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We Engineer Student Success!

Student retention does not just happen—it has to be designed into the culture and educational processes. Let us help you with the design.

Cindy Veenstra is Conference Co-Chair of the ASQ 2nd Annual Advancing the STEM Agenda in Education, the Workplace and Society Conference
Cindy is proud to again serve as a conference co-chair and program chair for the ASQ Education Division's Advancing the STEM Agenda Conference to be held July 16-17 at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The call for abstracts is open and the conference committee welcomes abstracts on ideas and research on best practices on STEM education.

Cindy Veenstra co-authored chapter in the new book Engineering and Social Justice in the University and Beyond 
Together with co-authors Matthew W. Ohland, Marissa K. Orr, Valerie Lundy-Wagner and Russell A. Long, Cindy Veenstra co-authored the chapter, "Viewing access and persistence in engineering through a socioeconomic lens."  The book is edited by Caroline Baillie, Alice L. Pawley and Donna Riley and published by the Purdue University Press.

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Guiding Colleges to Higher            
College Graduation Rates

We consult with colleges that desire a more focused continual improvement approach to college student retention, especially for the STEM majors. We use the latest research in higher education as well as ideas from quality systems in education management to help colleges develop a student success culture and strategy for improving their graduation rates. We specialize in consulting on first-year programs that successfully engage and retain STEM major students, resulting in a high freshman retention rate. Our consulting services include assessment services, independent research, strategy planning, and training.

We will work with you to meet your needs for improved STEM graduation rates.

Are you looking for customized help with freshman college retention?

We will work with you to provide a customized strategy for helping freshmen transition successfully to your college. Our research shows that an expectation of a high graduation rate in 4-6 years starts with a freshman retention rate of 90% or more.

Continuous Improvement Strategy for College Student Retention

Continuous Improvement requires a learning organization culture, a culture that implements improved teaching and student support through assessments and a continuous improvement strategy. Based on Dr. Veenstra's years of experience in process engineering, we take a long term process-oriented approach to continuous improvement.  Involvement of the faculty and staff in developing a student-focused culture for improved retention efforts is essential! We are a supporter of the Baldrige Education framework (used as the basis for some accreditations) for guiding continuous improvement.

The Veenstra Retention Model - Nine Pillars for Student Success

We use the Veenstra Model based on Dr. Veenstra's research as an assessment framework to identify student backgrounds and experiences critical to student success for your college and to consult with you on a freshman college retention plan. 
Read more about the Veenstra Model »

Meet Cindy Veenstra

Cindy P. Veenstra, Ph.D. is the founder and director for Veenstra and Associates. She has gained national recognition from her STEM student retention research with colleagues through her ASEE and ASQ publications. Dr. Veenstra has extensive experience with consulting, education assessment and research studies. She has recently co-edited Advancing the STEM Agenda: Quality Improvement Supports STEM to be published in May.  She is the chair of the ASQ Education Division and serves as co-chair of the 2012 ASQ STEM Agenda Conference.
More about Cindy »