WSUV Sees Rise in Undergraduate Retention Rates, Mirroring the Rest of WSU

Undergraduate student retention rates are on the rise across all WSU campuses. WSUV is mirroring this positive trend locally. According to administrators, first-year retention rates among high-risk student groups are showing particularly healthy numbers. 

“Our first-year retention rates for first generation and lower income students are very good right now,” said Christine Portfors, Associate Vice President and Vice Provost for Academic and Student Affairs at WSUV. “We want to be doing better. Just like every campus at WSU, we always want to be doing better… We really want to serve our students in the best way that we possibly can.”

According to WSU Insider, while WSU as a whole saw a 1.1% increase in undergraduate retention, enrollment at WSU in the current semester saw a 2.9% decline since Fall 2025. WSUV’s enrollment in particular was described as “essentially flat.”

This retention growth of undergraduates comes at a critical time for the campus, which has been facing strict budget constraints recently. According to administrative staff, student support services and resources have been sustained by streamlining internal operations and improving day-to-day efficiency on the operational level. 

“We are all focused on student success,” Portfors says. “This is why every single person who works here is at WSUV… Even with fewer resources, we’re doing all the same things. We’re just able to become more efficient.” 

A major factor in these local retention improvements is the focus on first-generation students, especially during their first semester at WSUV. 

“We are working really hard with all of our first-year students, but a special focus is on first-gen students. We support them by providing University 104 classes which students take during their first semester,” Portfors said. “[University 104] is really built around how to be successful and having communities so that you feel like you are welcome and that you belong here.” 

WSUV officials rely heavily on faculty members and emergency resources to keep students enrolled despite life and financial stress. Professors monitor attendance and performance, utilizing the campus CARES Network to put struggling students in direct contact with academic advisors. 

“We try to be really proactive in identifying when a student is struggling. And for financial struggles, we do have emergency funding available for students,” Portfors shared. 

Administrators emphasize that communication and transparency are essential to student success at WSUV. Undergraduate students are urged to utilize faculty office hours before academic struggles become unmanageable. 

“If a student is not showing up to class for some reason, reach out, let your professor know what’s happening because they can help you,” Porfors said. “Office hours actually mean ‘come and see me’ not ‘I’m too busy to see you, I’m sitting in my office right now.’ An office hour is an invitation for every student to go and see their professor to get that help that they need.”