Kean University Mission:
Kean University is a public cosmopolitan university serving undergraduate and graduate students in the liberal arts, the sciences, and the professions. The University dedicates itself to the intellectual, cultural, and personal growth of all its members — students, faculty, and professional staff. In particular, the University prepares students to think critically, creatively and globally; to adapt to changing social, economic, and technological environments; and to serve as active and contributing members of their communities.
Kean offers a wide range of demanding programs dedicated to excellence in instruction and academic support services necessary to assure its socially, linguistically, and culturally diverse students the means to reach their full potential, including students from academically disadvantaged backgrounds, students with special needs, and adults returning or entering higher education.
Kean is steadfast in its dedication to maintaining a student-centered educational environment in which diversity can flourish and an atmosphere in which mutual respect characterizes relations among the members of a pluralistic community. The University seeks to combine excellence with equity in providing opportunities for all students.
Kean is a teaching university, and Kean faculty dedicate themselves to student learning as well as academic rigor. The focus on teaching excellence is supported by a commitment to research, scholarship, creative work, and innovative uses of technology. The focus includes the advancement of knowledge in the traditional disciplines and the enhancement of skills in professional areas. Kean is committed to providing global educational opportunities for students and faculty.
Kean is an interactive university, and the University serves as a major resource for regional advancement. Kean collaborates with business, labor, government and the arts, as well as educational and community organizations and provides the region with cultural events and opportunities for continuous learning. Kean is also committed to providing students and faculty educational opportunities in national and international arenas
Office of Student Success and Retention (OSS&R) Mission and Vision
A retention plan, by definition, is a set of clear and unambiguous goals with associated strategies and activities that, when taken in totality, lead to the achievement of the retention program's goals (Webster’s definition). The mission of the Office of Student Success & Retention (OSS&R) is to provide leadership for the University’s retention efforts by engaging at-risk students and teaching them the skills and dispositions needed for success. The Office is committed to creating a sustainable culture of active engagement of students, especially those that have demonstrated academic need. OSS&R will also be dedicated to advancing a culture of assessment by engaging in data-driven activities that will provide the campus engagement necessary based on data.
The Office of Student Success and Retention will encourage a culture that is student-centered, one that facilitates and celebrates individual success. We will advance models, practices and policies that improve degree completion and persistence. OSS&R will lead University training efforts to engage at-risk students as well as celebrate all achievers.
VISION STATEMENT
Kean University will become a model of excellence in retention by advancing cutting-edge intervention models to at-risk students. The Office of Student Success & Retention will lead the University’s efforts to engage students that show signs of problems in academic success. Through best practices, the Office will transform these students from risk to excellence. And we will hold fast to the belief that all of Kean’s students have the ability to succeed. The model will not only focus on early intervention that will lead to retention but the office will provide the university with a map of the pathway to increase retention and graduation rates based on data.
The office of Student Success and Retention has identified seven goals and objectives that are imperative to the comprehensive retention plan of Kean University. These goals will not be realized without the “buy in” from the entire campus since retention is a campus wide responsibility. These goals, along with the comprehensive document from the UPC – University Planning Committee ( found at http://www.kean.edu/about/strategic-plan) will form the network needed to be successful in increasing our retention and graduation rates.
