1399	40	2.86%	1607	52	3.24%	1763	51	2.89%	
Feb	1534	34	2.22%	1732	59	3.41%	1902	58	3.05%	
Mar	1550	50	3.23%	1738	68	3.91%	1908	67	3.51%	
Apr	1570	52	3.31%	1717	46	2.68%	1920	53	2.76%	
May	1542	67	4.35%	1710	77	4.50%	1917	60	3.13%	
June	1580	49	3.10%	1729	63	3.64%	1976	47	2.38%	
Jul	1559	58	3.72%	1714	51	2.98%	1996	84	4.21%	
Aug	1566	111	7.09%	1740	68	3.91%	2098	104	4.96%	
Sep	1791	68	3.80%	1979	78	3.94%	2246	102	4.54%	
Oct	1756	76	4.33%	1921	81	4.22%	2192	95	4.33%	
Nov	1760	64	3.64%	1896	59	3.11%	2184	73	3.34%	
Dec	1717	66	3.84%	1875	59	3.15%	2184	97	4.44%	
Total	19324	735	3.80%	21358	761	3.56%	24286	891	3.67%	
 
The final attrition percentages in 2021 (3.8%), 2022 (3.56%) and 2023 (3.67%) indicate that the University performed well and met its threshold as attrition was held below 4% every year from 2021 to 2023. The goal of an attrition rate of 3% or lower was met in 2 months in 2021, 2 months in 2022 and 3 months in 2023.  
 
Drops Disaggregated by Gender
 
A comparison of the drops by gender, proportional to the percentage of each gender in the population is below. 
 
University Attrition Rates Disaggregated by Gender	
 	2021	2021	2022	2022	2023	2023	
Gender	% of Population	% of Drops	% of Population	% of Drops	% of Population	% of Drops	
Female	48.27%	51.02%	50.88%	54.15%	50.84%	58.26%	
Male	51.44%	48.58%	48.19%	44.80%	46.80%	39.93%	
Unknown/
Undeclared/
Other	0.29%	0.41%	0.93%	1.05%	2.36%	1.81%	
 
The data indicates that in 2 of the three years female students are a larger percentage of the student body than males, and in all years make up a larger percentage of the dropped students.  The percentage of dropped students that are females has risen each year, from 51.02% in 2021 to 58.26% in 2023, the percentage of the population that are females has increased from 48.27% in 2021 to 50.84% in 2023.  The increase in females as a percentage of drops is outpacing the percentage of females as a percentage of the population.  Additionally the female and male drop data for 2023 is notably disproportionate with a difference of almost 20% between females and males as a percentage of drops.  The 2024 data will be analyzed to determine if a negative trend is established for female students related to attrition or if this was an outlier and appropriate actions will be taken as needed.  Conversely male student retention has been improving year over year and males as a percentage of dropped students is consistently lower than males as a percentage of all students.  Males as a percentage of dropped students went from 48.85% of the dropped students in 2021 to only 39.93% of the dropped students in 2023, while males were 46.80% of the population in 2023.
Drops Disaggregated by Ethnicity
The three largest groups of students by ethnicity at Everglades University are white students (approximately 43% of EU's total population on average over 2021, 2022, and 2023), Black or African American students (approximately 20% of the University's population on average over 2021, 2022, and 2023), and Hispanic/Latino students (approximately 19% of EU's population on average over 2018, 2019, and 2020). These three groups constitute on average 82% of the University's population.  The remaining ethnic groups are individually statistically insignificant however outcomes are proportional to population percentages. 
University Attrition Rates Disaggregated by Ethnicity	
 	2021	2021	2022	2022	2023	2023	
Ethnicity	% of Population	% of Drops	% of Population	% of
Drops	% of
Population	% of
Drops	
American Indian or Alaska Native	1.66%	2.85%	1.66%	2.24%	1.41%	2.26%	
Asian	1.51%	0.68%	1.73%	1.19%	1.99%	1.24%	
Black or African American	20.09%	22.52%	20.43%	25.96%	19.37%	23.76%	
Hispanic	20.44%	14.52%	19.69%	12.25%	18.87	10.63%	
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	0.36%	0.54%	0.40%	0.26%	0.35%	0.45%	
Nonresident Alien	0.14%	0.14%	0.13%	0%	0.14%	0.11%	
Two or more races	1.62%	1.36%	1.70%	1.84%	1.82%	2.60%	
Unknown/Undeclared/Other	9.69%	12.08%	10.69%	12.25%	14.70%	15.61%	
White	44.49%	44.78%	43.57%	44.01%	41.35%	43.33%	
 
White students made up approximately 43% of the University population on average for the 3 referenced years, on average white students constitute approximately 43% of drops on average over these three years. 
Black or African American students constitute approximately 20% of the University population on average for the 3 referenced years, on average they constitute approximately 24% of the annual drops over the three-year range. The rate at which Black/African American students drop or withdraw is 4% higher proportionate to their presence in the population.  
In contrast, the third largest ethnic group, Hispanic/Latino students, constitute approximately 19% of the population on average over these three years, and make up only 12.5% of students who drop or withdraw.
The above data indicates that Hispanic/Latino students dropped or withdrew at a lower rate for the 3 years from the University than Black/African American students or white students. 
CRITERION 2: FIRST YEAR RETENTION RATES
The First Year Retention Rate as reported in the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey is another measure adopted by the University to measure student success. First year retention indicates that a student is on a strong path toward successfully persisting in and completing his or her program of choice. These retention rates are published on the Everglades University Website, Consumer Information page. 
Effective in 2021, Everglades University established a threshold of 63% based on EU historical data and a goal of 71%, based on comparative data from ICUF schools, for First Time Full Time students first year retention rate as reported in IPEDS annually.  Everglades University is a member of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF), the 30 private not-for-profit Universities located in the state of Florida which are accredited by SACSCOC.  
IPEDS First Year Retention Rates Comparison	
IPEDS Fall Enrollment Survey Cohort	EU FTFT 1st year Retention Rates	
Fall Enrollment Survey 21-22 (2020 cohort)	78%	
Fall Enrollment Survey 22-23 (2021 cohort)	75%	
Fall Enrollment Survey 23-24 (2022 cohort)	78%	
 
The University is pleased with the progress it has made in improving the FTFT first year retention rate for students since the standard has been established.   In the three subsequent reporting years overall FTFT first year retention rates have exceeded EU goal of 71%.  After submission of 24-25 Fall Enrollment Survey in IPEDS, EU will review the data and may set new threshold and goal percentages based on the past three reporting years effective for 2025 and beyond. 
First Year Retention Disaggregated by Gender
The table below shows the data of first-time full-time students as reported in the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey disaggregated by gender. The table shows the retention rate by gender for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 first-time full-time cohort.
Everglades University First Year Retention By Gender	
Gender 	21-22 Survey
(2020 Cohort)	22-23 Survey
(2021 Cohort)	23-24 Survey
(2022 Cohort)	
Female	75.90%	74.90%	75.00%	
Male	79.40%	75.16%	79.70%	
 
The data disaggregated by gender shows that in each year FTFT male students persisted at a slightly higher rate than FTFT female students.  The 2022 cohort persistence for females was 75.90% and for males was 79.40%.  Both genders retention rates decreased for the 2021 cohort and then increased for the 2022 cohort.  Females in the 2022 cohort persisted at 75%, just 0.90% lower than the 2020 cohort, and the male cohort retention percent for the 2022 cohort was 79.70%, 0.30% higher than the 2020 cohort.  Both male and female cohorts exceeded EU first year retention goal of 71% in all 3 years. 
First Year Retention Disaggregated by Ethnicity
The University also disaggregates the first-time full-time cohort of students by ethnicity.   
Everglades University First Year Retention By Ethnicity	
Ethnicity	21-22 Survey
(2020 Cohort)	22-23 Survey
(2021 Cohort)	23-24 Survey
(2022 Cohort)	
American Indian or Alaska Native	75%	80%	100%	
Asian	71%	100%	100%	
Black or African American	76%	72%	78%	
Hispanic/Latino	77%	82%	53%	
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	67%	n/a	n/a	
Nonresident Alien	n/a	100%	n/a	
Two or more races	73%	100%	100%	
Unknown	77%	64%	86%	
White	79%	79%	85%	
 
The three largest groups of students by ethnicity at Everglades University are White students, Black or African American students and Hispanic/Latino students.  First year retention rates for each of those cohorts are similar to each other for the 2020 cohort, 79% of White students persisted beyond their first year, 77% of Hispanic/Latino students persisted beyond their fist year and 76% of Black or African American students persisted beyond their first year.  For the 2021 cohort, 82% of Hispanic/Latino students persisted beyond their first year, a 5% improvement from prior year, 79% of White students persisted beyond their first year, and 72% of Black or African American students persisted beyond their first year, a decrease of 4% from prior year.  The 2022 cohort first year persistence for both White and Black or African American students each improved by 6% over prior year, with 85% of White students and 78% of Black or African American students persisting beyond their first year.  The 2022 cohort of Hispanic/Latino  students had a notable decline in first year persistence to 53%.  2023 cohort first year retention data will be analyzed upon IPEDS submission to determine any trends for the cohort and appropriate strategies will be implemented to further support the cohort of students if needed.    All other ethnic cohorts, while small, are comparable and in line with the FTFT first year retention rates of the 3 largest ethnic cohorts which make up 82% of EU students.  Based on the disaggregation of retention data the University's first year retention goal of 71% was met by each cohort each year, with the exception of 3 occurrences and in 2 of three of those occurrences threshold was exceeded.

CRITERION 3: GRADUATION RATES
Everglades University has declared the IPEDS standard 150% time frame graduation rates as its Key Student Completion Indicator, and its third criterion for student success. The University considers this metric a useful measure of student success because it is a clear indicator of student persistence and successful completion of an Everglades University program. These graduation rates are published on the Everglades University Website Consumer Information page. 
In 2018, upon request from the Commission, the University declared this metric as its Key Student Completion Indicator and determined its threshold of 50% and goal of 52% for graduation rates based on historical data. Effective in 2021, Everglades University established an increased graduation rate threshold of 53% based on IPEDS reported Graduation Rates data from 2018 - 2020 and a goal of 58%, 5% over threshold.  The chart below provides Graduation Rate 150% data as reported in IPEDS from 2021 - 2023.
IPEDS Graduation Rates 150% Comparison 
Everglades University Grad Rates	
IPEDS Graduation Rates Survey Cohort	EU FTFT 1st year
Retention Rates	
Fall Enrollment Survey 21-22 (2015 cohort)	58%	
Fall Enrollment Survey 22-23 (2016 cohort)	56%	
Fall Enrollment Survey 23-24 (2017 cohort)	58%	
 
The increase in Everglades University's graduation rates is regarded by the University as a success in improvement of this student outcome.  With continued focus on achieving goal graduation rate of 58%, Everglades University was able to meet goal of 58% graduation rate in reporting year 2021 and 2023  and experienced a 2% shortfall to goal and achieved a 56% graduation rate in reporting year 2022.  After submission of 24-25 reporting period Graduation Rates Survey in IPEDS, EU will review the data and may set new threshold and goal percentages based on the past three reporting years effective for 2025 and beyond. 
Graduation Rates By Gender
The University disaggregates the graduation rate data by gender, in support of its mission to serve diverse students. 
IPEDS Graduation Rates 150% Survey
Everglades University Grad Rates by Gender	
Gender	21-22 Survey (2015 cohort)	22-23 Survey (2016 cohort)	23-24 Survey (2017 cohort)	
Men	64%	57%	59%	
Women	52%	55%	57%	
 
The data indicates graduation rates among men and women are moving toward goal and toward each other.  For the 3 year period referenced the number of men and women graduates also moved toward each other, we had 906 men graduate and 902 women graduate.  We view this as a positive sign for our female students, as they are closing the gap in the graduation rate that existed in the 2015 cohort.  Additionally, we are pleased by the improvement in the grad rate for men in the 2017 cohort after a reduction in the grad rate for the 2016 cohort from prior year.  Specifically the graduation rate for men was 64% for the 2015 cohort and the 2016 cohort experienced a decline to 57% graduation rate.  With continued focus on improving graduation rates, the graduation rate for men improved to 59% for the 2017 cohort, 1% better than graduation rate goal.  The graduation rate for women has steadily improved year over year.  For the 2015 cohort the graduation rate for women  was 1% below EU threshold at 52% and 12% below men graduation rate.  The 2016 and 2017 cohort improved to exceed the 53% graduation rate threshold, at 55% and 57% respectively. Additonally the 2017 women cohort closed the gap with men cohort graduation rate, women cohort being only 2% lower than men cohort graduation rate.  A further positive and improving outcome is the 2017 women cohort graduation rate of 57% is only 1% below EU graduation rate goal.  Based on the threshold and goal set by the University for its graduation rates, the data show that overall men and women students at Everglades University are achieving success in terms of graduation rates.
Graduation Rate by Ethnicity
The University also disaggregates this data as found in the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey by gender and ethnicity. These categories are useful to the University because the categories speak to the University's mission to provide quality education to diverse students. The data disaggregated by gender and ethnicity also provides useful insights to specific cohorts of students which Everglades University utilizes to improve support services as needed.
IPEDS Graduation Rates 150% Survey 
Everglades University Grad Rates by Ethnicity	
Gender	Ethnicity	2015 cohort	graduates	21-22 Survey (2015 cohort)	2016 cohort	graduates	22-23 Survey (2016 cohort)	2017 cohort	graduates	23-24 Survey (2017 cohort)	
Men	US Nonresident	0	0	n/a	0	0	n/a	1	0	0%	
 	Hispanic/Latino	41	31	76%	39	24	62%	61	24	39%	
 	American Indian or Alaska Native	3	1	33%	3	1	33%	4	2	50%	
 	Asian	6	6	100%	3	3	100%	4	2	50%	
 	Black or African American	46	28	61%	53	29	55%	59	38	64%	
 	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	0	0	n/a	0	0	n/a	1	1	100%	
 	White	169	104	62%	152	82	54%	136	98	72%	
 	Two or more races	12	8	67%	14	8	57%	6	5	83%	
 	Race and ethnicity unknown	4	2	50%	36	23	64%	55	22	40%	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Women	US Nonresident	1	0	0%	0	0	n/a	0	0	n/a	
 	Hispanic/Latino	30	19	63%	38	23	61%	60	27	45%	
 	American Indian or Alaska Native	2	2	100%	3	2	67%	5	3	60%	
 	Asian	1	1	100%	4	3	75%	6	6	100%	
 	Black or African American	59	22	37%	43	22	51%	52	28	54%	
 	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	2	0	0%	2	2	100%	0	0	n/a	
 	White	193	105	54%	157	88	56%	121	82	68%	
 	Two or more races	10	8	80%	15	9	60%	3	1	33%	
 	Race and ethnicity unknown	6	2	33%	30	12	40%	60	26	43%	
 
For both men and women the largest ethnic population of graduates is white in all three cohort years.  The number of graduates of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity has increased by approximately 25 for both men and women for the 2017 cohort over prior years making their ethnic group the second largest population of most recent graduates.  Black or African American ethnicity number of graduates is fairly consistent over the three years and for the 2017 cohort their ethnicity is a very close third largest population of graduates.  For the 2017 cohort Everglades University has also experienced an increase in the number of students whose race or ethnicity is unknown by the University, as it was not reported by the students.  These four ethnic groups combined made up the majority of graduates over the three reporting years detailed above. For the 2015 cohort: 311 graduates out of 339 total graduates, 92%. For the 2016 cohort  303 graduates out of 331 total graduates, 92%.  For the 2017 cohort 345 graduates out of 365 total graduates, 95%.  The remaining ethnicity cohorts individually and combined are statistically insignificant and no trends can be addressed.
Graduation rates for white men exceeded 58% graduation rate goal for 2015 cohort, at 62%.  The 2016 white men cohort graduation rate dropped to 54% or 1% over threshold and the 2017 white men cohort graduation rate improved to 72%, 14% greater than goal of 58%.  Overall white men are achieving success related to Graduation rates as established by Everglades University.    
Graduation rates for white women exceeded 53% graduation rate threshold for 2015 cohort, at 54%.  The 2016 white women cohort graduation rate improved to 56% and the 2017 white women cohort graduation rate improved to 68%, 10% greater than goal of 58%.  Overall white women are achieving success related to Graduation Rates as established by Everglades University.    
Graduation rates for Hispanic/Latino men exceeded 58% graduation rate goal for 2015 cohort, at 76%.  The 2016 Hispanic/Latino men cohort graduation rate dropped to 62%, 4% over goal, and the 2017 Hispanic/Latino men cohort graduation rate dropped to 39%, which is below threshold. Hispanic/Latino men achieved success related to Graduation rates as established by Everglades University in 2 of the past three reporting years.      
Graduation rates for Hispanic/Latino women exceeded 58% graduation rate goal for 2015 cohort, at 63%.  The 2016 Hispanic/Latino women cohort graduation rate was again above goal at 61%.  The 2017 Hispanic/Latino women cohort graduation rate dropped to 45%, which is below threshold.  Hispanic/Latino women achieved success related to Graduation Rates as established by Everglades University in 2 of the past three reporting years.   
Graduation rates for Black or African American men exceeded 58% graduation rate goal for 2015 cohort, at 61%.  The 2016 Black or African American men cohort graduation rate dropped to 55%, 2% above threshold and the 2017 Black or African American men cohort graduation rate improved to 64%, 6% above goal.  Overall Black or African American men are achieving success related to Graduation rates as established by Everglades University.    
Graduation rates for Black or African American women for 2015 cohort was 37%, below threshold.  The 2016 Black or African American women cohort graduation rate while still below threshold improved to 51% and the 2017 Black or African American women cohort graduation rate improved again to 54%, which is 1% over threshold.  Black or African American women success related to Graduation Rates as established by Everglades University is improving and was above threshold in the most recent year of the past three reporting years. 
Graduation rates for Race and ethnicity unknown men was below threshold graduation rate of 53% for 2015 cohort, at 50%, however the cohort was made up of only 4 students. The 2016 Race and ethnicity unknown men cohort graduation rate improved to 64%, 1% better than threshold, and the 2017 Race and ethnicity unknown men cohort graduation rate dropped to 40%, which is below threshold. Race and ethnicity unknown men achieved success related to Graduation rates as established by Everglades University in 1 of the past three reporting years.     
Graduation rates for Race and ethnicity unknown women was below threshold graduation rate goal of 53% for 2015 cohort, at 33%, however the cohort was made up of only 6 students.  The 2016 Race and Ethnicity unknown women cohort graduation rate was again below threshold but improved to 40% and the 2017 Race and ethnicity unknown women cohort graduation rate improved to 43%, remaining below threshold.  Race and ethnicity unknown women have not achieved success related to Graduation Rates as established by Everglades University in the past three reporting years. 
Everglades University recognizes a notable increase in the number of students in the 2017 cohort data for Latino/Hispanic and Race and ethnicity unknown cohorts, and a reduction in the number of students in the White ethnicity cohort.  There is also a notable decrease in the Graduatiuon Rates for the Latino/Hispanic men and women cohorts and the Race and ethnicity unknown men cohort. These cohorts data will be further evaluated upon submission of the 2018 cohort survey to identify if any negative trends are developing for these cohorts related to graduation rates or if 2017 cohort data is an outlier.    
STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING STUDENT SUCCESS
Everglades University has a robust and comprehensive set of student support services and strategies for its population and evaluates these services in support of all students and at-risk sub-populations.  The strategies are designed to provide both academic support as well as personal support to increase student engagement. Because Everglades University is primarily a commuter school without resident facilities or sports teams, involving students as a University community presents unique challenges for the University. However, the support services currently offered create opportunities for EU to increase its already robust academic and student support services to target at-risk populations as identified by the data above. By assisting those students with their academic and personal issues, the University can remove obstacles to success for its students and improve its attrition, first year retention, and graduation rates. This network of support services fulfills the University's Mission and creates a University-wide effort to support students at every level, from the faculty to the Dean to Student Services.  
Academic Advising and Support Services
Everglades University requires regular student advising meetings with academic advisors. At the beginning of the program, the advisor or Dean provides a welcome advising and schedules an academic advising session for the end of the student's first semester. All Everglades University students receive academic advising at the conclusion of each semester. The academic advisor or Dean discusses the student's satisfactory academic progress and offers guidance and assistance with time-management skills, study skills, and refers the student to additional support services such as tutoring. This schedule of advising meetings is maintained for the end of every semester until the student graduates. Throughout the semester if a student fails a course or has some other major academic event, an additional advising is held with the student to attempt to provide support and direction to the student.
Additional support is offered by monitoring student attendance daily; students are contacted by faculty, advisors or Deans if they are not in class. Deans and advisors use an Academic Advising Session Guide during their academic advising sessions. This Guide ensures all student support services relevant to the student (tutoring, resume writing and job placement assistance, faculty mentoring) are discussed in each student's academic advising sessions. To ensure thorough and meaningful academic advising has occurred, the University closes the loop on the academic advising process with the Academic Advising Survey. This survey is automatically generated by the student database when an academic advising activity is entered on the student record. The student receives an email with a link to the Academic Advising Survey, which inquires about the student's advising experience and whether the student has additional questions that were not addressed or resolved in the advising session. This has resulted in the University's immediate ability to answer student questions and provides verification that meaningful advising is occurring, and that student support services are being discussed. Faculty members are a part of this support system as well. Each week faculty send a faculty feedback form to their deans to identify students who are at-risk, missing from class, or who have failed to turn in assignments. Faculty must make time to answer questions for and provide individual tutoring to students as needed. Each month the students rate their experience in the classroom on the Student Evaluation of Course Survey. If the faculty member scores below a certain benchmark score then the Dean must complete a Faculty Teaching Enhancement Plan to improve the faculty member's teaching performance. Faculty are further trained and supported by the Curriculum and Faculty Developer, who designs and delivers training and development activities to all faculty, and provides orientation and initial training to new incoming faculty members.
Small Class Sizes
The University's mission is to provide a collaborative environment where each individual has the opportunity to achieve personal growth, using small class sizes. The scheduling at each campus fulfills the University's mission and allows students to receive individualized attention from their faculty members. Historically class sizes on average contain 8 students to 1 faculty member, rarely exceeding more than 15 students per class. The University maintains sufficient full time faculty to have approximately 1 full time faculty member to support every 17 students.
Student Support Services 
The University maintains an active financial services department to assist students with financial aid, billing questions, and work study options.
The University's Department of Library Services provides valuable support opportunities to assist students via one-on-one assistance, classroom presentations, and workshops on library resources, research, and APA formatting. The Library also provides students with information and training on the third-party online tutoring service.
The University also maintains dedicated full-time Directors of Student Services at all campuses, off-campus instructional sites, and the Online Division. These Directors assist students with concerns, obstacles and personal experiences. The University offers many support services to support its adult students, as befits its mission "to provide quality education to adult learners of diverse backgrounds in a collaborative environment where each individual has the opportunity to achieve personal growth." One important contextual note is that Everglades University's population is unique among its peers. The University's population is on average much older than schools to which it compares itself. (Everglades  University is a member of the Independent Colleges and Universitieis of Florida (ICUF), a group of private, not-for-profit Florida-based schools all accredited by SACSCOC). Historically, the student population older than 25 years comprises more than 80% of EU's population; comparatively, the ICUF school with the closest over-25 population comprises only 73% of its population.
The unique profile of Everglades University students as adults means that the students reflected in EU's Graduation Rates and Retention Rates are non-traditional students. EU's students are not recently graduated from high school. Rather, they are an average 35 years of age and have active careers, children, and family obligations. As such, the Student Services Department provides an array of support not just for academic success but for unexpected life issues, such as lists of medical care facilities, child care facilities, and transportation alternatives at all physical locations. Referral information for many other life crises and situations are available to all students throughout the United States. The Student Services Department also provides students with resume writing assistance and job placement assistance, and prepares them for employment by hosting professional development seminars and connecting them with potential employers.
Considering that every EU location is a commuter school with older students, creating a community atmosphere is one of the University's major opportunities for improvement. Adult students most often come to campus to go to class, conduct administrative business with University staff as needed, and then leave immediately. These students do not generally spend time on campus for social events or participate in student organizations. By providing additional opportunities for student participation on campus and engagement with the university community, EU can provide valuable student engagement which should translate to increased retention and ultimately improved rates of graduation.