Dear colleagues,

As Chancellor Kenneth T. Christensen has said, one of our highest priorities is to reduce the number of students who leave CU Denver before they earn their credential. The reasons why students may leave a university early are many and multidimensional, so all of us faculty and staff must take a holistic, multipronged approach to serving every CU Denver student’s academic, personal, and cultural needs. 

Our Student Success Transformation Initiative announced in May is a cornerstone of our student retention efforts. We hosted a town hall on May 22 to introduce data and recommendations for approaching the issue, and assembled working groups on these four topics: 

• Standardization of Student Advising 
• First-Year Experiences
• Early Action on Student Challenges
• DFWI Rates

Working group charges and background on this effort can be found on this frequently updated Student Success Transformation website, which we hope you will take some time to review. 

The 61 faculty and staff members in these groups met throughout the summer to brainstorm, collect data, and lay groundwork for recommendations we will crystallize as a community this year, and activate as soon as early 2026. It’s notable that these groups dug in and made great headway during a period when many of us take time away from campus, focus on research, or prepare for the year ahead. 

Each working group updated us on their progress to date on these topics. We’re excited to now engage the broader community in this work, and hear perspectives on these topics from across the CU Denver campus. 

You are invited to an online community dialogue on the Student SuccessTransformation Initiative on Monday, Oct. 6, from 1 to 3 p.m., where you will hear about the efforts of each group to date, and have opportunities for dialogue about these topics that will help shape the direction of this work. 

Karen Marrongelle, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Zina Evans, Vice Chancellor, Strategic Enrollment and Student Success