College students face numerous obstacles before they step into the classroom and then again when their academic careers begin. As such, the decline of student retention and success threatens the health of universities across the nation. Universities are challenged by declining enrollments, reduced financial resources, and an increased demand for accountability. Additionally, these institutions face pressures to compete internationally, as they struggle to meet the demands of an ever-advancing technological age. Now more than ever, college students make critical decisions about their classes based upon interactions with faculty and their own learning expectations, which are evolving as quickly as the technologies they use.

Born out of experimental education tactics, For Students’ Sake! Bold Solutions for the College Retention Crisis explores the strategies and results of personalized learning. After 22 years of teaching college students, Carmen R. Allen realized that a large number of her students were failing, dropping the course, or simply disappearing. Her passion for student success pushed her to learn more about how to meet student needs, including early intervention tactics and personalized communication approaches, in order to create higher levels of student success. She experienced great success with her work and is optimistic that others will implement her strategies in order to better support their own students and positively impact them.

About the Author

Carmen R. Allen began her teaching career after answering a newspaper ad for a position at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, Illinois. This decision set her on a path to find her true passion and focus in life. At first, she followed a classic “Sage on the stage” lecture style that soon turned into a more personalized approach to education, to promote student engagement and success. She recently received the Pearson Master Teacher of the Year Award and currently lives in Illinois.