St. Thomas University administration created a new position with the hire of Kimberley Webb, student retention and engagement coordinator.
The UNB alumna grew up in Fredericton and has been back in town for two weeks. Her position is a ten-month term funded by the New Brunswick department of post-secondary education, training and labour. The school has hired three people focusing on student life and enrollment for this school year, two of which were for new positions.
Webb will report to student life director Shannon Clarke and work closely with associate vice-president of enrollment management Scott Duguay, both of whom are working their first school year at STU.
“Students leave for a variety of reasons, some of which we can control or contribute to,” Clarke said, naming a supportive campus environment and real-world learning opportunities as examples.
“I’m already starting to develop relationships here,” Webb said. “There was an event last night where I met some international students that was a lot of fun.”
Webb said one of her first projects is to help plan a mentorship program that would see students help other students with any number of issues like time management and career choices.
She said it was important for her to develop relationships with students right away to get them involved with things like the mentorship program.
The success of these initiatives may increase STU’s 70 per cent retention rate and 54 per cent graduation rate (within seven years of entry), but can also help attract prospective students.
“We do things here that recruiters can talk about to help students see why they might want to come here,” Clarke said.
“Students are more successful… when they’re able to get support from their campus and when they’re able to be involved in things outside of the classroom.”
Webb has a diverse background in marketing and communications, and worked at Acadia University in student recruitment and alumni for six years.
“I’ve been extremely impressed with the friendliness, the ability to get information, as well as anything that I need,” she said. “I just really appreciate the welcoming environment and the ease I’ve had settling in.”
